Superdelegates and Animal Farm Revisited
All animals are equal. ~George Orwell, Animal Farm
Americans pride themselves on the democratic principle of “one person, one vote.” Well, sort of. Registered voters cast their ballots for a presidential nominee in the primaries leading up to the political conventions where the party representative is formally nominated by the delegates, not the voters. Read more 
Why GMO’s Don’t Matter but What You Eat Does
The recent defeat of the Senate bill that would have created voluntary national standards for food labeling with genetically modified ingredients would have prevented states (including Vermont, the leader whose food labeling laws go into effect July 1, 2016) from mandating labels on food that contain genetically modified ingredients. Read more
Where does a $1 contribution to United Way of Central Iowa Go?
United Way of Central Iowa (UWCI) is just one of 35 United Way chapters in Iowa and one of 1,256 chapters in the United States, but this mid-west chapter office raised more than $29 million last year and distributed $21.9 million (75%) in grants to local organizations that focus on health, education, and income. United Way is – for lack of better words – a way to unite people and organizations – with UWCI focused on the people and organizations in central Iowa. Read more
PlantPure Nation
PlantPure Nation is a 96-minute documentary film recently released (2015) that tells the story of how scientists, doctors, researchers, and other supporters are working to spread the word of the health benefits of a whole food plant-based diet.
Twelve years ago, T. Colin Campbell, an American biochemist and Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, published The China Study, a book that examines the relationship between the consumption of animal products (including dairy) and chronic diseases – heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer. Read more
Why Bloomberg Should Run For President
Politics is one of two topics (the other being religion) that should rarely be talked about because most people feel passionately about their beliefs and don’t want to change their minds. They don’t want to hear an opposing opinion which is generally why most people hang out with people just like themselves. There’s a comfort in being with like-minded people except that the world becomes very small and isolating. Given that we live in a global world with complex economic, environmental, and social issues, we need to ensure the next leader we elect as President isn’t part of the us and them political parties. Read more
Where does $1 to the American Heart Association Go?
Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States with more than 600,000 people succumbing annually to this preventable and treatable disease in the US. Although advances in medicine have contributed to both an overall decrease in the annual number of deaths (860,000 in 1950) and the number of deaths per 100,000 population (589 sixty-five years ago compared to 170 in 2013) since 1950, the country’s biggest killer is hard to tame. Medical and pharmaceutical research along with information garnered from studies on diet and exercise have greatly contributed to this improvement but we still have a long way to go. Read more
Facebook Friends
This past week, I decided to take a different approach to Facebook because I just wasn’t feeling authentic about the whole social media world. With sincerity guiding me, I went through my “friend” list and started unfriending people because (a) I don’t really know them; (b) I’ve known them for decades but have not kept in contact with them (grade school or high school acquaintances); (c) I do business with them; or (d) because they are in another group of acquaintances (i.e. kids of friends). It’s not that I don’t like these people. In fact, there are several “friends” that seem very nice but whom I hardly know which makes sharing personal moments awkward. Read more
Where does $1 to American Homeless Vets go?
This past week, my phone rang and a woman identifying herself as “Laurie” from “American Homeless Vets” was calling to request a donation. The organization is actually the Center for American Homeless Veterans but doing business as American Homeless and Disabled Veterans (AHDV) and also known as the Association for Homeless and Disabled Veterans. Sound confusing? It is but the mission of the organization is very clear. AHDV is an advocacy organization (a non-profit 501 (c) (4)) that educates the public about homeless veterans and creating awareness of solutions to this problem. They publish, print, and distribute The Veteran’s Vision and they outreach to congress regarding the needs of homeless veterans. Read more
Where does $1 to the Wounded Warrior Project go?
The Wounded Warrior Project is one of the most well-known non-profit charitable organizations focused on rebuilding the lives of wounded veterans. Established in 2003, the Wounded Warrior Project is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida with about 500 employees. A 501 (c) (3) charitable organization, their mission is to “honor and empower wounded warriors.” Read more
Where does $1 to the American Humane Association Go?
The American Humane Association (AHA) claims to be the “nation’s voice for the protection of children and animals” by reaching “millions of people every day through groundbreaking research, education, training and services that span a wide network of organizations, agencies and businesses.” They do this, according to the 2014 IRS Form 990 primarily four ways: Read more
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