Fun Article

Hats off to Matthew Brophy, the author of this article.



Matthew Brophy / Minnesota Daily (U. Minnesota)
Posted: 3/24/06Source: The Online Rocket

(U-WIRE) MINNEAPOLIS -- John Doe, a local Minnesotan homeowner, was arrested Friday for the torture of animals. Inside his home, investigators found cats dangling upside down, some of them dead, some still painfully writhing with life. Dogs were jammed inside cages so tight that turning around or even lying down was impossible.

Interrogators learned that Doe conducted inhumane practices: castrating cats without anesthesia, searing the beaks off of canaries before locking them in overcrowded cages and imprisoning dogs in dark, crowded pens.

Psychologists would characterize Doe as a sociopath, capable of extreme cruelty and callous to animal suffering.

Truth be told, there is no actual one John Doe; there are many. The above abusive practices are commonplace in factory farms, which slaughter animals for meat on a massive scale. Instead of cats, dogs and canaries, the practice involves cows, pigs and chickens: animals of equal if not superior intellect and sentience.

We are supporting these legal yet unethical practices. If you go to McDonald's, Burger King, KFC or any other fast-food restaurant, you are eating meat that comes from factory farms. The vast majority of our meat comes from these industrial factories.

If you eat meat, you're asking meat suppliers to torture animals on your behalf. They're not torturing animals just for fun - they're doing it for the dollar in your outstretched hand. Who's more at fault, those who torture animals to make a buck or those who torture animals to save a buck?

As consumers, it's easy to deny moral responsibility. We feel we can spend our money however we choose. We can buy a burger with moral impunity; after all, we're not the ones torturing animals. We can buy cheap clothing from Wal-Mart; after all, we're not the ones enslaving children in sweatshops. We are innocent consumers; we are not the torturers, and we are not the slave masters.

We can rationalize all we want. In fact, human beings are ingenious when it comes to deflecting blame. In a famous psychology experiment, Stanley Milgram revealed that a significant majority of human beings will torture other human beings if an authority figure is present applying verbal pressure and assuming moral responsibility.

Consumer society is the authority that absolves us of all moral responsibility: Meat-eating is the norm. In fact, if you don't eat meat, you're un-American, a sissy, a hippie, a commie.

The societal pressure to eat meat overwhelms us. How easy it is to forget about the animals in industrial factories enduring torture in order to feed our hungry mouths. Our trivial lust for meat does not justify our inflicting severe suffering of animals. At the very least, we are complicit; it is for us meat suppliers torture animals.

One day in the not-too-distant future, the animal cruelty of the meat industry shall be held in the same regard as slavery in our American past. Future generations will look back upon our present society's endorsement of animal torture as dark times of mass immorality. Perhaps it will be our great-grandchildren who will look at us with shocked expressions, wondering how we could have been a part of the widespread torture of animals.

The animal liberation movement is not extreme, just as the anti-slavery movement was not extreme. It is part of our moral ascension as beings with an ethical conscience. Ignorance toward animal cruelty is not an excuse. And callousness is not a justification.




The article goes on to say that Peter Singer will be speaking on their campus.

Is that a telescope in your pocket,?

Geeks with big telescopes make me all fluttery in my tummy.

The total eclipse will be webcast on the following sites:

Nasa TV

Exploratorium

If you play Second Life, like my husband, it will also be shown there. This is from MSNBC's article:

"It turns out that the Exploratorium is going to stream the real total solar eclipse into the virtual world of Second Life. A Web developer actually created a 2nd-century Roman theater similar to where we're going to be in Side, with a virtual projection screen," Exploratorium spokeswoman Leslie Patterson told MSNBC.com. (Second Lifers can experience the event at three virtual locations: Fame, NMC Campus or Lukanida.)

An eclipse viewed from an ancient ampitheatre and streamed into Second Life. It doesn't get nerdier than that my friends.

The Virgin Speaks

A couple of weeks ago I had a dream about the Virgin Mary. She showed me a rosary with black beads. Without her saying anything, I knew it belonged to my maternal grandmother. She said, "This is yours, and all that goes with it."

