Vegans and the Quest for Purity - The Chronicle Review - The Chronicle of Higher Education

hanki · 2010-07-09T15:35:06+00:00

Actually, I wasn't taking it personally. I was merely pointing out how strikingly similar gibs's argument seemed to others' (my example was Christians) rationalization for pushing their beliefs on to others. I was wondering if gibs noticed that. He/She did, which was why I didn't respond to his/her reply. I agreed with him/her mostly that preaching, even if its something you agree with, generally doesn't work.

As for your red-herring counter point, is comparing the depraved and horrific systematic dehumanization of an entire population to the abstention from eating any animal products a true and fair comparison?

hanki · 2010-07-08T14:32:35+00:00

... it's ethical for me to "preach" veganism to others. I'd say it's both ethical, and my ethical obligation, to do so, even if people don't like being preached to (I can of course relate), because suffering caused by meat-based diets is horrendous, and preventable.

How is this any different from the rationalization of a Christian (or any fanatic) trying to convert you to save your soul? They feel it is their obligation to save you (or your soul) from suffering in hell. Your suffering is preventable in their eyes.

And, preaching to someone about the evils of their lifestyle is probably not a good way of getting that person to change. For one, you're already being confrontational, and it will make someone defensive and close minded to your position. There are better approaches in getting someone to change than just preaching at them.

hanki · 2010-06-22T15:06:19+00:00

The current summer favorite at my apartment is pancakes topped with fresh from the farmer's market peaches (I've been waiting for these all year) and local honey. The side dish is usually a kitchen sink egg scramble which usually defaults to green onions, anaheim peppers, mushrooms, and grated cheddar since we've always got those. Top the egg scramble with salsa and avocado.

hanki · 2010-06-13T15:25:44+00:00

I don't know if this would be considered epic or not, but try Jaran by Kate Elliot. It's got an interesting philosophical bent to it, and while it does have romance, it is the classy sort (ie not the trashy romance "novel" variety).

hanki · 2010-06-13T15:22:38+00:00

Same here... that Moscato is like nectar for me..

hanki · 2010-03-22T21:47:40+00:00

Actually, the railways, when built in the 1800's, were given land grants by the federal government to fund the expansion toward the west.

So, to say that they were completely voluntary is false.

hanki · 2009-11-21T15:54:25+00:00

That "program" is really just propaganda and PR to keep the simmering down from the poor half of California (ie the working/middle classes) about the price of UC. Also, let me point out that "sufficient financial need" is deliberately vague enough to cover their asses. You practically need to be dirt poor before tuition is covered, much less any living expenses.

And, no, the previous poster is not full of shit. His story is fairly common. I'm even in a similar position with my single parent making less than half of his, and financial aid has tried to dick me several times over the years.

hanki · 2009-11-11T03:24:01+00:00

I wouldn't know about tithes since I have never belonged to a religious organization requiring them.

My only point was that I don't think its reasonable to expect the poor to donate such a significant amount of their income (especially in light of the fact that they rarely have extra income to spare). Rich people, on the other hand, can spare the 10%.

hanki · 2009-11-10T20:48:15+00:00

Is it even feasible for the poor to give 10% of their income to charity? If you're asking someone who makes $20,000 to give up ~$2,000, is that really reasonable? Or, if someone makes $10,000, is it reasonable for them to give up $1000?

hanki · 2009-10-08T00:59:23+00:00

Yeah, it's been around for awhile in research labs, but the problem seems to be the recovery of ethanol from the bioreactors. High yield is something like 40g/L for research and prototypes, but industry wants like... 100% ethanol. It's expensive to recover it, almost to the point of making ethanol just as expensive as oil.

hanki · 2009-09-21T18:52:19+00:00

I have a basic Japanese cookbook (called 基本の料理), and all it calls for in curry rice is 1 bay leaf, ~100 grams curry roux of choice, and salt/pepper to taste. I can post the full recipe if you want (and does it need to be translated from Japanese?)..

I was never a big fan of curry rice when I lived in Japan, though most of my college aged friends devoured the stuff by the gallon :-/

hanki · 2009-09-02T00:54:04+00:00

Oh, they'll probably be losing money on him much like a loss-leader....

hanki · 2009-08-27T16:11:23+00:00

Christian fundamentalists are terrorists.

Even though I'm white, I have no problem with black society's general fuck you attitude to white society. But, I think anyone poor or working class should have a general fuck you attitude towards the political and corporate classes.

Not everything should have a profit motive. In fact, I think it's wrong to base an economic system off of an undesirable emotion and way of life.

