by Jerry Finch ~ President/Founder of Habitat for Horses
The Reoccurring Nightmare has Returned
Jerry Finch of Habitat for Horses and R.T. Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation with several of Fitch’s rescued horses, one of which thinks little of anti-horse/pro-slaughter politicians
There is no doubt that a certain breed of human enjoys making beer money from killing horses. Add that fact to the horse owners who have bought the pro-slaughter arguments hook, line and sinker. Between those two, and a few politicians, we have the perfect ingredients for an attempt to do away with the current Texas law forbidding the sale of horse meat and an attempt to open a horse slaughterhouse within the borders of the State.
Do I need to ask for your thoughts on this? Probably not, but I will ask for your attendance at the hearing that the Texas Senate will be holding this Tuesday. We need supporters there, a LOT of them. There are three anti-slaughter speakers – Keith Dane,of HSUS, Paula Bacon, former mayor of Kaufman, home of Dallas Crown and myself, each allowed ten minutes to present our case.
However, anyone attending will be allowed to speak for three minutes, even if it’s, “My name is Duddly Doright and I oppose horse slaughter.” A lot can be said in three minutes and now is the time for your voice to be heard.
This is important, guys. They want this hearing kept quiet so they can sneak this in without raising too much noise. Former Senator Charlie Steinholm, the pro-slaughter lobbyist, will be speaking, filling the air with a million lies about unwanted horses and the safety of horse meat. We can’t let this happen.
Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Affairs
Tuesday, July 10th, at 1pm
Hearing Room EI.028
Chairman Senator Craig Estes
Join me. Show up and show your support. A lot of pro-slaughter people will be there. We need our side represented. We killed the slaughterhouses once in this state, I don’t want to do it all over again.
More details coming.
Click (HERE) to visit HfH and to Comment
Related articles
- Law Catches Up with Horse Slaughter Trafficker (rtfitchauthor.com)
- New Jersey Senate Passes Legislation to Ban Horse Slaughter 35 to 4 (rtfitchauthor.com)
- A Stroll Down “Horse Slaughter” Memory Lane (rtfitchauthor.com)
- Breaking News: FRER Discovers Documented Efforts to Begin Horse Slaughter in Missouri (rtfitchauthor.com)
Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Oh.. No…
R. T. Fitch, please do your best not to allow the Texas law, to be overturned.. Such cruel, greedy folks are “out there..’
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We will, with Jerry being one of the local folks, along with Paula Bacon heading up the troops. This came up at the last minute and I will not be in country when this meeting occurs. Try as best we can, we often find ourselves caught between a rock and a hard place. We will push via the internet.
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It does sort of figure – that Texas – home of the slaughter debacle – would be the one to push for horse slaughter – Wish I could add my voice to yours – but NY is a ways away! Hopefully there are many advocates who live in the western states who can get there. I’ve read Paula Bacon’s comments on what happened in her home town – I hope & pray that slaughter doesnt get a foothold in Texas due to these jerks.
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The evil snake rears its head again. Crop it off.
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Heres “HOPING” many anti-slaughter folks from Texas show up. I would love to hear that the overflowing crowd was all anti-slaughter. Come on Texas, all the other states are watching. Its hard work but it can be done and you are responsible for keeping horse slaughter out of your state FOREVER!!! Heres prays from Illinois where our fight continues every year even though we too have a law against horse slaughter. Some blood thirty people just don’t quit! MAKE THEM!!!
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It’s never political until the policymakers you vote in to office are in favor of slaughter. Perhaps this red state could learn from a blue state like New Jersey? I won’t hold my breath.
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I live in Texas and fought, along with many, many other fine Texans, to push the two plants to closure. This is not a Texas issue as much a federal one as with one quick stroke of a pen we wouldn’t have to fight this thing state by state.
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I stand by my comment. Learn from NJ. Of course I am not lumping all of Texas into the pot of dimwits in favor but I am growing very tired of the red states R’s pushing for murder of our equine,.
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You know better to blame Obama, RT. You know full well how this came to pass and who is behind it. Let it come to his desk and ignore it before you can place blame solely on him.
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Things get worse for a reason. Power and money. If the people do not want this it does not have to happen. I hope…
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Keith Dane,Paula Bacon and you, R.T., what a lineup….they surely must listen to you three, all very dedicated and knowledgeable people. Good luck, stop them please. I would attend if I were anywhere near,but am too far away to get there.
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I’d like to know how much money those politicians in TX received as campaign contributions from the big Ag supporters of horse slaughter. As much as I am beginning to hate politics and political campaigns, this issue is political. When you look at the supporters of the anti slaughter movement, the numbers are overwhelmingly democrats as opposed to republicans.
it seems the biggest push for slaughter plants are southern states across the board… what is it with this mentality? Yes the President could issue an executive order to end this barbaric practice, however, we must also remember there are so many issues facing this country that to many this issue is not as important to them as it is to us pro-horse advocates. So until that happens, each state must take it upon themselves to recognize the contributions the live horse industry makes to each states economy and preserve the horses by outlawing horse slaughter.
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Jo-C. Is of course, correct. I live in Texas, and spoke at the Hearing. The Advocates were there in force, and our voices were clear and over-whelming.. However, there are two things that everyone should know about Texas Politics. 1. The Republicans are in charge…at least for now, and many (Perry, Joe Barton, Cornyn, and Hutchinson) are firmly in the pockets of the slaughter people.. There are few Democrats in the House that have had the courage to buck big AG, and co-sign on to the House Anti-slaughter Bill. 2. Texas is a “pay to play” State. And the guys with lots of money were there in full force, buying attention to their lies. And it turns out the same problem that is rearing its ugly head in NJ is in play here.. Farm Bureau, the insurance company that masquerades as the Spokes MAN for all things AG..was in full form! And you can be certain that there are thousands of dollars sliding into the coffers of those AG Committee members from them as well as AQHA, and others too..
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I attended the Massachusetts Judiciary Committee Hearing, 10/5/11, on Animal Welfare, one being to ban horse slaughter in MA, S. 655. After 5 hours waiting, the horse slaughter testimony began. For some reason, first up to testify were mainly pro-slaughter, anti-HSUS. I call these, “the men in suits.” Nice shiny, gray suits. Like Armani. ( I thought they were the Boston mafia! 🙂 Anyway, these 4 men were given the most time, @ 10 minutes, and most attention by the Committee. And all they said was infuriating. More spin on the truth, manipulation…lies. These men were the Farm Bureau, head of MA. Ag Dept., two pro-slaughter horse breeders. And I believe, representatives of a slaughter plant and/or meat company. The Committee was very attentive to them, although it was obvious the Committee was clueless as to horse slaughter. However, after these men came 3 women, anti-horse slaughter: Brogan Horton, Monica Moles Webb, and another wonderful advocate whose name I did not get. They were so impressive! Calm, professional. They too had a “job” to do, for the voiceless animals, the horses. Well prepared, well-spoken, with charts and the FACTS! However, they were rushed by the Committee. But they “stayed-the-course!!” There was no input by the committee as there had been with the “Suits.” Never-the-less, they were heard! And just like in Texas, “The Advocates where there in force.” Over 100, vastly out-numbering those pro-slaughter. And they waited and waited to speak. Waited 5-8 hours to speak for 3 minutes. And rushed by the Committee. Again and again, we see the dedication, the PASSION, the perseverance of the advocates for the horses. So no matter what happens in these hearings, I always have a full heart and head held high. It IS a battle. We have been in this “fight” for years, and will never leave, until the horses are FREE. A federal ban on horse slaughter!
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Hear, Hear and Well Said Ronnie!
You\’re right of course; we will NEVER give up and because we have the strength of our convictions which come from our hearts and souls and not from our wallets, we will triumph on behalf of our priceless horses who need our help now as they have always been there to help us!