Then I woke up. The dream kept coming to mind during the next week. What was it supposed to mean? I have always like rosaries, but what does "all that goes with it" mean? Prayer? God? The whole Catholic kit and caboodle? You've got to be kidding, right?

The next time I was on the phone with my mom, I asked if her mother had a rosary that fit the description in the dream. She was a little surprised, and said that yes, her mother had a rosary like that. She would look for it for me. I told her she could keep it. It's not really right for a heathen like me to have such a special keepsake from a grandmother who had died before I was born. I talked to her today, and she's still looking for it, even though I told her again that I felt bad taking it.

The dream was very vivid and it made me think more about Our Lady, as my mom's Irish Catholic family calls her. My mother is a cradle Catholic, but I was baptized Methodist, went to various denominational Christian schools, my dad is a metaphysicist, my stepmom (in my life since I was 2) is Jewish. I went to Catholic school in 8th grade, and I liked it. Except the part where they told me being gay was bad.

My mom had a beautiful Hummel Virgin Mary on our kitchen counter, under which she always kept a Kennedy half dollar. Some mornings, I'd wake up and find a burned-out candle in front of it, and I'd know that my mom was having a hard time with something. During the Northridge earthquake of 1994, the statue toddled across the counter a few inches, but did not fall. We joked that it was our personal miracle - The Amazing Walking Virgin Mary.

After the dream, I googled, as is my habit. If someone else's deities are giving me stuff in dreams, I'd better find out more. I found a link about Medjugorje, and dang, if things don't come full circle sometimes. In 8th grade (1988), I learned about some child visionaries in Croatia (then Yugoslavia) who had been seeing apparitions of the Virgin Mary since 1981. And lo and behold, they're still having them to this very day. They've done various tests on these people - shining lights in their eyes, doing brain scans, and they can't explain what's going on. I guess there's always the possibility of a miracle, or a hoax.

But I like this Mary. She says that all religions are equal before God, and that it's humans who set up divisions. She said a Muslim woman was close to sainthood. Most of the time she walks the traditional Catholic line, but her whole gig seems to be getting people to be nice to each other, and I can certainly get behind that.

These are the days of miracle and wonder, and don't cry baby, don't cry. --Paul Simon

US Government Finds Way to End Mad Cow

The US government has found a brilliant way to end the discovery of mad cows. Lower the amount of testing done.

This is so absurd that it doesn't seem real.

Remember awhile back when I mentioned that the language of BSE testing had gone from "complete safety of the food supply" to "acceptable limits?" Well now it's this:

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns pointed out testing is not a food safety measure. Rather, it‘s a way to find out the prevalence of the disease.

So now they're saying that testing the animals was never about food safety. They were just kind of curious about how many diseased cows were out there.

The oddest part of this whole thing is the part where they say that public perception of safe meat means the meat is safe. They tell the public we're safe, we believe them, thus it's true.

"It‘s not cost-effective; it‘s not necessary," Weber said. "The consumers we‘ve done focus groups with are comfortable that this is a very rare disease and we‘ve got safeguards in place."

"All those things add up to safety," he said.

If it didn't kill people, this would be funny as hell.

Updated with additional link:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/content/2006/03/bsestatement3-13-06_vs.shtml

Are Vegans Hypocrites?

I'll probably expand more on these themes as I continue blogging, but here's a quick(!) summary of some things I'd like to address. Most of the time I encounter them online, either because my friends and coworkers rock, or they're scared I'll whip out my Vegan Hammer of Justice tm.


1) Vegans are hypocrites because they hurt plants which are living things.
(I have heard this phrased as a genuine, intelligent question, so unlike some of the other items, it's not simply a knee-jerk defense for meat eating)

Yes, we kill plants. Plants cannot suffer like animals because they have no nervous system or ability to feel pain. By eating the plants directly, we kill fewer than a meat eater who kills all the plants the animal ate, plus then kills the animal on top of that. Vegans do not claim to cause zero suffering, we only try to minimize the suffering we cause. Humans cannot eat rocks or photosynthesize, so we do the best we can to harm as little as possible, given the bodily requirements we have.

