Doing Well by Doing Good

Let’s all do the earth a favor this holiday season: let’s shop at Macy’s.
No, I don’t own stock in Macy’s.
I recently heard a news article on the radio. Macy’s has joined an increasing number of companies that is growing a conscience. They are to be commended—and encouraged.

Macy’s is buying baskets. Not just any baskets. These are baskets woven by poor women from renewable materials local to where they live—in Rwanda. The women are being compensated fairly for their work. The money is going directly to them and their communities. There aren’t a lot of middlemen between the artisans and the ultimate buyer [Macy’s] that reap all the profits leaving nothing for the people who are doing the actual work.

The idea is to help people pull themselves out of poverty by buying their products and selling them in the U.S. And the American people, who are becoming increasingly aware that there is a big world out there where most of the people live in conditions we can’t even imagine, want to buy the products they have to sell—if someone will bring them to us. So, Macy’s is doing it.

It’s like recycling.
A few years ago, recycled products cost more to buy than virgin products did. But, we had to BUY the products for recycling to work. If we hadn’t actually bought the recycled products the whole project would have died aborning.

Here’s the next step, folks.
Go to Macy’s this season.
Tell corporate America: ‘You do good—and your profit margins will do well.’
Then, next year, more companies will do the same—
Together, we just might turn this poor old planet and the people on it around.
[You can go here to find them. Such a simple way to be part of the solution.]

Where to Find Me

OK, I've gotten bitten by bot-spam TWICE and am getting out of Dodge. Let the spammers have this one -- and see how much fun it is to spam when there's no audience for em.

So, I created a new one here. Or, you can click on my profiles page and click on 'Preserve, Protect and Defend'.

Either way, I hope to see you there.

Hey! You don't expect me to just let the spammers win, do you?
:)
two crows

Please Stop With The Spam

Although my blog has been online for a few months now, I am still relatively naïve in the matter of blogging in general. So, it eludes me why people apparently program bots to spam other people’s blogs.
Therefore,
on the off chance that the person who has spammed my blog a couple of times now is doing so out of naivety, as well, I just wish to state that your spam is unappreciated.

Even if you disagree with what I’m saying [and I welcome thoughtful disagreement at least as much as rubber stamps], the fact is: I do put thought, time, energy and effort into my posts. I very much appreciate and want to encourage comments on the content of the articles in the blog.

Generic comments on ‘graphics’, colors or telling me what a great job I’m doing, though, are uncalled for and unwelcome. One such comment might be a mild ego booster—even if irrelevant. To open my email and discover 358 such comments, however, is simply a major nuisance and absolutely uncalled for.
What have I ever done to you?

So, whoever is spamming the blog please go get your own life and leave mine alone.
On the other hand, if you have real comments on the content of the articles, please do enter them. Those are always welcome.

The Real DaVinci Con

Although, generally speaking, any movie directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks is sure to get me to the theatre ten minutes after it opens, I plan to pass on The DaVinci Code. Not because it is blaphemous—which it isn’t. Not because it is controversial. And, CERTAINLY not because it attacks the Christian church—which it doesn’t. I’m passing because I read the book and it was poorly written. By the time I was about a quarter through it I was waiting to see what stroke of absolute luck was going to get the protagonists out of the latest jam they’d gotten themselves into. I generally enjoy novels that have some sort of nodding acquaintance with reality and, in this case, I just got bored with the fantasy.

The facts that have recently come to light: that Mary Magdalen was not a prostitute; that she was, in fact, a disciple of Joshua Bar Joseph and very likely bankrolled his mission; that the other disciples were jealous of her standing--primarily because she was a woman--etc. are worthy of further study. And this [ I can’t stress this enough] work of fiction does nothing to further thoughtful investigation of those facts.

Meanwhile, it seems everyone wants to cash in on the controversy. Hollywood does, of course. That’s Hollywood’s job. It’s not, so far as I know, the job of religion to do the same—and that, among other things, is what is happening.

