hmmmm...

I always like reading about vegan celebrities. Don't judge. I mean, they have so much influence on people and they can promote veganism, which is just kind of awesome. Who doesn't like a cool vegan celebrity? Alec Baldwin, Moby, Steve-O, Glenn Beck… Wait. What!? I know that's what you're thinking. But yeah, apparently Glenn Beck is one of us now.

I'll admit, it was tough for me to watch the video Vegetarian Star posted of Beck talking about his veganism, but I wanted to know what he had to say. I mean, maybe I'm wrong about him. Maybe he's actually a compassionate human being with political views just a tad different than mine. Well, I watched and I listened and I can say this: he's not. He bitches about drinking wheatgrass and that it's "not awful, it's apocalyptic." "I'm eating crap I don't even know…" "Last night I had spaghetti and meatballs and there's no meat! […] How are you getting a meatball?" He's going vegan, gluten-free and sugar-free for health reasons. Yeah, it's tough. But I'm sure he has people who cook for him, and they probably make it really tasty for him. Stop bitching, Glenn! Get over it.

I doubt that Beck even considered veganism when he called out celebrity environmentalists such as Al Gore and George Clooney for eating meat back in 2007. "I mean, I like to eat a nice pink-in-the-middle filet stuffed with ham, topped with chicken while wearing a full leather bodysuit!" Yeah, doesn't sound too compassionate to me.

Anyway, this got me thinking. Aren't vegans supposed to be all cool and liberal and progressive? I know all of my vegan friends are. But I guess I was wrong. Glenn Beck is actually in good company.

Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes magazine and Republican came out as "(almost) vegan" in HuffPo about a year ago.

Matthew Scully has written countless speeches for George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Sarah Palin. But he's also written Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy. And he's vegan. How does that work? How can someone be vegan but at the same time be anti-abortion and pro-war? I don't know. It doesn't make sense to me.

Billionnaire vegan Las Vegan casino devleoper Steven Wynn may be a registered Democrat, but he's loudly criticized the Obama administration for its managing of the federal stimulus and health care.

I bet most of us have been asked "why do you care about animals more than about humans?" Well, I can only speak for myself here, but I care about humans just as much as I care about other animals. The difference for me, though, is that other animals don't have a voice. And that's is why I go to protests: to speak for the animals and to give them a voice. And I'll go to pro-choice protests and anti-war protests, too. It all goes hand in hand. It's not about choosing animals over humans; it's about compassion for other beings, humans and animals equally.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy about anyone who switches over to a vegan diet. It really makes me think if people really do want to be Vegan or is it just all show and publicity???