12/28   Bush has proof, the mad cow was from Canada:
        http://csua.org/u/5dq
        \_ here's why I don't give a shit where this particular cow was from:
           http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/28/national/28COW.html
           I'm not eating any meat where I don't know the person who killed
           the animal.  The meat industry in this country is run by fucking
           jackasses with no respect for public health or even their own long
           term profits--just short-term profits.
        \_ So which American industry that has respect for public health and
           is striving for long-term profits?  Yes, this is slightly sarcastic
           statement, but it's not even close to 100% sarcastic.
           \_ It's a matter of degree.  In this particular set of issues,
              the fast food chains have shown more respect for public health
              than the meat producers.  They refuse to use meat from downed
              cows even though the meat industry has resisted all efforts
              to stop this practice.  I think a pretty direct comparison can
              be made to show that the fast food industry is a lot more decent
              than the cattle industry overall.  Which is not suprising,
              given that they tend to be publicly traded companies while
              the cattle industry is made up of privately held companies
              run by fucking troglodites from Texas.  Having worked in the
              fishing idustry, i think it's also a lot better.  I eat fish.
              \_ You were doing ok until you went all knee-jerk on Texans.
                 That isn't cattle country anymore.  And it's ironic that
                 you're willing to eat fish given the very recent news about
                 dangerously high levels of mercury in that department.  Maybe
                 you've had too much fish?
                 \_ well, I have personal reasons to like the fishing industry
                    and hate Texas.
                    \_ It's telling that Texans don't hate Californians.
                       Who is really the troglodyte?
                       \_ I'm not a Californian.
                       \_ While it's mostly true that Texans don't hate
                          Californians, they certainly have some *strange*
                          ideas about them.
                       \_ CALIFORNIA BAD!
                          \- When I was operating out of the IBM Almaden
                             Research Lab, we took some visiting colleagues
                             from Texas out to a reasonably fancy place on
                             the company tab. My boss ordered quail. The
                             Texans seemed shocked that anybody would *eat*
                             quail and announced, "In Texas we just shoot'em!"
                                                            --psb
                             \_ Heh, yeah.  Most of the people from Texas I've
                                known or been related to seem to be deeply
                                amused by the notion of playing up their
                                reputation to out-of-staters.