Cannon told The Hill newspaper that while on a congressional delegation trip to Kazakhstan he ate horse meat for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

"Oh boy, every meal," Cannon told the Capitol Hill paper.

At breakfast, instead of pork sausage, Cannon says he was served intestines that were "very thick, very chewy and not very attractive."

Asked by the newspaper what horse meat tasted like, Cannon replied, "Not much different from beef, really."

We'll take your word for it congressman.

Hatch yields

on the war

Sen. Orrin Hatch totally flip-flopped Wednesday on the war in Iraq.

But his reversal wasn't really about the military strategy now employed. Or his support for Gen. David Petraeus. Or his constant jabbing at Democrats who want to reduce the number of troops there.

But he flip-flopped on the floor of the Senate just the same.

Check this out:

"We as Americans are known for asking 'what is the bottom line?' '' Hatch said, listing a few reasons America cannot just leave Iraq. "I believe we all know the sensible answer to that question. We must not yield. Mr. President, I yield the floor."

Gotcha!

Romantic Utah

Reps. Connie Mack of Florida and Mary Bono of California took a quick trip to Arches National Park in Utah over the August congressional break. And Mack - whose full name is Cornelius - took advantage of the star-filled night to kneel and propose to Bono, according to the Naples Daily News. The Florida paper reports that Mack and Bono - who have been dating since they bumped into each other on the House floor in 2005 - had just cooked dinner on a campfire stove at the park when Mack got up to take out the trash. He returned, got down on one knee and popped the question. The answer, as you probably guessed, was "yes."

Hearing, schmearing

Politicians and their hangers-on pumped up the scheduled testimony of Gen. David Petraeus until it became the Super Bowl of congressional hearings. But the only Utahn who was supposed to take part in the event didn't find it so intriguing.

"It was exciting - kind of - not," said Rep. Rob Bishop, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Bishop was so enthused that he skipped most of it. He was on his routine flight from Utah to D.C. when the general took to the mike. And he still felt like he was on a plane when he got into the crowded hearing. "They packed us in," he said. "It was like being in the window seat in coach."

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* BURR and CANHAM report for The Tribune from the nation's capital. They can be reached at tburr@sltrib.com or mcanham@sltrib.com.