They eat horses, don't they?

When you get a bunch of politicians that are afraid to do anything meaningful this is the result.

Let's see how simple I can make it;

In short, eatin' a horse ain't no differnt' than eatin' a cow.

This congress just kills me. Not to take anything away from the serious issue of inhumane
treatment of horses but PLEASE...With all the other important issues that face us today..this is the best they can do? What about our borders? What about the illegal immigration issue? What about minimum wage? Education?

With the republicans holding house,senate, and presidency...what is the excuse for not passing some real legislation? They truely are a do nothing congress!

I'm all for being humane to animals, but it seems to me we have some more important things to worry about.

If they were gay, flag-burning horses there wouldn't be a problem with it at all.

I am shocked and horrified by some of the other comments. Truly civilized people do not eat something that runs around a track and can be bet on. Next thing you know greyhounds will show up on the menu. Unfortunately I probably bet on a lot of those horses. Horse racing is a cruel game it's the only sport I know of where you wind up on a stamp. A few on the front but most on the back.

If a Democrat proposed this legislation and the Democratic Conress passed it, all the ultra-loony leftists would be praising how great it is and how great humanitarians Dems are. When Republicans do this, it's unnecessary legislation. For example, the Chicago City Council, all liberal Dems, passed a law banning foi gras. Libs hail it as taking a stand.

Now, in that regard I'm not sure about a City Council banning a food, but I do have problems with how the ducks and geese are treated and something needs to be done.

The hypocrisy that is the world of the loony left.

Maybe we should march 50 miles to a horse farm to protest. It works for people who have broken federal law and expect citizenship. Maybe if the mentally retarded politicians who steal our money put this much thought and effort into real issues, well... who knows what miracles could occur.

I just don't get the concern over horses.

Cows, the surrogate mother of the human race, get the same awful treatment as the horses. Maybe worse. Ditto the chickens and turkeys.

I am for eating all of them, and do.

I do like a nice free range turkey at T-giving. They are in a different universe than the frozen things in the super.
Also, naturally produced beef is just tastier than whatever they are selling in the Wal-Mart meat section.

Horse has been eaten in this country and probably still is. Buffalo, also.

Juanito, you asked some time ago for a reason to vote Democratic this year, well the reason is obviously right there in front of you.

But the real burning issue is: where do they stand on foie gras?

John D,

If only justifying the actions of this do-nothing congress were as easy as making up hypothetical scenarios and assuming it to be reality. "If the Liberals were in power, they'd be..." blah blah blah. Right. How's about critisizing something that's actually happened?

The US Congress isn't the Chicago City Council, last I checked, and that "crazy liberal loon" Mayor Daley, for whom I'm sure you have no love, denounced the foi gras bill. Eitherway the Chicago City Council doesn't deal with stuff like, oh, the national debt, homeland security, and the like, while Congress does. I think we owe it to ourselves to hold them to a little higher standards, don't you think?

We (my family) have cut down a lot on red meat over the years, and have, in fact, developed quit a few meatless meals that we enjoy.

However, when we do indulge in red meat, we go all the way.
I suggest naturally produced, aged, beef tenderloin steaks.
Very pricey, but twice a year? Who cares!!

My theory is, if you are going to sin, have an orgy.

And this stuff can still be safely prepared rare.

Free range chickens also produce many taste delights! The breasts and other parts are nicely colored and tender, and should have zero odor about them. The last time I handled some raw chicken bought at national discount place I nearly threw up.

JD,
Let up, this is one of those funny blogs, like the 50 Sexiest on Capitol Hill bit a few weeks back.

Actually, on the intelligence scale, horses are pretty low on the domesticated animal totem pole. Not much brighter than a goat. And pretty dangerous, too. This brew-ha-ha is all due to their handsome appearance.

Dog, cats, parrots, all are smarter.

Pigs may be the smartest of all our domesticated friends, yet we eat them with relish. (And occasionally mayo or BB sauce!! ha ha)

JohnD...I guess I'll field this one for the ultra loony left. Although I'm sure I am wasting my breath. Lets stick with one item at a time. This thread was about a bill passed to protect horses. (are ya with me so far?)good..JohnD..is there anything "you" feel is more important to worry about at this time? If so..then what does
the fact that it would be a republican or a democrat making issue with the fact that this seems somewhat out of place to pass this legislation when so much else could be done? It has nothing to do with who's humanitarian or who isn't..just isn't there something else that would seem more important? If you end up agreeing
you won't be excommunicated from the republican party..I assure you.

bill r,
I think there is something much more important than this horse law.

