SOME BILLS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS

A showdown in the Republican-controlled Washington state legislature led to the scuttling of several bills in the queue - including two bills related to the discovery of mad cow disease. Well, whaddaya know! "One would have outlined penalties for selling downer cows," reports the Tri-City Herald. "The other would have authorized the state Department of Agriculture to adopt rules to support industry efforts to comply with federal requirements for country of origin labeling and livestock identification. 'It's all dead,' said Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside." But wait! You know there's gotta be a silver lining... and there is: "One exception might be a bill to offer a tax break to meat packers."