Develop a crumb crisp coating

The world moves one step closer to Vegan meat. I'm happy enough with the Tofurky Bratwurst that we had for dinner tonight.

Then there's this as a more interesting option for those vegans who also want their meat.

Go ten rounds with the preacher in the ring

Sarah Palin is at a book signing in Orlando this evening. The crazies started camping out last night so they could worship her. Here's a sample of her fans from the other day in Ohio (who sounded pretty similar in the News 13 interviews this morning here in Orlando).



More up-and-downism on the Palin circuit.



Meanwhile, but not intellectually too far away, the GOP, through Committeeman Jim Bopp, Jr. (who - big shock! - is also general counsel to the National Right to Life), released its ten conservative purity principles yesterday:

(1) Smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama’s “stimulus” bill
(2) Market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run healthcare;
(3) Market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation;
(4) Workers’ right to secret ballot by opposing card check
(5) Legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants;
(6) Victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges;
(7) Containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat
(8) Retention of the Defense of Marriage Act;
(9) Protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing and denial of health care and government funding of abortion; and
(10) The right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership.

OK, stop laughing now, and let Sullivan take it down point by point.

We hunt our beautiful wildlife

In the lead-up to Thanksgiving - "Turkey Day" to most - Gary Steiner writes a New York Times Op-Ed questioning the humanity of the way humans routinely kill other living creatures for their enjoyment. The ethics of eating meat are, for those who choose to think about it at all, captured in the ideas of eating "certified humane meat" and "free range" eggs, and the countless other ways in which people rationalize their decisions to serve animals on a plate by convinving themselves that the animals, at least before slaughter, were not mistreated, by making the way the animals were raised appear "compassionate."

What does compassion mean in the context of slitting an animals throat so that it can bleed to death? If you haven't learned by now to be wary of the adjective "compassionate," we've got a lot more taking to do. For now, let's just take note that a major selling point for Whole Foods' "animal compassionate" meat (which is twice as expensive as mass-market meat) and Chipotle's "humanely raised pork" (interestingly, it's the pork that was humanely raised, not the pig), is that it tastes better.

Steiner makes the obvious, but generally (and intentionally, since it is so obvious) overlooked point that the opportunity for cruelty doesn't end when an animal gets prepped for butchering, that the act of killing a living creature is itself a form of abuse, regardless of the care and gentility in which the animal is fattened up before making it to the broiler. Eliminating factory farms and the commodification of animals, while laudible, isn't the end of the story. But frequently, humanity's concern for animal welfare ends when we have to choose between an animal's right to live and our right to a porterhouse. Better the steakhouses shouldn't suffer.

We have been trained by a history of thinking of which we are scarcely aware to view non-human animals as resources we are entitled to employ in whatever ways we see fit in order to satisfy our needs and desires. Yes, there are animal welfare laws. But these laws have been formulated by, and are enforced by, people who proceed from the proposition that animals are fundamentally inferior to human beings. At best, these laws make living conditions for animals marginally better than they would be otherwise — right up to the point when we send them to the slaughterhouse.

I don't claim perfection on these issues. Ethics is always, at some level, about balancing competing interests. I'm not vegan. I continue to eat eggs and dairy - though my daugher is rightly pushing me to avoid any cheese with rennet - yet I'm fully aware of the inherent ethical problems with them. What happens, for instance, to the cattle given birth by a milk cow in order to keep her lactating? It's a tough issue, and I'm not sure that ignoring the consequences is legitimate. Worse, how can I justify my leather car seats. The answer? I simply cannot, and I probably should do better.

Still, the minimum demand for making ethical choices is the consideration of all factors. To fail to take account of the way food animals are bred, imprisoned, fed, drugged, or killed is not ethical decisionmaking. And its result can hardly be considered humane - characterized by kindness, mercy, or compassion - in any true sense of the word:

Humane differs from the ordinary use of merciful in that it expresses active endeavors to find and relieve suffering, and especially to prevent it, while merciful expresses the disposition to spare one the suffering which might be inflicted.

Moreover, the ethical arguments set aside the also important issues of sustainability and the environmental disaster that is meat production. But that's for another time.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Sing about it

More Patty Griffin.

