Category Archives: Uncategorized

Flour Power

Posted on April 2, 2012 | 5 Comments

 

Since last week, it’s been impossible to escape the news of Kim Kardashian’s encounter with a mysterious “flour bomber” who doused her during the launch of her new fragrance in Los Angeles.

In case you missed it, you can check out the footage here:

Kim Kardashian was allegedly targeted because of her unrepentant love of fur.

I’m not sure what everyone is so shocked about. This brazen form of activism goes back ages. Its objective is to publicly shame the target. Gay activists have been glitter bombing anti-gay figures for years, and a pie in the face is the oldest trick in the book.

What is far more shocking, are the comments made by Ms. Kardashian’s sister, Khloe, who, when discussing the incident, stated, “I don’t condone violence and bullying and what happened last Thursday was just that.”

Is she kidding?

Either her moral universe is completely upside down, or she knows nothing about where the real violence and bullying occur in this story: on fur farms.

Take a look at this video Martha Stewart recently recorded:

After watching these images, who in their right mind would entertain Ms. Kardashian’s comments as anything but rubbish? I’m sure rabbits being skinned alive would instead beg for a dousing of flour. And as far as bullying, I don’t think there’s any question that these animals are terrorized mercilessly. When juxtaposed with reality, her words seem downright obscene.

Khloe Kardashian herself is fur free, yet she has defended her sister’s wearing of fur as a personal choice. But it certainly isn’t a victimless choice. And in pitting her sister’s views against that of the alleged flour bomber, she ignorantly leaves the most important party out of the discussion: the animals.

It takes on average 40 animals to make one fur coat. Not for warmth, not for survival – for vanity. I wonder how many it will take before the Kardashians realize it’s just wrong.

 

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Why Vegans Aren’t Full Of Shit

Posted on August 25, 2011 | 5 Comments

The first time my mother came to visit Los Angeles after my husband and I went vegan, she chose to eat a plant-based diet with us for the entire week. I think she was curious as to what the hell we were eating. At the end of her stay, I asked what she thought about eating vegan. “The food was delicious! And…” she lowered her voice and let out an embarrassed grin, “I’ve never pooped like that in my life!” (She, like many Americans, has had intermittent problems with constipation.)

Some years later, when my father finally came to visit, he reported the exact same thing. And, most recently, while out to dinner with an old friend in New York, he confessed that after meeting us out for vegan meals he always has a nice healthy trip to the crapper within an hour or two.

The reason why this happens is because well-balanced vegan meals are loaded with fiber — a nutrient many Americans lack in our meat and dairy-centered diet. But don’t take my word for it, just go to your local pharmacy and check out the aisle, yes the entire aisle, dedicated to helping people shit. And then of course there’s all the products that are supposed to ease your troubles when you can’t shit: hemorrhoids, cramps, bloating. Forget about yellow and orange, perhaps the national threat level should be raised to Code Brown.

The truth is almost all these issues can be avoided by transitioning to a healthful, whole foods, plant-based diet. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, beans and whole grains are rich in fiber, which, aside from helping to prevent heart disease as well as certain types of cancer, keeps our digestive tract moving. This is extremely important, as it’s the main way we rid ourselves of waste and toxins.

It’s no coincidence that vegans have lower rates of colon cancer. It’s because of all that fiber. Vegans also have lower rates of heart disease by the way – former President Bill Clinton attributes a vegan diet to saving his life.

As Americans face a national health catastrophe, it’s important to keep in mind that diet plays a major role. Moving away from meat, dairy, and eggs and incorporating more plant-based foods is essential if we care about getting healthy. If you don’t think so, you’re obviously full of it. And yes, I do mean shit.

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No Animals Allowed, Unless They’re DEAD.

Posted on May 3, 2011 | 3 Comments

I went to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market this weekend (as I pretty much do every Sunday) to load up on all my organic fruits and veggies for the week. While we were entering, I noticed this sign:

So basically there are no dogs allowed inside the farmer’s market.

What upsets me about this is how many DEAD animals ARE allowed inside the farmer’s market. Check these pics out:

I know some would say that I should be supporting the idea that if people are going to eat meat, that they eat it from smaller farms where animals are treated better. But when I see these booths set up at the farmer’s market selling body parts, it just rankles me.

I’m assuming that companion animals are not allowed inside the farmer’s market because of cross-contamination disease fears. But pathogens such as salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter from animal flesh consumption, sicken and sometimes kill thousands of people every year. Additionally, heart disease, diabetes and stroke (our nation’s top killers) are all linked to animal-based foods.