2) Vegans are hypocrites because they don't respect the decision to eat meat, but they expect everyone else to respect their veganism.
I respect many people who choose to eat meat. Almost everyone I care about eats meat, and they are good, kind people. However, while I love and respect those people, I cannot respect raising animals in intensive confinement or slaughtering them in inefficient slaughterhouses. So by extension, I do not respect the choice to support the industry. I do not limit my love to only people who are "perfect" by my definition. I am far from perfect, and I want to be loved just as I am - faults and imperfections included. I can respect a person without respecting everything they do.


3) People are more important than animals, so although vegans may mean well, their priorities are out of whack. If only they focused their energy on human problems, they could do more good.
There is no reason a vegan cannot do humanitarian work. It's not an either-or situation. There is absolutely nothing about helping humans that requires you to support animal cruelty. The only possible exception I can see is if you're doing some humanitarian work in some remote area and must eat meat or you'll suffer malnutrition. So far, I have never met someone in this position, and the idea that "humans come first" is only used as an excuse to continue supporting a cruel industry.

A similar idea is that someone will go vegan once world peace, starvation and other terrible human problems are solved. This is called "keeping things in perspective." By this same logic, we should not work on adult literacy or donate to Toys for Tots or Make a Wish because they aren't as critical as starvation and war.

If we wait for all the big problems of the world to end before we start doing anything, we'll wait forever. Similarly, if we wait until after we have time to volunteer to help the homeless and give a percentage of our salary to charity before we go vegan, we're missing a great opportunity to help without costing extra money or time.

Now, if someone is doing activist work, then yes, you have to choose between using your limited time for animals or humans. Although, getting people to go vegan helps humans in many ways (health, environment, working conditions). But eating a vegan diet and purchasing vegan items in no way detracts from human causes, and indirectly helps more people than a diet that includes meat.

4) Vegans think they're perfect, and they're not because they cause death through their lives too. None of them are really vegan because everything contains animal products. Plants were fertilized with manure. Snakes and mice died when their plants were harvested.
I've never talked to any vegan who thought they were perfect. All were quite aware of the suffering they caused, and did what they could to minimize it. I think there's some kind of projection going on with people thinking that vegans are suffering some kind of monk-like deprivation, therefore we must think we're superior to the rest of humanity. This is true in some cases. Some vegans are self-righteous pains in the ass. Most are not .

Just because we can't be perfect is no excuse to do nothing.

5) Vegans are hypocrites because they would take medicine that was tested on animals if they had cancer. They'd also eat meat if there was a famine. And they'd wear fur if they were freezing.
In life-or-death situations, yes, I'll harm animals. I'll also probably harm humans. I don't know. This does not negate my efforts to end animal agriculture. In one situation, harming animals is necessary for me to live or function, the other situation is purely an issue of personal pleasure. They are not ethically equivalent.

If extreme hypothetical situations are the only ones in which it is ok to support harming animals, then that proves my point.


6) Vegans are hypocrites because they talk about compassion, but then they get all angry at meat eaters, who are nice people. That's not compassionate.
I think people are mixing up vegans and saints. The stereotype of the angry vegan exists for a reason. Seeing suffering and being with people who knowingly cause it can be painful. It can bring on lots of difficult emotions, including sorrow, frustration, and anger. Vegans are flawed and human, and their anger is just their reaction to seeing such extreme cruelty that it cries out for justice. The horror and pain can get raw, and not everyone can be calm and smiling when they feel those emotions.

The anger is a product of empathizing with the victims. It is a sign of humanity, not the opposite.

This does not mean that they should scream at people and be jerks about it though.


