Quotes

A Cherokee elder sitting with his grandchildren told them, "In every life there is a terrible fight - a fight between two wolves. One is evil: he is fear, anger, envy, greed, arrogance, self-pity, resentment, and deceit. The other is good: joy, serenity, humility, confidence, generosity, truth, gentleness, and compassion." A child asked, "Grandfather, which wolf will win?" The elder looked him in the eye. "The one you feed."

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On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, "Is it safe?" Expediency asks the question, "Is it politic?" And Vanity comes along and asks the question, "Is it popular?" But Conscience asks the question, "Is it right?" And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right. -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Men pray to the Almighty to relieve poverty. But poverty comes not from God's laws; it is blasphemy of the worst kind to say that. Poverty comes from man's injustice to his fellow man. -- Leo Tolstoy

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Without the knowledge of our wretchedness, the knowledge of God creates pride. With it, the knowledge of God creates despair. The knowledge of Christ offers a third way, because in him we find both God and our wretchedness. -- Blaise Pascal

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If we could read
the secret history of our enemies,
we would find in each person's life
sorrow and suffering enough
to disarm all hostility.
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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How can you say, I have fulfilled the law and prophets, since it is written in the law: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself? Look, many of your brothers, sons of Abraham, are covered with filth and dying of hunger while your house is filled with many goods and not a thing goes out of it to them. -- Origen

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Francis of Assisi taught me that there is a wound in the Creation and that the greatest use we could make of our lives was to ask to be made the healer of it. -- Alan Paton

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It is one thing to say with the prophet Amos, "Let justice roll down like mighty waters," and quite another to work out the irrigation system. Clearly there is more certainty in the recognition of wrongs than there is in the prescription for their cure. -- William Sloane Coffin

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Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children... This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

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After the Western ideal of unlimited freedom, after the Marxist concept of freedom as acceptance of the yoke of necessity; here is the true Christian definition of freedom. Freedom is self-restriction! Restriction of the self for the sake of others! -- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

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Made in America: My Story

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Biographies & Memoirs
Author:	Sam Walton with John Huey

Made in America: My Story is an autobiography of Sam Walton as well as the story of Wal-Mart. As Sam himself admits in his foreword, "I'm really the best person to tell the Wal-Mart tale, and ... --like it or not--my life is all wrapped up in Wal-Mart...."

Sam Walton and Wal-Mart Sam was a consummate competitor. He loved the challenge of the fight. As Charlie Baum (an early Wal-Mart partner) said of him, "What motivates the man is the desire to absolutely be on top of the heap." He was voted Most Versatile Boy in speech club in high school. He was a guard on the basketball team his senior year when the team went undefeated and won the state championship. He was also the quarterback on the football team that also went undefeated and won the state championship. In college he was elected president of the senior men's honor society, he was an officer in his fraternity (Beta Theta Pi) and he was president of the senior class. He was also the captain and president of Scabbard and Blade (a part of ROTC). The list goes on, but I think you get the picture. There is nothing that Sam Walton set his mind to that he didn't achieve.

Though competition is what drove him, it was Sam's ability to take other people's ideas and refine them (or mix and match them) that really gave Wal-Mart a cutting edge. Sam wasn't afraid to try new things. If they failed, he backed out quick. If they worked, he continued to improve them even more. Some of the ideas that he lifted from others and which propelled Wal-Mart wildly forward were:

Discounting: a growing trend among stores in the 60's, Sam reduced the store markup in order to sell more product, what Sam called, "blowing an item out the door." (Target, Kmart and Woolco also started with this same idea in mind.)
Building a corporate culture: inspired by the Japanese, Sam introduced meetings that included a Wal-Mart cheer as well as crazy antics by management.
Profit-sharing: inspired by a sign in England, Sam started calling his employees "associates" and he gave them the ability to share Wal-Mart's profit either by receiving a cash pay out or stock when they left the company.

Sam was also a real people person. He was able to run people through the ringer and they came out singing his praises on the other end. Bill Fields, one of Wal-Mart's early managers who later became the Executive Vice President of Merchandising and Sales, described his first two weeks on the job, "I had been with the company about five days, and we were opening a store in Idabel, Oklahoma. We had thirteen days to open it, which is still a record. They worked me about 125 hours or more the first week. The second week it was getting worse."

