Want to see my anniversary present?

No, not Bob, but the hole that he is standing in. We had two small stock ponds filled in and this larger one dug. Now if it will just rain and fill it up!

We Voted!

We went to the polls last night and exercised our precious right to vote in this most wonderful country in the world.

We urge everyone to do the same and pray that God will bless and guide which ever candidate wins.

Where do Unicorner minis go to retire?

We have a wonderful friend Amy Moerman who lives in Texas that has taken several of our retired mares. She wrote today and sent new photos of three of them.

This is "Diva" or Lady Godiva of Unicorner.





Bob and Debbi

I thought you guys might like to see the senior ladies we have here. We have five that are over 20! Taffy--27, Tina--26, Feather--25, Diva--24, Bunny--21. If you know of anyone needing to retire a mini mare or gelding, I can take one more at this time.
These girls are fed twice a day (Purina Senior pellets) and have constant fine cut coastal in front of them. I have three of them in a dry lot with lots of trees. Feather is prone to foundering so we keep her off the grass completely.
The other two are out in the big pasture with everyone else.
Diva has a boyfriend...it is our little 29" gelding Tex (13 yrs).
Enjoy the pics.
Amy

Feather is the pinto and Taffy is the palomino.

Thanks, Amy, for taking such good care of our senior ladies! Please give them each a hug for us.

Economics 101 aka "Trickle-up Poverty"

Economics 101 aka "Trickle-up Poverty"


Suppose every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers, he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20... Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33 But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be ONLY FAIR to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20,'declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'

'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'

'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get
anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And the reality, boys and girls, journalists, intellectuals, and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

A message to sportsmen, pet owners and farmers

A SAOVA message to sportsmen, pet owners and farmers concerned about protecting their traditions, avocations and livelihoods from anti-hunting, anti-breeding, animal guardianship advocates. Forwarding and cross posting, with attribution, encouraged.

The Most Critical Election in your Lifetime
10/21/08

Dear Friends,

Early voting has already begun and November 4th is fast approaching. The outcome of this election will have far reaching and long lasting impacts on animal agriculture, hunting, and animal ownership. Amid all the political rhetoric and campaign ads, important serious warning alarms are sounded. The combination of a Democrat supermajority in Congress and a liberal Democratic president will structurally imbalance our government to historic proportions. Constitutional checks and balances will be voided, making this the most critical election in your lifetime. Every aspect of American life could change. The Wall Street Journal editorial below observes: “If the current polls hold, Barack Obama will win the White House on November 4 and Democrats will consolidate their Congressional majorities, probably with a filibuster-proof Senate or very close to it. Without the ability to filibuster, the Senate would become like the House, able to pass whatever the majority wants.”

In the area of animal issues, nearly 40 bills introduced on behalf of the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) weren't passed by the 110th Congress. Strong Democratic wins could be a guarantee that many of these bills are likely to become law in the next Congress. In 2006 a GOP Senator blocked the horse slaughter bill from being heard and voted on the Senate floor. More recently HR 6598, the horribly misguided and misleadingly named Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, received a favorable vote split along party lines. HR6598 would turn horse owners and ranchers into felons for having a connection to a horse transported for slaughter. HR 6598 is likely to return in 2009. http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Content.asp?ContentID= 261648

The Pet Animal Welfare Statute 2005 (PAWS) was thwarted by a GOP and moderate controlled Senate Agriculture Committee in 2006 and was re-introduced inSeptember by HSUS supporters as the Puppy Uniform Protection Statute (PUPS). After 8 years of failed attempts to regulate retail dog breeders, will the 2008 election finally bring victory for HSUS in its goal to federally regulate home hobby dog breeding?

RESHAPING THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM
The next president will have extraordinary impact on the ideological shape of the nation’s federal courts for decades to come. It is likely the next president will appoint Supreme Court judges as six of the nine are turning 70. In addition, hundreds of federal and appellate judges will be appointed. Appellate appointments shape lasting constitutional interpretations and they cover multiple states. Although these require Congressional approval, that will be a slam-dunk if this election creates a Democratic supermajority. One out of three federal judges now owes a lifetime-tenured job to the current president. The overwhelming majority of Americans believe that judges should interpret the law as it is written. Seventy-four percent (74%) of men favor that approach along with 65% of women. Sen. McCain supports that view and he has consistently campaigned on a “strict constructionist philosophy” for the courts.

Sen. Obama, on the other hand, believes that judges should be required to possess “empathy” and should “reach decisions on the basis of his deepest values, core concerns, and broader perspectives on how the world works.” During the Roberts nomination debate, Sen. Obama stated, “Legal process alone will not lead you to a rule of decision. In those difficult cases, the critical ingredient is supplied by what is in the judge’s heart.” Considering the skyrocketing number of lawsuits filed by HSUS and other animal rightist groups to ban hunting, change livestock regulations, and alter husbandry standards, the stakes are very high for the animal owning public. The best interests of animal owners, hunters, and ranchers would not be served by liberal appointees who choose to rule based on imaginative and empathic interpretations of property rights and the constitution. The world not only belongs to those who show up, it's controlled by the best informed and most motivated.

Vote on November 4th.
It's the most critical election in your lifetime.

Please cross post this message widely.
Susan Wolf
Director, Sportsmen's and Animal Owners' Voting Alliance (SAOVA)
The Sportsmen's and Animal Owners' Voting Alliance (SAOVA) is a nationwide, nonpartisan group of volunteers lobbying legislation and seeking to elect politicians who will oppose the animal rightist threat to our rights as Americans. Our members hunt, fish and own livestock, dogs, cats and other pets.
For more information about SAOVA visit http://saova. org/

Short Vacation

We took a short vacation last week and had a great time with our friends, Ann and Charles. It was a quick trip to Tunica, Mississippi where the "boys" love to gamble. We had to stay at Bally's this time (NOTE: it is best to make reservations), but Friday morning we went back to the Horseshoe where Ann and I sipped Starbucks and Bob and Charles played more slots.

Next, it was the "girls" turn to have fun. We drove back to Hot Springs, Arkansas looking for a crystal mine. We took our laptops along so while on the drive we researched the how, where, when and why of crystal hunting. We chose the Arrowhead mine, but by the time we got to Mt. Ida they were closing.

We spent the night at a nice little "old-fashioned" motel called the Crystal Inn. This entire area is dedicated to crystal hunters.

Since we were told there really wasn't a lot to do in Mt. Ida on a Friday evening other than the high school football game, we drove around and came across a lovely area overlooking Lake Ouachita.

We had hoped the leaves would have more fall colors but it was a little too early.

But the view of the lake was breath-taking, the photos just don't do it justice. It was a great evening.

We were up pretty early Saturday morning to go by the hardware store and pick up last minute tools (we had brought some). Then the drive out to Arrowhead took about 15 minutes. Not knowing what to expect we were surprised at what the "mine" looked like. We would call that a gravel pit in Texas.

But we had a great time digging and finding crystals. We did choose an "option" where we were directed to a pile to go through.

Ann and Charles took the buckets home to clean the crystals we found. I will post some photos of them later.

Minis in the Mist

Fall is definitely arriving here in central Texas. I caught this shot of the minis in the mist one foggy morning last week.

A Long Lapse

It has been a while since I last posted on the blog. It hasn't been a good time for family health matters. We have had one death in the family, Bob's precious sister, Becky; two hip replacements, Mom and my Sis; and a fractured back, Bob's grandmother. Time does heal though, doesn't it.

I will try to start posting news again from the farm.