Please, use a little common sense and not just misplaced emotions.

Cuts of horsemeat are displayed in a shop window at the horse butchery near Paris.REUTERS

WASHINGTON –  The slaughter of horses for human consumption could legally resume in the United States as early as this week following a decision by a New Mexico judge who dismissed a push by animal rights groups to stop the practice. (It should never have stopped)

U.S. District Judge Christina Armijo in New Mexico threw out a lawsuit Friday by The Humane Society of the United States (This is a name only, they do much more harm than good but that is another story) and other animal protection groups that alleged the Department of Agriculture failed to conduct environmental studies when it issued permits to Valley Meat Co. in Roswell, N.M., and an Iowa company to slaughter horses for human consumption.

It was a last-ditch effort that failed for animal rights groups. Instead, the court’s ruling ends – for now at least - a two-year battle by Valley Meat to open its slaughterhouse.

The practice of slaughtering horses for human consumption was legal and fairly common in the United States for many years.(yes, and fed to our military also!) 

In 2005, Congress voted to withhold funding for USDA inspections of horsemeat. It was a way to stop the slaughters because meat for human consumption at the time had to be inspected. (This was a vote based on emotion and not what was good for the horses, or for the horse industry as a whole. It was a vote to appease city folks that have no idea about the reality of owning and caring for animals.)

However, the USDA gave the OK for slaughterhouses to pay for their own inspections. Congress voted to end the practice in 2007.  (While all other inspections are subsidized)

The measure to stop the slaughters lapsed in 2011 and now U.S. companies are clamoring to get back into the game. (Because of the outcry from horse owners that want a fair and humane means to dispose of unwanted animals. This is a reality, not something that you wish on old trigger but a reality born from the day of birth.)

Across the country, businesses have been applying for permits with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They want to ship horsemeat to countries where it is eaten by humans or used as animal feed. (This should never have been stopped. I have eaten horse meat in Italy and it is very tasty besides being very healthy! I would buy it here in America if it was offered)

Retail purchase of horsemeat for human consumption in the U.S. is not yet approved but the possibility could be coming. 

In a statement following Friday’s dismissal, The Humane Society pledged that it would “not only appeal the decision, but also work with the states to block the plants from opening in Iowa, Missouri and New Mexico and step up its efforts in Congress to stop the slaughter of American horses.” (I know this is their right, but their disinformation and out right lies are a form of environmental terrorism)

"With today's court ruling and the very real prospect of plants resuming barbaric killing of horses for their meat in the states, we expect the American public to recognize the urgency of the situation and to demand that Congress take action," Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle said in a statement. (His statement proves his ignorance. Horses right now are being shipped unnecessary miles across USA borders to be killed in plants in other country's.  Horses have been turned lose to die of starvation on our forest and BLM grounds. Indian reservations are flooded with these horses and they die a horrible death at the hands of the wild stallion) "Court fights and state legislative battles have been important, but this is an issue of national importance and scale, and Congress should have an up-or-down vote on the subject." (Yes, and they should uphold the right of animal owners)

The idea of killing horses for food has triggered strong reaction among people on both sides of the issue.

Several animal rights organizations have linked legalizing the practice to horrific abuses and animal cruelty that they claim could lead to unsafe meat. (Yep, they try to scare those who have no idea of the truth)  They call the slaughters themselves a “brutal and terrifying end for horses.” (Sorry but in 99% of all cases, this is the best and most humane way to end their life. Old horses need to be used for dog food and younger ones that are dangerous should be fattened and use for human consumption. That is the truth, no spin)

“Horses are shipped for more than 24 hours at a time without food, water or rest in crowded trucks,” the Humane Society says. “They are often seriously injured or killed in transit.” (Yes it happens and the longer they have to travel to a plant, the higher the risk! Each owner should have a plant that is within a short drive)

Once at the slaughterhouse, the horses are stunned, the Humane Society claims, adding that because they are skittish animals by nature, the horses often “endure repeated blows and sometimes remain conscious during dismemberment.” (In Mexico we have no idea and no control over their kill methods. This is why we need plants here in the USA where we can control and ensure that horse are put down in the quickest and surest method available.)

Supporters, though, say that claims of cruelty are overblown and that while there is some risk in transporting any animal to slaughter, it is not a common occurrence.  (True, its simple, to the hauler and plant it is business and losing animals means losing profit.) 

Supporters also say that horse slaughtering facilities in the U.S. will provide a humane alternative for aging, starving or abandoned horses by owners who can no longer afford to take care of them. (This is just a fact. Does not matter if it offends you or not, this is a FACT!)