7) Vegans think they are better than the great religious leaders. Jesus ate fish, the Buddha, Moses, and Mohammad ate meat, etc. No religion condemns meat eating, so why make a big deal out of it?
Back when these religious leaders were walking the earth, things like beating people to a pulp and nailing them to crosses was standard. (Yes, I am aware the Buddha and Moses lived before Jesus, and I have no idea about what horrors their world held.) The world was incredibly violent. Just getting people to treat each other with compassion was a huge deal. Nowadays, nailing people to things is horrific. Our ability to feel compassion has extended to people of other races and cultures, to women, the disabled, prostitutes, the mentally ill - to groups that were condemned or ignored in the past. Our compassion can extend to animals without contradicting religious teachings - in fact, compassion for the weak and vulnerable is the natural extension of the teachings of all great religious and moral leaders.

A second factor is factory farming. In ancient times, the cruelty involved in modern animal agriculture did not exist. Apply this simple test - imagine your prophet/deity/leader. What would he say if you stood side by side with him while cows were cut up alive or male chicks were ground up, suffocated or crushed to death? What would he choose to do - support it, or boycott it?

7.1) God gave us the animals to use as we saw fit. If I don't eat meat, it's rejecting God's gift.
My quick answer - is dominion about being a caretaker and showing mercy? Or is it about tormenting stupid creatures because it gives us physical pleasure to eat them?

I don't think religion/spirituality is supposed to be about finding loopholes to allow us to cause suffering.

If animals are a "gift," so are children and sunsets and golden retrievers. You don't have to destroy a gift to enjoy it. Go to a farm sanctuary and rub a piglet belly. Now there's a gift.

For more info: Honoring God's Creation from Christian Vegetarian Society
Jewish Veg
Islam and Vegetarianism
Buddhism Resources on Vegetarianism and Animal Welfare*
Hinduism and Vegetarianism*

*Hindus and Buddhists have such a long tradition of vegetarianism within their religions, that I recommend googling on your own.

7.2) If I am thankful to the animal, and respect its spirit, then it's ok to eat it. (Variation: If I say a prayer of thanks, it's ok)
If I hang a dog by its hind legs, and then start cutting it up alive, is that ok if I respect the dog's spirit? Is it ok to raise a cat in a tiny box where it can never turn around if I say a prayer of thanks?

Is it ok if I pay someone else to do these things if I don't see it happen?

What if it's a really dumb dog or cat? How about a goat?

To say you "respect the animal's spirit" is invoking a particularly odious kind of self-serving pseudo-Native American spirituality. The Native Americans had to kill to eat. Plus, they did it themselves. We pay people to do things we'd never do ourselves, and then try to justify it by saying we respect the animal.

If you respect the animal so much, how about not paying people to torture the poor thing?

As for saying a prayer of thanks, you can be thankful for the thousands of marvelous plant-based foods that we have. I'm especially thankful that I can access hundreds of types of food at my local market and get tons of vegan recipes online. Ancient people had no such luxury.

8) Vegans talk about compassion, but what about compassion for animal farmers? Driving them out of business is terrible. They have families to feed.
Most vegans don't hate slaughterhouse workers or those who depend on animal agriculture to make a living. I feel pity for the people who are forced to do those things. In their eyes, they have to do it or they can't feed their families. That's not a situation I'd wish on anyone.

But that doesn't mean I won't try to end animal agriculture. People are continually being driven out of business by the march of progress. Tobacco and cotton farmers went out of business when slavery ended. The automobile and computers drove others out of business. Women entering the workforce caused other upheavals.

It's not an easy situation, but I cannot justify supporting cruelty on the basis of keeping things the way they are.

9) Vegans ignore science and history. We have pointy canine teeth. Our ancestors ate meat.
Yes, we have four little pointy teeth (they're called cuspids - the term "canine" is just because they look like dog teeth). When you eat your steak, what do you do - tear it with your little canines and bolt it, or grind it up on your molars? In primates, the cuspids are often used for display or defense. Take a look at our friend the gorilla. Those cuspids are huge, but gorillas are herbivores. Chimpanzees, our closest relative, are omnivores, but only a tiny part of their diet is meat. (Jane Goodall, who knows more about chimpanzees than anyone, is a vegetarian.)

