ROTR

As I drove home from an errand tonight, I scanned through the AM radio spectrum, as I am wont to do when not in the mood for the late-night fare on the local NPR stations, and do not desire to listen to any CDs.

AM radio is great at night, because it bounces all over the place. It was a bit overcast, but not enough to pick up random channels from who-knows-where. I remember listening to a Nevada radio station while driving through South Dakota once.

The radio show I listened to was Sean Hannity, whose site I'll prefer not to link to. The caller's name was also Sean -- or was it Shawn? He dropped the name "Tony Snow" in the context of Snow being Sean and Shawn's mutual buddy. Before continuing to a "discussion" about the viability of Newt Gingrich as a Republican presidential candidate, Shawn also mentioned that yesterday and today were both "beautiful days".

"But", he said, they always remind him of 9/11. Because it was "the most beautiful day, and then it happened."

I wouldn't know how to take that if someone said it directly to me.

Personally, I like to subscribe to the Refuse to be terrorized mindset. From that page, Bruce Schneier writes:

Imagine for a moment what would have happened if they had blown up 10 planes. There would be canceled flights, chaos at airports, bans on carry-on luggage, world leaders talking tough new security measures, political posturing and all sorts of false alarms as jittery people panicked. To a lesser degree, that's basically what's happening right now.

Our politicians help the terrorists every time they use fear as a campaign tactic...

One way I like to view beautiful days as is a reminder of the beauty of our planet's life of dependence on the sun.

I wonder if Shawn truly lives his life in the manner that he had claimed to. If so, I sure feel sorry for him.

I have to disagree with the defense lawyers quoted in this article.

Defense lawyers said the first-time parents did the best they could while adhering to the lifestyle of vegans, who typically use no animal products.

The defendants were found guilty of murder and cruelty to children for malnourishing their 6-week-old baby to death with a diet that was mostly soy milk and apple juice.

Um, excuse me, Ms. Sanders and Mr. Thomas... but an infant simply cannot be totally vegan. A baby at six weeks of age should have a diet that predominantly consists of an animal product: his or her mother's milk!

I also think the headline is a little yellow, talking about a “vegan couple found guilty”. More accurately, they could have described them as an “ignorant couple”, but perhaps they could have just left it at “couple”.

It doesn't matter what the parents feed themselves if the child isn't feeding on breastmilk. They could have just as well had a diet consisting entirely of cheeseburgers and soft drinks, and have killed their infant by feeding it cow's milk and apple juice.

Mood: agitated but humored.

Why:

Hi, my name is Catherine Adams. I am Corporate Vice President for Worldwide Quality, Food Safety and Nutrition for McDonald's. You are probably wondering, what does that really mean? I'm an expert in food quality and food safety for McDonald's restaurants worldwide.

The above claptrap is a direct quotation from Catherine Adams' bio on the McDonald's Corporate Responsibility Blog (accessed 2007-03-13). I'll spare you the boredom of her résumé that followed. (Summary: she blissfully worked for several animal destruction firms, both commercial and governmental.)

This is a trainwreck! I had to read more. A post on 2007-03-06 spoke of "KPIs" (key performance indicators) such as greenhouse gas emissions, but I assume that most "KPIs" are based on how much money, how much marketshare, how much profit.

How about another KPI: how many people ignore the still-disease-promoting-but-slightly-less-so-and-only-in-select-countries options and go straight for the quicker death instead.

After that, I've had enough. I've chosen to avoid the McDonald's train wreck today and as long as possible into the future. The last time I stopped at McDonald's was to get a salad, which was basically overpriced fruits and vegetables.

That was a lame experience. It made me sad that I used to be one of those people that I now saw from an anthropological point of view, mindlessly wandering in with a wad of cash (oh wait, now you can use a credit card and carve yourself out a helping of debt while you destroy your body) and then shoving, not just like, but as a true addict, all of the filth that predominates the menu.

It's not just McDonald's. It's other places that used to frequent, or used to only visit on occasion. Innocent people, feeding themselves rubbish and purchasing it to eat when they get home, or to satisfy their addictions on the way home, all the while finding some sort of pseudo-science in the complex and confusing web of nutrition facts that they've learned over the years to justify what they just did. And then feeding their kids that rubbish. And I used to be one of those innocent people; and I used to feed my son that rubbish. (Thankfully I changed my ways early on, and had been raised to at least eat semi-healthfully.)

The trend "feels" to me like it's shifting in favor of true health. I can only hope that this is the case on a global scale, and I can only do whatever I can to help people I know and love discover truths about nutrition themselves. They're truths that many Americans don't want to reckon at first, but that modern science is getting good at pinning down.

Happy eating!

To the late-aged man who approached me whilst waiting for his groceries to ring up and his wife to complete the transaction:

Thank you!

You asked me if I knew where peanuts came from; I sheepishly admitted that while I enjoyed peanuts, I knew not of how or where they were cultivated.

You proceeded to enthusiastically describe how you plant peanuts, how they grow, how to maintain them as they grow, and the fact that they can grow to practically whatever size you wish. When I asked you if they could grow around here, you excitedly responded that they could, and provided me with more details.

Your wife then beckoned you to follow her since she had completed the commercial aspect of your shopping trip. I heard you referred to only as "papa" when she called for you, and as you merrily went on your way, I had a few split seconds to say "nice to meet you" in the most genuine way that I've ever said that to a complete stranger.

Because of you, I will likely start growing my own peanuts next year. When I become late-aged myself, I may even approach complete hippie-looking strangers myself and describe some aspect of horticulture, to impart knowledge, and even more importantly, interest, to people in a younger generation who may need it, but not know that they need it.

Again, thank you!