Notes From the Lost Vegan

As a vegan, I believe that








should not be transformed into

and

(photos:USDA)

A vegan strives to respect animals as fellow creatures by using them as little as possible. This extends to animal by-products in cosmetics, food and household products. Veganism goes further than vegetarianism by avoiding eggs and milk, both for the theoretical notion of non-usage/exploitation, and for the painful factory farm conditions under which hens and dairy cows must exist. We avoid leather, wool, silk and honey as well. As I've said elsewhere, I am not a perfect vegan: peppermint life savers, and mainstream toothpaste, shampoo and laundry detergent are my secret vices. And I'm working on the peppermints.

Dennis Kucinich rocks. (He is a vegan.)

A friend said, facetiously, that I should not vote for someone so elvish. (As in elf, not Presley, who is, come to think of it, the Anti-Vegan.)

But don't you think Joe Lieberman's got a way more elfen face than Dennis ?



Speaking of the Democrats.

There are more than several things about Dr Dean that ANNOY me. He likes GUNS. He will not use the word "marriage" with respect to gay unions.

And, for goodness sakes, he was on that silly HBO infopolitocodramadocutainment piece of crap, "K Street," (we watched it once, nearly got TMJ from the jaw droppingness of it) a series that links real-life pundits, politicians and current events with fictional actors and soap opera story lines in a vile compote of ludicracy, narcissism, and general degradation of the national conversation.

If you try to tell me it's "edgy" -- let's just leave it at don't even try. That word has become the excuse for all that's vulgar, exploitative, loud and demeaning about our culture. I don't buy it, and all the other stuff it's selling.

C'mon, Doctor Dean. Give us a serious break here. I mean REALLY !

I would like to like Kerry.

I would love to vote for Kucinich.

I could vote for Dean. He might be annoying, but unlike the current unelected resident of the White House, he is not sanctimonious, mendacious, incurious, inarticulate, unintelligent, deluded, greedy, bellicose, simple-mindedly manichean, dangerous, or evil.

I've left out a lot of modifiers, but you get the picture.