When Sam went on buying trips with his purchasers, he'd make as many of them stay in a hotel room as possible. Once he even had 8 grown men share a room together. Keeping expenses down was a critical component to his competitive retailing vision and he was just as hard on himself as he was on his employees. (He was one of those 8 men that shared the hotel room.)
Sam's heart was so thoroughly invested in his retailing obsession that even family took second place. On vacations, it was a given that if they drove past a retail store (any retail store) they were going to have to stop so that dad could go in and investigate. Sam was constantly checking out the competition, searching out what they were doing right, and then adding that new found idea to his repertoire. In fact, when Sam found an employee working for his competition that he thought was particularly competent, he'd offer them a job in his own store.

Though Sam Walton went to church (and was even a deacon at one point), the true driving spirit within him was Free Enterprise. While wistfully considering possible futures for his grandchildren he lists: 1) finding a cure for cancer, 2) bringing culture and education to the underprivileged and 3) becoming missionaries for free enterprise to 3rd world countries. And near the end of the book, as he looks back contemplatively on his life, he says, "I am absolutely convinced that the only way we can improve one another's quality of life, ... is through what we call free enterprise -- practiced correctly and morally."
Unfortunately, though Sam seemed to have the best of intentions, many have called into doubt whether his version of free enterprise is indeed correct and moral. (But that is the topic of many other books.)
All in all, I was left with the impression that Sam Walton was an incredibly dynamic guy with a great ability to motivate people and to execute ideas. I think he honestly cared about his employees even though he ran them ragged. I think that he wanted to be the best at what he did, but that he also earnestly believed that by doing his best, he would be doing something special for his community and every community that Wal-Mart went in to.

Made in America The tone of this book is akin to sitting down and chatting with Sam at a BBQ. I wouldn't doubt that he dictated his thoughts into a tape recorder and John Huey set them to paper. The book is replete with quotes from former (and current) employees, friends, competitors and family members. They round out the story well and give additional perspectives of what took place during the formation of Wal-Mart. It definitely gives the sense that Sam Walton was at heart a country boy.

Having heard of court cases that Wal-Mart is currently, or has been recently, involved in as well as looking through the literature of Wal-Mart's detractors, it is interesting to find points at which Sam betrays himself. A statement here or admission there gives away a sense that perhaps those detractors are on to something. And yet Sam is far too confident in himself, and so transparent in his portrayal of his life, that I am sure he was completely unaware of having opened himself up in that way. And though I am personally convinced that Wal-Mart has contributed to the economic bubble that America is now precariously perched atop, it is a problem that I don't think Sam Walton ever had any inkling of. In his mind he was a hero. He achieved vast savings for billions of people, giving them an improved quality of life, and he did it by the sweat of his brow; he gave his life up for the good of many.

If you're interested in stories of brave and creative entrepreneurs, in stories of apple pie and pig calls, in stories of people who make it big through incredible toil, then you will definitely appreciate this book. But I also think that Wal-Mart detractors can find this book helpful. Wal-Mart is the only big retail chain that was started by a single man. (Target, Kmart and Woolco were all started by corporations.) It is easy to lay blame on Sam Walton that might be more rightly placed on the corporation that is Wal-Mart. Reading the book helps to see Sam as the eager but fallible man that he was. Wal-Mart may be a global giant that is threatening to change the world as we know it, but Sam Walton was just a competitive country hick who put some clever ideas together to form a retail chain that has taken the world by storm.

Dollar Coins in the U.S.A.

While shopping at Trader Joe's in San Francisco the cashier asked me if I had kids. Confused but thinking that I was going to be offered some stickers to take to the kids I said yes. Instead of stickers, I was offered two dollars of my change in coins rather than bills.

Dollar coins are treated not as the currency that they are, but rather as novelty items. They're a treat for children, not a coin for every day use. At least, that is what the American public seems to think on the matter.

One paper dollar bill costs the government 4.2 cents to make and has a life span of about 20 months. One dollar coin costs the government almost three times as much to make at 12 cents per coin, but the life span of a dollar coin is 30 years. In other words, for the government to keep one paper dollar bill in circulation for the same length of time as a dollar coin, it would cost the government about 76 cents. Considering the number of dollar bills that are in circulation, Americans could save their government (and thereby themselves in taxes) quite a bit of money every year simply by using dollar coins instead of paper bills.

