If we really want to improve the health of Americans, we have to stop worrying about fictional “toxins” (you know, the kind you have to go on a diet to “cleanse”) and start worrying about actual toxins like lead in water, hazardous building materials, and pollution from coal factories and landfills. If we want to protect the health of children we don’t need programs like Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” where we teach kids that their body size is the problem and that health is their individual responsibility, we need programs like Let’s Move You to a Habitable Neighborhood (I made that up). Or better yet, let’s move the corrupt politicians, contractors, developers, and corporations out of your neighborhood and all neighborhoods.
But let’s be honest, it’s much more comfortable to believe that poor Black, Latinx, and Native kids are just being fed too much junk food and not getting enough exercise than it is to admit that we are making them sick with environmental racism.
This is extremely close to my interaction with my $500 per half hour GI doctor who basically said “well you’re 5lbs overweight so that’s probably the reason you’re esophagus is ruined from reflux, lose weight and take these drugs which I know you already said make you sicker but I don’t believe you.”
Turns out it was a sulfite allergy. Which included an allergy to the drugs. What a time to somehow still be alive.
i would really like everyone to stop conflating “smart” with “worthy.”
like people who are more comfortable eating animals they perceive as less intelligent.
like how people who are seen as less intelligent, especially below a certain point, are not seen as people.
let’s leave aside for a moment the fact that any measure of “intelligence” is going to be subjective, culturebound, deeply influenced by the experiences and biases of the person who’s making the judgment.
equating intelligence with worth, even with the right to exist, is so common and insidious and awful.
I have a chicken named Noodle and she’s a bit under the weather and all she ever wants to do is cuddle. It’s past chicken bedtime and she was having trouble sleeping alone, so I took her out for a snuggle and she fell asleep with her head laying on my chest and she made the softest snores and I love her
Sadly Noodle’s prognosis is not looking good and she may not make it through this. My little bearded friend has showered me with love and affection since the day I got her. I chose Noodle because she was the chubbiest, happiest little chick in the bunch. I’m so happy I got to raise this smart little goof ball. She’s such a weirdo but she’s so full of love. Below is a picture of the day I brought her home and earlier today.
Love you Chicken Noodle
GOOD NEWS
THE VET WAS VERY WRONG
MY NOODLE BIRD IS DOING FINE
She’s feeling so much better and is just loving all the personalized attention
Miss Noodle is going to remain a house chicken for a couple more days just until we’re absolutely sure she’s out of the woods and she’s honestly so thrilled about it because it means never ending snuggles
Here she is with her boyfriend Pharaoh who helped keep her calm when she was feeling really bad
TIL that before he ever wrote a feature film, Mel Brooks made an animated short where he improvised the voice of an old Jewish man forced to sit through an art house film. That short was called The Critic and it won him an Oscar.
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 
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