Bovine Excrement- veggies

I was listening to a podcast I got off iTunes. It is the Vegan Freak Podcast. It is episode 101, and they are talking with a guy called the Angry Hippie. This guy has his own podcast and he talks about politics, animal rights and stupid people (It sounds like my kind of podcast). He was talking about people who say they are vegetarians or vegans, but yet they eat meat, or diary. He calls them bull****atarians. I agree. I know a few people like that. My brother's friend's family eats white meat, but they call themselves vegetarians.
I have an idea forming in my head. I was thinking of doing a presentation at my school about animal rights. Most kids I know love animals, but they have not been shown what really happens to your McNuggets. I think if they saw it they would be disgusted. That is what happened to me. I read a book about how animals are slaughtered, and I became a vegetarian (the real kind). I saw a video by PETA showing the exact cruelties I heard about and I became a vegan. It is a ten minute video, so on a day we are doing nothing in science class (this is science) I thought maybe I could show the video and get the people to do a worksheet about different kinds of animals. Hopefully I would have a lot less meat eaters.
I also have to have a serious talk with my reading teacher about this stupid lexile system. I don't feel like going into detail right now, but basically there is a system in place that discourages loving reading and prevents children from reading books they enjoy.

Procrastination, my biggest talent

Well I finished my essay but I didn't type it yet, so I've finished half the battle. I'm going to bring it too my teacher on Monday and ask her which quote I should use. In the mean time I better start working on my other homework. I'm feeling lazy today. I definetly need some m&m's (motivation and music). I really want to clean my room. My bed hasn't actually been made in about 3 weeks. This week is the last week before Holiday vacation. I can't wait, the famous four (my least favorite classmates) and I really need a break.
One last thing I want to share with you. I had to get teacher reccomendations to enter this pre-IB program, and every single one of my teachers gave me all 5's but my reading teacher gave me a 4 in communication skills! I can't believe that. I'm trying to not let it bother me too much, but I seriously think she doesn't like me. Of course I'm shy and all, but there is no need to.... Well anyways it was only a four. Hopefully the people reviewing my thing will think she is messed up in the head. So I'm off to clean my room.

Never have I been more happy...

I've been looking up vegan quotes for an essay I have to do to enter a high school program. It is the IB program and I really hope I get into it. Otherwise high school will be devastating. This week has been boring. I was sick most of the time. I have a sore throat, and now I think I'm getting an ear infection as well. I think I should have Green Tea every morning in addition to my oatmeal. I don't really like orange juice. My mom won't buy an organic kind (it is only twice the price). I really don't want to drink Tropicana or that other junk we have. I live near a Tropicana plant and it is an eye sore as well as stinky. I also think corporations in general are stupid and I would prefer to buy from a company that cares to care, not because it looks good and sells a product. One last thing I think there a three types of people in this world, murderers, vegetarians and vegans. You wouldn't eat your dog/cat so why would you eat a pig/cow. I've been a vegetarian for a year and I can tell you I have no desire to eat meat anymore than I have a desire to eat you. I'm also very strong. I beat all of my friends at arm wrestling (well except for one but her arm is 3 times the size of mine and I'm not even joking.)

Well anyways, these quotes make me very happy to be a vegan. I want to share some of my favorites with you:

Howard Lyman If you visit the killing floor of a slaughterhouse, it will brand your soul for life.

Leo Tolstoy A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral.

Ruth Harrison, author of Animal Machines In fact, if one person is unkind to an animal it is considered to be cruelty, but where a lot of people are unkind to animals, especially in the name of commerce, the cruelty is condoned and, once large sums of money are at stake, will be defended to the last by otherwise intelligent people.

Neal D. Barnard, M.D., President, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Washington, D.C. The beef industry has contributed to more American deaths than all the wars of this century, all natural disasters, and all automobile accidents combined. If beef is your idea of 'real food for real people,' you'd better live real close to a real good hospital.

Franz Kafka, while admiring fish in an aquarium Now I can look at you in peace; I don't eat you any more.

Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) What is it that should trace the insuperable line? ...The question is not, Can they reason? nor Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?

Charles Mayo (founder of the Mayo linic) I abhor vivisection. It should at least be curbed. Better, it should be abolished. I know of no achievement through vivisection, no scientific discovery, that could not have been obtained without such barbarism and cruelty. The whole thing is evil.

George Bernard Shaw, writer, Nobel laureate (1856-1950) When a man wants to murder a tiger, he calls it sport; when a tiger wants to murder him, he calls it ferocity.

Albert Einstein It is my view that the vegetarian manner of living, by its purely physical effect on the human temperament, would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind.

Gail Shepherd "And the kicker: "Our demand for meat, dairy, and processed carbohydrates drives us to consume way more calories than are good for us; and those calories are in foods that cause, not prevent, disease. The evidence is very clear that plants promote health." "We need to jump on this bandwagon and hang on for our lives if our kids are going to live in a world we'd even faintly recognize — if, for that matter, they live to see it at all."

Casey Affleck “Chickens, cows, and pigs in factory farms spend their whole lives in filthy, cramped conditions—only to die a prolonged and painful death. Their bodies are then turned into food products proven to contribute to heart disease and cancer. To eat that is to eat poison.”

Robert Cohen "Death, pain, and torture, by any other name, cannot sanitize the great injustice we do to animals."

Paul Harvey
Ever occur to you why some of us can be this much concerned with animals' suffering? Because government is not. Why not? Animals don't vote."

Isaac Bashevis Singer "People often say that humans have always eaten animals, as if this is a justification for continuing the practice. According to this logic, we should not try to prevent people from murdering other people, since this has also been done since the earliest of times." As long as people will shed the blood of innocent creatures there can be no peace, no liberty, no harmony between people. Slaughter and justice cannot dwell together.

Three fifths compromise

I learned about something at school today, it is called the three fifths compromise. Basically they states didn't know how to count slaves with taxes, and count them in the population. So they counted 3/5 of the slave population of that state. Just a fun fact, it has nothing what so ever to do with my post. My mom is getting really mad at my school, and for some reason I love this! She drove me and my brother to school today (we normally take the bus, even though our bus driver is psycho. We want to carpool and save the Earth! I'm kidding, my parents don't want to waste gas, but it is basically the same thing.) Anyways this lady in front of her was going really slow so my mom screams, "Is she waiting for the second coming of Christ?!?!"It was more the way she said it than what she actually said. My friends found it funny so I thought I would give it a shot.

That brings up the next question why was my mom so mad at my school? Well she wants to get a form so I can be in an pre-IB program at another school. She called 5 times and asked for them to give me a form, so finally today she got one.

I'm not doing very well with my goals, on Monday I have to tell my reading teacher The Devil's Arthimetic thing. I have no clue what she is going to say and that is why I'm scared.

I'm reading the book Jane Eyre I'm on Chapter 2, but I like it so far. I'm going to try and read all of the classics before I get out of school. They are the only books that actually challenge me. I have to read slow and sometimes re-read. I like Dracula so far, I love the way Bram describes this guy's fear, it is so real.