Features & Occasionals (3)
A Candidate for the 99%?
Salt Lake’s former mayor, Rocky Anderson, quit the Democrats and in a lively manifesto is calling for the formation of an alternative, third party. And yes, he’d consider running for office.
If you followed Rocky Anderson’s two terms as Salt Lake City’s mayor, you always knew that he inhabited the left wing of the Democratic Party. But when a new Democratic president proved to lean further right than Nixon and Eisenhower (Fox News “Obama’s a socialist” accusations notwithstanding), it was the final straw for Rocky—who recently resigned as a Democrat.
Not surprisingly, he’s not going quietly into the night.
“Neither the Dems nor Republicans have done anything to solve the most pressing crisis facing our planet,” he said, alluding to the climate change, and lamented their “caving to the fossil fuel industry.” Rocky has a list of grievances against his own former party’s current political philosophy and “any one should be enough for a principled Democrat to say adios.”
Relying On Each Other
The Occupy Wall Street movement indicates that we’re remembering what we’ve forgotten: that we create our economy, and that the whole system relies upon our trust in each other.
Income disparity is terrible in the United States right now, and people are angry about it. Lots of people are in debt, kids can’t afford college any more, health care is becoming a preserve of the rich and the connected, and jobs remain scarce. A lot of the blame is being placed on corporations. People are living in downtown parks across the nation in order to protest the current state of affairs, where money rules and human lives are quite literally discounted. Corporate greed is on the hook.
To Meat or Not to Meat?
The case for sustainability and respect for life presents an argument against the vegan diet. So do the life-span charts.
One woman's quest for a healthy, sustainable diet leads beyond raw foods veganism.
Years ago, I was the co-owner of a 40-restaurant Subway franchise in multiple states. That income allowed me to retire; I never needed to work again.
Then I began to uncover the horrors of factory farming, as well as the health challenges caused by the consumption of cooked meat. I knew my days of being a franchise restaurant owner were over.
I began intensive experimentation on my own body with herbs and raw foods. I studied intensely for seven years, earning a degree in nutrition along the way. I watched my body shrink and grow and go pale and fill out and get sick and weak. Hives, acne, a sore throat for 18 months, candida, weird emotional stuff, and so much more colored my raw vegan days. I have been front row witness as well as in-house medicine woman to my three superhero children and my brave and willing life partner.
When I stepped onto this extreme path seeking health, I was in large part motivated by the understanding that other feeling and living beings suffered so I could have life. I cut anything with a face from my diet. I felt that if I ate lower on the food chain, not only would there be more food for all, but there would be less suffering in the world. I wanted to preserve the natural resources of this planet. I knew eating meat was resource intensive. I believed conventional farming methods were responsible for pretty much all of the illness and disease being experienced today, not to mention the destruction of our land, water, air and trees.
I stand in a very different place today, and it has been a riveting journey to get here. I know with certainty that my position and perspective will continue to evolve as my understanding continues to grow.
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