American Dietetic Assoc.: "Vegetarian Diets Nutritionally Adequate"

In my copy of "The Voice", the e-newsletter of Mercy For Animals, one of the articles talks about how the American Dietetic Association - the "world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals" - just released an "updated position paper on vegetarian diets" that states unequivocally: vegetarian and vegan diets are not only good for you, but also help aid in disease prevention.

The Voice rather downplayed this landmark move by such an organization in my opinion. I mean, it is only an e-newsletter after all, but it was pushed way down the list of topics and then only got a moderate mention. This to me warrants more fanfare; this piece of news tells me that if an organization like the American Dietetic Association is now putting their stamp of approval on the vegan movement there may be hope for our fair country yet!

What does this mean exactly? Well if people are eating better they won't need to go to the doctor as much - which will revolutionize our health care system all by itself! There will quite simply be less need for cancer treatments, disease treatments, radiation therapy ... oh yeah, as I spell this out I can just feel the chemical, beef, dairy, and pharmaceutical industries growing angrier and angrier because ...

... what the American Dietetic Association has boldly proclaimed is that eating beef and dairy (and by extension animal products period) is not good for your health, and if people are healthier they won't need the expensive medical treatments that is fattening the wallets of not only the medical and pharmaceutical industries, but their equally corrupt legislative counterparts as well. Vegans and vegetarians have known this all along. But to get the ADA on their side? Folks, the American Dietetic Association has just delivered a mighty blow to the biggest, longest-standing money-making ventures in America!

To which I say ... Bravo! But it is a cautious "bravo!", because I know those giant industries which have their hooks sunk so deeply into the American consciousness for so many decades are not going to take this news lying down. They won't go out without a bitter, bloody fight. And I can't help wondering if all the money tied up in those animal-product industries (which includes the medical and pharmaceutical industries, because if you aren't sick you don't need to go to the doctor) will work to discredit the ADA. It's happened before; it will be interesting to see just how strong the ADA is.

To which I also say: Bring it!

Before concluding today's post I must also strongly emphasize the original reason this news item found it's way to my inbox in the first place: compassion for animals. Yes, our own personal health is certainly important, but another very good reason for eating a vegetarian/vegan diet is that the beef, chicken, pork, dairy, and fish industries are ALL guilty of subjecting the animals they "raise" to unimaginable cruelty and torture. This just adds to the growing list of reasons why we need to overhaul our diets as Americans. Don't believe me? Watch, but BE FOREWARNED - the video below contains graphic and disturbing images. I myself won't even watch it; I'm merely including this for the people reading this who don't already know what's really going on ...

More editorial from me: I don't believe "God intended" us to be vegetarians. I do believe it's okay to eat meat once in a while. I also believe that God NEVER intended us to abuse animals the way they are in these factory farms as documented in the video above. It was not "sustenance" and definitely not health matters that grew these factory farms - it was nothing more than greed that put those animals' lives in danger.

For information on animal abuse in factory farms and what you can do to stop it, please visit Mercy For Animals and any of their other affiliated websites:

ChooseVeg.com

EggCruelty.com

VegOhio.com

VegIllinois.com

Shift in direction

I've decided that, since I'm not the politico I was starting to turn into since the election, and since this blog has gathered a significant amount of dust, it is time to suck it up and broaden the proverbial horizons. Dusty blogs make me sad.

I'm serious, they really do!

My political opinions still stand, however. That's not going to change. My political opinions are not going to win me legions of friends either, so I'm not naïve, I will no doubt piss off the unenlightened which is fine but not my goal by any means. My goal here (in the beginning) was to educate and inform, either through my own information or by providing links (see sidebar). Folks, we don't have anyone but ourselves to blame for the state of American government. If you didn't vote then you forfeited your voice - that's your own problem! I personally used my vote to vote for what's known as a "third-party" nominee - I didn't vote for Obama or McCain. That being said, I'm thrilled that I was alive to witness and experience this historical event in our country's history. I don't think Obama will run this country into the ground; but only time will tell. He's got a lot of potential stretched out in front of him ... I just don't think he'll rise to the challenge, because he's got even more hooks deeply entrenched in big business than you can shake a Republican at.

The real change will come when someone who's NOT invested in corporate America gets elected President. Of course by then it may be too late, but who knows.

I'm especially disappointed by Obama's decisions about the war. If you follow NPR then you probably don't know that he just deployed 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan!

Anyway. I digress. No, Obama's not my favorite, but I'm open-minded. He's no slouch; I'm sure (read: hoping) he's got a few tricks up his sleeve. I just hope I'm right! I hope he at least listens to the third-parties...