Also, the conservative newsletter I’ve been reading lately is pushing a book that is [ostensibly] not a work of fiction. It says it’s ‘unmasking Hollywood’s plot to undermine religion.’ Now, WHY would anyone in Hollywood want to do that? Why would they want to stem the flow of all the lovely money that every movie since silent film that has included a religious theme has generated? Hollywood execs are a lot of things, but I don’t think anyone can claim they’re stupid.
They're also not that powerful. The religions of the world have been around a lot longer than Hollywood has. And they'll be here long after it has fallen into the San Andreas Fault.

So, wait for it folks: we haven’t heard the end of the controversy—not by a long shot. As long as there’s a dime to be made out of all the ballyhooing from the rooftops about this novel, this film, this or that critic’s take on the book and the film, this or that church’s views on the book and the film, etc. etc. ad nauseum, we’ll just keep hearing about it.

Burning books

Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings.
[Dort, wo man Bucher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen.]

Heinrich Heine, From his play Almansor [1821]

First Family Shakeup

[From the Washington Post's Op-ed department]

By Ruth Marcus
Monday, April 17, 2006;

Dear Daughters Jenna and Barbara,

This is a difficult letter for me, your Dad, to write. The two of you have been, your mother and I agree, valuable members of my administration. Yes, there have been a few unfortunate moments -- actually, come to think of it, more than a few: the underage drinking bust; the next underage drinking bust; the sticking-out-the-tongue-at-the-photographers thing; the Valley Girl-style convention speech. Next time, please, girls, run it by Grandma, like she told you to in the first place.

Rambling a bit here. What I'd like to say is that all of us at the White House deeply appreciate your service to your family and your country. It can't have been easy for you, posing for Vogue, getting chauffeured by the Secret Service and all. But, as you know, second terms are a time of transition in any administration. And we think it is the right moment, then, to make a change in First Daughters. Time for some fresh blue blood, you might say.

Please, girls, don't take this personally. Andy didn't, and he's been with the family almost as long. Definitely, we will spin this to the press as your decision entirely. You know, needing a break, this job chews you up, exhausted after five long years of late nights at Smith Point, want a chance to spend more time with your ... never mind, we'll go with the need-a-break part. And no one can take away from your achievements: You have been two of the longest-serving presidential daughter twins in history.

Anyway, the Josh-for-Andy swap didn't play quite as big as we hoped. Now, I'm getting killed with this general-a-day drumbeat on Rummy. So Uncle Don and Uncle Dick came up with this idea of replacing you two.

Naturally, Mommy and I were pretty reluctant, at first. But Uncle Don and Uncle Dick can be awfully persuasive -- especially when Uncle Dick's packing heat.

Your Gammy agrees. "Lose the twins," she said. "My 41 ditched Sununu." And you know there's no arguing with the Silver Fox once she's got her mind made up. She asked me to tell you it's nothing personal -- and for Pete's sake stop showing all that cleavage.

Dick wanted to roll this out the usual way: through Scooter. But Scooter's a little preoccupado, right now, you might say. We thought about leaking it to Woodward, but he'd probably just save it for the next book. So we're thinking Dr. Phil. Great female demographic.

You're probably wondering about the replacement. Grandpa had an idea about that. You know how he's been spending so much time hanging out with Bill Clinton lately that I've started calling him "my new brother"? Well, that got grandpa to thinking.

You probably know where this is heading, so I won't dwell too long on the topic of our new First Daughter.

Chelsea has graciously agreed to start on Friday.

Thanks again, girls, for all you've done. Our thoughts and prayers are with you as you start this new, exciting chapter of your lives. Please be sure to stay in touch.

Sincerely,

George W. Bush --- Dad

P.S. We want you to know it was a hard call whether to lose you or Karl. He really agonized over it.

Churchill Called It

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.
Winston Churchill

On Hatred

Reject hatred without hating.
Mary Baker Eddy

The Population

There are more fools in the world than there are people.
Heinrich Heine