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It as expected Texas would eventually join in on the bloody trail with other states. But! Did TX NOT learn from Kaufman? One Senator on the “Senate Committee on Ag & Rural Affairs” to watch out for is a very young, SENATOR GLEN HAGER. A die-hard pro-slaughter. Still working as a rancher from 6 generations of ranchers. I have heard his reasoning for horse slaughter, and it is wacko. Like a Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)! Good info on this TX try for the killing fields on http://www.animallawcoalition.com Prayers. The burros, and now our horses !!!!!
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here we go again! s.o.b.’s. i will remind them if God blessed Texas~and the horse’s faithful service made them a state, why do this evil thing?
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There are two very important main points that pro-slaughter and those “on the fence” always spout: too many unwanted horses and sending them long distances to Mexico and Canada. Every pro-slaughter person quotes these two lies. These MUST be exposed as non-facts during this meeting. We have sent horses to Mexico and Canada long before the kill houses closed in the U.S. As far as “unwanted” horses, those found in large numbers have been found to be rejects from the slaughter houses, left by kill buyers out in the desert OR they are the product of hoarders/abusers. Slaughter has always been an option for any horses the owners want to throw out. Canada has a huge abandonment problem yet has several kill houses. There’s just no connection and that’s been proven over and over. AND, if there are so many unwanted out there, why would Wallis and her cronies want to BREED MORE for meat? No logic there! Good luck to you. Wish I were close enough to attend! Give ’em hell!!!
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I will be there to comment on the “deadly” impact that the horse slaughter facilities have on the real estate values, particularly in rural areas of our State. Please come to voice your opinion, or just support those who are testifying and speaking.
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RT
Boy they sure are trying to divide and conquer. We have a BLM meeting that same day here in Sacramento. Honestly I don’t want to be out on the road for three days. I’m getting to old. But I decided that the rally and the meeting were too important to pass up.
Wish I had the time and the means to go to the Pryors if a rally is held there but this will have to do–replacement wise.
A bigger question I have is will these people take out of state letters/petitions? Having just passed thru Texas on my way to KY and on my way home–do I have any say?
If they do open a slaughter house (barf) won’t FEDERAL tax dollars be used? If so, I would think that that would open the way for all of us to have to say.
Good ole Charlie Stenholm I wonder if a horse kicked him in the privates and that’s why he’s so pro slaughter…
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Blame.. Obama could stop Ken Salazar; trickle down effect!!!!
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Whoever said that although this issue is important to all of us anti-horse slaughter advocates, there are a lot of issues currently that are more important (mainstream issues) to the general public. I don’t call the general public “the naive, uninformed general public” to belittle them. I say that because for many, many people I speak with here in Northern Nevada, most have no idea that horse slaughter exists at all, or they think of it as old, crippled horses whos meat goes into dog food and thats it…..IOW, they have no idea that it is fine cuisene in many countries and is not primarily being fed to dogs and cats and/or poor people in third world countries. Most of them also don’t know that horse slaughter is primarily used by mass production breeders and also dink “trainers” to dispose of for FREE the excess horses they have instead of paying $200-$800 per horse for humane euthanasia and disposal of the horses body.
To inform “the naive, uninformed general public”, I make it a point to expose the racket that is horse slaughter to at least 1 person a day that clearly has no idea what is going on……9 out of 10 are appalled when they hear what the deal is. Another goal I’m working toward is affording a billboard that will have a slightly graphic photo on it (not horrendous so as to anger people, but not pretty horses either; maybe a photo of an open topped trailer like what Three Angels runs crammed full of 35-40 horses) and it will have a website address where people can read more, it will have links to YouTube videos of horse slaughter, it will have links to ariel photos of ponds full of horse blood outside a slaughterhouse, etc. The website will also discuss how people can get involved to STOP horse slaughter in its tracks from coming to our state of Nevada, and hopefully people have friends and family in other statyes where they can get involved and stop it there as well.
In an economic climate such as what we are currently living in, many people feel totally helpless to do anything about a lot of issues, however, horse slaughter is something they CAN (and I believe will) get involved in if they just knew about it. People are angry that other people run rackets to make money off of innocent animals that are NOT in our American food chain. If they just have the facts (economic, political, emotional, and ethical), then I believe “the naive, uninformed general public” for the most part will stand and fight with us on stopping horse slaughter entirely here in the US and also the shipping of our American horses across our borders for slaughter..
My husand and I with our animal sanctuary The Starlight Sanctuary are teaming up with a good friend of ours who has Siberian Tigers (only perhaps as little as 300 alive in the wild because they have been poached almost to extinction) at The S.A.B.R.E. Foundation (www.sabrefoundationinc.org) to open his sanctuary to the general public, and also by membership for additional privledges (such as being able to hold Siberian Tiger cubs, and have photos taken with “The Boys” Thor and Thunder who are the sons of Sabre who the foundation is named after). Our friend will educate people to the plight of Siberian Tigers, and we will have several of our freeze-marked formerly wild Mustang mares at the sanctuary, and we also have our Stagecoach bands of horses for tourists to see “up close and personal” (one of the band stallions walked right through our friends property the other day as they were building fences, stopped, looked at the tiger habitat, looked at the people working, looked back at the tigers lounging in the shade in their “houses”, and then calmly walked on out the other side to his waiting band of mares and babies. Sounds like he was checking it out to make sure it was safe for his wives and kids to be nearby! lol) and I can speak to people about the plight of our wild horses and burros, the issue of horse slaughter, and what they can do to help. We just had a meeting yesterday to discuss details of buying a small tour bus and/or renting tour buses to begin with, speaking with the casinos to advertise our tours, getting insurance in place, etc, but we are determined to do this because we believe this will be a way to enlighten other people who clearly don’t know about the rackets that are being run by greedy people, some of our politicians, some powerful lobbies in D.C. and many other fringe people who are picking up “beer money” by killing horses as Jerry Finch writes about.
I really believe that if many of us around the country can enlist the help of “the naive, general public” and turn them into “the informed and educated general public” on the issues of horse slaughter and also the eradication of our wild horses and burros from their lawful, native rangeland, we will gain the numbers we need to win both battles because of “strength and power in numbers”.
In this economic climate, I’ve noticed a lot of empty billboards in and around Reno, Nevada where I live, so if the same is true in other areas of the country, perhaps people can pool their little bits of money and come up with enough to get anti-horse slaughter and also pro-wild horse and burro billboards up with informational websites people can visit. Worth a try anyway………
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Hi,
As you may know, we are putting the Angel Acres Anti Horse Slaughter billboards up around the country…and from experience, I can tell you that they won’t put graphic photos up there – slighty or horrifically graphic, doesn’t matter….we’re up in 33 states and Canada and some board companies want us to “tone down” the word “slaughtering” we wouldn’t change our message.
We did tons of research before we started the campaign (over 2 years worth and enlisted professional help)…and determined pleasant image with stark wording has the most effect.
We are doing what you suggested on our website http://www.stopslaughteringus.com but if we made it to graphic – all graphic info is linked out to other sites with warnings – no one would visit. Our site is getting roughly 16,000 hits per week.
Just thought I would chime in…thanks for all you hard work in NV…my friend, Jill, has an amazing rescue out there…beautiful country!
Jo Deibel
Angel Acres Horse Haven Rescue
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You need a lot of media coverage at this meeting…LOTS of it.
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You need to get at the money BEHIND this. EXPOSE them.
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Don’t forget to bring up “Horse theft” due to slaughter:
http://www.isfoundation.com/campaign/lets-stop-horse-slaughter
And did you know that 40-50,000 horses are stolen in the USA every year? You can verify these statistics with Stolen Horse International, http://netposse.com. Did you know that the only reason the slaughter plants scan for microchips is to remove them so they do not contaminate the meat? This was testimony from plant workers.
One interesting statistic, roughly 70% of all horses that are slaughtered in the USA are quarter horses (stock-type, some with verifiable AQHA papers). This is fact based on the slaughter plants’ records. There are over 3 MILLION registered quarter horses in the USA.
