Meat production is very resource intensive. The same resources put towards producing non-meat foods would result in more food.

But forget about the larger issues and just think about pain and suffering. I don't think anyone can deny that factory farming produces a lot of pain and suffering. What folks can deny, and often do, is any sympathy. That's the really vexing thing about debating vegetarianism with people is that they bring it up (I never do anymore) then get all emotional and declare that they don't care whether they're right or not. Somehow I become the jerk for saying things that they already know and agree with, even though they asked me. Like Mr. Leonard, lots of people prefer not to think about it. That doesn't make them less wrong.

Personally I've never eaten meat because that's how I was raised. So I don't have much credibility saying that someone else should go completely against how they were raised, since I never had to do it myself. Still, any decision you make against eating a piece of meat is good in a lot of ways. Simply reducing meat consumption would reduce the pain and suffering, and I think the world could do with less pain and suffering.

Dick Cheney said once that he had other priorities in the 60's than military service, and successfully put off being drafted till he was 26 and no longer eligible. Are people not aware of this? It seems to me that pretending to some knowledge of military matters is worse than never having served.

The fact is that a lot of military personnel are so dedicated to their duty and mission that they won't advocate for themselves. It's an honorable position to put others ahead of oneself, but they need people on the outside looking out for their interests as well. Dick Cheney is the opposite kind of person.

I was also hoping to see some mention of "Life." I find all the characters except Crews and Reese to be tiring and boring though. Maybe that's intentional and maybe not. I guess Ted Early isn't too bad but we don't see much of him.

The Zen feature could have easily gone the same way - tiring and boring - but Damian Lewis is a good enough actor to make me believe it.

The LW repeatedly says that she loves her husband. I don't think love is the issue in this case. Instead it's respect. If the LW has any respect for her husband, she should tell him the truth. If she is not bothered by her own behavior and responses, then why keep them secret? Like another commenter, I don't think it's appropriate for all of us to make moral decisions about promiscuity for the LW. However, I think everyone would agree that continual and continuous deceit are signs of disrespect at best. At worst it's contempt.

I suspect that by "I love my husband" the LW means that she loves the way her husband makes her feel. That's not really relevant to their relationship in this context.

It's the same as this country's ongoing involvement in Iraq. You can't say that's a reflection of the will of all the people. So it wouldn't be hard to believe that a randomly chosen person might have completely different views than the government. The situation is worse in Pakistan which is under dictatorship. The actions of the government or anyone else in power can hardly be attributed to the nation in general.

This is only political insofar as Mr. Huckabee held political office while the events in question transpired. I think he's confusing scrutiny with politicization.

I used to work at a black school. By "black school" I mean that in the 5 years I was there I might have had 10 white kids out of about 750. Occasionally a teacher new to the school would have their slightly racist views brought to the surface, because face it: if you're a white guy in a building full of 1600 black kids, you won't be able to banish any racist impulses you might have.

Typically one of two things would happen. Some people would realize purely through observation that while these kids were all black they were also all different from each other. When you have individuality right in front of you every day, it's impossible to perceive a group of people as a monolith. Others couldn't adjust and just seemed to not perceive the many differences between the kids. These were the teachers you often saw screaming throwing kids out of their rooms, crying, losing their composure. They couldn't get past the blackness. They didn't stay long.

It seems to me, Disappointed, that your new friend cannot be disabused of his notions unless he observes that diversity of character among (say) black folks is the rule, not the exception. If the only black people you know about are famous, they are exceptions by definition.

I don't think you can give him that perspective through discussion, but I think it's a pretty good summary of the antiracist position. Pointing out the flaw in his position in a way that doesn't demonize him personally could help him on the road to recovery.

That's not to mention that racism hasn't always been the force it is in this country. Back in the pre-revolutionary period, poor whites and poor blacks in the similar situations had no problems working together in rebellions and movements. Race-baiting was one strategy to fracture the underclass and make them easier to manage. Modern racists' ancestors likely got played.

It would be funny if:

a) Marlo died of the plague from his interaction with pigeons in season 3. Ziggy didn't want a pigeon because they carry disease.

b) Marlo died of something he caught from that one girl Avon sent as bait and then Marlo killed.

Also Marlo's phone number is seen on Kima's phone in season 3 as being Cheryl's number. It would be funny if Cheryl turned out to be working with Marlo or turned out to be Marlo.