There's some debate about whether humans are omnivores or herbivores (scroll to the bottom for a summary). Either way, we certainly are capable of digesting meat. But we don't have to eat it to be healthy. We can be herbivores by choice, so meat eating is a choice, not a necessity.

from American Dietetic Association:
Well-planned vegan and lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy and lactation. Appropriately planned vegan and lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets satisfy nutrient needs of infants, children, and adolescents and promote normal growth.

And it's crap to say we're honoring our ancestors by eating meat. It's not like the cows will rise up and take revenge for millennia of bovicide if we don't keep them in line by eating them. Our ancestors ate meat because they had to. If they hadn't, our species would have died out long ago. Some people in the modern world have no choice because they are living in famine conditions. The rest of us do have a choice.

To turn it into some issue of gratitude to our ancestors is just another way of trying to justify hurting things for pleasure.

10) If everyone went vegan today, we'd have animal overpopulation problems. We'd be overrun with farm animals.
It's a simple fact that the world won't go vegan overnight. The change will be gradual. My little nuclear family spares approximately 400 animals per year. Is there a field somewhere with 800 extra animals from the 2 years we've been vegan? Nope.

It's all about supply and demand. Demand will decrease gradually.

And if we want to visit Bizarro Hypothetical Land - if everyone suddenly became vegan, we could convert all those government grazing subsidies into animal sanctuary funds.

11) If vegans are so obsessed with not causing harm, why don't they just kill themselves so they don't harm anything any more?
We won't have to kill ourselves. Your stupid Avian Flu will kill plenty of us because you won't stop raising birds in overcrowded conditions.

Just kidding.

Wait. No, I'm not.

Another Mad Cow Case

I was planning on having this be a happy day of posting, but now I have to drag it down.

What a shock! A third case of mad cow has surfaced in the US.

And, as always Faithful Reader, my Mad Cow List.

Vacuuming Balloons

I don't really post much of a personal nature. I should, but usually I have something else on my mind. Life is quiet, and good. I think I will try to record the cute/funny things my kids say because otherwise I forget. If you don't like this, just move along.

From my 3 year old -

He got a balloon at Trader Joe's on Saturday. He asked about it flying away into the sky. I told him it would fly off if he let it go, but that it wouldn't go into space.

I was vacuuming this weekend, and he said, "Don't vacuum my balloon. I don't want it to go into space."

Get it? Because space is a vacuum.

This is a balloon in a vacuum on Earth.

Book Review: Meat Market

Meat Market: Animals, Ethics and Money
by Eric Marcus

Well, I finally got around to reading this book. And I declare it Good.

The first 50 pages or so are horrifying and valuable. Eric Marcus has brought together all the latest and greatest research on animal farming. I thought I knew almost everything. I didn't. I hate to say this, but it's even worse than I thought. And I thought it was really bad. There's a description of unanesthetized bull castration that made me dizzy and sick to my stomach. Luckily I was sitting down. I actually had to stop reading and regain my composure.

I want to buy this book just to loan it out so people can read the first 50 pages. And then hug them when they cry. And then feed them.

So after your hair has turned white from the horrors of factory farming, the book goes into the idea of dismantlement of the animal agriculture industry. Now this is something I can get behind. There is a lot of disagreement within the animal rights movement about direct action (breaking in, taking animals, destroying property) versus using solely legal means of protest.

On one hand, we have people writing letters and holding signs, but that has not gotten us very far. On the other hand, we have the ALF (Animal Liberation Front) which has saved many animals, but is a public relations nightmare. For example, did you know the ALF has never killed a single person? Yet they have more terrorism money spent on them than Al Quaida or white supremacist groups who actually kill people. Of course, in terms of protecting capital, that makes perfect sense. Even human lives are cheap, eh? But threaten profits and you get government backing.

Anyhow, I find the author's arguments compelling. I think that when people perform illegal and destructive acts, the press, and thus the public, is never on their side. The money is with animal agriculture, and they'll do whatever is necessary to hide what they do and discredit those who expose it. Getting the public on our side is the only way we can achieve widespread opposition to animal cruelty. And the only way to get their support is to keep the moral high ground.

Now, I understand the opposing argument. How can we sacrifice those suffering now for the potential good of "playing nice." I'm still thinking this over.