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@ Laura Bell,
The person in whom you are referring is one of the leading advocates against slaughter. She is with a well known group and has worked tirelessly for the cause. Your wall of text misses our point. Not to speak for her but, we are simply pointing out that we need to do the math and see that support for slaughter it is heavy handed on one side of the political fence and mostly in red states. If we are blood thirsty for blame, we should not solely look at the president for auto signing a bill that always gets signed, (thus ignoring Blunt, Kingston, Kohl and Wallis) but, instead look at those in power wishing to kill our beloved equines for profit.The numbers do not lie. 130+ D’s in support of a complete ban vs. 23 R’s. Vote accordingly and stop being shocked when yet another big business and less regulations R is all for it.
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thank you!
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“The person to whom I’m referring” Bela? I don’t know what you are talking about regarding “she” who is anti-slaughter(?) Please enlighten me if you could because I have no idea who the “she” you are referring to is……..and yes, I’ve been fighting the good fight for over 30 years in regard to horse slaughter, so I clearly do know that it is mostly (but not all) repubs who are pro-slaughter. However, you are WRONG if you think it is mostly red states that are heavily in favor because I used to go rescue horses from the kill sale in El Monte in the mid-’70’s, and rescued a lot more through the ’80’s from a kill sale in Mira Loma, CA and also Pomona. I also knew quite a few people in CA that were slaughter dealers that I was on good terms with and who would give me horses rather than ship some of them to slaughter at the facilityin Oregon. We also have active slaughterhouses 25 and 45 minutes away from me here near Reno, NV, and they have investors that want to open slaughterhouses for horses nearby. This I heard from my neighbor and friend who is a USDA inspector and she is at work at the slaughterhouses 5 days a week.
And if you don’t like “my wall of text” and don’t gain anything from my writings, don’t read it. Its people like you who get snarky and rude that make a lot of other people (not me, because I have a big mouth too and am no shrinking violet when it comes to saying my educated opinion from having been in many sectors of the horse industry for over 40 years now) bow out of the issue rather than deal with aggressive people. And just for the record, I voted for Obama and I will be voting for him again because although he hasn’t done as much positively on the issues that are important to me as I would in a perfect world like, he will absolutely be the better choice over any republican in my opinion mostly because of the pro-horse slaughter stance many repubs take. I’m not missing the point at all because I live “the point” of the matter every day with 49 horses, 3 burros, a mule and a pet cow (and thats only the large animals–altogether, we have over 90 animals now) that my husband and I pay for OUT OF OUR OWN POCKETS (and we are not rich) everyday by working 360-sometimes every day of the year. How many horses do YOU support out of your own pocket?……just curious at this point, because talk is cheap and easy, whereas talkin’ the talk AND walkin’ the walk takes a bit more effort.
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I just have one comment: The Elected Democrats support the ban on Horse Slaughter 3-1. If you want to give this and every other issue that is against Horses and animals a boost. Vote in a Republican..where ever you are. And I certainly believe that to accuse President Obama of this problem is a lie and unseemly.
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Are those senators out of their minds or are they being bought off? Didnt they get enough the first time around? Damned stupid if you ask me.
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Former Senator Charlie Steinholm, the pro-slaughter lobbyist, Republican! There is your answer. Terri. Of course, they are bought off, and here is the main “Buyer of Slaughter Votes” He of course, works for all the ones that we know are behind this. Farm Bureau, AQHA, AVMA, ETC. Those that are going to stand up against this will be very courageous. The vast majority of elected officials in Texas are Republicans. Not only will they have to vote against the party stand; they must vote against the money.
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Polopaula,
Charlie Stenholm has never been a Republican. He is proudly a member of the Democratic party, and was even known as a member of the faction of Democrats known as the Blue-Dog Democrats known for their fiscally conservative policies.
Whether you are aware of the facts or not, does not change the facts at all. I hope those of you who want all Republicans to disappear from Congress and the Administration realize that the House Sponsor of the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act is Republican Representative Dan Burton of Indianna as is the Co-Sponsor of the Senate version of this Act, South Carolina Republican Lindsay Graham.
Laura Ball,
Your argument that President Obama has not had time to deal with the horse slaughter issue could not be more false. He is a former state Senator from Illinois. I have a friend who lived in the area of the DeKalb Illinois plant, and she said the slaughter plant filled the air with smells of death. Where would have state Senator Obama been during all the debate within the state of Illinois where the quality of life for residents who lived within miles of this plant was such a nightmare. The sight of the trucks traveling with horses loaded to go to their violent deaths.
It takes a split second when you are already versed in the issues to decide what is right and wrong. I admit that I have grown cynical, but make no mistake about this. If the President can sign play 100+ rounds of gold, that means he has time to sign his score card saying that the number of strokes he claims to have taken from the tee to the hold on the green is correct at least 100 times. He has the same amount of time to sign an executive order to stop horse slaughter and end all these law suits, stop bleeding horse advocates who are spending time and money on advocacy could be using our resources to organize more efficiently to make sure their are sufficient homes and rescues for the horses that have been displaced by the economy.
David Axelrod came to this very blog post for a time under a mysterious moniker, and he invited us to participate in the dialogue with the President about our concerns, but while the Press event took place, our concerns were not addressed wholly or in part. David Axelrod is the President’s right hand man and worked for him in the White House. The fact that David Axelrod attempted to diffuse our anger, albeit briefly, tells me that the White House heard us loud and clear. Yet they have chosen to ignore us.
President Obama is a Democrat. Ken Salazar is a Democrat. Harry Reid is a Democrat. Why do you think that all the pro-horse legislation such as ROAM has died in the Senate after being presented. There is not a snowball;s chance in South Carolina’s withering heat that any legislation for the treatment of horses is ever going to light of day in the Senate. No, my dear advocates, the President that you love so well prefers to govern through executive orders, secret international treaties that cannot be broken and whose contents remain concealed from the public. Note: he began his Presidency by saying often, “We are a nation of laws…” but how often do you hear him saying this now?
Please connect these dots, and spare me the condescending remarks about all the other meats beside horse that are packaged, but the President issued his executive order to allow illegal immigrants (I clearly understand the contributions of immigrants to our country, and I have known many immigrants in the professions as well as in the more physically demanding areas such as farm work, so this is not about immigrants) on June 15. Some believe that timing is everything.
In an article in Brownfield Agriculture Report today which includes the state of Missouri, the release stated that the President was particularly concerned about the agriculture and MEAT PACKiNG industry.
Why are we continuing to fight against horse slaughter with all the sources on the Internet including our own USDA and the Veterinarians for Equine Welfare’s own reports clearly revealing the atrocity that horse slaughter is to horses and how this cruel industry debases our common humanity? Why have the food safety issues been ignored by Congress? The answer is NOT Sue Wallis, but her employer CHARLIE STENHOLM a lobbyist for the MEAT PACKING industry. It is no accident that Representative Stenholm and his minions are trying to open a horse slaughter plant is Missouri, just as it was no accident that the nod to the MEAT PACKING industry in the Brownfield article in an area that included Missouri.
Go ahead and keep walking, stumbling around in your ideological slumber if you want. If you are determined to remain blindly uninformed of the facts when simply googling could lead you right to evidence that either supports or refutes your firmly held convictions, then go ahead. But if this administration is re-elected and things get progressively worse for our wild horses and domestic horse slaughter returns to this country, look no further than the mirror.
As RT said this is not about Right or Left but about Right and Wrong.
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Well, Hoofhugs, just WHAT is it that you expect everyone to do? I think most of us have known this was a bi-partisan issue all along.
So, spell out your strategy. What do our personal politics have to do with anything? You seem to believe it does. Okay, how! All I know is that my Tea Party Republican Representative hasn’t even told me which side he’s on, and I have been asking for YEARS.
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Suzanne,
I am sorry that I am just getting back to you on this.
