Yum & Yuk

I admit to still eating meat occationally...and never quite feeling ok aout it, as I shouldn't. I've tried to cut out all industrially raised meat, which pretty much means never eating meat at restaurants unless they are fancy restaurants that provide locally-raised meat. So, no more cheap mexican food for lunch, no more burgers at bars, etc. Mark Bittman, as always, raises some excellent points: Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others: "It’s time to take a look at the line between “pet” and “animal.” When the ASPCA sends an agent to the home of a Brooklyn family to arrest one of its members for allegedly killing a hamster, something is wrong. That “something” is this: we protect “companion animals” like hamsters while largely ignoring what amounts to the torture of chickens and cows and pigs. In short, if I keep a pig as a pet, I can’t kick it. If I keep a pig I intend to sell for food, I can pretty much torture it."

Image: one of my favorite people in the world gave me this deck of cards - so awesome.

Listening to: Dr. Dog sessions on Daytrotter.

Looking forward to trying this recipe soon: Spiced Rice with Chickpeas and Almonds

More converage of U Visas in the press, this time the SF Weekly: U-Visa: Illegal Immigrants Become Legal Residents Via Crime Victimization. The headline is somewhat misleading - U Visa recipients don't get permenant residence status, rather they get a visa (good for 4 years) that allows them to apply to become a LPR (Legal Permanent Resident) in 3 years. Approval of their LPR application is not guaranteed. However, overall the author does a good job of investigating the wide variety of opinions on U Visas and the complications. I particularly appreciated the authors acknowledgement that there isn't much standardization when it comes to law enforcement certifying petitions (some will certify many petitions, others will certify very few).