The vending machines that sell stamps in most post offices give dollar coins as change (though they don't accept them in payment, oddly enough). You can also get dollar coins simply by going to the bank and asking for them. (Granted, you'll have to exchange some paper money for them. Rob, my husband, usually buys $80 worth of dollar coins at a time.)

Simply by using dollar coins, you can expose others to them. The more people become comfortable with dollar coins, the more they may be willing to use them.

Come on, you reticent Americans. The Canadians have not only dollar coins, but two dollar coins as well! If they can do it then we bloody well can too.

Zucchini Flan with Tomato Coulis

Description:
This recipe is from the New York Times "Dining In" Section, September 3, 2003.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, more as needed
2 to 3 pounds zucchini, washed and thinly sliced (i use the side of my grater)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced garlic (i don't measure. i just use lots)
5 eggs
1/4 cup cream or milk
4 medium tomatoes, preferably very ripe, cored and roughly chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon sugar (i use brown sugar or sucanut)

Directions:
1. Put half the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini, a large pinch of salt and some pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini wilts and gives up its liquid; add 1 tablespoon garlic. Continue to cook until zucchini browns slightly. (mine never really browns, but it gets pretty wilty.)

2. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 degrees and set a kettle of water to boil. Beat together the eggs, cream and more salt and pepper. When zucchini is done, let it cool slightly, then scoop slices into egg mixture, using a slotted spoon. Stir. LIghtly grease an 8 by 4 inch nonstick loaf pan in a baking dish and put in oven; add water to come as far up sides of loaf pan as is practical. Bake until flan is set, but still slightly jiggly in middle, about 30 minutes.

3. While flan cooks, make tomato coulis: Put remaining oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add tomatoes, remaining garlic, salt and pepper, Basil and sugar. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer about 15 minutes.

4. When flan is done, cool it on a rack for a few minutes. Invert over a plate and unmold. (I don't bother. I just scoop it out for everyone.) Cool until warm, then slice and serve with tomato coulis.

The recipe says "8 servings as a first course or light lunch" but my husband and I will pretty easily split this between us as our entire dinner.

Sidewalks in the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Nonfiction
Author:	Eric O. Jacobsen

Suburbs are a fairly new phenomenon. Before cars it was simply silly to consider building housing as far away from business as is the practice today. Most people had to walk or ride a horse drawn carriage to work, shopping, etc. and distances were spaced accordingly. (This is often referred to as building on a human scale.)

Today, however, the automobile has changed the landscape and a group of people called New Urbanists believe that it has been a change for the worse. Besides the environmental degradation caused by this new pattern of development, there are other, more social, issues at stake. Our cities aren't as grand or beautiful as they once where (Do you know anyone who would choose to visit Denver over Rome, or Pontiac over Paris?), they aren't as safe (Current redesigns of cities put fewer "eyes on the street.") and they aren't as conducive to building community. (How many neighbors can you stop and chat with when you're whizzing past in an automobile?)

New Urbanists have been around for over a decade, but for the first time (that I know of, at any rate) a Christian author has looked critically at the arguments that New Urbanists have made and has decided that not only should Christians support them, but should join wholeheartedly in the New Urbanist movement. Eric O. Jacobsen is excellent at stating the tenants of New Urbanism in a very concise, yet readily accessible way. But what I find even more exciting (and this is a step that I hadn't fully followed through on in my own study of New Urbanism) he ties their tenants to Biblical principles. He points out that evangelism, hospitality, even encouragement can all happen more naturally in a New Urbanist environment (as opposed to forcing these things in the suburban environment through programming and increasingly moving toward entertainment as a form of "worship").

I have lived in Colorado Springs (sprawl-o-rama) and in San Francisco (makes New Urbanists smile), and I've seen in my own life that these principals of architecture (of all things!) really do affect relationships. Sprawl is causing the average American to become lonelier, feel less connected, and to relate less often with people who are different than themselves (becoming more segregated than ever). I should point out here, for all those with a "small town" mindset, small towns are generally built on New Urbanist principals. It is easier to develop relationships in small towns not only because they're small, but because of the layout of the town itself. Suburbs, on the other hand, may have the same smaller amount of people, but are laid out such that community is much harder to come by naturally.

