I was just reading my Friday edition of the SF Gate newsletter and reflecting on the comments Mark Morford makes at least once a week about our country's confusion as to why the population is so obese and dealing with so many health issues. Can you say, "Duh?" It amazes me just how many people don't realize the crap that gets pumped into our beef and our chickens that winds up accumulating in our bodies to horrendous levels because we're so indoctrinated by those "Beef -- it's what's for dinner" commercials. If you want a real eye-opener about that steak you're getting ready to put on the grill, just read Ruth Ozeki's My Year of Meats. It ain't fiction, kids -- that shit's for real.
Now let's get one thing straight before you decide to stop reading -- I am not a vegetarian. I love steak, I love hamburgers. Further, I am female and sometimes need an extra dose of iron once a month. "Is she a hypocrite?" you may ask. If I were, do you think I'd be writing this entry? The majority of red meat I consume comes from my parents' cattle. I know EXACTLY what has gone into these cattle, i.e., no antibiotics, no growth hormones, no ground up cow brains and spinal cords in the feed. It is organic, and let me tell you, it tastes so much better than what you get in the grocery store (unless you shop at an organic grocery store). Plus I have the peace of mind of knowing my body can process the meat easily. I was tickled a couple of weeks ago when I heard my dad is thinking about buying some chickens. Oh what a glorious day that will be!
Then there's the fast food. Any fast food. I've been cutting it out of my diet for the last month, and the energy I have in exchange is well worth it. Even my crazy class and work schedule isn't dragging me down. "But the convenience!" I hear some of you yelling. "Sometimes I'm just so tired when I get home from sitting at a computer and tippy-tapping away that I don't want to cook." Leftovers, baby. Cook a big batch of your favorite something on the weekend when you're rested and there will be plenty to savor later when you're worn out from work and the kids. Here's another bonus -- you actually save money when you're not spending four or five bucks a pop at Mickey D's or KFC a day. Not only that, you're saving money on trips to the doctor, or should I say LACK of trips to the doctor?
Yes, for cryin' out loud, I'm a hippie. I've never been in denial about it; I've always embraced it. I'm not perfect, though. Those refined sugars are turning out to be a bear to eliminate. I'm not much in the candy department, never have been (except for the occasional bit of dark chocolate, but it's better for you than milk chocolate), but I hooked myself on pop in high school. As with any other bad habit, it's a slow journey. Prescription medication forced me to go completely caffeine-free, but that was no biggie since I was already mostly caffeine-free anyway. I started my weaning process by allowing myself one can (preferrably) or one 20 oz. bottle (usually) every other day. After a while, the cravings just seemed to go away, mostly. The other key was finding a substitute, kind of like some smokers take up chewing gum. I now have a variety of herbal teas in my cabinet that is seconded only by the grocery store itself.
I guess what all this rambling is leading to is that I realized that if I want to live a long life despite the MD and in hopes of getting into that PhD program in ecology (remember, I'm a hippie), I need to make some changes and stop putting so much crap in my mouth. The changes aren't even that difficult. It isn't that hard to find a source of organic produce, milk, and even meat (and you don't have to have parents who grow their own cows). Cost, you ask? Yes, it can be more expensive to go organic, but if this broke college hippie can do it (on a fairly regular basis -- I'm no saint, after all), anyone can. Stop bitching about how your ankles are breaking down as you drive your overweight fanny to Burger King, get your slovenly ass out of the complimentary wheelchair at Wal-Mart, put that Hungry Man dinner back in the frozen food section, and try those yummy veggies in the produce section. Buy your hamburger organic, or at the VERY LEAST buy the 96% lean stuff instead of the 85%. Tiny changes, kids. You'll be amazed how easy it is.
Friday, January 30, 2004
Monday, January 26, 2004
I just received AGAIN an email about the Eid stamp put out by the USPS, and I have to make a few comments -- if for no other reason than to keep my BP down a couple of notches.
First of all, let me point out that this is not the only holiday stamp of any faith put out by the USPS. In fact, I'd wager a heavy bet that Christmas stamps outnumber all other holiday stamps put together.
Second, while the occurrences we're asked to REMEMBER were perpetrated by Muslims, it is extremely unfair to equate every Muslim with those Muslims. Even Bush doesn't do it. It would be equivalent to saying that KKK members and Hitler represent all Christians. Here at the university, I've had the privilege of meeting and getting to know a few Muslims, and they were just as saddened and outraged by the events of 9/11 as any Christian. In fact, when a candlelight vigil was held on campus, more students of Middle Eastern descent attended than did American students. How shameful is that?
I applaud the USPS's attempt to be multicultural. This country is not just made up of white, Christian, able-bodied individuals of Northern-European-descent. This country is a beautiful conglomerate of nationalities and ways of worship. Everyone keeps yelling about peace on Earth and goodwill toward men, but they don't seem too interested in trying to actually live it. How are we ever going to achieve these goals if we spend all our time bashing each other and tearing each other apart? Would that we spent more time talking with each other and learning from each other. How mch happier might we be?
First of all, let me point out that this is not the only holiday stamp of any faith put out by the USPS. In fact, I'd wager a heavy bet that Christmas stamps outnumber all other holiday stamps put together.
Second, while the occurrences we're asked to REMEMBER were perpetrated by Muslims, it is extremely unfair to equate every Muslim with those Muslims. Even Bush doesn't do it. It would be equivalent to saying that KKK members and Hitler represent all Christians. Here at the university, I've had the privilege of meeting and getting to know a few Muslims, and they were just as saddened and outraged by the events of 9/11 as any Christian. In fact, when a candlelight vigil was held on campus, more students of Middle Eastern descent attended than did American students. How shameful is that?
