We've Already Tried A Retarded President...Why Not A Vegan?

The word "jeremiad" used to be employed off-handedly conversations, back when more people were subjected to the morality-building rigors of seminaries and Sunday schools. The word was coined for the prophet Jeremiah (lit. "god throws"), who was reviled by the people of Jerusalem for loudly calling them to righteousness. He explained Babylon's hold over them could be thrown off but for their iniquities, and Jeremiah would commonly walk in public wearing a wooden oxen yoke over his neck. He advised his king, Zedekiah, not to plot against Babylon, rather to focus on strengthening his own people. The advice was rejected.

Jeremiah was quite the killjoy, writing a book about how badly the Jews were screwing up, followed up by the Book of Lamentations. Finally in 591 BC, a short-changed Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem for three years. King Zedekiah was forced to watch all his sons murdered just before his eyes were put out. Jerusalem was sacked and burned, the ark of the covenant was lost, the residents carried off into captivity for 70 years. When the Jews went to Egypt, they insisted on taking Jeremiah with them, having become accustomed to his rants, and to him being right.

We have our own Jeremiah here. I didn't realize Kucinich is a vegan, until 'Because he was right' was published by The Stranger. Dennis Kucinich's jeremiad are things of beauty, really, and I'd even been thinking of sending him some money. Maybe he can bribe a news agency to let him into a debate someday, rather than getting excluded. Money is probably a bit late for this cycle, but Kucinich pretty much sealed the deal for me by calling Bush a liar on the floor of Congress today, and announcing he would file articles of impeachment on Bush next Monday. (See article at: Rep. Kucinich creates commotion in House, claims President 'lied')

The article at The Stranger is a hoot, and worth a read. A snippet:

This is a candidate who announces, on national television, that he would refuse to shoot a Hellfire missile at Osama bin Laden if given the opportunity; a guy who prattles on about the interconnectedness of humanity and his plans for creating a cabinet-level Department of Peace; a man who brags about the wonderfully low blood pressure his animal-cruelty-free diet has brought him (memo to the Kucinich campaign: Americans like their leaders carnivorous and on the verge of cardiac arrest, thank you very much—see, for example, our last two presidents: Bill Clinton and Dick Cheney).

It tells the story of a rather remarkable man, one from a region (Cleveland) that's being gutted and carried off into the modern version of captivity, yet who gives us both a lesson and a reason for hope. Read more.