There is a whole host of some odd, interesting, or random stories of interest in Montana this week.
First, I just came across this story at Bloomberg.com as Tobin Harshaw writes an editorial headlined, “Wild Horses, We’ll Eat Them Someday.”
Here’s an excerpt:
Opponents say that butchering horses is worse for the environment than killing cows, with more offal and blood runoff. That may be true, but it seems manageable through engineering. Another common argument against human consumption is that companion and farm horses can be as doped up as Major League outfielders: “There are few regulations on the drugs given to horses,” says Senator Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat, “and we cannot risk introducing dangerously toxic meat into our food supply.”
That would seem the perfect argument for shifting the industry toward the wild horse population, which isn’t likely getting juiced up while foraging on public lands. Lifting the bans on slaughtering wild mustangs and introducing them into a well-supervised and humane slaughter program seems the logical way to stop the population explosion and ease the BLM’s cash crunch. Would you rather have these creatures overwhelming their ecosystem and dying of starvation, or served as tartare with a quail egg at your corner brasserie?
Harshaw linked to this report authored by Robert A. Garrott of the University of Montana:
Although horses evolved in North America, they went extinct 10 to 12 thousand years ago. Spanish conquistadors returned domestic horses to the continent in the mid-1500s, and since then, domestic horses have escaped captivity and also were purposefully released onto western rangelands where they thrive today. Most free-roaming horse populations are managed primarily by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of the U.S. Department of the Interior
Pic of the Week
Behold ANTLER MAN a.k.a. Dore Holte!! (PHOTO via @RMEF) https://t.co/btKkkWE7gI pic.twitter.com/2pUcDQVIrA
— RMEF (@RMEF) August 26, 2013
Tweet of the Week- Balek on Phelps
@BobBrigham asks if @JeffLaszloffy supports Westboro Baptist Church. No, Fred Phelps is a Dem like you, even ran for KS gov. #MTpol #MTleg
— Tom Balek (@TomBalek) August 26, 2013
Should we buy Volesky a beer?
Courageous, anonymous online commenters defend FWP official charged w/ assault http://t.co/DIuLDJCUgD #mtpol
— Sanjay Talwani (@IR_SanjayT) August 24, 2013
Excerpt from Helena IR story:
Mike Volesky, second in command at Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, was cited Friday for misdemeanor assault following an altercation on the Downtown Walking Mall Thursday evening.
Helena Assistant Police Chief Steve Hagen said Friday evening that Volesky, 44, struck a 36-year-old Helena man in the jaw because the man reportedly made a derogatory comment about the woman Volesky was with.
Meanwhile….
Yellowstone County School Superintendent Plagiarizes Racist “Rant” Blog in Letter to Editor http://t.co/JwZQrN4VZi #mtpol #p2
— Montana Cowgirl (@TheMT_Cowgirl) August 26, 2013
While describing the letter as “racist” may be a stretch, there’s no reason someone should talk about hating the president and his wife.