Salon's giving the veg crowd the same treatment that the right-wing has always given feminists, human rights advocates, and other liberal causes. Play it down as humorless, "politically correct," shrill, and, worst of all, effeminate.

All while ignoring the substance of the argument--cruelty to animals, not to mention the environment, obesity and heart disease.

Let's assume that the New Paltz farm is the best pig farm out there (it's got to be close). It and a handful of other farms raise pigs that live happy little lifes until they are mercilessly butchered. Shouldn't we ethical vegetarians be satisfied that you are promoting these farms?

No.

1. Most people can't afford this stuff, since it is extremely expensive. That makes you elitist.

2. These farms will never supply the world's supply of pork. They are a nearly unmeasurable drop in the meat supply right now. This style of farming could never replace all the pork raised in the worst of the worst CAFOs, because the volume is too low. Maybe if instead of celebrating all-out pork consumption, you ate an ounce of it every three weeks, these farms could suffice, but that's not what I'm hearing from you.

3. Therefore, it's only a feel-good smokescreen to make people feel happier about eating regular old hell-hole industrial pork. And as much as the Salonistas rhapsodize about this boutique meat, I never heard them say it's all they are eating. Sounds like they've mostly they've just piled it on top of all the regular beef/chicken/pork they've already been gobbling.

Ms. Traister wrote this in her response to woodviolet in the previous thread: "Pork Week is not over yet, and there is more to come on the question of how we strive to treat the animals many of us eat with respect and dignity." then, "As a meat eater, part of that respect is supporting those farmers who are working to treat animals well, and to make it economically feasible for them to raise and preserve heritage breeds of pigs and cows and poultry that will otherwise face extinction."

In other words, Pork Week won't include any other voices. It's all about Pork is Great, Pork is Good, Snobby Pork is Better. Piffle.

And it has recognizes same-sex marriage for years longer than California. An Ontario wedding is just as good as a California one, believe it or not, so gay couples marry on the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls and enjoy full state recognition when they cross back over the Rainbow Bridge even prior to the California Supreme Court ruling.

Just thought I'd throw that out there in case any gay New Yorkers were despairing about the transportation costs these days.

Although he could express it better.

The real issue is not that the law is particularly old, outdated, ridiculous, or unusual (it is none of these), it is just that enforcing the criminal provisions as applied to same-sex marriage would be an abuse of prosecutorial discretion. Perhaps a few rural prosecutors might have enough time on their hands to see it a worthy cause to prosecute these women, but I imagine that most would not see this as worth their time or pursuing the cause of justice.

The law can't invalidate the actual marriage, which is governed by California law, and which isn't recognized presently in Wisconsin anyway.

is just the same as what we saw for "Pork Week" on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Since Salon saw it fit to send a writer a few miles up the river to pat a pig at the New Paltz farm, why doesn't it send someone from their New York office a little further out to the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen? They are huge, and Salon has never covered them.

Tell you what, you want to make it extra ecological, I just moved upstate from Brooklyn and am pretty close to Watkins Glen right now. You find a writer, they can carpool with me, carbon- and cost-free.

Here's a big story; 3000 pigs left to drown in the Iowa floods by their criminal pork industry owners. Not a peep from Salon about that during pork week, and those pigs are still dying.

Farm Sanctuary has actually already rescued 69 pigs roaming around the levees, and is still trying to rescue more. They have a blog about it: http://floodrescue2008.blogspot.com/

Take a look at those postings, go visit the Farm Sanctuary and all the rescued animals and the stories of the horrors they have endured, and then interact with the animals themselves and see the love they still have in their animal hearts. Then come back and tell me about how great bacon is.

I've lost count.

I guess it really takes a caricatured doofus to extol the virtues of eating pigs.