Dear Orrin's Lies, Damn Lies and (incorrect) Statistics

We couldn't let an entire year go by without showing Dear Orrin some love. After all, our little man has been busy typing with one hand on his keyboard (don't ask where the other hand is), penning his fantasy missives to anyone who will listen. Our hero is hoping that enough time has passed since his micro-ilk's crushing defeat in 2006/7 that a new generation might be sympathetic to the same arguments Orrin tried so unsuccessfully a few years back.

It appears our hero has been stimulated by a recent New York Times article that quotes NYC Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe and New York Council of Dog Owners Group (NYCdog) President Bob Marino. Oh, it just makes our little man lose his little mind when two of his favorite people are mentioned in the same breath, or same article. You see, Commssioner Benepe and President Marino are perhaps the two people most responsible for Orrin's cataclysmic and utter defeat during the great offleash battles. Oh, it just get our little man's undies in a bunch that those guys are quoted as authorities on the matter!

So Dear Orrin wishes to set the record straight. Enough time has passed after all, perhaps the same failed arguments he made in 2006/7 will now work! So our hero pens a letter to the NYT reporter. The letter is so flawed, with error of fact and omission, that it bears quoting in its entirety (of course with commentary that might help Dear Orrin gets his facts straight). As the late great Senator Daniel P. Moynihan said, " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." Trouble is, Dear Orrin's been under the mistaken belief for years that his own opinions somehow correspond to objective facts. But as a close examination of his written words indicate just the contrary.

Dear Ms. Foderaro:

I was disappointed by your discussion of the leashless dog issue in New York City and particularly your uncritical quotation of Adrian Benepe, who is hardly a neutral observer, and Bob Marino, a paid lobbyist for the anti-leash dog owners (by no means all dog owners). You apparently made no effort to contact opponents of New York's unleashed policies even though you could have found any of Messrs Jett or Croft, or me, with a minimal Google search. Partly as a result, you misstate--and slant--some significant facts:

Oh Dear Orrin, in your mind the all powerful off-leash "lobby" has unlimited resources to purchase new high-backed leather chairs and ivory-handled back scratchers for leaders such as Bob Marino. Hate to burst your fantasy, but NYCdog is an all-volunteer organization, with a shoe string budget raised entirely from membership, and there are no paid positions and no financial compensation whatsoever. The only compensation is the unadulterated pleasure of fighting the good fight, in court, in the press, and in the court of public opinion, defeating the nattering nabobs of negativity such as the Archie Bunkers over in Middle Village (Orrin's peeps), and some Orrin's other good friends whom he mentions. So we can't even get through the first paragraph of Dear Orrin's screed without factual error. Of course, this is just one of a cornucopia of lies, damn lies, and (incorrect) statistics that Dear Orrin tries yet again to foist on the public.

1. Before the leash law--actually, a Board of Health regulation--was amended in 2007, regular leash-free hours in the park was not "accepted practice". In Prospect Park, the DPR had for years informally declared "courtesy hours" in which the leash law would not be enforced--over the protests of birders and many others, but in Central Park, the CPC actually warned dog owners that while there were informal off-leash gatherings, participants were subjected to being ticketed. And a Queens group had sued the DPR over its non-enforcement of the rules.

Actually, Dear Orrin, prior to 2007, Off-leash in certain areas and at certain times was accepted practice--for approximately 20 years, sanctioned by Parks Commissioners from Henry Stern, to Betsy Gotbaum, to Adrian Benepe. Perhaps Dear Orrin forgot the letters from each Parks Commissioner that were submitted as testimony during the hearings to amend park regulations to formalize the off-leash hours policy. Yet another error of omission for Dear Orrin.

2. Crime in big New York City parks has been dropping for years. Central Park is now considered safe 24 hours a day. Dogs may be unleashed only between 9 P.M. and 9 A.M., and the vast majority of legal off-leash activity occurs between 8 A.M. and 9 A.M. Mr.. Benepe and the anti-leash lobby whose slogans he is parroting--there is no other way to put it--cannot explain how this presence accounts for the drop in crime between 9 A.M. and 9 P.M. And if you were to come to Central Park or Prospect Park on a really nasty, sleety day, you would see birdwatchers, but few if any dog owners with their dogs loose.