What do our personal politics have to do with anything, ever? We each have to decide what is most important to us during any given election cycle. I usually make voting decisions based on what I consider the most important issue of the election. I am a guardian of a BLM mustang that I first met in 2007. I began researching wild horses and the BLM without prejudice trying to find out how to help my very traumatized wild horse. I never imagined that the journey would turn into what it has become. In 2010 I adopted a Quarab from our rescue—I had watched her progress since she came in as a two year-old.
I decided to go to IEC last year to meet and hear from the people whose names I so often encountered in my research. Much of the research I have done in the interim between IEC and now has been as a result of what I learned at IEC that raised questions that needed answers. While looking for the real reasons someone proposed HR 1996, I stumbled into Sue Wallis’s Summit of the Horse—such a cast of characters and unbelievable amount of propaganda simply challenged my comprehension. But since I viewed the Summit 11 months after it happened, I had had a chance to see what I could not believe anyone would propose already put into successful action.
For example, I read the GAO report—as a former teacher who spent a lot of time doing research and teaching students to do research, I had been absolutely dumb-founded that this report was accepted without many questions being raised. Yet, this had gone almost exactly as former Texas Representative Charlie Stenholm told the horse slaughterers it could if they would do their part. I had found lots of posts in livestock journals about HR 1996, anti-HSUS (HSUS-PETA), and I knew that the animal agriculture industry, dog breeders, etc. were working to get horse slaughter passed.
What I realized after a while is that a lot of these people like Charlie Stenholm and Frank Losey had crossed paths many times in the past. I can’t begin to go into all the details and connections and cross connections I’ve discovered among all the different players in this. I probably need to put together a Works Consulted List.
You’ve never laid eyes on me, so I would not expect you to necessarily believe me, but I will tell you this. As a teacher during the time when schools were adopting technology from the time of the DOS Boot Disk through Network and Internet connectivity, I have a huge appropriation for the fact that anything written and published electronically is out there forever once you hit send or publish. While no one may ever try to find your document, pictures, text, your digital work is out there on a super server or someone’s hard drive forever. I carefully weigh my remarks. I try to treat all people kindly and with respect, but when it comes to people who abuse our horses and want to slaughter them, I am willing to publish what I know—mostly through their own recorded remarks on video or in print.
It is my belief that President Obama has had ample opportunity to intervene on behalf of our wild horses, It is not reasonable to believe he is unaware of this problem nor is it reasonable to believe that he was not aware of Secretary Salazar’s position on wild horses and burros or Senator Reid’s. They served in the Senate together. They are all Democrats—which is only relevant because they would have caucused together. It is also likely that Charlie Stenholm read the tea leaves and may have lobbied the President regarding agricultural issues. The President did not lead the vote in the Illinois Senate against horse slaughter. One article I read said that he did not cast his vote until 500 or more other members of the state legislature indicated that they supported it. That’s bringing up the rear—
It is impossible to explain motivation. We have no way of knowing why someone does anything that they do—even those close to us. It is not possible for one person to gaze into the heart of another. We can only observe behaviors, associations, read text and while we may make sound, logical inferences based on the information we have, we cannot discount what we do not know. Knowledge is not fixed, but constantly evolving.
I plan to vote for Mitt Romney because I believe he is a good man. He has been married to the same woman for years, and they raised five sons who now have families of their own. Ann Romney’s battle with MS is an amazing story. I have known five or six people with MS over my lifetime and three of them are dead. Husbands don’t always stay when their wives are diagnosed with this disease. It is a horrible disease, and relapses can occur as a result of excessive stress. I have a similar illness, but mine is not life-threatening nor does it cause joints and other tissue to become deformed. It has profoundly changed the course of my life. Therefore, I find the attacks against Ann Romney particularly offensive. Particularly based on the Buzzfeed article which was absent most of the facts, but full of language chosen to disparage Mrs. Romney’s character.
It’s not that hard to find a few more facts about a story. Whether you trust major newspapers or not, they are generally more accurate than blogs clearly written to inflame emotions. I say generally because I have noticed that some papers are relying more on wire stories and press releases rather than sending reporters to a scene, observe, investigate, and present more than one point of view. Most of the newspapers in this country are run by people with a background in journalism.
It is hard for any of us to divorce ourselves of our biases, but I think a man whose wife’s life was healed in part through her love for horses and her passion for riding is more likely to be concerned about horse welfare issues than a man who is wiling to reveal that he ate dog meat as a child and made jokes about tasty dog meat at the National White House Correspondents dinner. Given the nature of the way American’s feel about our companion animals I found this chilling—by the way, I watched this event live. You may be able to find parts of the dinner on YouTube or some other media if you are interested. I don’t care what the President ate as a chid; I care about why he mentioned it without some acknowledgement of the aversion that American’s have for this subject.
What I suggest that we all do is try to keep an open mind and vote for people based on whatever our priorities are for this election cycle.
Beware of emotionally laden and other forms of propaganda. Search for the truth.
Pause a moment and shut out the rhetoric. Try to look at what a candidate has done in his or her life, his hobbies or interests, where she spends her free time, who she associates with, what charities she supports (if any), tithing (if you think this important). What a person does with her time and money will tell you more than the rhetoric will—but when evaluating rhetoric what is not said can be more important than what is.
Researching Charlie Stenholm and Frank Losey put me in a dark frame of mind because to make some of the connections I was able to make, I had to let myself think the way I thought they might think based on what I found evidence of through their activities and common associations. As a teacher and sojourner in life, I have tried to look for what is good in people, so looking for their dark side and finding it has been a difficult thing. Our horses are up against some well-connected and powerful people. Sue Wallis is just a clown to distract us—but, we can’t afford to ignore her either, which is aggravating.
I support Mitt Romney because he supported the Wild Horses of Corolla Protection Act. This is important to people in North Carolina. Mitt Romney’s wife loves horses. Mitt Romney has a Rocky Mountain Walking Horse for trail riding indicating that he himself enjoys riding. He is not a rancher and he is not an oil man. These are some reasons why I support Romney. After spending the last five years on equine welfare issues, I believe that Governor Romney is the candidate most likely to change the culture of Interior and stop the slaughter of US horses.
Will he do what I think he could do? There is no way to predict the future unless you believe that previous behavior is the best indicator of future behavior. The President’s behavior and choices speak for themselves. He’s had his chance.
Sincerely yours,
Christie Finn
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Sorry, but you lost me Christie when you said you’d be voting for a corporate man like Mitt Romney…..although President Obama has let us down on horse slaughter and wild horse and burro issues, so did George W. Bush….Obama was faced with signing the Federal Budget that had the horse slaughter issue thrown in at the last minute (and I think crap like that should be against the law), so since the greater majority of the American public couldn’t care less about horse slaughter and/or don’t know much about it, what is a president supposed to do when the majority will be the ones effected the most? I’m not saying I’m happy about it, however, as a practical matter, what was he supposed to do say “I know the federal budget affects a lot of you, however, 1% of American horses are going to slaughter, so I have to stop that before I work on the federal budget”? I don’t think THAT would have played well at all.
I was also getting fired up mad at Obama too, however, my husband who was a poli-sci major in college and has been VERY politically inclined since junior high school (and he’s 61 now, so involved in politics for a long time in a serious way…..and we definetely want horse slaughter stopped if for no other reason that we aren’t a non-profit yet and take care of 48 horses, all but 15 are rescues, 3 burros, a mule and a pet cow all on our own money and we are NOT rich people and work 7 days a week, 365 days a year to support over 90 animals at our rescue) pointed out that although we are feeling abandoned and/or betrayed by Obama, did I really think that a Republican and a corporatist (and many of the big breeders, those in the elite horse industry like in TB and QH racing, hunter/jumpers, dressage, reining, reined cow horse, some gaited breeds, Arabians, etc, and which I’ve been heavily involved in the horse biz as a professional trainer, judge, college course instructor, etc for going on 40 years and also was heavily involved when I was still a junior, ARE corporations and very wealthy people who write off their horse businesses and use horse slaughter as their FREE disposal system so they can keep producing 100’s individually every year and dispose of their rejects for FREE instead of having to pay $200-$1000 per horse which would stop their over-breeding in its tracks if they had to PAY) was going to do any better for our horses and slaughter and/or our wild horses and burros? In fact, check out the voting record for Republicans and Democrats on animal issues and you will find over-whelmingly that Democrats typically vote in favor of the animals over the Republicans who often vote against.
