I think congress wants me to blog...

Why else would they have done something so utterly stupid...again.

I will admit that I do not know the whole story here. In fact I really know only what I read in the Dallas Morning News. But apparently Congress has decided that our 4 legged equine friends are somehow higher in the food chain than other agricultural livestock.

Someone please educate me. Where's the beef here? (sorry, I had to) Is the problem that the horses being slathered are "strays" and/or unwanted "pets" that bother folks?. If someone would put a fence up around these horses call it a pasture THEN would it be OK.

I will again admit I am speaking from considerable ignorance on the specifics of the bill or the processing plants in question. But for sake of argument, lets assume these horse processing plants are all federally regulated, the same way processing plants for cattle, sheep, chickens, pigs etc. are. And that the horses are slathered in much the same fashion as these other livestock are, whether you consider it humane or not. What makes it a crime to slaughter, process and consume a horse where the same actions are legal when talking about ol' Bessy?

Is the argument that they are more intelligent than your average barnyard bovine? Therefore deserve to be granted a reprieve? What about Dolphins? I thought they were pretty intelligent.

The animal rights folks certainly have a beef (last time, I promise). Or at least they are being consistent. They don't condone the slaughter of ANY species. But I would suspect there are many members of congress who voted for this bill and less than 12 hours later sat down to a Steak and potato dinner. Is there hypocrisy there? Hmmmmm....

I imagine there are similar laws concerning the rounding up and slaughter of cats dogs and parakeets as well. I love my cats but when it comes down to it cats and dogs are lower on the food chain than human beings. And if there was an agricultural use/need for the fluffys or snowballs of this world then, as long as it can be done humanely, they should be to be used as an agricultural commodity. If there is no market for a particular species then there is no market.

Lets get back to bottom line here. We humans are, for now, are pretty much at the top of the food chain. We all learned in Middle School science class that those lower on the food chain are typically consumed by those above it on the food chain. This is nature. Animals are a renewable natural resource.

Personally Horse steak or Kitty fillet are not things I would order at a restaurant, any more than I would order Deer or squirrel, but that is just me. My pallet and prejudices should not dictate what others can or cannot consume. So as long as an animal species is not endangered, and the animals are not abused or tortured, they are raised/rounded up legally etc, I believe they are fair "game".

To congressmen and women; Please quite wasting your time and our money on these types of issues and address things like homelessness, Keeping our food supply safe, Funding renewable energy sources or educating our children.