my nerd moment, dont judge me!

Recently, I have been on a hiatus courtesy of Final Exams at my University (fun, right?). During the "studying" part of my exams, I read a WONDERFUL book, that my professor Dr. H. Hirsch decided to make part of our examination. The book is called "There's Nothing in the Middle of Road but Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos," by Jim Hightower. The book deciphers the underworld of the American Political Arena. In the book, Hightower exposes the government for its faulty practices and for lack of better words "shitty policies." It (the book) is broken up into 5 chapters with subchapters within each to help better illustrate his points.

My favorite part of the book is the fourth chapter, "Pollution." This chapter is the vehicle Hightower uses to make sense of the hoopla surrounding the environment. A vast majority of the chapter is dedicated to agribusiness. There are so many instances that he points out that I was not aware of, which I accredit to naivete'. A good example of this is the "mad cow disease" outbreak in the United Kingdom. This "outbreak" was when many of the cattle supply in the UK had fallen ill to a disease called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, BSE, or commonly known as "mad cow disease."With this disease, cows suffer from degeneration of brain tissue and the spinal cord. The symptoms are not caught instantly but are prevalent as early as 4 years after being infected with BSE. Hightower points out HOW COWS GET INFECTED! Cows are naturally herbivores, but the government and those in charge of our beef supply have turned them into essentially carnivores, or CANNIBALS. By this cannibalism, I mean that the cows are fed themselves essentially, well other cows that have been sent to the chopper. When cows consume themselves this triggers the "protein" that causes BSE. If you are interested in the safety of cows, how about the safety of yourself? If you consume these tainted cow products (meat or milk) you can become infected with the human version of the mad cow disease, CJD, or Cruetzfeldt-Jakob Disease, which has some of the same symptoms. These symptoms include degeneration of BRAIN TISSUE and the SPINAL CORD. This disease, CJD, has been linked to other dementia disease such as Alzheimer's Disease, hmm? Perhaps that is why we all know someone either diagnosed with the disease or caring for someone who has been diagnosed with the disease.

With that being said, this is definitely a good read. It is extremely informative. I just can't wait until Jim Hightower runs for president, where do I get a ballot? (not that i disapprove of the current president of those of the past)