Dear Orrin must have forgotten that off-leash hours was widespread in many NYC parks prior to the policy being codified in 2006/7. In fact, during the dark times of NYC's nadir, park officials praised dog owners who gathered for off-leash activities and credited them for helping begin the virtuous cycle that helped reclaim parks like Prospect from the criminal element. Orrin knows better, but either willfully ignores these facts, or our hero is starting to lose some gray matter to his advancing years. How sad.

3. It is true that dog bites in the City were dropping for many years. But that was before the leash law was changed.

Again, Dear Orrin forgets that Off-leash policy existed over 20 years before the leash law was amended in 2007. This time coincides with a propicious drop in the number of Citywide dog bites. It also coincides with an even larger drop in the number of dog bites in parks. Oh no, Dear Orrin, your facts are 180 degrees wrong! Yet you keep repeating the same untruths (aka lies).

And--just to reiterate--in Central Park, before that time there were small gatherings of unleashed dogs in the morning. Now, all of Central Park is a dog park before 9 A.M. Since 2007, according to a recent Daily News article, dog bites in the City have been going UP.

Oh Dear Orrin must have been absent that day in math class when they taught the children that 3,609 of anything <3,956 of the same anything. Including dog bites. You see, Orrin was never big on basic math.

So, by Mr. Benepe's logic, the promulgation of the loosened leash law has increased dog bites.

Actually, Dear Orrin, just the opposite. But perhaps if you say it until you're blue in the face, some other mathematically challenged person who also doesn't know that a drop of over 350 bites year over year is a DECLINE might believe you.

Pity Dear Orrin. Time is not on his side. He was hoping that if enough time went by, he'd be able to spin his crushing defeat 6 years ago into some heroic myth of "paid lobbyists", corrupt Parks officials, and a powerful dog-owning cabal thwarting the will of the silent majority. Unfortunately, facts are facts, and thanks to the Internet, objective facts have a very long life. But look on the bright side, Dear Orrin, that same Internet lets you bellyache as much as you'd like on your own hate blog. Isn't is a great world?

See y'all in the park.

Orrin Loves the NY Post

Oh the irony!

The same well-respected publication that outed our Dear Orrin so unceremoniously in May of 2009 as the Prospect Park Pepper Spray Vigilante, is now apparently a source for more of Orrin's Fuzzy Math and blatant falsehoods.

You see, The New York Post, that bastion of fine News Corp journalism, published this story incorrectly stating that 2010 dog bite numbers were a record. None of the sort! Not even close. A prime example of never to believe everything you read (especially if it comes from a Murdoch publication).

In fact, even one of Dear Orrin's cohorts, the failed anti-offleash Jihadist, Robb Jett (the self-proclaimed "Prospect Park Advocate") posted on his now discontinued anti-offleash blog that in 1998, Health Dept reported NYC dog bites were 6,568. The NYC Health Department published that the dog bite stats from 2005 were 3,956.

For anyone who has the fundamental basics of simple 2nd grade math mastered, 2010's NYC Health Department bite stats reported by the Post at 3,609, are hundreds of bites less than the 2005 stats and thousands of bites less than the 1998 stats.

So where do Orrin and the Post get off claiming NYC dog bites are at "record number?"
It's a complete untruth.

Dear Orrin again destroys any shred of credibility he might hope to portray. Of course, Datniodes (AKA, Kim E., Pit Bull Owner from her failed jihad during 2006-2007), and who lately is counting the number of White people in "her" neighborhood as Dear Orrin counts the number of "Mexicans" and "Blacks" in Prospect Park) has commented in full force as Orrin's amen peanut gallery. She bathes in Orrin's dirty bathwater.

NY Magazine Votes Offleash a Top Reason to Love NYC

We hope Orrin won't have to cancel his subscription to New York Magazine when he has a conniption over this one.

Orrin's Fuzzy Math

Dear Orrin must have been absent the day they taught statistics in school. He consistently glimpses dog-related public health articles online and wrongly extrapolates information to "support" his maniacal hatred for 25-year NYC Parks successful off-leash hours policy.

Frequent readers will recall that Orrin tried to either pull some fuzzy math or his reading comprehension is slipping when last year he mischaracterized dog bite statistics.

