Clowns and Elephants

Time is running out for Representative Diana Urban (D-North Stonington) and her boyfriend Representative Steve Fontana (D-North Haven) to secure enough votes in the House to pass their anti-bullhook bill, preventing circuses from using the instrument on elephants.

The real aim of the bill is, of course, to prevent circuses from using elephants at all by eliminating their ability to control the massive beasts by outlawing their chief tool to do so.

The Connecticut Post is reporting this morning that Speaker Jim Amann refuses to allow session time to be eaten up by debate on the bill if it can't get the 76 votes it needs to pass. They claim to have about 45 votes at the moment. The session adjourns midnight on June 6th.

So how do the "sad satyr" and "faded coquette" react to the threat of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circuses that they will no longer visit Connecticut should this law pass?

Urban waxes philosophically: "..there are many other circuses." She cites Cole Bros. Circus, which she claims doesn't use elephants, and hasn't since 2004. But visit the website of the Cole Bros. Circus, and go to their 2006 photo gallery. Among the photos of midget men riding midget horses and the skinniest Spiderman I've ever seen, you will find photos of... GASP!! ELEPHANTS performing!!!

Their 2007 cast page says "the 2007 edition of Cole Bros. Circus of the Stars features more than a score of educated animal performers, including elephants, horses and poodles who have as much fun performing as audiences have watching them." She's wrong. They have elephants. Their names are Tina and Jewel. They should have elephants. Because they're a CIRCUS!

How about Fontana? What does he say? One can almost see the dampness in Fontana's eyes as he bleats: "Elephants are being treated inhumanely with weapons so much so that they bleed and create scarring for profit and entertainment." Please... we have had enough of the drama.

The actions of these two animal worshipers are jeopardizing Connecticut's ability to retain Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circuses, which have origins right here in Bridgeport, and are tied to state lore and history because of their fanaticism and misguided animal love.

Despite what these two think, people don't go to the circus to see the Human Slinky or Slavic men in leotards fly through the air. A few people might go for the midgets, but most want to see animals! They want to see dancing bears. They want to see a tiger that might go Roy Horn on its tamer. And the children want to eat cotton candy and hot peanuts, and laugh when they see an elephant do a big poop. They love it! That's the circus experience.

Let's hope these two have trouble finding another 31 votes to help them kill an American treasure.