Dinniman's 'Daniel's Law' Passes PA, Senate Cttee.

Pennsylvania State Senator Andy Dinniman’s bill to ban animal gassing in Pennsylvania has been unanimously approved by a Senate committee.
The Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee on Wednesday voted 11-0 to approve Dinniman’s Senate Bill 1329, which would prohibit the gassing of cats and dogs in Pennsylvania, a method of euthanasia still practiced in several animal shelters in the Commonwealth.

Senator Dinniman with Daniel "the Miracle Dog"

The bill goes on to mandate that shelters, when euthanizing dogs, cats, and other domestic animals, do so by injection of sodium pentobarbital, the method considered most humane by animal experts.
Dinniman said his Senate Bill 1329 still has a ways to go before it becomes law but that Wednesday’s vote was a big step toward Pennsylvania becoming more compassionate toward animals.
“I’m heartened that my fellow committee members unanimously agreed that it’s time for Pennsylvania to join the 16 states that no longer allow euthanasia by gassing,” Dinniman said. “The method is cruel, unnecessary, and even dangerous to shelter personnel.”
Dinniman’s bill is named after Daniel, the beagle that in October survived an Alabama gas chamber and has since been adopted by a New Jersey family and become a symbol in the battle to ban euthanasia by gassing. Daniel and his guardian, Jim Dwyer, appeared on Anderson Cooper’s daytime talk show “Anderson” on Dec. 2.
Dinniman’s Senate Bill 1329 will next be considered by the full Senate.
Another animal-welfare bill introduced by Sen. Dinnian was approved by the Senate Judiciary committee on Dec. 6. Senate Bill 968 would increase the penalty for animal cruelty when such cruelty occurs within the realm of domestic abuse.

“It’s terribly unfortunate but harming or killing an animal is a common way abusers try to get power and control over their victims,” Dinniman said. “Current laws don’t take that into account. That’s why I introduced Senate Bill 968, which is now before the full Senate and I’m optimistic will continue to progress and someday become law.”
For more information contact Senator Dinniman’s West Chester Office at (610) 692-2112, or e-mail mindars@pasenate.com.

Catch 'Catch Me' Before It Disappears!

Maybe it was because we loved the movie on which it is based.
Maybe it was that we found ourselves mesmerized by the electrifying Tony Award-winning performance of Norbert Leo Butz.
Maybe it was because we finally got around to discovering one of the brightest, most talented, most appealing new leading men on Broadway -- Aaron Tveit.
Or maybe it was just the way Kerry Butler belts out a song or the mere presence of the great Tom Wopat.
For whatever reason, we loved the new Broadway musical Catch Me If You Can and we urge you to catch it on Broadway (if you can) before it closes on Sunday, September 4. Because, if you don't catch this show you'll have to wait till 2012 or 2013 to see a traveling production when the whole thing goes on national tour.
We had heard so much about "Catch Me" and we suspected that the show might be a lot better than some of the critics said it was.
We were right.
If you saw the 2002 movie (based on a true story) starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank Abingale, Jr. you know that Catch Me If You Can is a fascinating tale. So, the musical automatically benefits from a good, strong book -- and that's rare for a musical.
Plus, the adaptation for the stage is written by Terrence McNally and the words and music are by Mark Shaiman and Scott Wittman. This is a Tony-winning dream time that has given us several other blockbuster hits.
But this this show ain't no happy-tooting lark. This is a dark story -- a story of deceit, abandonment, crime and loneliness. Which makes it all the more incredible that the creative team and the fine company of actors and musicians on stage have still managed to send the show soaring with up-to-the-minute humor, retro sixties trendiness and a huge dollop of hope -- all based on fact.
Criticisms? Well, the show is way too loud at times. But most current Broadway shows are over-amplified these days and tunes (even ballads) are frequently oversold. And sometimes the breathlessness can't keep up with the sheer volume and weight of this stranger than fiction story. Plus, I wondered if the show might have been improved without the device of the full orchestra on stage. It seemed to cramp the production values at times.
But no shortcomings warranted the less-than-fair deal that this show got from some critics and the Broadway cognoscenti. Surely it was worthy of more than the four Tony nominations (and one Tony) that it received.
In many ways, this type of entertainment is (or should be) what Broadway is all about.
Catchy and notable songs include: Live In Living Color; Butler's magnificent Fly, Fly Away; Little Boy, Be A Man; the darkly humorous Christmas Is My Favorite Time Of Year; Seven Wonders and Norbert's show-stopping Don't Break The Rules.*
And we need to mention that from Tveit and Butz and Wopat and Butler right down to every chorus member the cast is wonderful. This too: Miraculously, the second act is even stronger than the first.
Catch it. Hurry! Or hope to see it on the road.
The touring company is set to open in Providence in fall, 2012.
*I've already purchased the album.

Man's Best Friend Mourns At Casket of Fallen Navy SEAL

Another touching story of how "furry family" pay tribute to their owners.

From Today:

Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson lay in a coffin, draped in an American flag, in front of a tearful audience mourning his death in Afghanistan. Soon an old friend appeared, and like a fellow soldier on a battlefield, his loyal dog refused to leave him behind.

Tumilson’s Labrador retriever, Hawkeye, was photographed lying by Tumilson’s casket in a heart-wrenching image taken at the funeral service in Tumilson’s hometown of Rockford, Iowa, earlier this week. Hawkeye walked up to the casket at the beginning of the service and then dropped down with a heaving sigh as about 1,500 mourners witnessed a dog accompanying his master until the end, reported CBS.

The photo was snapped by Tumilson’s cousin, Lisa Pembleton, and posted on her Facebook page in memory of the San Diego resident. Tumilson, 35, was one of 30 American troops, including 22 Navy SEALs, who were killed when a Taliban insurgent shot down a Chinook helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade on Aug. 6.

“I felt compelled to take one photo to share with family members that couldn't make it or couldn't see what I could from the aisle,” Pembleton wrote on her Facebook page. “To say that he was an amazing man doesn't do him justice. The loss of Jon to his family, military family and friends is immeasurable.’’

You can read the article in its' entirety by clicking here.