Almost a year later Orrin's back with a NYT article that shows nationwide that hospital admission for dog bites has gone up over the past two decades. Of course, Orrin believes that this proves the insanity of the NYC Parks Off-leash Hours policy.

Dear Orrin must not have read in the article that dog bites in rural areas had 4 times as many emergency room visits as urban areas. And dog bites in rural areas had 3 times as many admissions as in urban areas. The last time we checked, NYC was considered to be an urban area.

I wonder how often Orrin mistakes his bustling Brooklyn nabe for an exurb of Peoria, or a sleepy little town in Maine. We all know New Yorkers are more friendly than some of those persnickety New Englanders in their small towns, and NYC statistics show that local dogs are also more friendly than their Country Mouse cousins.

Shall we review the facts? Like when in 2006, the 13 members of the NYC Health Board (doctors, epidemiologists, public health officials) looked at the statistic of dog bites in NYC and noticed a precipitous drop over the past few decades. Full story here. In fact, the vote to approve the Off-leash Hours Policy and to amend the "Leash Law" was unanimous (13-0) after the facts were considered--including the precipitous statistical drop in NYC dog bites concurrent to the period that the 25-year successful off-leash hours policy has been in effect.

Perhaps Orrin can go volunteer in a small little red school house in rural America to teach stats. Only be careful of those territorial dogs in small towns who don't get the socialization and exercise that the City cousins get in 89 parks in all five boroughs in the big city. The statistics outside the city are against you.

Orrin's a bit like how Jon Stewart recently characterized the GOP, he loves the "truth", but hates facts.

Orrin Moves His Cynical Bogus Rabies Ploy to Bklyn

We thought 2010 would be a slow year for Dear Orrin. But in the home stretch, he concocts two new cynical bogus ploys. Last week's deals with autumn leaves.

But wait, this week's"new" ploy isn't really new at all. In fact, it's an extension of Dear Orrin's "logic" from his Cynical Bogus Rabies Ploy--except Central Park was so 2009. This year, he's moved it to Brooklyn's verdant Prospect Park.

We'll call this one Orrin's Cynical Bogus Rabies in Prospect Park Ploy (as compared to his first Cynical Bogus Rabies Ploy that concerned Central Park).

Same "arguments" from Orrin as his previous Cynical Bogus Rabies Ploy. And in fact, we have the same advice for Dear Orrin.

The Centers fir Disease Control has announced that canine rabies has been eradicated in the United States since at least 2007, and most dogs in NYC are actually vaccinated against the rabies virus, since the rules are that to be off-leash in a designated off leash park area one must have one's dog licensed, which means inoculated against rabies--a very strong argument could be made that dogs should stay exactly where they are--in the Long Meadow, Nethermead, and the Peninsula during the off-leash hours.

However, we must again warn Orrin that humans have no natural immunity against the rabies virus and very few receive humans receive inoculations. So if Orrin's so concerned about rabid raccoons, he should stay out of Prospect Park until the rabies threat blows over. We'd hate to see Orrin more rabid than he already is, and we'll miss him terribly.

Orrin's Cynical Bogus Autumn Leaves Ploy

After Dear Orrin's 15 minutes of infamy following his outing in the NY Post as the Brooklyn Canine Pepper Spray Vigilante, 2010 has been a bit slow for our hero. Mostly the same old, same old complaints that Orrin doesn't like dogs and their owners in his parks. Yawn.

But we couldn't let this year go by without showing Dear Orrin some love. After all, he has been somewhat less diligently updating his propaganda hate blog campaign against dogs, dog owners, and the now 25-year successful off-leash hours policy, but we want him to know that we care.

As loyal readers of this blog will know, Orrin's been frustrated at every turn and at every level with his jihad against the off-leash hours policy. After his crushing defeat in 2006-2007 when the policy was codified unanimously into NYC Health Code, Department of Parks regulations, and won at the State Supreme Court level, our hero decided the only way to make his presence known going forward was to think up Cynical Bogus Ploys in further attempts to discredit a 25-year old successful parks policy.

