Woo Pig, Sooie!

click to enlarge Screen shot via WTVF, Nashville

click to enlarge Screen shot via WTVF, Nashville

Hey, does everybody remember Republican dudebro Rep. Andy Holt?He's the state legislator from District 76 whose concerns about animal cruelty were so great he sponsored Tennessee's version of the Ag-Gag bill , essentially criminalizing methodical investigation and whistleblowing in regard to animal cruelty. Holt positioned himself as the great defender of animals, describing groups like the Humane Society as being "fraudulent and reprehensibly disgusting," corporatists "intent on using animals the same way human-traffickers use 17 year old women." Well, as it turns out Holt, a former pig farmer, has been full of shit. Pig shit, to be precise. In fact, he's been so full of pig shit, when his pig shit lagoons threatened to overflow a few years back, Holt unburdened them, allegedly releasing up to 800,000 gallons of fetid, porcine feces into nearby fields and streams.That's right, nearly a million gallons of excrement dumped along the roadsides like it was a throwaway bottle or a pop top can...Following a lengthy investigation, the Environmental Protection Agency has finally presented Holt a “show cause” letter requesting that the Tennessee Rep., "show cause why the EPA should not take formal civil enforcement action." Of course Holt doesn't think too much of the EPA, which he has described as a political tool, "like the IRS." He thinks that investigations, like the one he's been facing should be conducted at the state level where no elected official would ever be given any kind of preferential treatment... Oh... oh, wait a minute...Nashville's WTVF NewsChannel 5 asked Haslam-appointed TDEC Commissioner, Robert Martineau , if Holt was getting preferential treatment. Martineau said, "No," although, as we've already pointed out...Martineau told WTVF he didn't know who discouraged further action against Holt, or why the memo was in the file, and there is no reason in the world not to believe him.Because everybody knows that's the kind of memo you're supposed to shred, am I right?It's probably worth noting that Holt thinks Tennessee should opt out of the EPA's "Clean Power Plan ." And we're pretty sure we know why