I’m also thinking that if Romney is interested in place the devastating voucher system for those on Medicare which will affect those people who are currently under 55 but will be implemented when the time comes where they are eligible for Medicare and that will be blown quickly with just ONE devastating illness or injury, why would we expect he’d do any better for animals? You also should check out the little deal of the Romneys selling a high dollar dressage horse, writing it off as a loss, and then claiming that they didn’t know the horse was drugged to the gills from wear and tear because they were just one of many owners of the horse……bull, they KNEW, and we who are in the horse industry in a professional/serious way KNOW they KNEW…..it was cheating, and selling a drugged horse, and although it happens all the time in the horse industry, they are pleading innocence when they are NOT, plain and simple.
Anyway, I could go on and on and although I agree with you on Obama being a disappointment in some respects on the horse slaughter and wild horse and burro issue, I KNOW that Romney with his connections in oil and gas and probably even mining and the cattle industry indirectly, will not be much help stopping the people who use horse slaughter as a free disposal system and also stopping the factions (corporations mostly) who want our public open range land from eradicating all of the wild horses and burros that they can…..I live out in the boonies in Nevada surrounded by BLM/public land, so I see all the changes taking place and how at the drop of a hat theres another so-called “reason” that the wild horses have to be captured again (like getting hit on the highways, however, the cattle are NEVER pulled off the range if there are cow/vehicle collisions, ever). I also live 20 minutes from TWO weekly KILL SALES in Fallon, Nevada (and I have rescued/bought many horses from those two sales and had to bid against the kill buyers to do it) and see all the breeding stock horses, young and old, and also the horses who have served their purpose to humans, are perhaps lame, blind (like the 10 year old fully shod gelding I rescued), have issues, etc, dropped off by mass production breeders, ranchers, trainers, etc who are too selfish, cheap and without a soul to PAY for humane euthanasia when they can continue to dump them for FREE and will still actually collect a hundred bucks or so for what the horses weigh…..anyway, I was tempted to vote for NO ONE in November, however, I will suck it up and vote for Obama again because I know he will do better for our animals than Romney ever will. I do truly believe that if we can get Obama in for four more years, we’ll force him to do something positive for both our domestic horses, and also the wild horses and burros………
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Laura, You are confused about the the horses. The horse that the Romney’s sold was Ann’s first horse, Super Hits. He was never going to be an investment or expected to earn money. It is Rafalca who is owned by the Romney’s, Amy Eberling, and a third party whom the Governor claimed $77,000 in passive loss for which he received $50.00 benefit in return. I talked to several people who in horse business, but do not own a horse farm. They told me that if you earn $7,000 of income in our state, you are required by law to report it. Rafalca’s blood lines trace back to two of the finest Oldenburg bloodlines in Germany, and she should be bread if for no other reaon that to keep the breed stong. But she may also win some of these events with $40,000 and $50,000 prizes. I don’t think that the Romney’s are in this to make money, because chances are that they are going to put much more into this horse than they will every see back. However, if she has a chance to win income this calendar year or the next, it makes sense that the Romney’s should claim her. Not only will they have to report whatever earnings they make from her performance and future offspring, this will also be expected from the other two owners as well. Since you are in a horse business yourself, you probably are aware of the different requirements you need to take a tax exempt status. If you have that many horses that you have rescued, you might want to see if this is any way you can become a non-profit )maybe not the entire farm, but the expenses of the horses you rescue might be written off to a degree). I’ve donated a lot of money to our local rescue and less to a couple of riding for the handicapped groups and it is deductible, but I think that we only see about 30% back—I am still making a big donating, but the tax right off helps my husband, definitely not a horse person, keep a lid on it.
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HoofHugs, I’m well aware which horse is which…..I’m also NOT going to go into the rest of your post because it is CLEAR that you know very little, if anything, about this level of the show world and some of the really unfortunate things that happen to the horses because of the people whom are involved quests for power, glory, and yes, making money (or saving it) at the expense of the horse.
I DO know that world HoofHugs because I began working/interacting in it at the age of 14 (so 40 years ago), but you seem to only know what you read and/or by talking to a few people who talk to you about “write offs”, tax deductions, tax shelters, and on and on; MY bottom line is ALWAYS for the mental and physical health of the horses, and from what I’m seeing, the Romneys are no better and no worse than the rest of the well to do people at that level of the horse world who may “love” their horses for what they can do for them in terms of making the humans look good, but otherwise, the horse is a possession to be used whatever way they want to.
As for you, perhaps you should stick with being a teacher because as a horse industry person regarding and knowing what really happens to horses when a lot of money is involved, YOU are clueless to the extreme…
HoofHugs wrote:
“Laura, You are confused about the the horses. The horse that the Romney’s sold was Ann’s first horse, Super Hits. He was never going to be an investment or expected to earn money. It is Rafalca who is owned by the Romney’s, Amy Eberling, and a third party whom the Governor claimed $77,000 in passive loss for which he received $50.00 benefit in return. I talked to several people who in horse business, but do not own a horse farm. They told me that if you earn $7,000 of income in our state, you are required by law to report it. Rafalca’s blood lines trace back to two of the finest Oldenburg bloodlines in Germany, and she should be bread if for no other reaon that to keep the breed stong. But she may also win some of these events with $40,000 and $50,000 prizes. I don’t think that the Romney’s are in this to make money, because chances are that they are going to put much more into this horse than they will every see back. “
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Laura, are you aware that your President Obama is allowing our federal lands to be sold to backers of UN Agenda 21. You think Romney is a corporate man. You have not seen anything. Who do you think T. Boone Pickens is? Who do you think George Soros is? Look up PXP. The West and your water rights are being sold right out from under you right now, but you don’t even no it. Your President wants to seize our federal lands in the name of the environment, and then sell them to very wealthy corporatists—ending our individual freedom for the common good. You won’t even be able to live on a horse farm. By the way, George Soros owns Huff Post, AOL, and Yahoo news. He is also funding Propublica through one of the groups he funds. He owns stocks in many other media. There is so much propaganda out there now, it is almost impossible to sort it our. Read Debbie Coffey’sarticles on UN Agenda 21 and the President’s Rural Council.
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Suzanne,
Sorry. I don’t know how you have communicated with your Representative. Perhaps she could let her know through her office manager that you need to know her position and will call back by such and such a date to find out her position. Then I might add that if she is not ready to inform you of her opinion at that time, then you will assume it is because she does not support a ban on the slaughter of US horses and transporting them for the purpose of slaughter.
This is a logical conclusion based on the Tea-Party’s reduction in the deficit, smaller government, stance. However, it may not apply to whether the Tea Party supports or does not support horse slaughter. Charlie Stenholm has spoken to Tea Party groups—he is going to work this issue from every possible angle including that it is a waste for the government to spend millions on feeding and houses our wild horses.
My representative is a liberal Democrat, but he has been districted out of office and is choosing not to run. I will inherit a nice guy elderly Republican with quite a bit of seniority. His staff has refused until recently to give him any communication from me at all. I am sorry to lose Representative Miller, but if Congressman Coble is open-minded having access to him might be helpful. He has worked on some horse issues for counties in our districts regarding trails and recreational issues.
Suzanne, no answer is still an answer, but I’d give her one more chance.
Sincerely,
Christie Finn
I am sorry that I am just getting back to you on this.