The Liberal War on Christmas!
It's worse than you think!
Isn't it funny how that important issue just disappears after Jan 1 every year?

And that's not nearly as important as, oh say, Freedom Fries!!
Which after all, have been renamed back to French Fries. Someone's not being vigilant.

I don't know if it was Chenault in China during WWII, or McCarther in Korea, or somebody else, (Jeeze, ya gotta qualify everything with this bunch.) but somebody, commenting on our Asian allied soldiers was impressed with the fact they 'loved' their dogs so much they led into battle on leashes!

Someone had to tell the American fool, 'that's their food supply'.

More on on what we euphemistically call 'ButterBall' turkeys.

IT AIN'T BUTTER!!

It's something that would put an asterisk by a turkey's name if it played baseball and hit a lot of home runs.

Whatever it is, it's more akin to what is injected into a corpse than sweet, tasty butter.

"Juanito, you asked some time ago for a reason to vote Democratic this year, well the reason is obviously right there in front of you."

Posted by: Rory M | Sep 8, 2006 11:54:29 AM

Nope. The fact that Republicans are (cynically perhaps) wasting time with this fluffy issue does not advocate for the Democrats, it simply reflects poorly upon the Republicans. You may think that it amounts to the same thing, but it doesn't.

My point is that neither party is serving us well, and that I've seen little difference lately on critical issues. So why change? How many Democrats voted for the war or against NAFTA, for example?

So if you want me to vote Democratic (and I have in the past, BTW) give me a positive reason to do so; something more than the Republicans suck.

C.Morris,

You bring up an excellent point about Free Range meats. The stuff the Agricultural Corporations give us is poison.

If you think Free Range is too expensive, well we shouldn't be eating as much meat as we do anyway, folks. So just eat less. Any MD or nutritionist will tell you that the average American eats twice as much animal protein and fat as they should. So buy/eat less, buy free range and be healthier.

Plus as C.Morris pointed out, it just tastes better.

Here's something to think about. Twenty or so years ago it took eighteen months to raise cattle from birth to slaughter weight. Today it takes six months. Guess why.

As a horse owner, I've examined both sides of this debate. This legislation is a good thing overall mostly due to the conditions these animals endure and also that theft is a constant danger

http://www.awionline.org/othercampaigns/horse_slaughter.htm

Look at it this way, if we can start out with horses, geese, and other animals, maybe that will be good practice to work our way towards treating our own species with dignity.

Oh, by the way: Free Range isn't just healthier for us, it is a more humane way to treat the animals.

C Morris, Juanito,

Could not agree more - this is an issue that does need to be given a lot more attention

Juanito, the reason you should vote Democratic was not just this do nothing piece of legislation, but the countless others (flag burning, gay marriage, etc.) The house majority leader decides what legislation gets to the floor for a vote. Considering the Republican Party has been in control of what gets to the floor, and the best they can do is this kind of stuff, I think it’s about time we try across the isle and see if something constructive can get done.

Rory M,

Excuse me, but I'm less than thrilled with "cross your fingers, vote Democratic and hope for the best".

Juanito,

So what your saying is your fine with everything this do nothing Congress has not been doing. You would rather keep hoping things get better by themselves than use your rights as an American citizen and vote for change in this election. Yes I know I’ll hear from some of the right wing all the nonsense that the Republican Party has been drumming into everyone’s heads for the past 12 years now. But does anyone remember feeling so displeased with the direction our political system has taken. Never in the 230 years of history in this country have we felt that our children will be worse off than we were. This is the legacy of 12 years of Republican economic policy. Again I’ll hear from the Clinton bashers trying to blame him, but remember 6 of Clintons 8 years in office the Republican Party was in control of Congress. That Republican led Congress did nothing but attack Clinton for 6 years and nothing got done, then when Clinton was out of office the Republican led Congress still did nothing accept enrich themselves with Corp. lobby money. Yes I think you should take that chance for change, for the sake of your children if nothing else.