I think in the long term, the only way animal agriculture will end is through the will of the people. Money talks, and consumers withdrawing their money will bring the change. We can't force it through legislation. Animal agriculture has all the money and can buy the best lobbyists. They sponsor TV and magazines and will withdraw financial support from the outlets that might expose them. We can't force it through direct action. We can use fear as a weapon, but the public will then see us as a menace and discount what we say as fanatical.

So we have to use the only weapon available to us - calmly appealing to people to do what is right. That means educating the public on our own. Of course, most people will not stop supporting animal agriculture. Habit and societal pressures are strong and most people can't break away from that. But many will change, more and more each year. A critical mass will be reached, at which point animal agriculture will start to fall.

Factory farming's greatest assets are secrecy and public ignorance. Take those away, and the industry will hang itself with its own rope.

The author also goes on to say that the vegan movement must not get bogged down in environmental or health arguments. You can be a healthy omnivore, and environmental statistics can be countered (the logging industry's stats and Greenpeace's are far different for example). Both are solid reasons, but they detract from the primary reason to go vegan. Animal suffering cannot be argued. They can suffer. We can stop it. That should be the core of the message, followed with how to be a healthy vegan and how to find good recipes.

Go Go Patriot Guard Riders!

This pleases me. It's an article about the Patriot Guard Riders. Perhaps you've heard of the bonkjob Reverand Phelps and his followers (his large family - children, in-laws and grandchildren). They're real big on how much God hates everyone but them. They especially hate gay people, and have been known to protest funerals of AIDS victims with signs informing the grieving family that their loved one is burning in hell.

Side note - the thing that strikes me as odd about them, is that there is absolutely nothing redeeming about what they do. Other groups who protest are trying to save people from hell. Personally, I think that's misguided, at best. But Phelps and his crew believe in predestination. So they're pretty much just rubbing it in everyone's face that they're saved an everyone else isn't.

But on to the inspiring part. The Patriot Guard Riders go as invited guests to military funerals and shield the mourning family from the protesters. Phelps and family are now protesting military funerals to tell people that God is punishing our military because the US allows gay people to live here. The Patriot Guard Riders stand together, looking all bad-ass, and make a big wall of bad-assness, thus cancelling out the hate and lameness of the protesters.

There have been a couple articles on them lately, including this one, and as word spreads, the group has grown. It's good to see how the kindness and respect of the many can counteract the hate of the few.

Rock on Patriot Guard Riders!

Second job update

Good news - I don't think I'll have to get that second job after all. It's not definite, but looking pretty good. We're counting on some money which may or may not come, and we'll have to do some wackiness with the mortgage, but it's either that or I don't get to see my kids unless they're eating or asleep. So that's worth it.

Let me hear you say Vot?

J has some funny VW ads listed over on his blog:

http://whatsafribbit.blogspot.com/2006/03/unpimp.html

My husband actually cheered for the car on the trebuchet.

Time for a Second Job

The time has come for me to get a second job. I work full time at a job I really like, but it's not enough. The motivating factor is a huge tax bill. Apparently, we're getting taxed on moving expenses from our company-paid relocation in 2004. We thought we'd paid them all in 2005. Fortunately, his company screwed up our reported taxes for 2004, and we're getting back a large amount. But it's still not enough to cover this huge tax bill.

The only way we can pay it is to get another job and not eat for a few months. Plus my daughter has outgrown her car seat. And my son's school needed book fees and registration fees. And we'll need a second car at some point. And on and on.

I've thought about quitting work because day care is so expensive, but my salary is needed for us to make it. As it is, I work 5 days a week. 4 of those days pay for daycare and taxes. The fifth is our grocery money, plus some toward the mortgage. Unfortunately, I was sick for 2 days this week. That's no groceries for 2 weeks. Plus last week was a short week. That's 3 weeks with no groceries, and we're short on the mortgage money. And on top of that, we have until April 15th to come up with the rest of the tax money (I know we can do a payment plan to the IRS, but there's no extra money for any sort of payments, so I'd have to get a second job anyway).