What do our personal politics have to do with anything, ever? We each have to decide what is most important to us during any given election cycle. I usually make voting decisions based on what I consider the most important issue of the election. I am a guardian of a BLM mustang that I first met in 2007. I began researching wild horses and the BLM without prejudice trying to find out how to help my very traumatized wild horse. I never imagined that the journey would turn into what it has become. In 2010 I adopted a Quarab from our rescue—I had watched her progress since she came in as a two year-old.
I decided to go to IEC last year to meet and hear from the people whose names I so often encountered in my research. Much of the research I have done in the interim between IEC and now has been as a result of what I learned at IEC that raised questions that needed answers. While looking for the real reasons someone proposed HR 1996, I stumbled into Sue Wallis’s Summit of the Horse—such a cast of characters and unbelievable amount of propaganda simply challenged my comprehension. But since I viewed the Summit 11 months after it happened, I had had a chance to see what I could not believe anyone would propose already put into successful action.
For example, I read the GAO report—as a former teacher who spent a lot of time doing research and teaching students to do research, I had been absolutely dumb-founded that this report was accepted without many questions being raised. Yet, this had gone almost exactly as former Texas Representative Charlie Stenholm told the horse slaughterers it could if they would do their part. I had found lots of posts in livestock journals about HR 1996, anti-HSUS (HSUS-PETA), and I knew that the animal agriculture industry, dog breeders, etc. were working to get horse slaughter passed.
What I realized after a while is that a lot of these people like Charlie Stenholm and Frank Losey had crossed paths many times in the past. I can’t begin to go into all the details and connections and cross connections I’ve discovered among all the different players in this. I probably need to put together a Works Consulted List.
You’ve never laid eyes on me, so I would not expect you to necessarily believe me, but I will tell you this. As a teacher during the time when schools were adopting technology from the time of the DOS Boot Disk through Network and Internet connectivity, I have a huge appropriation for the fact that anything written and published electronically is out there forever once you hit send or publish. While no one may ever try to find your document, pictures, text, your digital work is out there on a super server or someone’s hard drive forever. I carefully weigh my remarks. I try to treat all people kindly and with respect, but when it comes to people who abuse our horses and want to slaughter them, I am willing to publish what I know—mostly through their own recorded remarks on video or in print.
It is my belief that President Obama has had ample opportunity to intervene on behalf of our wild horses, It is not reasonable to believe he is unaware of this problem nor is it reasonable to believe that he was not aware of Secretary Salazar’s position on wild horses and burros or Senator Reid’s. They served in the Senate together. They are all Democrats—which is only relevant because they would have caucused together. It is also likely that Charlie Stenholm read the tea leaves and may have lobbied the President regarding agricultural issues. The President did not lead the vote in the Illinois Senate against horse slaughter. One article I read said that he did not cast his vote until 500 or more other members of the state legislature indicated that they supported it. That’s bringing up the rear—
It is impossible to explain motivation. We have no way of knowing why someone does anything that they do—even those close to us. It is not possible for one person to gaze into the heart of another. We can only observe behaviors, associations, read text and while we may make sound, logical inferences based on the information we have, we cannot discount what we do not know. Knowledge is not fixed, but constantly evolving.
I plan to vote for Mitt Romney because I believe he is a good man. He has been married to the same woman for years, and they raised five sons who now have families of their own. Ann Romney’s battle with MS is an amazing story. I have known five or six people with MS over my lifetime and three of them are dead. Husbands don’t always stay when their wives are diagnosed with this disease. It is a horrible disease, and relapses can occur as a result of excessive stress. I have a similar illness, but mine is not life-threatening nor does it cause joints and other tissue to become deformed. It has profoundly changed the course of my life. Therefore, I find the attacks against Ann Romney particularly offensive. Particularly based on the Buzzfeed article which was absent most of the facts, but full of language chosen to disparage Mrs. Romney’s character.
It’s not that hard to find a few more facts about a story. Whether you trust major newspapers or not, they are generally more accurate than blogs clearly written to inflame emotions. I say generally because I have noticed that some papers are relying more on wire stories and press releases rather than sending reporters to a scene, observe, investigate, and present more than one point of view. Most of the newspapers in this country are run by people with a background in journalism.
It is hard for any of us to divorce ourselves of our biases, but I think a man whose wife’s life was healed in part through her love for horses and her passion for riding is more likely to be concerned about horse welfare issues than a man who is wiling to reveal that he ate dog meat as a child and made jokes about tasty dog meat at the National White House Correspondents dinner. Given the nature of the way American’s feel about our companion animals I found this chilling—by the way, I watched this event live. You may be able to find parts of the dinner on YouTube or some other media if you are interested. I don’t care what the President ate as a chid; I care about why he mentioned it without some acknowledgement of the aversion that American’s have for this subject.
What I suggest that we all do is try to keep an open mind and vote for people based on whatever our priorities are for this election cycle.
Beware of emotionally laden and other forms of propaganda. Search for the truth.
Pause a moment and shut out the rhetoric. Try to look at what a candidate has done in his or her life, his hobbies or interests, where she spends her free time, who she associates with, what charities she supports (if any), tithing (if you think this important). What a person does with her time and money will tell you more than the rhetoric will—but when evaluating rhetoric what is not said can be more important than what is.
Researching Charlie Stenholm and Frank Losey put me in a dark frame of mind because to make some of the connections I was able to make, I had to let myself think the way I thought they might think based on what I found evidence of through their activities and common associations. As a teacher and sojourner in life, I have tried to look for what is good in people, so looking for their dark side and finding it has been a difficult thing. Our horses are up against some well-connected and powerful people. Sue Wallis is just a clown to distract us—but, we can’t afford to ignore her either, which is aggravating.
I support Mitt Romney because he supported the Wild Horses of Corolla Protection Act. This is important to people in North Carolina. Mitt Romney’s wife loves horses. Mitt Romney has a Rocky Mountain Walking Horse for trail riding indicating that he himself enjoys riding. He is not a rancher and he is not an oil man. These are some reasons why I support Romney. After spending the last five years on equine welfare issues, I believe that Governor Romney is the candidate most likely to change the culture of Interior and stop the slaughter of US horses.
Will he do what I think he could do? There is no way to predict the future unless you believe that previous behavior is the best indicator of future behavior. The President’s behavior and choices speak for themselves. He’s had his chance.
Sincerely yours,
Christie Finn
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Suzanne, if your Tea Party representative hasn’t told you which side of the slaughter issue he is on, you might check to see which committees he is on and how he has voted on issues related to the Horse Protection Act. You also might call Representative Dan Burton’s office. There are some identifiable traits of many who are pro-slaughter such as the practice of referring to it as horse processing, anti-HSUS rhetoric, perhaps how he voted on the ROAM Act (although not everyone who voted against it voted against it because they were against wild horses, but because the BLM was still in charge of managing the horses.
Suzanne, I am not going to tell anyone how to vote. I know who I am going to vote for and I know why I am going to vote for him. As the lobbyists line up with their special interests, I am watching this, too, as evidence that either confirms or refutes my decision. So far, the horse enemies are lining up to support Obama. Even Senator Reid went so far as to go to the Well of the Senate to make allegations he cannot substantiate against Governor Romney. Senator Reid does not answer to President Obama. He serves the Public Lands Council and the Nevada Cattleman’s Association, and they support the slaughter of our wild horses. David Matorkos, formerly employed by lobbyist Richard Berman, was one time HumaneWatch.org. He is currently editor in chief of The Daily Kos which currently is very pro-Obama. He is anti-animal welfare and knows how to nit-pick information that can neither be proven or disproven, and actually is not very important. Yet, somehow he sensationalizes it. Four more years of the current administration means four more years of Senator Reid and Secretary Salazar, and by 2016 they will have finished our wild horses off. This President has never had a relationship with horses and only a reluctant one with dogs. He doesn’t mind making jokes about the tastiness of dog meat as if this were funny.