A 2011 report from the federal Government Accountability Office that shows horse abuse and abandonment have been increasing since Congress effectively banned horse slaughter by cutting funding for federal inspection programs in 2007. They say the ban on domestic slaughter has led to tens of thousands of horses being shipped to inhumane slaughterhouses in Mexico. (Again, a fact that backs up my view. I do not wish to seem callous in anyway but meat plants in the USA are the very best way we have to take care of our older or unwanted horses. Keeping them alive in a government support pen until they get injured and die is not a humane living for an animal I love. Put them down quickly)

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 166,000 horses were sent to Canada and Mexico last year for slaughter. (Fact, so what has the Humane Society done with its efforts? They have hurt our horses by causing them to travel farther and suffer because of no USA oversight) 

Supporters also take issue with the taboo of eating horsemeat and say the animal is consumed in countries all over the world and could be extremely profitable to American companies interested in the industry. They also argue that horses should be treated no differently than pigs, chickens and cows. (Sorry but this is true and a fact also. Ask any 4 H or FFA person, they grow, raise, care for and at times, love the animal that they raise for your dinner plate. Why would a horse be different from a pet rabbit or lamb?)

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), China is one of the largest consumers of horsemeat. In France, the meat is considered to be a delicacy, sold in the same vein as veal in the U.S. (What they don't tell you is that none are raised for that purpose, not like cattle, sheep, chicken or pigs. They, just as we should...use animals that no longer have a use for anything else.)

About eight miles outside of Roswell, N.M., Valley Meat, a shuttered cattle farm is almost ready to reopen its doors.

Plant owner Rick De Los Santos and his attorney, Blair Dunn, told USA Today they were surprised when they ruling came down, hours after a temporary restraining order that barred the companies from opening in August had expired.

"If I were a betting man, I probably would have lost a lot of money on this," Dunn said. "I thought the court was headed in a different direction on this since she had issued the TRO. ... I am very, very happy to be wrong."

De Los Santos estimated it would be seven to 10 days before he was up and running.

Over in Gallatin, Mo., Rains Natural Meats could open as early as today.

Lets hope that we will again, have plants that we can control here in the USA.

I will add one more point and that is my freedom to eat what I wish. The USDA made it illegal to eat horse meat. I can eat snails, worms, bunny's  baby lambs, snakes, alligators and unborn chickens but not a horse? Come on, there is no common sense in this. If you don't want to eat horse meat then just don't buy it.   

A Black Perspective on the Obama's by Mychal-Massie

Why I Do Not Like The Obamas 23 February 2012 The other evening on my twitter, a person asked me why I didn’t like the Obama’s? Specifically I was asked: “I have to ask, why do you hate the Obama’s? It seems personal, not policy related. You even dissed their Christmas family pic.” The truth is I do not like the Obamas, what they represent, their ideology, and I certainly do not like his policies and legislation. I’ve made no secret of my contempt for the Obamas. As I responded to the person who asked me the aforementioned question, I don’t like them because they are committed to the fundamental change of my/our country into what can only be regarded as a Communist state. I don’t hate them per definition, but I condemn them because they are the worst kind of racialists, they are elitist Leninists with contempt for traditional America. They display disrespect for the sanctity of the office he holds, and for those who are willing to admit same, Michelle Obama’s raw contempt for white America is transpicuous. I don’t like them because they comport themselves as emperor and empress. I expect, no I demand respect, for the Office of President and a love of our country and her citizenry from the leader entrusted with the governance of same. President and Mrs. Reagan displayed an unparalleled love for the country and her people. The Reagans made Americans feel good about themselves and about what we could accomplish. Could you envision President Reagan instructing his Justice Department to act like jack-booted thugs? Presidents are politicians and all politicians are known and pretty much expected to manipulate the truth, if not outright lie, but even using that low standard, the Obama’s have taken lies, dishonesty, deceit, mendacity, subterfuge and obfuscation to new depths. They are verbally abusive to the citizenry and they display an animus for civility. I do not like them, because they both display bigotry overtly, as in the case of Harvard Professor Louis Gates, when he accused the Cambridge Police of acting stupidly, and her code speak pursuant to now being able too be proud of America. I view that statement and that mindset as an insult to those who died to provide a country where a Kenyan, his illegal alien relatives, and his alleged progeny, could come and not only live freely, but rise to the highest, most powerful, position in the world. Michelle Obama is free to hate and disparage whites, because Americans of every description paid with their blood to ensure her right to do same. I have a saying, that “the only reason a person hides things, is because they have something to hide.” No president in history has spent over a million dollars to keep his records and his past sealed. And what the two of them have shared has been proved to be lies. He lied about when and how they met, he lied about his mother’s death and problems with insurance, Michelle lied to a crowd pursuant to nearly $500,000 bank stocks they inherited from his family. He has lied about his father’s military service, about the civil rights movement, ad nauseum. He lied to the world about the Supreme Court in a State of the Union address. He berated and publicly insulted a sitting Congressman. He has surrounded himself with the most rabidly, radical, socialist academicians today. He has fought for abortion procedures and opposed rulings that protected women and children, that even Planned Parenthood did not seek to support. He is openly hostile to business and aggressively hostile to Israel. His wife treats being the First Lady, as her personal American Express Black Card (arguably the most prestigious credit card in the world). I condemn them because, as people are suffering, losing their homes, their jobs, their retirements, he and his family are arrogantly showing off their life of entitlement – as he goes about creating and fomenting class warfare. I don’t like them, and I neither apologize nor retreat from my public condemnation of them and of his policies. We should condemn them for the disrespect they show our people, for his willful and unconstitutional actions pursuant to obeying the Constitutional parameters he is bound by, and his willful disregard for Congressional authority. Dislike for them has nothing to do with the color of their skin, it has everything to do with their behavior, attitudes, and policies. And I have open scorn for their playing the race card. It is my intention to do all within my ability to ensure their reign is one term. I could go on, but let me conclude with this. I condemn in the strongest possible terms the media for refusing to investigate them, as they did President Bush and President Clinton, and for refusing to label them for what they truly are. There is no scenario known to man, whereby a white president and his wife could ignore laws, flaunt their position, and lord over the people, as these two are permitted out of fear for their color. As I wrote in a syndicated column titled “Nero In The White House” – “Never in my life, inside or outside of politics, have I witnessed such dishonesty in a political leader. He is the most mendacious political figure I have ever witnessed. Even by the low standards of his presidential predecessors, his narcissistic, contumacious arrogance is unequalled. Using Obama as the bar, Nero would have to be elevated to sainthood … Many in America wanted to be proud when the first person of color was elected president, but instead, they have been witness to a congenital liar, a woman who has been ashamed of America her entire life, failed policies, intimidation, and a commonality hitherto not witnessed in political leaders. He and his wife view their life at our expense as an entitlement – while America’s people go homeless, hungry and unemployed.” (WND.com; 8/8/11) Oh, and as for it being personal, you tell me how you would feel if a senator from Illinois sent you a personally signed card, intended to intimidate you and your family. Because you had written a syndicated column titled “Darth Democrat” that was critical of him. (WND.com 11/16/04)  Mychal-Massie.Com is funded solely by donations from readers.Donate here.

