Letters To The Editor
Rodeo Is Humane And Safe Family Fun
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
I want to correct misinformation contained in the recent letter from Correspondent of the Day Marcia L. Balkan, "Rodeos Aren't Fun, They Are Torture."No caustic ointment is applied to steers' or calves' genitals. The flank strap described by Balkan is indeed a factor in the animals' behavior, but it certainly should not be in contact with the animals' genitals. The animal presumably regards the strap in the same way an unbroken horse would regard a saddle or an untrained dog regards a collar -- as a foreign, uncomfortable, and unwelcome object that it desires to be rid of at the earliest opportunity. Thus the steer resists the strap in the only way it knows, running and bucking.
As to shock prods and tail-twisting, both methods are used on farms across the country in order to move cattle. Most cattle outweigh humans by a considerable amount and are not among the more intelligent or compliant animals. Some type of persuasion is necessary to move them, and these methods are the least likely to do lasting harm to either the cattle or the humans.
The Professional Rodeo Cowboys' Association (PRCA) states on its Web site that at its events, flank straps are lined with neoprene and/or fleece, a veterinarian is in attendance, any spurs must be dull, and electric prods may be used only on certain areas of the animals' bodies and/or in certain parts of process (such as the chutes). The site quotes an Arizona equine veterinarian as stating, in "my professional opinion, rodeo remains a healthy, humane, family-oriented sport.
A typical rodeo is no more torture than the process by which humans have for centuries trained dogs, horses, and many other animals to do their will and serve their purposes.
M.G. Henkle. Richmond.
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A taxpayer’s stimulus package
Washington politicians, CNN, Fox News, the MSM – heck, Larry the Cable Guy for all I know – all seem terribly distraught over the right kind of stimulus package to get our economy out of the slump that Washing created. Chances are, if you’re like me, you pay your taxes and expect things to move along without too much trouble. Now, my 401k has lost about half its value, my investments are tumbling and my retirement date seems further and further away.
So here’s my suggestion. Cut my taxes. Cut everybody’s taxes. Cut taxes for businesses large and small alike, because businesses hire people and put them to work. Cut taxes for families so they can pay their bills, shop for their kids, get the car fixed (or buy a new one), support their churches and PTA’s, or whatever. Cut taxes on food and medicine and hospital care, so people can afford to eat or get the medicine they need to sustain some quality of life. Cut taxes for oil companies so they can drill more (and drill here) and pass their savings on to the customer. Cut taxes on manufacturers so they can build more stuff, hire more workers and pass their savings on to the customer, too. Cut taxes on the hourly worker. And eliminate all taxes on all hours worked over 40 per week. Just think how productive folks would be if they knew their overtime hours were untaxed. Economic slump? Gone.
An amazing thing happens when people are allowed control of their own money. They spend or invest it in ways that are best for them, but they don’t hide it under a mattress. As long as money is circulating through the economy, tax revenue is generated. Sales taxes, taxes on profit, taxes on investments. Uncle Sugar still gets his cut, Barney Frank still gets his annual pay raise and social programs are still supported when income earners are allowed to manage their own financial affairs. Who knows, with more cash available in the economy we might not need so many government-sanctioned taxpayer-funded social programs.
Like that guy in the TV commercial says, “It’s your money.” No one knows how to spend your money for your benefit better than you do, and nobody in Washington knows what it means to earn a day’s pay. Our Dear Elected Leaders haven’t done such a great job with the money they’ve taken from us. Let us keep more of it and see what happens.
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