WELL, IT'S GOOD TO SEE THEY FIXED THAT INJUSTICE
Admissions of "secret," overseas prisons; worrisome economic news; an Administration accusing one-and-all of anti-Americanism. But fear not, my fellow Americans! Your Congress is on the job:Moved by appeals to protect the noble horse, the U.S. House (of Representatives) voted on Thursday to ban the slaughter of horses for food, potentially saving 90,000 animals a year from being served as a delicacy to diners overseas.That's right, according to Reuters, "Lawmakers passed the bill 263-146 over the opposition of farm and meat industry groups as well as the U.S. Agriculture Department." We're all gonna be ok now. Osama bin who? Who cares, at least Trigger's safe.
Here with a selection of actual quotations, made by actual members of Congress, as written up in the Reuter's piece:
Kentucky Democrat Ed Whitfield: "Horses have never been part of the food chain. Horses are not like cattle."Kentucky Democrats wondering where your elected officials were these past two years as the Administration rode roughshod over your Constitution, ask no more! And New York Democrats, put your pride away. It's happening here too:
Bill sponsor John Sweeney, New York Democrat: "This is a piece of legislation that is long overdue."Lest you Republicans think your Washington favorites are immune to the horsemeat as pork provisions, re-read those numbers and weep: 263. Ain't that many Dems in the House.
But finally, because you had to know it was coming, the most predictable of all forms of propagandistic appeals to the heart, when the brain knows it's being peddled a stinking pile:
West Virginia Democrat Nick Rahall, attacking those who opposed the legislation: "The concept is repugnant to most Americans. Explain this to your children."Elected officials do nothing while the Chief Executive eviscerates the Constitution, and sends the nation hurtling towards bankruptcy. But at least they're thinking of the children.
--------------------------------------------
Update -- 10:11 PM, EDT: As pointed out by commenter "JP," NY Congressman John Sweeney is, indeed, a Republican. I relayed incorrect information given in the article I linked to, but it's on me when the facts are wrong.
My bad. Apologies. And thanks to JP.
posted by Mike at 5:12 PM
13 Comments:
Kentucky Democrat Ed Whitfield: "Horses have never been part of the food chain. Horses are not like cattle."
After millions of years of evolution, nothing has ever eaten a horse?
If they aren't part of the food chain, then why do we need legislation to keep them from being eaten?
Weas! Weas!!!
Evolution . . . your elected officials.
And you seek a connection?
One thing John Sweeney is a Repbulican from upstate. He was just protecting himself from being slaughtered for food, being that he is a horses ass and people might get confused.
JP-
I take it you're one of his constituents?
I'll tell you this: he's a horses ass for facilitating a factual error on my part.
I blame him entirely.
Mike,
Thankfully I don't live in this clowns district, although I live on Staten Island in a district of another Bush lackey Vito Fossella. I just happened to remember that Sweeney was one of Tom Delay henchmen in the house.
I've seen horse carcasses used as bait for great white sharks.
Morning:
To anyone not born and raised in the States, this is another one of those crazy American fixations with stuff unimportant to anybody else in the whole world. Some examples:
- Americans and boobs. A woman's tits seem to rank up there with WMDs in American imagination. Europeans were in stitches over the Janet Jackson brouhaha, completely unable to even start understanding self-flagellation over a 40-year old tittie.
- Americans and guns. 'nuff said about this one. Civilized people world round scratch their heads in amazement at the NRA, Second Amendment interpretations, and the unwilligness of Americans to do away with a model of social conflict resolution that leaves plenty people dead precisely because they have the cute little hole-punchers readily available.
- Americans and religion. Standing alone among the great post-industrial powers is the US of A, the only country where a candidate to the US Senate can firmly proclaim that God elects this country's leaders. Need I say anymore?
And now it's Americans and horses. Horseflesh has been a staple of Asian, European, and Latin American diet forever. It's been pretty much in the food chain forever. But only exceptionalist America takes a stand to protect people against eating the perfectly good flesh of an otherwise perfectly tasty herbivore.
Go f**ing figure!
Cheers,
DED-
I've seen horse carcasses used as bait for great white sharks.
But have you seen them used to bait stingrays?
{Zap!}
Watch out for that lightning bolt!
Jorge-
The question that needs asking: Have you tried horse meat? How's it taste?
My unusual meat consumption's been limited to venison & bison. Which were fine. I have a friend who's eaten ostrich, rabbit, and I think alligator.
He liked the ostrich & the rabbit; the gator not so much.
My Korean-born wife never indulged in dog, but I think one of her uncles may have. She's repulsed by the whole concept.
Your review of horsemeat is requested (assuming you've eaten it, that is).
Well, since we're all going to discuss the "exotic" meats we've dined on....
Buffalo, ostrich, venison, raccoon. All four of them were good. The raccoon tasted like chicken. The ostrich was like filet mignon (but obviously leaner). Buffalo is close enough to cow to taste like it (but leaner and cleaner). Venison was unique.
Racoon???
Was this a hunting dinner, or a game-themed restaurant dinner?
Or some third option I haven't foreseen?
Now that I think of it, some guys from my dorm freshman year shot a squirrel and ate it. I was appalled.
Mike:
The meat is darker, tougher, stringier, which makes the cooking process more complicated. Normally you will not enjoy a horse steak the way you enjoy beefsteak because of those qualities, the meat requires a lot of tenderizing. It also has a slightly different taste, hard to place. Tastes like horse, I guess.
As to exotic things I've eaten (aside from Flika): opposum, tepezcuintle (a Central American rodent), iguana, moray eel, alligator, turtle.
Yikes!
That's a rogue's gallery of, shall we say, unpalatable-sounding morsels.
I'm not thinking of opposum as delicious, but what do I know?
A third option Mike. A Chinese guy, fresh off the boat, brought some into work years ago. I merely ate the portion he offered to me (probably for being friendly enough to eat lunch with him). I remember him being amazed that a food animal was brave enough to come up to his house.
Post a Comment
<< Home