Appalachian Studies

I thought this photo was funny. My youngest daughter, Christine, is a student at Berea College, majoring in History and minoring in Appalachian Studies. I am always pronouncing Appalachian wrong, so this sums it up just perfect!

Call to Arms Against Horse Slaughter Houses

I am reprinting this for my friend, the Catfish Queen. It is a call to arms about the slaughter of horses for human consumption. Here is her article:

This Is Urgent - Horse Slaughterhouses Could Be Up And Running In Less Than A Month!

To anyone who reads my Hubs with any regularity, let me offer a preemptive apology. This one will most likely contain typos and grammar errors and not meet my usual standards, but this heinous information needs to be publicized as quickly as possible.

Without fanfare and under the guise of balancing the budget, Congress has made it profitable to butcher our horses. Within the month, horse slaughterhouses could be up and running across the United States. Tucked into the bill that kept the government running through December was a repeal of a 5 year funding ban for horsemeat inspections.

The USDA is the agency that would oversee the inspections, just as they do for meat, dairy, vegetables, etc. While the bill does not give the USDA additional funds, it is now within the agency's discretion to cut funding from other programs to cover the estimated $3 to $5 million dollars that would be required to run the inspection program. In other words, they'll rob Peter to pay Paul, funneling money that should be used to keep our food safe into this atrocity.

Lifting this ban opens the door to soulless opportunists who would line their pockets with money made by butchering horses. They will tell you that it's more humane than shipping the horses to Canada. They will tell you that it's a humane alternative, that the horses would be abused or starved otherwise. They will tell you that it's only the old, sick or un-trainable horses that will be slaughtered. They lie. Buyers of horse meat want only "prime cuts". They will not buy diseased carcasses for human consumption. This ban will allow young, healthy horses to be butchered by the thousands.

Here's what Dave Duquette, president of a pro-slaughter group called United Horsemen (irony, anyone?) bragged to CBS News - "I have personally probably five to 10 investors that I could call right now if I had a plant ready to go," said Duquette, who lives in Hermiston, Ore. He added, "If one plant came open in two weeks, I'd have enough money to fund it. I've got people who will put up $100,000." He's practically salivating about his share of the profits.

If any of y'all are from Wyoming, I urge you to contact Sue Wallis, a state lawmaker and, coincidentally I'm sure, the vice president of United Horsemen. Here's what Cruella, I mean Sue..had to say about the matter - "The federal ban devastated "an entire sector of animal agriculture for purely sentimental and romantic notions," she said. She's about to find out just how sentimental and romantic we are when our horses are threatened by people who only see dollar signs.

I'm a Kentucky girl, and we're proud of our horses and our whiskey. We were sickened to find out in 2002 that Ferdinand, the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner, had been butchered after being sold to a Japanese racing stable and shipped to Japan. This magnificent stallion, who had made his owners tons of money and had given excitement and enjoyment to legions of racing fans was butchered for DOG FOOD. Was he old, sick, or un-trainable? No. He simply was not profitable any more.

I'm begging all of you who read this to contact your state lawmakers and raise absolute teetotal hell. Tell everyone you know, and tell them to tell everyone they know. This ban was lifted deviously, and Congress thought they could get by with it. Please help me prove them wrong. I guess I could have included some video of horses being slaughtered to make this more incendiary, but I have faith, based on what I've seen on these pages, that a sincere plea will be enough. Please, please help. This has got to be stopped, and we don't have much time.

I've listed some relevant links below, and I'm betting that being the intelligent, creative and compassionate people I know y'all to be, you'll find more.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Horses could soon be slaughtered for meat in US - CBS News
Horses could soon be slaughtered for meat in US


Death of a Derby Winner: Slaughterhouse Likely Fate for Ferdinand | BloodHorse.com
Ferdinand, the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner who went on to capture the following year's Horse of the Year title with a dramatic victory over 1987 Derby hero Alysheba in the Breeders' Cup Classic, is dead. The Blood-Horse has learned the big chestnut...

Indyarocks Videos - Rescued from Slaughter Mare and Foal
Rescued from Slaughter Mare and Foal. This mare was rescued from slaughter. It is NOT the sick and elderly that are sent to slaughter! Find this video and other related videos at Indyarocks.

Why healthy foals - some just a day old - are being killed across Britain...
Graceful and sleek, the beautiful bay racehorse was used to the thunder of applause as she swept past the grandstand - not the sound of a rifle.

These Links Will Show You How Your Lawmakers Voted And How To Contact Them. Please Make Some Noise, Folks!
•GovTrack: Senate Vote on Conference Report: H.R. 2112: Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropria


GovTrack: House Vote on Conference Report: H.R. 2112: Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriat

Contacting the Congress: A Citizen's Congressional Directory

Louisville Poet Nominated for National Pushcart Prize in Poetry

My friend and Kentucky author - Sheri Wright - has been nominated for a national Pushcart Prize in Poetry: 

Local poet, Sheri Wright in the running for prestigious prize

 LOUISVILLE, Ky., ( December 6, 2011) – Sheri L. Wright was nominated for the Pushcart Prize by Journey MacAndrew’s, the editor of The Single Hound for her poem The Tenants of Central Park, published August 2011 as part of the "Poet of the Month" selections. 

Not since 2002, has a Louisville poet won the national Pushcart Prize for Poetry. Sheri L. Wright, author of five books of poetry, is the host of a literary radio show From the Inkwell. Wright hopes to break the lull with her nomination. When asked about this prestigious nomination Ms. Wright said, “I credit my success to a variety of writer's critique groups, like the Green River Writers, and to individual poets. I also worked with acting and voice coaches to improve my reading.” She believes that this formula helped her to learn her craft.

Ms. Wright also attributes her achievements to learning to get out of her own way, and to stop over-thinking the creative process. Wright is committed to her art and engages in the creative process daily, by writing, editing her work, or reading other poets and writers.

Wright's newest book of poetry, The Slow Talk of Stones, was released this year and has received many favorable reviews in regional blogs and newspapers, including The Courier-Journal and Lexington's Herald-Examiner.

Currently, Wright seeks ways to help other writers in the region find voice on her literary radio show, From the Inkwell, which is a live-streaming broadcast aired on Saturdays at 1:00 p.m., on http://www.cescenthillradio.com/, a non-profit station in Louisville, KY. Sheri also founded and hosts the Stone Soup Poetry Series, held the last Sunday of every month at The Bard's Town, restaurant, theatre and lounge located at 1801 Bardstown Road. Ms. Wright features poets and musicians. She feels that collaboration between artists of all mediums is not only fun, but key to supporting one another.

To purchase Wright's books, schedule a reading, workshop or editing services, please visit http://www.scribblingsandsuch.com/.