Ha, ha, Rainbow - I don't think I could ever give up on a Carrie board - once you find Carrie, for so many reasons, she's someone you never want to leave. And she has some great fans too!
Ann - thanks for the explanation. I think you're right - with deadlock and bankruptcy looming, there's no time for fine sieving.
Carrieflatts - yes, it is very emotional. Some countries don't have inhibitions about eating horseflesh - in some Continental countries it's still on restaurant menus. The English-speaking world tend to see the horse as a noble companion, and it's taboo. In a way, though, you can't be surprised that some commercial interests will try hard to export to where a market exists. Public opinion can sometimes draw a line on what is acceptable. Over here, there was a big public campaign to stop firms exporting live horses to France, where they were killed for meat. I remember people picketing the docks at Shoreham to stop them loading the horses.
Politicians do ultimately have to take the responsibility if they give too much to special interests - in this case though, I think some headlines are over-simplifying it by giving an impression that "the President" has pushed this particular policy through (when what he did was sign a bill of which it was by no means the biggest, or most urgent part). That does tend to happen everywhere in a bitterly divided political climate (as at present). People tend to demonize the side they don't agree with, and almost every issue tends to become symbolic of a cultural battle.