A LITTLE RANTING

Here in good 'ol North Dakota our winter is finally setting in. We are getting snowfall and it's almost inhumanely cold outside. Watching the snow gathering on the ground, it has put me in the Christmas mood even though Thanksgiving hasn't come and gone yet. So, because of the snow (and my festive mood) my girls and I have decided to put up the Christmas tree. Because of my decision, ost of my friends and either called me a nerd or crazy, but I don't care.

Another thought crossed my mind after I decided to put up the Christmas tree. How come Christmas trees and cats cannot get along? I have two cats and while our short-haired calico cat never bothers the tree and sleeps under it upon the tree skirt, but our stupid Siamese mix with a severe learning disability; he cannot be in the living room alone with the tree for three minutes before he tries to climb up the steel base and rip every ornament off with wicked speed and precision. By the time this Christmas season is over with, I will only have two ornaments to pack and put away with the tree...that is if the tree makes it through the wrath of the Siamese cat.

Something that has started getting to me is how businesses dislike the use of the word "Christmas" and prefer Holiday. We need to be more accepting of national (and international) holidays and use the correct terms. If I cannot say "Merry Christmas" I do not want to hear words like Kwanzaa or Cinco de Mayo. It really pisses me off when I see the super markets with printed adds and banners inside the stors for international holidays that scream "LET US HELP FOR CINCO DE MAYO", yet when Christmas rolls around the banners days "HAPPY HOLIDAYS".

While I am at it, I also could go on about the law that past in Florida where it is now against the law to raise or kill horses for their meat. I am a horse owner and I love them. But Florida, do you realize what you have done? You killed your horse market and all those race horses and all the breeding stock that you fancy just depreciated vastly. I eat beef, chicken, pork, and deer. And who am I to tell someone what kind of meat they can eat. Just because France eats horse, doesn't mean I am going to judge them since I eat meat like no one's business. Now, this doesn't mean I am going to slaughter my horses and eat them. God No. I wouldn't dream of it. You have to keep in check of animal welfare. When animals get old and sickly and it has been determined that the horses life will not flourish, the appropriate thing is to put them down. If you put them down, why contribute it to a market? If there is no market for the animal, there will be no sales. If there is no sales for the animal, there is no value. Without value people will not want to even consider owning this animal. Without some profit people will not have the money or means to put a sick animal down because the meager price of the animal does not justify the cost of doing so. There will be a mass pandemic of mangy, sickly, malnourished animals that people cannot afford to take care of nor would some even have the money to give the horse the vet care it would need and it wouldn't surprise me if people started shooting them because they cannot sell or take care of the animal. People will stop purchasing horses because it will cost more to own and take care of the animal then the worth of the animal itself. PETA's solution is to try to rescue them or just set them free. Set them free? All the wild horses would take over the plains and prairie grasses and their populations would be worse then the hundreds of deer that are already a pain in the ass. I say if you want to eat it, go for it. But it doesn't mean that I am going to try it. I love my horses, but they have a purpose. And if it ever happens that one of my horses should become injured or sick, I will do the appropriate thing whatever it may be. I have already sold one horse last winter because the vet care it was going to take to make the horses life comfortable was something I definately couldn't afford so I was forced to find her a home that could provide good care. If I couldn't do that, and the horse became uncomfortable and started suffering my only choice would have been to put her down. Anyway, if other states follow through with what Florida has done, I worry about the welfare of the equine.

One last thought on the whole thing....how does PETA and all the other animal lovers out there
think the super markets get their meat? Without the processing of animals you wouldn't have hamburger, hams, steak, fried chicken, and even fish! You cannot get the meat without killing the animal. I'm just sayin.

Phew!! I feel better now that's all out. I don't mean to offend or make anyone upset. But all sides need to be viewed here. I don't want any hater comments or anything like that. I am not trying to get the world to look at it my way. It's just my personal opinion and only that. I'm an animal lover, but I do understand that all things have their place.