The United States saw a great injustice on Oct. 16.

Ellen DeGeneres lost custody of her dog to the owners of Mutts and Moms.

OK, using the word injustice does not work here. But no one would be able to tell by the way DeGeneres, and her fans, reacted to the news.

DeGeneres gave her adopted dog to her hairstylist’s family when it did not get along with DeGeneres’ cats.

The owners of Mutts and Moms said she violated the adoption agreement by not informing them that she gave the dog away, and took the dog from the family.

DeGeneres wept on her Oct. 16 show when describing what happened, and canceled the tapings of future shows because she was too distraught.

DeGeneres’ overreaction to her doggy news can be a topic for another column. What is more surprising is her fans’ ridiculous response to the news.

They threatened the owners, and did it so vehemently that one of the owners closed Mutts and Moms the day after DeGeneres’ Oct. 16 show.

It is pathetic that a large group of people can collectively focus their energy and voice their discontent on an issue that is not even an issue. Incidents like this should make any thoughtful person wonder: Why can’t this many people act that way with issues that really matter?

Pakistan’s president Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan’s constitution and expanded his political powers by declaring a state of emergency over the weekend.

Musharraf has practically established a dictatorship faster than Germany’s blitzkrieg on Poland.

Musharraf’s government has arrested more than 1,500 lawyers, political activists and politicians who oppose Musharraf in Pakistan.

The people of Pakistan have protested, but there has been no effective reaction in the United States.

Of course, any U.S. citizen can fall back on the excuse of “Well, it’s not directly affecting us, so why does it matter what we do?”

It matters to us because the United States relies on Pakistan to fight al-Qaeda.

As reported by CNN.com, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte told Congress on Nov. 7 “Partnership with Pakistan and its people is the only option.”

In light of this disturbing information, there has been no news of American citizens taking a stand against Musharraf’s decision.

But when a TV host has her dog taken away – a dog that she gave away before having it taken away – there are serious threats against the owners of the store.

The Bush Administration has threatened to cut ties with Musharraf, but Negroponte’s statement implies otherwise.

The administration is supporting a dictator who is taking freedoms away from the Pakistani people.

If we can voice our discontent over DeGeneres losing her dog, we can surely voice our discontent over the Bush Administraton’s support of Musharraf.

U.S. politicians are supposed to work for the people. What we need to do is remind them of that.