Nasty sour mash

It sure seems that the "most honest man" in the Senate is preternaturally incapable of straightforward honesty. Can we just call Joe Lieberman "Fair and Balanced?"

A couple of songs to sing

Patty Griffin, Rain.



And my current fave, No Bad News.

I know you couldn't give a shent

Bruce Bartlett thinks the problem with the current GOP is that they're hypocrites. Me, I think they're irresponsible.

We're probably both right.

This order that is heaven sent

Apparently in some circles it is very Christian to pray for the death of the President, and to beseech others to do it, too.

Buy a new suit when I'm feeling down

I grew up seeing Syms commercials down in South Florida, so when I lived in New York City, my college roommate - who considered himself the most educated consumer - insisted that I go to Syms when I needed a new suit. I ended up buying two "summer suits," a blue one and a tan one. I still had them in my closet until a few months ago, but hadn't worn them in a very long time.

Sy Syms passed away yesterday. More than a clothing retailer, Sy was apparently a pretty good guy:

Sy Syms spent many years contributing to diverse charities, including Boys Town of Jerusalem; the television program Frontline; the Public Broadcasting Company; and Boston University. He was a member of Congregation Emanu-El, and a trustee of the Inner City Scholarship Fund of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York. He endowed the Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University.

Don't put your trust in a prairie dog

In his ongoing obsession with taking down Sarah Palin - a noble endeavor if ever there were one, though there does come a point, long ago passed by Sully, that it approaches the absurd - Sullivan finally makes the right point about America's Maverick Hero John McCain, what Palin says about him and what it all says about the American media and responsibility and real honor:

This is worth keeping in mind through all this. The only reason we even know about Sarah Palin is John McCain.

He picked her so carelessly, and his thought process was so cynical, that he should stand in the dock of public opinion before Palin does. Her vanity led her to say yes to his crazy offer. But he gave her that chance. And in the end, she is his responsibility.

And that's why in fact the pushback has been almost milquetoast. How do Steve Schmidt and John McCain reveal the truth about Palin when that truth only further proves their fantastic incompetence, nihilism and unseriousness with respect to government? And what's truly telling about Washington is that a man like McCain, who perpetrated this nonsense and even now refuses to take an ounce of responsibility for it, is nonetheless invited on countless talk shows and treated like the hero he always was. And no one demands he account for this train-wreck outside his tested cant about Palin "exciting the base."

If he had any sense of responsibility, he would resign. And if the Washington media had any sense of responsibility, it would never invite him on TV again without demanding he take responsibility for what he nearly did to the national security of this country. No one who put this person near the nuclear button should have a future in public life.

But this is Washington. And they protect their own.

Look out any window

Al Gore was heckled by global warming denialists and teabaggers on Friday night during a speech in Boca Raton last week. The classy heckling by the head-in-the-sand crowd continues in the comments to the article. Here's a sample:

First, polls of climate scientists are meaningless.

[P]olls of scientists don't make it "fact." That colleges teach it doesn't make it "fact."

But polls of the general population denying global warming? Well, those matter.

Polls are starting to show that only the extremely ignorant and/or the far left radicals still subscribe to the myth of global warming. Some even tried to change the name to "climate change" when the facts proved their theories wrong. Now as the rational citizens are becoming aware of Gore scam, they are showing their displeasure. Good on em!

OK, now I am getting a bit confused. Apparently, global warming does exist, but scientists actually know that it is caused by the sun, not pollution. It's just a scam to get new taxes - which get paid to Al Gore, of course.

"Global Warming" is only a scheme to initiate new taxes against the American people for their "carbon foot print." Most climatologists have scientific facts that suggest that the warming of the earth is caused by the Sun. Our planet isn't the only planet in the solar system that is heating up. The rest of the planets in the solar system are heating up as well. Those so called "scientists" that say global warming is real and is caused by pollution are paid off so that they provide fake facts that global warming is real. Our earth's global warming issue does not stem from pollution, but it stems from the natural actions of our Sun. Don't believe everything your politicians say. Think outside of the box. By the way, Gore will get a cut of the profits once these "global warming" taxes are initiated.

