According to the pet industry trade magazine, Pet Product News, McCotter, a Livonia Republican, introduced the legislation July 31 in conjunction with a Pet Product News survey on the industry.

The legislation is being supported by the lobbying arm of the pet industry, the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC).

According to the PPN story, the proposed legislation will amend the IRS code to allow pet owners to deduct up to $3,500 in pet related expenses, including veterinary care.

This is obviously great news for pets and their owners, but I imagine some uninsured humans might think this idea is for the birds! And then they'll probably laugh at how clever they are, and the laughter will lead to a coughing fit on account of the consumption.

Cuddly Easter Bunny Army! Florida is infested with cuteness! Little bunnies purchased as Easter gifts, then liberated, are multiplying like, well, rabbits! And they're hopping around the Sunshine State, wiggling their widdle pink noses! [nytimes.com]

Hooters Waitresses Beat Down Perv! Some slimeball freakazoid hid out in a car, waiting to pounce on a pair of Hooters Waitresses. But these girls brought down the thunder on the predator. Ha, ha sicko, these girls owned you.  [wsbtv.com]

City Covered In Colorful Doodles! There is nothing pretty about concrete, and that's the super truth. But what about if said concrete were covered in bright colors, and happy drawings! Michigan needs all the mass art projects it can get.  [mlive.com.com]

Coming Soon: Personal C-3po's! There are two types of people: cynics who think that one day we'll be the slaves of our robot masters. And those of us who think robots will be our awesome friends. [scotsman.com]

Submitted by FrankyGee.

If you can do that, then you might be able to appreciate what Michigan's 82-year-old Rep. John Dingell has sacrificed for his country…

Now 82, Dingell will walk into the Capitol on Wednesday as the House's longest-serving member, entering the record books after leading a powerful committee, doggedly investigating government malfeasance and keeping a watchful eye on his home state's auto industry.

Dingell, who succeeded his late father in December 1955 in a Democratic-leaning district outside Detroit, will surpass the late Rep. Jamie Whitten, D-Miss., who served for more than 53 years.

I suppose that, all things considered, 53 years spent in Congress might have been preferable to 53 years spent in Michigan.

I mean, I started writing about politics to escape New Jersey. I guess we all do what we have to do.

Leave you caption in the comments section of this post.

You may remember Waxman from the series of lonely unrequited letters about torture, CIA leaks, fake Niger uranium, etc. he sent to President Bush when the Democrats were in the minority.

Waxman's leadership indicates a huge change for the Committee, namely that large portions of environmental and energy policy should be dictated by the state with the most stringent rules on auto emissions and gas mileage (and most cars and miles of freeway), rather than a state beholden to an industry bent on thwarting those changes.

This upends the traditional seniority system for House committee chairmanships.

"Seniority is important, but it should not be a grant of property rights to be chairman for three decades or more," Waxman said after emerging from the caucus meeting.

Committee chairs will now be selected based on contests including best mustache and shiniest head.

If you think that's crazy, you should see what he did to support partial-birth abortion!

Detroit's Big Three automakers have some toxic assets for you too, but you might know them by other names, like the Chevy Tahoe, the Ford Expedition and the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Democratic leaders in Congress are pressing the Bush Administration to help bail out the Big Three automakers, who are hemorrhaging money right now and high-fiving themselves for continuing to make giant SUVs as gas prices hit $4/gallon. It's not that they are too big to fail, but rather that they are too "In a State That Went for Obama by 16 Points" to fail…

"In order to prevent the failure of one or more of the major American automobile manufacturers … Congress and the Bush administration must take immediate action," stated House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Democratic leaders are attempting to draft a compromise to allow emergency funds, up to $50 Billion, to be given to the auto industry, but any bailout would include government oversight and limits to executive compensation.

There is no word on whether the companies would required by law to stop making giant crappy gas pump-fellating vehicles that nobody wants.

For years, newspaper sales had been plummeting all around the country. It seemed that today's news consumers simply preferred getting the latest information from newfangled media sources like TV and brilliant, cutting-edge websites.

But all of that changed Wednesday morning when America woke up after Obama's historic victory and decided to revive a dying industry. They snapped up every copy of the newspaper in sight, causing the following to happen…

* The Washington Post printed an additional 700,000 copies over Wednesday and Thursday in order to meet demand that had thousands of people lined up outside of their headquarters.

* Bidding on EBay skyrocketed to $590 for a copy of Wednesday's New York Times. (The crossword puzzle had been left intact, making it especially valuable.)

* Even the Daily Oklahoman, dubbed "the worst newspaper in America" by the Columbia Journalism Review, and previously best known for its infamous "You Have Cancer" series, sold out.

* A man in Bellingham, Washington bought 10,000 copies of the Bellingham Herald in the hopes of selling them to finance his retirement.

Meanwhile in Detroit, seeking to cash in on the election-fueled economic burst, desperate automakers announced plans to ramp up production of the Obamamobile.