Friday Hound Blogging

Ah, free enterprise. The vitamin that makes America strong; the steel in her steely gaze; the jaunt in her jaunty step; the pot of gold at the end of her rainbow; the catcher in her dream catcher; the awe in her awesome; the wind in her sails; and on president's day, the wind in her sales. Get it? Sails and "sales?" We crack us up.

Anyway, the point is that here in these United States we believe that a man (if you're a republican) or a woman (if you're virtually anyone else) should be able to pursue their fortune free of intrusive government regulations. Let the chips fall where they may, we say. With great risk comes great reward and the only drawback we see is that the word entrepreneur is French. How that happened we haven't a clue. We blame Obama. And no class of entrepreneurs (for lack of a more manly sounding word) epitomizes that can do spirit; no group of plucky adventurers rises more to the call; no collection of ne'er do wells, felons, and other unsavory characters more epitomizes these qualities than the overlords. Now, frequent reader(s) of this blog will recall that acquiescence is the balm of age...erm...we mean will recall that the overlords have long railed against the onerous hand of government regulation bearing down on them like a paperwork run away train. "Set us free," they cry. "Let us fly." "Cut this albatross of government from around our necks." And there has been no more eloquent champion of the overlord desire for freedom from government than Sam Burdette, president of the West Virginia Greyhound Owners and Breeders Association.

Representatives of thoroughbred and greyhound breeders told West Virginia legislators Wednesday that cutbacks in state subsidies of racing purses are devastating the racing industry in the state. “For all of us, it’s been disastrous,” said Sam Burdette, president of the West Virginia Greyhound Owners and Breeders Association, discussing cuts in racing subsidies, the most recent being a 10 percent reduction enacted during the regular session.

Right on Sam the man! Speak truth to power. Demand the shackles be cut, the chains undone. You tell them...wait, what?

Burdette provided members of the Joint Standing Committee on Finance with charts comparing total greyhound racing purses at the Mardi Gras racetrack for the first week of September in 2010, 2012, and 2014, showing how they’ve fallen from $98,041, to $84,839, and down to $61,721 this year. Meanwhile, he said, the share of weekly purses going to greyhound owners has fallen from $34,685 in 2010 to $18,161 this year.

OK, so if we're hearing you right Sammy, you're saying the state needs to give you more money or you'll have to stop having races that nobody comes to. That about right?

Burdette said it takes a minimum of $3,000 a week to operate a greyhound kennel — and only three of the 17 kennels racing at Mardi Gras reached that amount last week. “Only three of 17 kennels made enough money to exist,” he told committee members, adding, “Most of you understand you cannot run a business on less than $3,000 a week, and that’s the result of this legislation.”

 Well, you certainly have made that very clear, Sammy, and we understand completely. Our question though, is why is the state responsible for keeping your overlord butt afloat?

Sen. Clark Barnes, R-Randolph, noted that the management of the state’s four racetrack casinos were conspicuously absent — both at Wednesday’s interim meeting and during legislative debate on the 10 percent purse subsidy cut-back this spring.
“What I see seriously lacking here today and throughout the legislative process are the tracks themselves. I don’t see the tracks going to bat for you guys,” Barnes said. “Rumor has it, they would like to get rid of it.

 Umm...Senator Barnes sir? Are you sure that's just a "rumor" you've heard?

Barnes said afterward it appears the casino management would not be upset if racing became unsustainable because of repeated funding cuts.

Yeah. That's what we thought.  So, to recap: The people don't want to see innocent living creatures exploited for (no) profit; the track owners don't want to keep reaching into their pockets to keep the overlords out of the labor pool; and the legislature is tired of pouring money down a rat hole so the rats can keep up the wholesale abuse and neglect of helpless greyhounds. That about cover it Nebulosity?

I am a very laid-back and calm boy. I am very subdued. I am gentle and sweet. I am getting more confident and learning what home life is all about. I am housebroken. I ride great in the car. I love to go for walks and I am a very good boy on the leash. I love to run in the yard and play. I am good with dogs of all sizes. I don’t like being by myself so I need to be in a home with another dog or with someone that doesn’t work. For more information about this dog, and other rescued racing greyhounds looking for homes, go here. If you don't know about the plight of racing greyhounds go here and here.