myStrangerFace Not enough like Twitter.

AndyInChicago

Refresh

Feb 12 AndyInChicago commented on Doctor Who Crusaded Against Comic Books Was Manipulating His Data.

I got so excited when I started reading the title of this article that it'd be about Daleks and Sontarans, and then it was about comic books and violence. I'm disappointed?

Feb 6 AndyInChicago commented on Bill Would Require Every High School Student in Idaho to Read Atlas Shrugged.

Is the USA falling behind teaching science, technology, engineering, and math? Yes? Oh, then we should make students read Ayn Rand. Problem solved!

Feb 4 AndyInChicago commented on Youth Pastor Watch.

I was always shocked at youth pastor watch, and I think it's useful to highlight the link certain aspects of religion with dangerous activities, but I am against restarting this feature if it means anyone has to do research on youth pastor crimes for an extended period of time.

Jan 29 AndyInChicago commented on Savage Love Episode 327.

WHOA. A polysaccharide is not a protein. It's a complex of sugars.

Jan 29 AndyInChicago commented on Savage Love Episode 327.

I like that Dan is so ready to accept science about condoms but is so ready to dismiss statistics majors or people who study statistics. I know it's a joke, but we need people to elevate science and math, not jokingly trash it.

Jan 22 AndyInChicago commented on What Are the Five Most Hated Companies in America?.

Comcast. Comcast all the way with their anti-free speech campaigns. The internet is vital to everyone's happiness and future and Comcast is all about restricting and charging for the internet. JP Morgan Chase and Monsanto are in the running though.

Jan 22 AndyInChicago commented on Capitalism Saves the Day: Peasant Farmers in the Third World Getting Rich.

Food is always a tricky subject because there's an ethics to almost everything we eat, but at the end of the day, we have to eat. In a perfect world, we would all eat a locally, sustainably grown diet that is composed mainly of grains, fruits, and vegetables and supplemented with ethically grown animal agriculture. This lifestyle is impossible for most of us because of cost limitations, food availability, and time. There are nuances in every choice we make. Omnivores in Seattle can make the decision between Chilean Seabass and American farmed talapia, and there's a clear ethical choice.

Maybe your concern, and I think it's a legitimate concern, is that vegans, once having made an ethical choice, no longer examine the ethics of everything they eat. Choosing between a Dole Banana and a Washington apple is the same choice ethically as the choice between fishes. A vegan DIET can be a great moral decision, but it's not a pass on looking at the ethics of what you eat. Soy that's been imported from South America is unethical, so just eating tofu instead of meat is not a solution to problems.

But generalizing is never a good way to make a point. Calling a anyone's bluff about eating ethically is a legitimate way to change things, but if you start by just blaming vegans for problems that are everyone's problems kills the conversation. I think that was why so many people got angry yesterday.

The point is, no decision is fail-proof. Every decision we make has to be made in context. Quinoa is not an ethically great meal. Neither is a McDonald's hamburger. It's not a matter of which is worse, it's a matter of knowing why both are bad.

More...

Jan 21 AndyInChicago commented on Black Vegans Making Life Hard for Poor Peruvians.

This is just vegan bating. Why would you do that? For the most part, vegans aren't bad people. Yes, some are pretentious, but others are just trying to find some way of reducing their footprint or making a stand against the treatment of animals in American agriculture. Just leave them alone. The only time you hear most vegans complain is when you attack them. They're not hurting you, or anyone for this matter (This article has been debunked, and beyond that, most vegans don't give a shit about quinoa). So what gives?

Jan 21 AndyInChicago commented on White Vegans Making Life Hard for Poor Peruvians.

I agree with number 4; this is bullshit to blame on the vegans. Quinoa is more of a fad that's about class more than a choice of whether you eat meat/eggs/dairy. Vegans existed long before quinoa became popular among trendy foodies, and most of us have nothing to do with it. Before I get crap, I get it, vegans are overly sensitive, blah blah blah. But I don't like being blamed for ruining the lives of starving people when I don't even eat quinoa.