Now, I realize that this is a free country (though I’m sure the dead animals being sold at these markets might disagree) and that this semi-rant probably won’t change much. After all, people want to be able to eat their meat, dairy, and eggs and feel good about it. And I’m sure that getting your locavore on and buying that shit from a stand on Sunday morning emblazoned with the words “Grass Fed” or “Humanely Raised” really tickles these people in all the right places. But before you  sink your teeth into that cow, take a bite out of these two facts:

1. Food transportation only accounts for roughly 9% of all the pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that are produced from animal foods. The rest of the 91% comes from shit, piss, and all that methane emitted.

2. Almost all farm animals, no matter how they’re raised, are sent to the same slaughterhouses. So, chances are, your pampered bison ended up with the same miserable death as any other animal raised on a factory farm. Go ahead and ask your local flesh dealer the next time you’re at the farmer’s market.

Before I close, I’d just like to add that LIVE animals actually can be found inside the farmer’s market, just as long as they’re on sale. Take, for example, the farmers selling lobsters and crabs. These animals are brought to the farmer’s market fully conscious in water-filled igloo coolers — very upsetting. Check out the seafood booths the next time you’re there. Also, I took this picture of a farmer who sells goat cheese and brings baby calves with him every week to woo customers:

I asked him what happens to the goats once they’re spent. He assured me that none of his goats are sent to slaughter and that male goats born on his farm (goats have to be pregnant in order to produce milk, just like cows) are either adopted out or used for weed/brush control programs. Even so, I couldn’t help but wonder how scared this baby must’ve been, surrounded by thousands of people, and being gawked at. Whose interest was it serving to have her there? And what right is it of ours to impregnate her, and take her milk for our profit and palet?

I’ll continue my weekly jaunts to the farmer’s market on Sundays, but I truly hope that as people start to become more aware, scenes like this become less prevalent.

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I’m Gonna Wash That Gay Right Outta My Hair

Posted on April 28, 2011 | 5 Comments

Recently it’s disturbed me to notice that the people hell-bent on oppressing gays don’t just want to discriminate against them and marginalize them, they want to pretty much erase them.

Take, for example, a new measure making headway in the Tennessee Senate, SB49. Dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, it would make it illegal for educators to discuss any sexuality other than heterosexuality with students from kindergarten to eighth grade.

Not only is this legislation horribly offensive to gay men and women everywhere, it’s also potentially damaging to children. Contrary to the idiots and homophobes who believe this bill is a good idea, there are many kids out there who have gay parents. I wonder what it does to a kid to have state-mandated shame over their parents’ relationship? And how about the kids who are just starting to realize they might be gay themselves? It must be really fantastic for their self esteem to be brought up being taught by default that being gay is something so awful it can’t even be mentioned in school. Whatever happened to teaching tolerance so we can start to rid our schools of hateful bullying and subsequent suicides? Better we should try to erase gays from schools completely? Stupid. As. Shit.

A person who would love this fucked up piece of shit legislation in Tennessee is Ryan Sorba, the chairman of the Young Conservatives of California. In this speech he recently gave, he tells his fellow homophobes to stop using the word “gay” when  discussing gay people because it gives LGBT peeps an identity. He goes on to say that they should refer to gay people as “sodomites” among other choice terms. His logic clearly is that, aside from what gays do in the bedroom, our relationships are irrelevant and therefore should not be acknowledged even in conversation.

And then there was this business of a billboard that went up in New York. It was paid for by Planned Parenthood and depicted two men with the words, “Someone you know is in love.” Here is a pic of the billboard, isn’t it TERRIBLE?!


There was an outcry from conservatives (read: haters) who said that the billboard was offensive. What are we supposed to tell our children? Ummm… how about telling them the fucking truth: that some men fall in love with other men, and some women fall in love with other women, and we shouldn’t discriminate against them. Funny how you don’t hear a public outcry from these people over billboards for strip clubs or alcohol – gays should remain hidden, but strippers, totally cool.

The truth is, that whether these assholes like it or not, and no matter what your religion says, gay people and our relationships are a reality. We’re here, bitches. And these pathetic attempts to erase us from public discourse are sad and homophobic to the max. You may not like us, but we are American citizens and we deserve equal protection and equal rights under the law.

For those of you who still think you can sweep us under your hideous Walmart area rug, I have one thing to say: GLEE, Fox, Tuesday nights at 8:00.

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