As Christians, we should be at the forefront of the New Urbanist movement. We have to have some means of running into neighbors that will lead to our giving of hospitality, making of friendships and sharing of the gospel. (I don't mean that we're accosting them with a gospel presentation every time we see them in front of their house, but passing by and meeting them in front of their house in the first place may later lead to a far more natural means of sharing the gospel later.) Meeting them on the sidewalk as we're walking to work/school/the store is a natural means of getting to know people (hence the title of the book).

New Urbanism doesn't mean that we all need to crowd into cities such as San Francisco and New York City, but it does mean developing our current cities in a more person friendly manner (on a human scale). This is not really a new movement at all, but a call to get back to basics. In Christianese, one might even call it "fundamentalism" in architecture.

Though I consider this a must read for most Christians, non-Christians may also be interested in this book, not only because it'll give them something to bug their Christian friends about, but because Jacobsen really does a fantastic job of synthesizing the issues. I’ve read a couple of different New Urbanist authors and of them all, I believe Jacobsen is the most concise and one of the better authors at getting to the heart of the matter in a way that makes the reader feel like they’ve had an “Ah ha! Now I get it!” moment.

Coming Home to Eat: the pleasures and politics of local foods

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Health, Mind & Body
Author:	Gary Paul Nabhan

While hanging out at a local, independent bookstore in town, I peered toward the "staff picks" table and eyed a book that I thought might be interesting. The book was called Coming Home to Eat. And as I sat in the store's big, overstuffed chair and began to read, I became hooked.

Gary Nabhan helped start the movement to save seeds, not genetically altered or hybrid seeds, but native seeds (as God had originally designed them). With a degree in agriculture, Nabhan has long been interested in the plight of family farms, the use of pesticides, etc. But at some point he began to see the value in eating foods that were grown locally as well as foods that were native to the area where he lived. With that in mind, he set out to eat locally (within 250 miles of his house) for one year. (If 4 out of 5 foods that he ate were local, he was satisfied with that.)

This book is a chronicle of that year. Written in a story format, he explores questions that both his friends and neighbors bring up as well as ones that nag at him personally. He tests the viability of living locally and admits to problems as well as to the overwhelming benefits (especially to the native peoples that live near him in Arizona and Mexico). When his story intersects with a political, social or agricultural issue, he delves a little deeper explaining the problems and possible solutions. He brought out facets of farming, cooking and eating that I hadn't even considered before (even though I've been investigating the organic vs. commercial issue for a few years now). And he brought in elements of food that I believe are true but seldom touched upon (such as the political or spiritual aspects of food and the land upon which it is grown).

Though Nabhan gives no indication of being a Christian in this book (If I had to guess, I say he was "spiritual" without committing to any particular religious affiliation.), he seems to have a far better sense of the ties between God and God's creation than most Christians I know. He recognizes the intimate place that food has in our lives, as well as the value of a connection to the earth. (While reading the book it dawned on me that here in Colorado we might pray for rain to end this drought so that there won't be watering restrictions for our lawns, but how often do we pray recognizing that the weather affects the food we eat? Seldom if ever, I suspect. We have a vague sense that the farmers aren't doing well, but we don't feel it personally, as if our own food resources were at stake... as if we could truly starve without rain.)

Nabham includes a quote from a manifesto produced by the Minnesota Institute of Sustainable Agriculture that sums up the local food issue fairly well, "When we buy local food, we are supporting community health: a network of farmers, food processors and fellow customers who live and work in our community, our regional landscape and our local economy. Personal health... and the health of the environment is at stake: Local foods do not generate the same pollution and waste the same energy as foods that are trucked, shipped or flown in from far away. [By eating locally] we are protecting our wildlife habitats, our waterways, and workers who are also our neighbors."

Lily's Ghosts

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author:	Laura Ruby

Lily awoke to find that all three pairs of her shoes had been filled with strawberry jelly. What could it mean? Was her dead Uncle Max trying to tell her something?

When Lily and her mom move into an old family house, Lily begins to discover that there are a few skeletons in the family closet. Unable to get any answers from her mother or her Great Uncle Wesley, Lily and her new friend, Vaz, attempt to unravel the mystery behind strange phone calls, moving dolls, and well, that strawberry jelly in the shoes.