The best thing that could happen to our horses is to have someone in the White House who understands and appreciates the special attributes of living horses. He owes a debt of gratitude to the horse; horses gave him his wife back. Somewhere there has got to be a special brand of gratitutde there.
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Christie ~ We ARE on the same side in our passion to end horse slaughter. We differ on what we think is the best way to do that.
Please understand that I’m neither inexperienced nor ignorant about the political process. In all honesty, I couldn’t vote for this man no matter what his stand on the one issue of horse slaughter. I’ve never been a one-issue voter, and, though I want to see horse slaughter end as much as anyone in the WORLD, I cannot allow one issue – no matter how important it is to ME – to allow me to help elect a person whose ideas – in my opinion – would be very detrimental to the citizens of Indiana as well as our country as a whole.
This is my last comment about this.
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get at the money thats being used to buy off these pro slaughter voters. we really are going to hell if slaughter is coming back and its because (lord please forgive me for saying this) ignorance is being preyed upon in this god forsaken economy and greed is in it because of the fact that no one thinks that they could ever have enough cash. they are fat lazy people who are already well off. bastards. and it is obamas fault for resparking this idea in the first place. so i am going to blame him past going purple in the face. and if i meet him? i’ll educatingly let him know just how much of a moron he is and how much i regret supporting him. that is unless he redeems himself which i have yet to see. sides that i was under the impression that texas is one of the most prosperous states in the nation. do we really have to sink so low like a whore just for a few extra bucks? and yes.. sending a horse to slaughter is like whoring our state history.
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Dovie, the Money comes from the Republican past Senator Charlie Steinholm. And the whole situation was brought on us by the congress resolution of the two Ag bills last year. Senator Blunt, Republican, Senator Kohl, Democrat, and Congressman Kingston. It in no way is President Obama’s fault. You really need to look at the actual history, because we are being faced with it again in Congress. Once we get Texas stopped, we must go back to the Congress and make certain that horse Slaughter is not sneaked back into the Ag Bill. Please do your part, and try to oppose horse slaughter where it counts.
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Yes, Obama screwed up, but its not a bunch different than George W. signing thru the Burns Amendment that sent many, many wild horses to slaughter because their federal protection was taken away. And if anyone thinks it will be different with a big business, corporatist as president, then they need to study Romneys past history and realize that horse slaughter is nothing more than business and a FREE disposal system for the usually very well-to-do (they have to be well off to afford to have the horse facilities and maintain breeding stock in those numbers, horses in training, etc) mass production breeders and the powerful trainers who mostly sold their souls and any love they may have had for horses a long time ago for the sake of making money, gaining celebrity and rubbing elbows with the rich and powerful which equals status–THAT is very enticing to many, many people.
I am entirely convinced that the people we need to inform are the regular, suburban and city people whom quite frankly usually have either no idea, or perhaps a glimmer of an idea of what horse slaughter currently is about. I’m around some people out here in the rural areas who know about horse slaughter and are either staunchly for or against it, however, many people that I speak with that live in the suburban or city areas of Northern Nevada and in Southern California have either NO CLUE that horse slaughter exists, or they think horses are slaughtered for dog food, zoo animal food (and our friend with the Siberian Tigers would NEVER feed his tigers horse meat not only because he used to be “into” horses and showing hunter/jumpers, he loves horses, but he would also never feed his tigers tainted horse meat either and take the chance that he poisons his tigers whom are an endangered species and also are worth a lot of money too), or because bunches and bunches of “backyard” horse owners can’t afford humane euthanasia. When I inform them that its mostly the mass production “foal mill” breeders, the futurity trainers, the kill buyers and slaughter dealers, the slaughterhouse owners, and the restaurants in foreign countries whom benefit the most monetarily from horse slaughter, and also that horse meat sells for top dollar and does NOT go to feed the poor and hungry people in third world countries, they are usually appalled…..they truly had no idea about horse slaughter and the real nature of the racket thats being run.
If we can inform “the naive, uninformed general public” about the predatory racket thats being run even though 80% of the public is against horse slaughter (and this is in polls where a lot of people think its disgusting even though they don’t know the half of what really goes on), then I believe we’d get more people on-board who would pressure their elected officials to vote against horse slaughter every time or risk not being re-elected….billboards, tv and radio ads, advertisements in magazines such as People, US magazine, other mainstream magazines, and then the magazines that celebrities read…..try to target the media that regular, every day, suburban and city dwellers watch and read, and I believe we’d pick up very valuable allies, and they’d also be in numbers too big to ignore once they started rallying on behalf of the horses.
I believe we could mow down our opposition just by sheer numbers because there are only so many rich people and people who benefit from horse slaughter, but there are A LOT more of us who don’t benefit one iota, and once educated on the horrendous nature of horse slaughter, many will be devoted to having control over something in a world that seems out of our control in many areas, and will work toward banning horse slaughter entirely.
We all are so involved in this issue that I think sometimes we lose sight of the fact that a lot of people really have no clue about horse slaughter, but would get involved in helping to get it banned once they do know.
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Maybe it was a sub-conscious slip, but in the comment above gold should have been golf.
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Hoofhugs ~ I still see this as a bi-partisan issue. But, if you notice, far more Dems than Reps have co-sponsored both S1176 and HR2966. George Bush signed off on a budget that had the Burns Amendment slipped onto the end of it. Obama signed a budget that stripped out the defunding language at the very end, and he signed it at the last minute to avert a government shutdown. He also signed it electronically, so it’s very unlikely that he had seen the “amended” version.
I asked to spell out your strategy that you wanted us to follow. Vote for Romney? THAT’S your strategy? If not, correct me, but I sure don’t see anything else…
As for my Rep. – I’ve written, faxed, emailed, called. HIM. Nothing but canned responses. But, since I’ve disagreed with every vote he’s done so far, I don’t expect much. I don’t think this issue is on his radar. Since it would mean LESS taxes, you would think a Tea Partyer would at least consider it. That would be the ONLY reason I’d vote for him, but he hasn’t co-sponsored HR2966 even thought I’ve asked him to at least a dozen times with supporting docs attached. As far as I know, he hasn’t read ANY of it. I didn’t help vote him in, and unless I can get something definitive out of him – and soon – I WILL help vote him out.
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The cry for less govt, states rights, and individual freedoms plays right into the pro-slaughter agenda. We want this banned at the federal level so we won’t have to fight battles in every state, right?? But our Congress is full of reps happy to strip regulations from the books because big govt and those burdensome laws and regs must be stopped – isn’t that what I keep hearing everyone shouting about? But here we are asking for some heavy-handed govt regulation… Do you think city or state govts can be trusted to stop all slaughter plants everywhere? If we don’t want our neighbors in the next town to have the freedom to set up a horse slaughter plant, we need to admit that we want, even need regulations. If you don’t want Slaughterhouse Sue setting up shop a few miles down the road, it might be time to stop the don’t tread on me rants. We’ve done our best to define all federal regulations as big bad govt which is another reason it’s hypocritical and pointless to blame Obama. None of our presidents has pushed to end horse slaughter. We need to start telling state and federal govt that we want regulations to protect horses from slaughterhouses and from the greedy orgs that want to profit from overbreeding instead of protecting the animals that serve them.
Exposing and finding ways to punish those like Stenholm, Blunt and Kohl who sell their votes to special interests would be nice too.
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Yes, and if we plan to continue slaughtering horses after July of 2013, we will HAVE to implement a passport – type traceability system. It will cost millions of tax dollars on top of the millions per year to inspect any plants they allow to open here.
Aren’t these Republicans all for cutting taxes? That’s their battle cry, yet I can’t even get a response from ANY of them – Rep. and two Senators – even though I’ve been leaning heavily on the issue of taxing Americans to subsidize an industry that 80% of them hate.
The whole thing makes NO sense at all, and I can’t understand WHY Animal Ag can’t see that they are shooting themselves in the foot by openly backing the sale of unregulated, non-food animals that are KNOWN to have toxic ingredients in their meds and other widely used products.