RoryM

Juanito does not want to hear what the republicans have done wrong...he wants to hear what the democrats will do. He did not want the war in Iraq and he says the dems also voted for this. Even though it has become obvious that we were duped into a real need to do this (WMD's,connections with Al-Qaeda,and the other reasons that have come up since then). I put forth the idea to set a timetable to force the Iraqis to step up to the plate but he says that won't work they will only wait till we leave. I guess that means stay the course or making Iraq a U.S. territory...I'm not sure. I can only guess that if you envisioned this as a marriage,
that juanito would hang in there even after his partner lied to him, refused to listen to him,and told him my way or the hiway. Personally..if my partner had acted that way..no matter if there was not another plan for the future that I would still make the change because it would be the right thing to do.

Sometimes you need to send the message that things are not right! If Juanito is happy with the status quo than so be it...

Rory M and bill r,

I doubt if you'll grasp this, simply because you steadfastly refuse to comprehend anything that doesn't neatly fit into your narrow view of things. Nevertheless, I'll repeat this yet again, one more time, as simply as I can:

1) I think an that alternative to the Republicans would be a great idea, don't you?

2) The reason that you guys can't tell me what the Democratic agenda is, is because the party doesn't have one.

3) I think, that since the Democrats are about to reap the benefits of a large anti Republican reaction, it would be a great idea if they got an agenda, don't you?

4) However, I think an even better idea would be some alternative party (parties) to both the Republicans and the Democrats.

The Republicrats have not been serving well because they don't have to, because there are no viable alternatives. So we need some viable alternatives.

5) Unless and until there is at least one viable alternative party, Point No.3 becomes critically important. It behooves you to pressure your party to adopt an agenda, don't you think?

What part of that is unclear?

It is you, bill r, who is desperately clinging to the status quo.

OK, Juanito, I’ll go along with your third party idea if you can tell me:

1) who will be in this third party?

2) what is their agenda for dealing with (Iraq, the economy, health care, social security, etc.)?

3) who will fund this party?

4) who will vote for this third party?

No, I don’t think putting our hopes on a third party candidate is a viable solution to the problem we have today, at least not in the near future. But I’m sure you know there is a need for change, and that change can only happen one way, and that’s to correct the imbalance of power in our government. Take back our government from corporate interests, take the power out of these self serving republican politicians. That’s not to say democrats don’t share some blame for corruption in Washington I’m sure they do. What we as the voters for these politicians should do is push for term limits on congressional candidates, this would go a long way to keeping our representatives in line with the people they represent.

Juanito...I can grasp that..even with my narrow
view..sir. You think that because there are things in the republican party that you don't totally agree with and that the democrats haven't
set an agenda for you...and you wish there was an alternative(which there isn't any..so back to reality)...that staying in your comfort zone(current policy)is ok. While kids are in Iraq fighting a useless fight..what is it today
fascists,terrorists,islamic radicals..I'm sure you'll correct me and tell me the PC term for it.
But while you are hurting those fingers of your's on that PC there are childrens lives being destroyed over this blunder of a war..and if that isn't a reason enough to send a message to the elected..I don't know what is.

You say you didn't want this war..but what..now that we're there it's OK? Do you really think that if the dems were to get power they would just give back Iraq? Of course how they would get power from a mid election year is beyond me.
But a show of dislike to the current direction
by voting some of the freeloaders out might help.
I believe it was our president that said "you're either with us..or against us" .

And you have the tenacity to talk about FREE RANGE CHICKENS?

bill r,

Current policy is not OK. I never said that it was. I said that I want some ideas on how to deal with this disaster. However, simply pulling out or setting a timetable for a pullout is not an option -- for reasons that have been outlined a hundred times by me and others on this blog.

Rory M,

You're right. There is no viable third party right now. So it's more important now than ever for the Democratic party to get serious and focused.

And just because there is no 3rd party now doesn't that there shouldn't be one or more in the future. I'm hoping things change in that regard, and soon.

It's undemocratic for this same cabal to have a lock on power, and for them to dismiss other political ideas as "not serious" simply for lack of the Republicrat stamp of approval.

PS to bill r:
If the fact that you and your family and your friends are all eating toxic meat isn't important to you, then what is?

If we all work together then maybe we can help get this bill passed. Me and some friends are asking people to send an email to their senators asking them to push this bill through and vote to end horse slaughtering.

Go to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ and type in your zip code. Send an email to both of your US senators and tell them to stop horse slaughtering. The vote is coming before the Senate in early October so please do it NOW! :-) Thanks!!!

And here is a blog that we set up so you can read more information about it:

http://www.horsesarefriendsnotfood.com