Well, now I've seen just about everything. UPI is trying to convince us that Bush's "sour economy" is killing horses all across the nation. Bad, bad, mean ol' Bush! Why does he hate the pretty horses so? I know it's hard to believe, but UPI is seriously trying to claim that the economy is killing the noble beasts in "Horses suffer as U.S. economy sours."

ZIMMERMAN, Minn., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The operator of a horse-rescue organization in Minnesota said the number of neglected horses needing care has gone up dramatically as the economy slows....Drew Fitzpatrick ... told the St. Paul Pioneer-Press Thursday the economic downturn has been tough on horses bought when times were good.

Yes, it's the economy, stupid.

But, as one continues to read the short piece, one might find that it is less the "sour economy" that is killing horses and more the stupidity of people who haven't a clue what they are doing when they buy the horses in the first place that is responsible for this equine elimination.

Wade Hanson of the Humane Society said calls about neglected horses are running at 15 a month, while about 15 horses are dying needlessly a year. Both neglect cases and deaths have quadrupled, the report said. Hanson said many newly rich people bought spreads in the country and added horses without knowing much about them. "They thought they were going to be ranchers," he said...."They are so clueless."

Buying a horse for the kitsch factor is not a good idea. Horses are very, very expensive to keep alive. There are numerous annual vet bills and other constant care, trailers and trucks with which to pull them are needed, not to mention that they need to eat every day, curiously enough. And horses eat like a ...um... horse. Anyway, they are not cheap and shouldn't be treated as pets frivolously purchased.

So it's the ignorance of those buying them, not the "sour economy" causing the problem here. In fact, I'd lay odds that people who willy-nilly buy horses like this would find that, bad economy or not, they'd want to get rid of them soon enough anyway.

And to show how foolish these neuvo horse owners are, the last line of UPI's piece is instructive, if not amusing.

Some of the horse owners put stallions and mares in the same field, not realizing that would lead to more horses.

Wait, you mean the stork doesn't bring new baby horses?

Of course, I am not making fun of the plight of horses as a result of the stupidity of people who buy them without the resources to keep them healthy and safe. I am, however, amused that UPI thinks it can pull a fast one and make it seem like horses are dying because of the economy. Like all MSM outlets, UPI is trying anything to make it seem as if the country is in a downward spiral.

So, UPI uses a small rise in the troubles of unwanted horses as an excuse to attack the economy. It's any excuse, any excuse at all, to run the country down.