We've been frugal - no eating out, no buying anything frivolous, simple meals, but it's not enough. Both of us work full time, leaving the house at 7:00 and not finishing up cleaning and child stuff until 8:00-9:00 at night. My husband is also doing school on weekends (online) so our plates are full.

But, well, what can I do? I can be a crab about it and whine that I'm somehow too good to do low-level work because I have an advanced degree and I'm almost 31. Or I can be grateful that I'm able bodied and can work to feed and house my family. I'm focusing in on #2.

I have run around and asked at a bunch of places. I have an interview tomorrow to be a cafe worker or cashier at a chain bookstore on weekends and at night (like 8 pm - 11 pm). Trader Joe's doesn't need me in three of their local stores (I was dreaming of an employee discount). I called Whole Foods, but the only jobs are in the seafood or meat/cheese departments. I'm kind of desperate, but I don't think I can handle cutting or promoting meat. Although, as a cafe worker I'd be using milk to make lattes and stuff. And they sell various meat sandwiches (hopefully I wouldn't have to make them). I may request that I become a cashier, but that pays a little less. Then again, someone will get the cafe job, and it's not like I won't promote the soy milk.

I guess the question is - how much money are my ethics worth? Will I sell out and make more to feed and house my family? Or will I take slightly less and stand strong on my ethics?

Stay tuned. Same bat time. Same bat channel.

Laser Monks

I think the Laser Monks are extremely cool. They are Cistercian monks who sell reconditioned printer cartridges online and donate all profits to the needy. I like how instead of enriching a few CEOs, the money goes where it's most needed. And I like how they also donate to a Buddhist orphanage instead of only charities that are part of their religion. For some reason that strikes me as extremely nice.

I love the quote from this article:

"We're monks," McCoy says cheerfully. "We do monk things."

Indeed they do. They even have the cool hooded Jedi robes.

I think the next time we need a printer cartridge, we'll head over to their website: www.lasermonks.com

Happy Veganversary to Me!

It's my 2 year veganversary, otherwise known as my V-day.

Two years ago today, I swore off the animal products. I stumbled, and I screwed up, and I had cravings (which are all gone now). I questioned, and I read.

My decision to go vegan followed a month of giving up meat. On February 1st, when my daughter was 3 weeks old, I decided to give up beef, pork and chicken. The only hard one was chicken, since I very rarely ate the others. So I'd only eat fish and dairy. On Valentine's Day, we went to a seafood place and I ate crab legs and shrimp until I almost popped. After I was done, I looked down at the plates and saw all the shells of the animals I had eaten. I thought that instead of eating 1/10 of a chicken, I had killed about 20 smaller animals.

That was the last time I ate sea animals.

Shortly after that, my husband gave up seafood too, and a week later he told me he was going vegan. A week after that, I decided to give up dairy too. That was probably the hardest for me. Cottage cheese and parmesan were old friends. But I kept at it.

Then, on March 1st, I decided to get serious. I still messed up. Some stuff I ate had traces of dairy, and I was terrible at learning how to order at restaurants. But I made baby steps. I wasn't a real vegan, because some animal products were still there, but it wasn't intentional. I was still learning.

I started out swearing to myself that I'd never be an activist vegan. Those people were nuts. I'd just keep quiet about it. Not harming animals myself was enough. I had no interest in changing anyone else's mind. That was too pushy.

But after awhile, I thought that it was cowardly of me to keep quiet solely based on my personal comfort level. I was obligated to do what I could to help, even if it made people tease me or not like me because of what I represented.

So slowly, slowly I slip into activism. My blog, my library leafleting, my grassroots efforts. Soon I'll reserve the display case at the library and put up a month-long display. I'm still not totally comfortable with the activist label. But that's what I am. That's what everyone is who tries to change the world. I do this so my great grandchildren won't have to. I'll never see the world I am trying to create, but they will. I stand on the shoulders of abolitionists and civil rights and women's rights activists and spiritual leaders who never saw the world they strove to create either.

I raise a glass to everyone, vegan and not, who is out there trying to make this screwed up world a little better.

Slainte