I applaud the USPS's attempt to be multicultural. This country is not just made up of white, Christian, able-bodied individuals of Northern-European-descent. This country is a beautiful conglomerate of nationalities and ways of worship. Everyone keeps yelling about peace on Earth and goodwill toward men, but they don't seem too interested in trying to actually live it. How are we ever going to achieve these goals if we spend all our time bashing each other and tearing each other apart? Would that we spent more time talking with each other and learning from each other. How mch happier might we be?
Sunday, January 11, 2004
It really sucks to be reminded just how bass-ackwards some people's and some states' thinking can be. A group of people with disabilities is suing the state of Tennessee under the ADA in an attempt to get that state to make its courthouses accessible. One woman in the suit, a court reporter, has had to turn down 23 jobs because she was unable to get to the second floor of the buildings due to lack of elevators. In one job she had taken, a judge had to carry her into the bathroom and sit her on the toilet because she couldn't get her wheelchair through the door. A man in the suit whose legs were in casts due to a car accident was forced to pull himself up the stairs to his hearing while court employees and a judge laughed at him from the top of the stairs. His case wasn't heard that morning, so he had to make his way back down to the first floor for lunch. When he refused to struggle back up the stairs for the afternoon session, the judge had him arrested for failure to appear.
One would think this would be an open-and-shut case of blatant discrimination with no danger of being thrown out, but the state of Tennessee and other states facing similar suits are yelling "11th Amendment" in order to not have to make any accomodations. For those of you not up to date on your Constitutional amendments (admittedly, I'm a little rusty myself), the 11th Amendment reads, "The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state" (thanks to Cornell's law school for providing the full text of the Constitution online). The states aren't being sued by citizens of other states -- they're being sued by their OWN friggin' citizens! Unfortunately, there seems to be a real danger that federal appeals courts may allow this cock-and-bullshit to fly and declare that the states don't have to provide reasonable accomodations for employees or plaintiffs/defendants. I don't think I need to go on for lines and lines about that injustice, nor do I need to bring up comparison after comparison of other discrimination suits in a similar vein which were ruled in favor of the plaintiffs (Brown vs Topeka BOE, anyone?). The author of the editorial I read did that well enough, so I'll refer you to the NYTimes online, Sunday edition.
I do, however, feel the need to comment on the judge's and employees' behavior in the incident of the man in casts, which has undoubtedly been repeated by them and other states countless times. I'm outraged that people can take such obvious pleasure in another human's pain and humiliation. They basically took this man's dignity and stomped the dog shit out of it right there in a building meant to uphold the law -- the same law which includes preserving the dignity of people. The courts in Florida upheld the right of a woman to die with dignity by ordering the removal of her feeding tube, but the same federal courts in other states may say, "To hell with your dignity. You're just a second-class person anyway because you're a cripple." It's so ironic to read this editorial when we're about a week away from celebrating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It's unreal to celebrate the emancipation of a group of people when there is still so much blatant discrimination in our country of all groups that are not American-born, white, Protestant, middle-class (or should I say upper-class nowadays?), able-bodied people. We are not the land of freedom and equality that our leaders love to claim we are; rather, we are a country full of people suspicious of and hateful toward anything and anyone different than us. When I think of that, a deep sadness begins to mingle with the outrage.
One would think this would be an open-and-shut case of blatant discrimination with no danger of being thrown out, but the state of Tennessee and other states facing similar suits are yelling "11th Amendment" in order to not have to make any accomodations. For those of you not up to date on your Constitutional amendments (admittedly, I'm a little rusty myself), the 11th Amendment reads, "The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state" (thanks to Cornell's law school for providing the full text of the Constitution online). The states aren't being sued by citizens of other states -- they're being sued by their OWN friggin' citizens! Unfortunately, there seems to be a real danger that federal appeals courts may allow this cock-and-bullshit to fly and declare that the states don't have to provide reasonable accomodations for employees or plaintiffs/defendants. I don't think I need to go on for lines and lines about that injustice, nor do I need to bring up comparison after comparison of other discrimination suits in a similar vein which were ruled in favor of the plaintiffs (Brown vs Topeka BOE, anyone?). The author of the editorial I read did that well enough, so I'll refer you to the NYTimes online, Sunday edition.
I do, however, feel the need to comment on the judge's and employees' behavior in the incident of the man in casts, which has undoubtedly been repeated by them and other states countless times. I'm outraged that people can take such obvious pleasure in another human's pain and humiliation. They basically took this man's dignity and stomped the dog shit out of it right there in a building meant to uphold the law -- the same law which includes preserving the dignity of people. The courts in Florida upheld the right of a woman to die with dignity by ordering the removal of her feeding tube, but the same federal courts in other states may say, "To hell with your dignity. You're just a second-class person anyway because you're a cripple." It's so ironic to read this editorial when we're about a week away from celebrating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It's unreal to celebrate the emancipation of a group of people when there is still so much blatant discrimination in our country of all groups that are not American-born, white, Protestant, middle-class (or should I say upper-class nowadays?), able-bodied people. We are not the land of freedom and equality that our leaders love to claim we are; rather, we are a country full of people suspicious of and hateful toward anything and anyone different than us. When I think of that, a deep sadness begins to mingle with the outrage.