First there was the Cynical Bogus Racist Ploy: You'll recall, the bizarro racial theory that Black folks are scared of dogs and that dogs in parks somehow keeps Black people from parks. Dear Orrin's been keeping close empirical statistics of how many "White" "Black" and "Mexican" people he sees in the parks. No doubt this precise and unbiased information will be invaluable for future generations to study.

2. Then there was the Cynical Bogus Rabies Ploy: When Orrin tried to link a raccoon rabies outbreak in Central Park to the off-leash hours policy citywide. Of course, what Dear Orrin must have overlooked was that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control declared canine rabies eradicated in the United States as of a few years back and that out of all animals (including humans), dogs are some of the only creatures that by law and regularly receive vaccines to actually prevent rabies if bitten. Poor Orrin. Perhaps he was absent from class the day they taught immunology. We still think that Orrin should consider staying out of the parks until the raccoon rabies epidemic he warns about safely passes. Orrin's not vaccinated like most dogs in NYC.

3. Let's not forget Orrin's Maniacal Obsession with the park volunteer group FIDO. Due to his Maniacal Obsession with Fido, Dear Orrin certainly has been following the fact that not only does FIDO care about dogs, but also about his beloved birds in Prospect Park, as FIDO members have been leading the charge into protecting the geese. Strangely, Dear Orrin's been quiet on this subject.

4. Of course, one of Dear Orrin's classics was when he compared the off-leash hours policy to Nazi Germany. Orrin must be watching a lot of Glenn Beck.

It's been well over a year, during which time Orrin's gone from being like a fart in a windstorm, to not even that. It's a little bit sad to see all that energy wasted and dissipated over time. Orrin needs some meaning in his life of quiet desperation and anger against his neighbors.

But wait! Orrin's now comes with a brand new Cynical Bogus Ploy! Nice to see that Dear Orrin's been scouring the news for any tidbit of information to distort for his own anti-dog purposes. Everyone needs a hobby.

We'll call the latest Orrin's Cynical Bogus Autumn Leaves Ploy. Please follow closely, because it's somewhat convoluted in its sheer brilliance:

You see, in the autumn leaves fall off the trees. Many trees are located in parks. Dogs like to walk through leaves in parks. Like other animals, including Orrin's beloved birds or the horses that walk through Central and Prospect Parks, dog will occasionally defecate in leaves in parks. Unlike those other animals (birds and horses) the vast majority of dog owners pick up any defecation, but occasionally, some might be left in leaves. Children play in the leaves. So it's possible that children can come in contact with dog doo (left unspoken by Orrin, and bird doo, and horse doo).Therefore, Orrin wants dogs banned from parks! Because not only off-leash dogs poo, but so do onleash dogs.

Of course to extend Orrin's logic away from his least favorite animal (aside from humans), which would be dogs, to his most favorite animals, which would be birds, the field full of large geese droppings and duck poo I had to walk through in Prospect Park's peninsula this weekend would also mean that birds should be banned from the park system. No one is picking up their defecation, and they are all over the place dropping poo that destroys plants, lawns, and spreads disease. Children walk and roll in this field. Every day. Hmmm, I wonder if Orrin ever thought of where his own logic takes him. D'oh!

A Happy Thanksgiving and hugs to the so-called "Committee for Responsible Dog Ownership." All three of them, including the racist hater "Datnoides", who is busy chronicling the goings on of White people in "her" neighborhood. She and Orrin are like separate sides of the same old hateful coin. We're thankful to live in a democracy where haters and crackpots, like the "Committee" get to spew their bile.

Orrin's New Cynical Bogus Rabies Ploy; More Intentional Misinformation (aka lies) from Orrin

Longtime readers will recall that our Dear Orrin has had his treasured goal of eradicating the successful 20+ Year NYC Off-leash Hours Policy thwarted at every level:

• Legal - A NYS Supreme Court case to eradicate the policy was defeated in 2006
• Court of Public Opinion - Survey after survey has shown the vast majority of NYC residents approve of the Off-leash Hours policy.
• Public Health - In December 2006 the NYC Health Board unanimously amended the "Leash Law" to specifically permit the Parks Commissioner to promulgate the Off-leash Hours Policy.
• Parks Policy - In 2007, after public hearings where the vast majority of public comment was in favor, the NYC Parks Department codified the Off-leash Hours policy.

