Evil legislators are bumming out Matt Arnold's dog

Last week, Matt Arnold of ClearTheBenchColorado.org ran afoul of a legislator during his testimony protesting the removal of tax exemptions for bull semen, among other things. Representative Joel Judd all but tossed him out of a committee hearing. But Arnold is fighting back -- with a little help from his...

By Michael Roberts

February 4, 2010

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Last week, Matt Arnold of ClearTheBenchColorado.org ran afoul of a legislator during his testimony protesting the removal of tax exemptions for bull semen, among other things. Representative Joel Judd all but tossed him out of a committee hearing.

But Arnold is fighting back -- with a little help from his dog, Nola, who he adopted while taking part in emergency operations after Hurricane Katrina (Nola is short for "New Orleans, Louisiana"). In testifying against what he describes as a plan to tax doggy bags at restaurants, he passed out fliers with a photo of his pooch labeled "WHY IS THIS DOGGY SO SAD?" The answer: The tax will "cut off her supply of yummy take-home leftovers."

Look below to see the flier, as well as a clip of Arnold's testimony. Frankly, the latter isn't as funny as the former -- but that's probably because Nola wasn't on hand to help out.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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