Letters to the Editor
ann1960
Published Letters: 54 Editor's Choice: 4
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Just a thought...
[Read the article: The gas tax battle continues]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm going to show my ignorance here, but here goes:
Since the 70's, there have been rumors about ways to get more energy efficiency out of internal combustion engines. You'd hear about a guy that drove his Lincoln (or some other gas guzzler) from Florida to California, averaging 50 miles per gallon, or some such number. Then, the story would vaporize. My question is this: Is there the possibility that someone, somewhere in this country, devised something that would actually work, only to have been bought out by the Big Oil companies? Is there a way we can scour the patent records and find out what is really buried in those archives? I understand that patents are bought and then they are off limits, but this is quickly becoming a national emergency, so perhaps we could override the protective rules and expose some inventions that would help us get out of this mess. Until we come up with alternative fuels on a large scale, we'll have to get by with the cars we have. If my car could get even 10 miles per gallon more, that would make a difference in my life.
Uncover the buried patents, and lets take a look. It couldn't hurt--
Or, maybe it's just another urban myth. Still, there's always the possibility...
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the whip as a tool
[Read the article: Eight Belles' last run]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"They WANT to run, and in a race, they will run. The jockey uses his whip more for encouragement and communication with the animal than to punish it. The whip is a tool, not a weapon."
Rubbish. I adopted 7 OTT (Off the Track) Thoroughbreds, and if I show them this "tool,", they go ballistic. They are SCARED of it, because it caused them pain. Just think, Eight Belles last "gift" from her rider was the fact that she was beaten as she headed down the home stretch, her lungs on fire from the effort, her bones failing her.
But wait, the stories tell you, the jockey used this "tool" to keep her off the rail. This is a piece of crap excuse for trying to wring the last remaining speed out of her. Why didn't he beat her during the earlier part of the race to keep her off the rail if she didn't know how to stay off it?
I'd outlaw the whip immediately if I had any control over things. Hey, somebody would get around the track first-- there would always be a winner. That would change the sport, wouldn't it? Lets see the horses run without the incentive of pain from the whip as they head for the finish line.(Boy, I can hear the jockeys whining already.)
But ultimately, it will be the public who decides whether anything will change. Regardless of what anybody tells you, it's ultimately about the money. And, regardless of what you think of PETA, for them, it's about the welfare of the animal.
As a final note, my four guys and three gals who are now retired have a home for life. They are now well adjusted, and as healthy as they possibly can be after the tough early years. They all have some degree of arthritis, but the fractured knees and bowed tendons have healed. But most of all, when they run, it is on their own terms. Do they love running? Unquestionably. But this time, they are happy, their tails are flagging, and their ulcers have finally healed.
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to Allie:
[Read the article: Eight Belles' last run]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"It's a bald-faced lie to say that Eight Belles was "beaten" as she headed down the home stretch. There's video which shows nothing remotely like a beating ever happened, and you are educated enough to know the difference between guiding a horse away from the rail (which would cause her to go down in a crumpled ball if she ran into it) and beating her. Your point looks more valid if you don't resort to lying."
I didn't resort to lying: Eight Belles was whipped three times with the right hand, and twice with the left (google it, or watch the video again, if you don't believe me.) The rail is on the LEFT side of the filly, so why in God's name would the jockey hit her on the right side three times, thus driving her into the rail?? Because, slow wit, he wanted more speed. Had he just hit her with the left hand, it would be a different story. Call me a liar? I'll call you an idiot.
Idiot.