PETA gives away fur coats for the Inauguration

Obama's green inaugural footprint

For the inauguration of a president who promised to be a friend of the environment, what would you expect but carbon-neutral inaugural balls, hybrid Lexuses, organic menus and valet bicycle parking?

Political correctness will rule the day.

Two Green Inaugural Balls are planned, including one featuring a green carpet made from--what else?--a recycled rug. Official invitations to the Jan. 20 inauguration are being printed on recycled paper. The homeless will be handed furs.

With millions of visitors headed to Washington for President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in, "Our goal is to create an unforgettable evening while treading lightly on the Earth," said Jenna Mack, an organizer of one Green Inaugural Ball--not to be confused with another Green Inaugural Ball featuring Al Gore.

Beyond the Earth-minded, nearly every imaginable group is planning an event to promote a cause.

PETA plans to give away fur coats to the homeless while offering hot soy milk cocoa in cups that read: "Thank You for Not Wearing Fur!"

"We expect that the only fur on the streets on Jan. 20 will be on homeless people," said Bruce Friedrich, PETA vice president.

The furs, collected from people who don't want them anymore, will be marked with black paint before they are given away so that they cannot be sold. [...]

I once worked for a lady attorney, I'll call her "Diane". She had a client who was short of cash, and paid her bill with an elegant fur coat, I think it was Lynx. Diane, who often complained about the cold damp in San Francisco, loved her new fur. She was wearing it to a posh social event one evening, when suddenly she was splashed with red paint by a female PETA protester.

Diane was never one to be a victim. She had the woman arrested, and then sued the bitch for the cost of having the fur "restored". Apparently, furs can be restored when they get paint on them. I wonder if any of the Inaugural homeless furs will find their way back into mainstream circulation? Even if they don't, are we going to see Washington homeless people dressed in elegant, paint-stained furs for years to come?

Maybe it's part of the Change We Can Believe In.