Thanksgiving thoughts on our Nation

Please take the time to hear this great American message!

....

Smile, and the whole world smiles with you

One day a florist went to a barber for a haircut. After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied, "I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The florist was pleased and left the shop.

When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a "thank you" card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.

Later, a police officer came in for a haircut and, when he tried to pay his bill, the barber again replied, "I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The officer was happy and left the shop.

The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a "thank you" card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.

A Congressman came in for a haircut and, when he went to pay his bill, the barber again replied, "I can not accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The Congressman was very happy and left the shop.

The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen Congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut. And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between the citizens of our country and the politicians who run it.

________________________________________


Stories about children and their views of the world are always touching.

A father watched his young son playing in the yard, and he smiled as he reflected on how sweet and pure his little boy was. Tears formed in his eyes as he thought about him seeing the wonders of nature through such innocent eyes. Suddenly he just stopped and stared at the ground. He went over to him to see what work of God had captured his attention.

He noticed he was looking at two spiders.

"Daddy, what are those two spiders doing?" he asked.

"They're mating," his father replied.

"What do you call this spider?" he asked, pointing.

"It's a Daddy Longlegs," his father answered.

"So, the other one is a Mommy Longlegs?" the little boy asked.

As his heart soared with the joy of such a cute and innocent question he replied, "No son. Both of them are Daddy Longlegs."

"The little boy, looking a little puzzled, thought for a moment, then lifted his foot and stomped them flat.

"Well," he said, "that may be OK in California, but we're not going to stand for that sort of behavior in the high desert country of Central Oregon!"

...

EPA to tax cows

In a move that could have far-reaching impacts on businesses down to the grower level, EPA last week announced that greenhouse-gas emissions would be regulated under the Clean Air Act. EPA administrator Lisa Jackson said that these gases endanger public health and welfare of future generations.
The finding will be followed by a 60-day comment period, after which EPA could begin drawing up regulations. It is believed those regulations would focus first on automobile emissions, but eventually could target power plants, factories, and other businesses.
Agribusiness could be affected by the new regulations. In November, the Florida Farm Bureau issued an Action Alert on how this move might impact some in agriculture. Once an endangerment finding is made, Title V of the Clean Air Act requires that any entity with the potential to emit more than 100 tons per year of a regulated pollutant must obtain a permit in order to continue to operate.
For previously regulated pollutants, a threshold of 100-tons meant that only the largest of emitters were required to be permitted. For greenhouse gases, the situation is much different. Not only would power plants and factories, but also many office and apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, large churches and even large homes would be regulated. According to the alert, literally hundreds of thousands of entities could be required to obtain permits.
The vast majority of livestock operations would easily meet the 100 ton threshold and fall under regulation. In fact, USDA has stated that any operation with more than 25 dairy cows, or 50 beef cattle would have to obtain permits. According to USDA statistics, this would cover about 99% of dairy production and more than 90% of beef production in the U.S.
As the proposal stood in November, the permit fees would equate to a "tax" of $175 per dairy cow and $87.50 per beef cow.
President Obama has stated that he would rather Congress take on the issue and pass cap and trade legislation, which would cap the levels of pollution an entity could emit. If the business exceeds the cap, it would in effect have to pay a tax for the right to pollute.
Regardless if Congress passes cap and trade, Friday’s EPA finding could likely have the same effect as regulations are put into place over the next few years.