How to Get Fat Without Really Trying

The meat and dairy industries receive the most government financial backing. Corn and soy are subsidized, allowing cheap processed foods to be created and sold at high profits. This short video sums it all up nicely and should push us all to rethink what we eat and what we feed our families.

How the Mainstream Media Ignores Ordinary People in Economic News Coverage

I ran across this article by chance. Concrete evidence that the mainstream media is broken.

Here is a link to the article:
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/06/world_without_workers.html/

I have a hard time articulating why these issues matter. Here is an explanation from the article:
"Biased coverage matters for three primary reasons. Our belief in democratic debate demands informed citizens, and requires that different points of view are allowed to be heard. Journalistic standards of objectivity call for balanced coverage. And, perhaps most importantly, media coverage influences people’s opinions and behavior."

Let's work together to reform the media!

It's Time to Reform the Media

I attended the National Conference for Media Reform. It's time for Americans to understand what is going on with the media in this country.

Some of the people I talk to about the conference don't get what it's about.
Here are some of the issues:
The media is too concentrated.
Too few people control the mainstream media.
Too much conflict of interest exists. Example: GE profits from war. GE owns NBC.
"Entertainment news" takes the place of real issues.

It used to be that a local tv station had to renew it's license every 3 years. Now it's basically a rubber stamp every 7 or 8 years.

What can be done?
Let your representatives in Washington know that this is unaceptable.
Talk to others. Inform others.

Fast Food Nation

I've been a vegetarian for a long time. Reasons include: environmental impact of a meat-based diet, factory farming, the treatment of animals.

I'm watching Fast Food Nation. I've read about the treatment of animals, but to actually see the kill floor was awful!

Go Veg!

A New State of Mind

I hate excercise.

I've had no success with exercise until recently.

Now I have a totally new mindset. I don't actually exercise - I look for alternatives to my car. I've been taking the bus to work 2-3 days/week. I ride my bike for short trips around town.
I've started a new work schedule - 7-3:30. This should make getting to work on my bike easier. I also wear a pedometer.

I took the bus today. I was in the middle of something at work and didn't leave until 4:45. I was so tired from the weekend (Ebertfest). I wanted to go straight home, but I had to go by Strawberry Fields. It's about a 15 minute walk from work. I didn't really need anything for myself, but we're out of wet cat food. We have dry, but I didn't want the stare-down from Sweetpea. She'll sit on her table and stare at me until I get her wet food, even when she has dry food in her bowl.
And I wasn't going to take the bus home and drive back.

Thanks to Sweetpea I got my 10,000 steps today and then some!

"There should be no such thing as an illegal person on this planet"

The above is a quote from Raquel Rubio Goldsmith, a crusader for border reforms and more humane treatment of the undocumented.
I found the quote in the book I just finished reading today: "The Devil's Highway".
I started crying today as I finished the book. It is a heartbreaking account of 26 men and boys that tried to cross the Mexican border into the Arizona desert. Only 12 people survived the trip.
In the last several months, I've become aware of a group called Humane Borders.
"Humane Borders, motivated by faith, offers humanitarian assistance to those in need through more than 70 emergency water stations on and near the U.S.-Mexican border. " Humane Borders was mentioned several times in "The Devil's Highway". The part of the book that really got me crying is this:
"In Arizona, critics are more direct. Toxic materials appear in jugs that look like drinking water. Humane Borders water stations are vandalized, the 300 gallon tanks broken open so they run dry." What causes such hate?

Human trafficking over the border is heartbreaking and a big business. Lots of people die after paying for assistance to get over the border. These people cook to death in the desert, abandoned by the guides they paid; in trunks of cars; in backs of trucks; in train cars; and strapped to the engine blocks of cars.

We need a more humane immigration policy.

It's Time to Cut The Cable

I see letters to the editor from people complaining that with rises in gas and utilities they can't really handle the increase in cable, too. Guess what folks, cable is not basic need. It's time to cut the cable and save some money. Read a book, take a walk, volunteer, play with your kids.

Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan (Part 1)

Note: some of the images are disturbing:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=C0YFaLN_LFs&feature=related

Church of Stop Shopping and the Story of Stuff

Consumerism is out of control!
I replaced my 30 year old fridge last year. When I went to buy a new one, I told the sales person I need to replace my 30 year old fridge. He informed me that fridges built today do not last that long. This is unacceptable!

The Story of Stuff is a "20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns". The problem I encountered with the fridge is called Planned Obsolescence, and it is addressed in the Story of Stuff. Perceived Obsolescence is created by advertisers. It is also addressed in the Story. My tv is almost 20 years old, when it dies I will not be getting a new one.

Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping are spreading the anti-consumerism message. Last Christmas, a documentary was made about Rev Billy - "What Would Jesus Buy?" I highly recommend it. Below is the trailer:

Stop Military Rape

This must stop!

Winter Soldier Testimony dealing with military rape.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epECbwvQshM&feature=related

http://stopmilitaryrape.org/

An Inconvenient Truth: We Are Eating Our Planet to Death

I've been a vegetarian for a long time. My goal is veganism, but it is hard to do - some days are easier than others. A vegan diet is best for our over-burdened planet.

Because of global warming, choosing a plant-food based diet is now a moral issue.

Here are two articles that explain:
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/dec/truth.htm

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/dec/globalwarming.htm :
"Global warming poses one of the most serious threats to the global environment ever faced in human history. Yet by focusing entirely on carbon dioxide emissions, major environmental organizations have failed to account for published data showing that other gases are the main culprits behind the global warming we see today. As a result, they are neglecting what might be the most effective strategy for reducing global warming in our lifetimes: advocating a vegetarian diet."

Michael Prysner's testimony at Winter Soldier

Here is a link to the video:
http://answer.pephost.org/site/News2?abbr=ANS_&page=NewsArticle&id=8795#video

In the must-watch video, Iraq war veteran and ANSWER organizer Michael Prysner retells his horrifying responsibilities as an occupation soldier, and denounces the Army officers who used racism and bigotry in order to justify the oppression of the Iraqi people. Prysner's eloquent and compelling testimony cuts through the Pentagon's propaganda and exposes the truth of the Iraq occupation -- please circulate this video to your friends, family members, classmates, co-workers and listservs.

Prysner joined the U.S. Army at age 17 and in March 2003, he was deployed to northern Iraq. He remained there for 12 months. Bearing witness to the many crimes of the occupation, Prysner became a staunch opponent of the war, and in 2005 he began organizing and speaking out against it. The four-day Winter Soldier event was organized by Iraq War Veterans Against the War.

Winter Soldier - eyewitness accounts of the occupations

Every single US Citizen should see at least some of the Winter Soldier testimony.
I am outraged that it was not covered by the mainstream media. Something must be done about the one-sided corporate media coverage.

I am also outraged that the mainstream media is not accurately reporting what is going on in Iraq.

Iraq Veterans Against the War sponsored the testimony. You can watch replays of the testimonies at http://www.ivaw.org.

You can also see replays at Democracy Now.