Okay, I'm off to update a few things around here, stay tuned for more posts, of the less-politically inclined variety...

About Ralph Nader

I can write about him, right? I mean he stands side-by-side with the Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney. But I couldn't help noticing how he drastically outpaces both Ms. McKinney and Bob Barr in fundraising ... and upon closer inspection of his website, not to mention the latest Newsweek article on his presence in Florida, well ... it's pretty hard to just overlook him. I mean, heh, this is Ralph Nader we're talking about.

My earliest memory of Ralph Nader dates back to the early days of Carty Finkbeiner, Mayor of Toledo. Let's just say Mr. Nader wasn't exactly a fan. Okay, the truth is whenever Nader was in town it was guaranteed to be a great day in the news industry because when Nader and Finkbeiner got together sparks would fly tantamount to the Fourth of July. But then Carty has that effect on just about anyone he deals with. The biggest point of contention as I recall was the now-defunct Jeep plant. Something about eminent domain, I think. I can't find it exactly, and my mom would know better than me.

But I digress.

Take a look at Nader's website, votenader.org. Pretty impressive not to mention easy to navigate compared to votetruth08.com. Also, I wouldn't put a big ol' picture of Roseanne Barr on the front page either. I'm not even sure I would bury a benign text comment about how she supports me either. Not in a bid for the ultimate expression of American patriotism: the Presidency of the most powerful country in the free world. And I like Roseanne! But I wouldn't use her as the celebrity vehicle to promote me for President. That's just dumb. (I've made sure not to point people to that website for that reason.)

After reading the latest Newsweek article on Mr. Nader, I can honestly say I'm rethinking my vote. The point for me is not to vote for who's most likely to win - the point for me is to vote for who is most likely to effect change. Mr. Nader seems to have chosen a very strong running mate in Matt Gonzalez, too. Matt Gonzalez was elected president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2003. This was significant because he ran as a Green Party member at the time.

So I urge you dear reader to give Ralph Nader a closer look, as I am doing. He has a proven track record. He has more ballot access than Ms. McKinney, and I don't mean to knock McKinney's run for the Presidency. But I still believe my vote counts, and Ralph Nader feels the same way I do about all the issues that are important to me. I want there to be effective change - I don't want to just be sweet-talked about it, like I feel Obama is doing. And although I don't dislike McCain, he's been making some stupid mistakes. And don't get me started on Sarah Palin. I just don't know about her. Part of me likes her, part of me is really scared of what she would do to women's rights if she got anywhere near a leadership position in the White House. I think I would rather be sweet-talked about change, quite frankly.

Moreover, I think Ms. McKinney and Ms. Clemente stand a better chance of having their voices piped through Washington if Nader became President.

Common Enemy

I really have to work at suppressing the urge to make political slurs. I am conscious of the smarmy remark as it bubbles up within me: the kind of remark that would make those who share my political ideologies laugh out loud and nod their heads approvingly. I began to notice my tendency to do that after listening to my co-workers making comments (we all work at a television news station - uh, kind of can't escape the political coverage there). It's completely understandable. It's school spirit, good old-fashioned competition.

Except these days it is all too evident how damaging it can be to fly the flag of our political ideals. It really only serves to alienate us from each other, and so I decided to try a different tack: I've decided to listen to those whose views I fundamentally disagree with to see if I could learn something from them.

Let me tell you, that is not easy.

It really does have the effect of making one want to lash out or turn away and clap your hands over your ears. So I decided to listen: I'm listening to Obama supporters, McCain supporters, and anyone else who cares to share their views with me, whether I agree with them or not. It really takes some skill to be able to do that - not to sound arrogant, but I'm here to tell you if I can do it, anyone can do it. In fact, I believe more of us should do it.

From talking to people I already see the positives that BOTH sides have to offer: democrats are good at some things, republicans are good at others. Neither side is good at EVERYTHING! Both sides, ultimately, need the strengths of the other. What if all the countries who are trying to put astronauts into space worked together instead of racing each other to be the 'first' to accomplish something? Imagine if you had the strength of the Russians working with the strengths of the Chinese and Americans to explore the final frontier? I bet those 3 countries working together could come up with some amazing things! Better lifestyles all around!

But of course, that means setting aside some pride and stubbornness. And frankly, I see both Obama supporters and McCain supporters being able to do that. Because if there's one thing both sides agree on, it's the strength of the citizens of this country. Even in the midst of our current economic situation, everybody knows this country is going to bounce back eventually, somehow, some way. It might be sooner, it might be later, but it's going to happen.