"Drat," thought Dear Orrin, scientists, epidemiologists, public policy professionals, the vast majority of the public all have looked at the 20+ years of experience with the successful Off-leash Hours Policy, and have not just approved it as is, decided to codify it into both Health Department and Parks Department regulations. "Double Drat", thought our Dear Orrin.

Then Orrin decided that he'd be Going Rogue. He realized that judges, public health professionals, and the general public are a difficult thing to go up against. So he'd have to concoct some sneaky, underhanded, bogus claims to try and poke holes in these unanimous decisions.

That's when Orrin came up with his Cynical Bogus Racist Ploy. But of course that failed miserably as well for our Dear Orrin. The only thing it was successful at was convincing rational non-racist people that Dear Orrin needs his meds adjusted, or that Orrin harbors some bizarre racist theories about people and animals.

"Triple drat!", thought our Dear Orrin. "What to do, what to do?"

Then Orrin's previous assertions that park goers need to protect themselves against the blood that runs in our City parks every day from dogs and their owners by carrying pepper spray. This bizarre assertion won our Dear Orrin front page attention from the NY Post for his 15 minutes of infamy! He was dubbed the "Pepper Spray Vigilante" and a photo of his gorgeous mug outed our dear hero.

"Quadruple drat!", thought our Dear Orrin. "I'm getting my message out there; getting lots of publicity, but everyone thinks I'm a wackjob. Am I the only one in this City of millions that sees things clearly?"

Fortunately Dear Orrin isn't alone in this great big City with his hateful ideas to destroy the Off-leash Hours Policy. Orrin's tripled membership in his so-called "Committee for Responsible Dog Ownership" (of course Orrin doesn't actually own a dog). Now there are three members, and one actually owns a dog! Another guy calls himself "ChickenUnderwear". It's nice to see that Orrin has some odd new friends who share some of his interests.

But still no traction in the court of public opinion for Orrin. In fact, more and more parks have instituted designated Off-leash Hours areas. "Quintuple drat!" stews our Hero.

Now comes Orrin with a new cynical ploy to scare someone into taking him seriously: Rabies! We'll dub it his Cynical Bogus Rabies Ploy, so as not to confuse it with Orrin's previous unsuccessful Cynical Bogus Racist Ploy.

Of course, Dear Orrin must have missed that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control declared over two years ago that canine rabies has been eradicated from the United States. But Orrin hasn't let pesky facts get in his way before, so why start now?

Orrin has an interesting way of interpreting statistics. Department of Health stats show that rabies has been in most of the five boroughs for many years now, primarily in raccoons. There hasn't been a recorded case of canine rabies for over 40 years! And, of course, the successful Off-leash Hours policy has been in effect for over 20 years, now in 89 parks from 9pm-9am every day. That's a major public health success, mostly achieved by responsible dog owners who have vaccinated and continue to vaccinate their dogs against rabies.

Odd that with rabies in in raccoons in most NYC boroughs for at least a decade, and with canine rabies eradicated in the United States for at least the past two years, Orrin's now horribly concerned that the Offleash Hours policy will now lead to rabies transmission.

Dear Orrin should be worried however, that rabid raccoons in certain parks could curtail his birdwatching activities. It would be a tragedy if Orrin were bitten by a rabid raccoon while traipsing through the woods trying to sight birds. And of course, unlike most dogs who live in NYC whose vets insist they are vaccinated against rabies, virtually no humans are immune to the rabies virus.

If Orrin is correct about rabies, we suggest that Orrin stay out of the parks until the rabid raccoon situation is remedied. It's too dangerous for humans to bird watch with those rabid raccoons out there. We wouldn't want Orrin to become more rabid than he already is.

_____________________________

More fuzzy math for Dear Orrin and one of his three members of the so-called "Committee for Responsible Dog Owners". The claim is that since codification of the Successful 20+ Year Off-leash Hours Policy, City dog bites have gone up. As our previous post has shown, Orrin is again completely wrong in his assertion, and now one of his "Committee" members have picked up on Orrin's misinformation. Poor Dear Orrin, so often, so wrong.

Happy Holidays to all, even Dear Orrin and the wretched refuse from the so-called "Committee for Responsible Dog Ownership".

We'll see you in the park.