Total insanity!
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I sure wish I could be there! What about a pile of letters to hand to them? I know the three of you will represent our side perfectly you always do, but it seems like the pros come in force numbers! Go get em y’all.
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I have to say that I dont think this is a “red” or “blue” thing – it seems to be throughout the whole political body – I supported Obama the last election – and probably will this time. Mainly because Romney doesnt seem too concerned with the so-called “little people” (as in anyone who doesnt have the money he does) but also he doesnt strike me as someone who would be all that concerned about our horses – wild or otherwise! Thinking that he would care because his wife is involved somewhat with horses doesnt sound all that likely.
I realize most of you who comment here have been more involved with the horse slaughter mess longer than I have – and have been doing much more for which I am grateful.
I wish I had smartened up a long time ago – when I was younger & more able to do something to help.
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I look forward to the day when I don’t have to punch a time card, and I can physically join the advocates. Can’t get to Austin this week, but did speak to my State Senator. How I got him on the line, I’ll never know and it will probably never happen again. Funny thing, he sounded so surprised when I casually mentioned that 80% of Americans do not want horse slaughter. Where the heck has he been? Oh, yeah, out with his fracking buddies.
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Hoofhugs? Did I read that correctly? David Axelrod was here? On this blog?
I just read a quote, somehwere, about “he who refuses to listen”.
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Maggie, YOUR ARE HERE…NOW! That’s what matters. NOW, at this time in history, is more important than most of us realize. Youth is for growing and learning. The later years are for guiding and teaching. You are here for a reason.
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The President know Right from Wrong. He, too, will have to make a choice as to which path he follows. For each of us, on our very last day on the Earth, that’s all we will take with us.
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To all the Texans and Surrounding Neighbors: Everyone who can possibly be present NEEDS TO BE THERE. We experienced the same thing in Illinois and I know Paula Bacon had her fill while she fought them years ago. They all bring their slime ball aquaintances and so called professional
opinions..Its a bunch of b__ sh____. If you live in Texas hang in there and make your voices known because this is the only way they can be stopped.
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Good luck at stopping this abomination, RT!
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More from Texas:
Texas Updates Piroplasmosis Rules
http://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/sos/PROPOSED/4.AGRICULTURE.html#103
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I saw that, Louie. I wonder if the Texas Ag committee members understand that the killers do not have legitimate Coggins papers. That if the horses come down with strangles, they just pump ’em full of Pen-G and keep on. These guys are exposing Texas horses to who knows what. Or would these pols not even care?
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Louis Cocroft: if he knows right from wrong why was the bill signed nov 2011? presidency is losing its backbone. Its like the news. it’s all about approval ratings and popularity.
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I said I wouldn’t repeat this again, but I can’t help myself. Dovie – What Obama signed was the Federal Budget. Okay? He probably didn’t even know what had been tacked on there at the last minute, but, even if he did, you can’t shut down the entire government over an issue most people are not even aware of! It still had to pass both houses of Congress before it got to his desk. What about those in the House and Senate who passed it to him? Why don’t you tee off on them. Did you know that some anti-slaughter Reps and Senators voted for it because they felt they could not shut down the government over this issue – as important as it is to US, they just can’t DO that..
Let’s have a little reality on this issue, please!
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is romney pro? or anti abortiom? MarieG? (off topic i know.. but this seems to have swayed to veering off anyway)
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Dovie, my comment about knowing right from wrong was my way of saying that I’m not giving any of them any slack. When they don’t do the right thing, there is no excuse.
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course their isn’t any excuse. as my mother used to say. the only buts are the ones ya kick . If anyone can send me statistics, concerning horse slaughter back even when it was illegal i’d appreciate it. i believe that includes the slaughter in japan and canada and mexico… i’d like names of the race horses that met the unfortunate if possible. and i’ll start a site and link this page to it. E-mail: Dovie_Hahn@Yahoo.com . just use straight from the the horses heart in the subject 🙂
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Live senate streaming broadcaste Tuesday, !PM CST: http://www.senate.state.tx.us/bin/live.php
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Has this group been contacted?
TEXAS HUMANE LEGISLATION NETWORK
http://www.thln.org/index.cfm?pageID=A9945380-3048-7B4D-7BA1733614C44224
Horse Slaughter is a Betrayal of Our Equine Companions
Slaughter used as a means to “recycle” horses for cash
THLN, with the help of other animal protection groups, horse groups and fellow Texans who agree that we owe every horse a humane life and death, have worked together since 2002 to stop the legalization of horse slaughter in Texas.
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I haven’t had time to read every comment, but I hope that everyone will read my cousin’s website http://www.kaufmanzoning.net. Mary Nash literally lived next door to Dallas Crown in Kaufman, Texas. My mom’s family grew up in Kaufman. It was one of those cute, quaint East Texas towns that felt like you lived in Mayberry RFD and expected Barney Fife to be walking around the corner. Then Dallas Crown brought in a horse slaughter plant with promises of new jobs, tax revenues, improved parks, etc. What happened was that DC ruined Kaufman with toxic pollution, the gagging stench of rotting horses, entrails, blood. They couldn’t figure out how to dispose of all that blood, so they power washed it down the sewer and one day the good people of Kaufman turned on their faucets and horse blood flowed!! Crime rose due to the fact the the plant conditions are so harsh that the only people they can hire are ex-cons and illegal immigrants. My fight against these plants are emotional – I’ve ridden, showed and loved horses all my life and would never send a horse to a slaughter plant. Government officials don’t always respond to emotional arguments, but no one can argue the facts!! Another GREAT article is from Forbes Magazine where they interviewed Paula Bacon, ex-Mayor of Kaufman, Texas (who will be speaking tomorrow) – check this out also http://www.forbes.com/sites/vickeryeckhoff/2012/01/10/texas-mayor-paula-bacon-kicks-some-tail/
and
kaufmanzoning.net
Thank you!!
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ugh… i do NOT wish to wake up one morning turn on my water and have a bathtub filled with horse blood.. =_= nor do i want it on my plate or the scent of rotting horses in my air.. Nor do i wish to see healthy horses die because no one wants to adopt them off as a pet to a family whom wishes to own one. the fact that it’s a method used to recycle unwanted horses for cash makes me very ill to my stomach and it makes me lose my appetite to eat anything. ever. Are the vegetarians even P.O’d about this? because guess what.. it’ll affect them too..
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Humane euthanasia for killing horses is appropriate when needed. The human race needs to mature and not allow the inhumane slaughter of horses.
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I feel what is needed to get attention from pols is a national organization encompassing as many rescues and equine welfare orgs as possible. To be able to concentrate all efforts aimed at HR2966 and S1176 with a voting bloc. Besides money, pols respond to votes, especially if it may affect their political career. What is needed is organization on a national level, like the NRA. If 80 percent of Americans are against slaughter, then mobilization of that number will create a voting bloc that pols will take notice of. Now, it is a fractured group of individuals and rescues that has a bark, but no bite.Think about it. See how powerful the NRA is, dictating to congress what it wants and gets it. This could be the equine protectors power as well.
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I feel what is needed is a national orgnization that encompasses rescues and equine welfare orgs and individuals who hate how this issue is ignored by pols. If we could get organized, as 80 percent of Americans polled are against slaughter, like the NRA is, we could get the attention of politicians. Just as money is important to pols, votes are more important because votes affect their political careers. Equine welfare advocates need to mobilize under a single umbrella to gain national attention. Look at the NRA. That org dictates to congress what it wants or doesn’t want and gets it. We are too fractured and incohesive, so noone pays attention because we are not considered a voting bloc. Equine welfare advocates need lobbyists to fight for them. Also money, which in any welfare organization is in short supply. Surely their is an Edelson out their that will help.
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Sorry about the double comment. Didn’t show up fast enough the first time.
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