Perhaps in the voting booth there should be a place where voters are encouraged to write one positive thing about both candidates whose views they 'oppose'. Find one positive thing, something you like about the candidates you didn't vote for. Nobody is completely evil - Randy Pausch said that (The Last Lecture). Everybody has something good to offer, even if it takes a while to reveal itself.

Another thought I had was maybe if enough people voted for a third party, it would get the Democrats' and Republicans' attention in a way that would force them to look at each other as compatriots rather than as enemies. In other words, the third parties would become their 'common enemy', the one thing that brings 2 bickering parties together, usually. I'm not naive, I know the next President will be either Obama or McCain; but my pressing question is what will the next President do to get both parties to work together? Do they even know what to do? What happened to that spirit that unified the House and Senate members singing "God Bless America" together right after 9/11? The 9/11 terrorists are not sufficient anymore; that's why I think a good, strong third party, preferably the Green Party, but I'll take just about any one of the bigger ones, to get Democrats and Republicans to build off each others' strengths, rather than dividing our fine country.

Bad News These Days

Wall Street is setting the kinds of records today it would rather not set. Obama and McCain are at each other's throats. People are out of work also in record numbers. All day long I sit and listen to this, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about moving to Canada. Running away, no matter how nice it sounds, never works, and running away is precisely what is wrong with our economy right now. People like me who ran away from our civic duties, taking all our freedoms, rights and privileges for granted for too long. Forgive me for sounding like a broken record but it's the truth. So far I've spent my adulthood mostly in blissful ignorance of the houses of cards being built out of our economy, content to let someone else make the decisions for me, content to not have to deal with the boring details that take me away from my very own pursuit of happiness. Because after all, I'm worth it ... right? It's all about me - isn't it???

Well I'm not running away this time. No matter how much it hurts I plan on staying put, weathering this storm and the storms ahead (this Wall Street crash is not going away any time soon). I have a lot to learn; I hate to admit it, but I really don't know that much about the finer workings of our government. And when you multiply that by how many other 30-something adults like me out there? Not to mention the 40-somethings, 50-somethings ...

... and THAT'S what is wrong with our economy today. Among other things.

Inaugural post on the new website

Hello, and welcome to my shiny new, very own, personal website. You have arrived at SarahSoda.net where I make my home and publish my thoughts, etc. More to come later, but for now, to read my views on this year's Presidential Election click here.

Red + Blue = Purple

I just finished watching a documentary that confirmed many of my suspicions, and echoed a few of my sentiments about politics in America today. I wish everyone who is old enough to vote could watch it before they go to the polls on Election Day - it's called, Split: A Divided America. I saw it on the Independent Film Channel, so I don't know if cable subscribers get that channel.



What made this documentary so compelling were the questions they asked, although the people interviewed were about as diverse a group of people as you could hope to find in America: from experts to regular people, old to young, from the Rust Belt to the Bible Belt, conservatives, liberals, and many people in-between. Noam Chomsky was interviewed; Tucker Carlson (former host of Crossfire on CNN) was interviewed, former heads of both Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns of years past.

They worked behind the scenes and offered their insight.

And the truth is the political campaigns, especially today, are deliberately negative (as a way of keeping voter turnout down - isn't anyone else bothered by the fact that the ONLY people who are bothering to put people in the White House only represent 30% of our country? Are you comfortable with that??), and are run by the same people who promote ... toothpaste.

Tucker Carlson called the political advertising "narrowcasting" because of how it narrows the viewpoints on any given subject. I forget what his exact words were, which is a shame because he really hit the nail on the head.

One other expert (I forget who just now) wanted to know why some housewife in Iowa is more bothered by the idea of an Islamic radical killing her and her family, than she is about her husband's job security, or the fact that they don't have health insurance for their family, or the quality of education her children are getting. His point was, this woman is going to cast her vote based on something that ultimately, is very unlikely to happen, rather than being focused on issues that are very real to her (read: all of us) on a daily basis. In other words, what is the likelihood that she will have to pick up a gun to defend herself (in Iowa, mind you) from Osama bin Laden - or Al Qaida period - than she would have to take her kids to the doctor?

Anyway, the documentary did a GREAT job of telling the story of what's really going on inside the political arena of today's America going into Election 2008, and they didn't just interview experts. They interviewed Citizen Joes and Janes, and they discovered that for all the differences the media chooses to paint our country in, the fact is the majority of us actually agree more than we disagree.

If you watch the political ads and you really care about what direction our country is headed ... I highly recommend you watch this documentary. It doesn't make a case for any political party, so there is no particular endorsement to be found there.