Note to PETA: Don't even try telling Pawlenty that kittens like their ears rubbed

Is Gov. Tim Pawlenty playing Jesse Ventura to the PETA "jackals"? On Tuesday, Pawlenty received a plea from Karin Robertson, manager of PETA'S "Fish Empathy Project." The national org was hoping the Gov would outlaw walleye fishing in the land of 10,000 lakes and a gazillion anglers because, as PETA says, fish feel pain. But Paw Paw wasn't buying any of it. Instead, he promptly issued a statement boasting that, "Because of the letter, I'm going out for walleye tonight." Oh no he dinnn't!

An online poll on WCCO's web site reveals that the majority of Minnesotans are in agreement with Pawlenty, and would describe his response as "just right." In other words, his huffy retort is like the porridge of a cuddly bear that's treated with due respect and not pummeled in the nose or reduced to an ironic hat. But I'm having a hard time discerning what's more asinine: the request from PETA, the fact that Pawlenty actually issued a schoolyard public response to said request, or that PETA's Robertson legally changed her name to goveg.com two years ago.