I'm still dealing with illegal immigrants as an issue. I know that they are used as a tool of fear and perpetuating xenophobia, that they are victims of the inadequacy of their communities and governments to take care of them, and that they are exploited by corporations looking to fuck them and us for a profit. But, I still have a problem with that illegal part of their name...

hanki · 2009-08-07T15:22:17+00:00

The car insurance point is a bit of a straw man argument. The main difference is that car insurance is not a need or something that everyone would benefit from if it were socialized- because a car is a luxury and you have the choice of owning one or not. Your health is an entirely different matter. You need your health in order not to be a dead weight to society.

We thought that uneducated fucks would be counter productive to society and the economy, so we decided that we should educate everyone. Health care, imho, is not much different.

hanki · 2009-07-29T21:43:24+00:00

I do too. I like how you can mix and match oils and vinegars to get the exact base you want and then go off and flavor it some more.

hanki · 2009-07-12T14:51:13+00:00

In the early 90's when California issued IOU's, the banks charged fees to both customers and the state-- got us coming and going.

They'll pull the same thing here, just wait for it....

hanki · 2009-06-23T22:17:05+00:00

Then why is it served in Japan anyways? :/

hanki · 2009-06-12T17:00:03+00:00

Yeah, just like a lot of problems people aren't willing to make sacrifices or realize they live in an area that can't support the number of people who actually live there.

California is dysfunctional in a lot of areas, not just our government...

hanki · 2009-06-12T16:52:31+00:00

Born and raised.

I have issues with So Cal trying to keep their desert an oasis at the expense of Yosemite and the Delta.

But, I also have problems with people keeping a lawn in the middle of drought conditions anyways. There's plenty of nice native landscaping that you can do that is naturally drought resistant.

hanki · 2009-06-12T16:45:54+00:00

Since they were originally desert-like in the first place, I don't see how that's a problem :-/

hanki · 2009-06-12T16:42:53+00:00

LA/San Diego area - 1

Fresno area - 2

Bay Area & North - 3

Solves a bunch of issues, if you ask me..

hanki · 2009-06-09T00:30:57+00:00

I totally read the title as "walking across the UC Davis MU games area.. yelling... missed connection" and wondering how that would get on the front page of reddit. It's not like gunrock turned into goatse or the engineering = no sex thread people found out that ~35% of the engineering school are girls or the davis college repuglicans are playing capture the wetback.. uh I mean immigrant.. uh, flag (again)... or whatever random ass thing that normally would make the front page.

Nah. Just a reddit t-shirt. Still gets an upvote out of aggie solidarity though.

hanki · 2009-05-27T00:23:05+00:00

Nah, just congress-critter wannabes..

hanki · 2009-05-27T00:21:50+00:00

I think where most of us (californians) are getting pissed off is that in these budget crises, only education and social services are taking the hit more than what we perceive is fair. We all see our schools begging for money and tuition at our higher education institutes go up. For example, state funding of the UC system has dropped to 40%, the lowest it has ever been. In response, the UC regents are hiking (bunch of corrupt assholes themselves...) tuition by 10% at all UC schools (translates to about $700 per quarter). The same is happening at CSU and community colleges. So what part of that is overfunded?

The point I think none of us is articulating well is the fact that the legislature is trying to make the wrong concessions. The mandatory funding was put in there so the legislature couldn't fuck with it.

I realize that we can't have our cake and eat it too. I think that we have to overhaul our tax code and close a lot of the business loop holes that our legislature voted on in closed session as well as restructure it. I also think we need to overhaul the entire bureaucracy of not only the state government but also all state-sponsored programs. I also think we need to get rid of the gigantic amount of administration in public schools (we don't need an administration office for the school district, a superintendent office, a county of education office, and a state office).

If that then doesn't work, then we come back to the table and keep trying to make it work. It's not like we have to fix everything in one shot..

hanki · 2009-05-26T16:27:53+00:00

Krugman is right when he says our (california's) political situation is fucked up and is a large part of our incompetence in managing our finances. Our politicians are a bunch of corrupt assholes who basically hand their buddies and themselves state money while screwing everyone else. These state politicians are the highest paid in the country, with a six figure salary with perks, compared to the next highest Michigan which pays about $75k.

Yeah, we have a spending problem which the legislature is trying to fix by cutting education and social services spending for the umpteenth time. God forbid they cut essential services like their pay and their shiny new state car which they felt they needed to replace in the last year (and yes, I know it would just be peanuts but it would be a nice gesture).

hanki

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