Oh, whatever, who cares about consistency, Al Gore's a jerk!

His movies and books are created to keep Al Gores in power. He's a schmuck.

I hope that wasn't one of my people who wrote that; it's bad enough that the writer is bragging about being from Winter Park. Still, it makes sense that there are many Al Gores, since he is - excuse me, they are - the inventors of the internets. One man cannot do it all.

Anyway, Gore's a clown!

Sorrry Al, but your side show circus act isn't fooling anyone any more.

Sigh.

Sucking wind

The serious David Broder is at it again, this time on President Obama's "dithering" (thanks for taking your cue from Dick Cheney, Mr. Broder) on a "decision" for Afghanistan troops:

It is evident from the length of this deliberative process and from the flood of leaks that have emerged from Kabul and Washington that the perfect course of action does not exist. Given that reality, the urgent necessity is to make a decision -- whether or not it is right.

Just to be clear here: a wrong decision, according to Broder, is better than no "decision." Apparently, it is impossible for The Dean to understand that not making a decision is a decision in itself, and that that perhaps all of the alternatives to current policy are substantially worse than where we are now at. Or that not making a tragic mistake with the lives of American troops is of some value. Consequences don't matter. Our soldiers are just numbers, and Afghanis, not even that.

Meanwhile, Colin Powell is saying something quite different from the so, so sober Broder:

This is a very difficult one for him. And it isn’t just a one-time decision. This is the decision that will have consequences for the better part of his administration. So Mr. President, don’t get pushed by the left to do nothing; don’t get pushed by the right to do everything. You take your time and you figure it out. You’re the commander-in-chief and this is what you were elected for.

Broder wants a cowboy as President again.

But America did not.

That's why we elected Barack Obama.

Left a scar on another one

Josh documents today's example of the new American racism.

And Pat Robertson gets in the act just because he's Pat.

Passing out the torches

Today's example of GOP racism - back to the tried-and-true Muslim target.

Hot House Ball

Kevin Drum and Brad Plumer are wondering why conservatives are obsessed with nuclear power.

Of the handful of Republicans who think global warming is a serious problem--like [Senator Lamar] Alexander--most refuse to address it unless nuclear power gets a starring role.

Their conclusions - that the right believes that if the left is against it, it must be pro-America to be in favor of nuclear power; and, it's a way to act like the left isn't really serious about the problem of global warming - and the right really is (cognitive dissonance, for sure) - since the left is opposed to such an important and serious solution.

And I suppose that's right, as far as it goes. But I think there's more to it than that.

The extremists on the right don't believe in consequences from their mistakes. If you believe in it, the result will be as you hope. It's the fantasy that underlies the neocon agenda, among others. "Real" America is always morally in the right, and as a result, we will automatically succeed in, among other things, liberating Iraq and Afghanistan (well, as long as a Republican is at the helm, because Democrats like Barack Obama aren't really Americans, anyway), just like we toppled the Soviet Union. (And torture isn't torture as long as real Americans are doing it.) In the same way, there can be no negative consequences to nuclear power. Nuclear waste, risks of meltdowns, and risks from terrorist targeting are not real risks. All we need to do is get the roadblocks out of the way. Positive results will flow from naturally from their presumably "right" decisions. God bless America.

Moreover, on the extreme religious right, divine intervention will keep them safe from any risk.

And finally, those on slightly more stable footing (we can pretend that means John McCain, or at least the media-centered version of John McCain) just use the nuclear card cynically. They know nuclear (fission) power will never be a major component of our quest for energy independence and the fight against global warming, but it's still a cudgel to wield against the Dems. Which gets us back to Kevin's and Brad's reasoning above.

Fire on the Cross

Matt points out more classiness from the GOP base - this time, racism directed at Republican Congressman Joseph Cao, the lone House Republican to vote for the health security reform bill.

And Sully highlights some of the anti-Semitism on the teabagger right.

This Too Shall Pass

The House passed its version of health care reform moments ago. (And no, the GOP didn't show any class in losing this one, choosing to express their disappointment by shouting down all of the members of the Democratic Women's Caucus.)

Levitate