Lily's Ghosts will put a smile on your face. Laura Ruby introduces us not only to Lily's world, but to the world of the ghosts as well, some of whom don't seem to realize yet that they’re long dead. As Lily helps a ghost set things right, she also helps to improve her own life as she enables her mom and herself to settle down in one place for a change.

Lily's Ghosts is easy to read and despite the fact that it is a ghost story, its not all that scary (a little confusing at times, but then again, it is a mystery). I'd recommend this book for readers 10 and up. (I'm 35 and I enjoyed it.)

A Peculiar People: the church as culture in a post-christian society

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Religion & Spirituality
Author:	Rodney Clapp

Overview of the Book

Since the days of Constantine, the church has "enjoyed" a time of power and influence. Even in the United States, a nation that allows for the freedom of religion, Christianity has been the de facto state religion until only recently. But in the past few decades, much to the consternation of many who call themselves Christian, this tacit relationship has been not just threatened, but almost completely broken, leading to what is today referred to as the culture wars.

Rodney Clapp believes that the current climate, in the midst of these culture wars, is a good opportunity for Christianity to come to terms with itself. Many Christians operate under the impression that America is (or at least, recently was) a Christian nation. (In fact, much of the world sees the U.S. that way). But Clapp devotes a fair amount of time to his postulation that America could be better defined as a gnostic nation.

Clapp begins his book with an explanation of how the Church has gotten to where it is today (a point where many see it as largely irrelevant and useless). He then argues in great detail what the church should be: a people of God, a nation, with its own culture, its own language and its own customs. He by no means is referring to our current consumer-oriented christian culture (where Christians wear WWJD bracelets and speak in Christianese). He encourages the church not to become something new to fit with the times, but to rather recognize what we already are, and to take hold of the advantages that provides (advantages such as the tool, perhaps even a weapon, of forgiveness).

The type of church that Clapp is arguing for is most likely not what you might guess. He is certainly not saying that we need to be bigger and better as Bill Hybels (pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois and in some ways the father of the American mega-church movement as well as the seeker-sensitive movement) would advocate, nor is he encouraging the marketing gimmicks of Rick Warren (author of The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church). Rather, he’s encouraging the church to be the church: a group of people, learning together to follow God and to love each other.

Concerns -- Possible Problems You May Encounter in reading this book

One struggle I had in reading this book was that though Clapp uses familiar words, he uses them in a way that is unfamiliar. He really should provide a glossary of some sort so that the reader won’t get tripped up on his choice of words and miss his message. I’ve tried to compile a mini-glossary on my own (both to better help me understand what I’m reading, and to help my husband and others who are reading this book). Please note, the definitions listed below may not be exactly what Clapp meant when he used these words, but I tried to develop each definition based on context.

Political: Don’t even begin to think of this word in terms of Democrat vs. Republican (or whatever your country’s main political parties may be). When Clapp uses the word political (as well as I can figure) he is referring more to issues of national import, national identity, and national history (and in this book, the nation that is being discussed is the Church).` Unfortunately, I think that in a couple of instances, Clapp does use the word “political” to mean what we often consider it to mean (taking sides in a partisan setting). Which only adds to the confusion when one comes across this word.

Liberal: When we consider the word liberal, we often think in terms of partisan politics. Democrats are considered liberal. The media is considered liberal. Homosexuals are considered liberal. But when Clapp using the word, he’s harkening back to the origin of the word liberal from the Latin, liber, meaning free. In other words, independent. A right wing Republican can still be considered liberal in Clapp’s definition because it has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with one’s view of the individual. A person who believes that their relationship with God is solely between them and God and not for perusal or input from other’s is liberal.

Retrenchment: I still haven’t figured this one out. If you’ve read the book and think you have a handle on this, please add it to the comments section. I know it has to do with the response of some Christians to the culture wars. And I know its a bad response. I think it has to do with trying to get things “back to the good old days” but I’m seriously not certain of that.

Kudos -- Specific Reasons You Should Read This Book

Narrative Logic: Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon have written a book called Resident Aliens. In it, they describe a concept called “narrative logic.” Though I think they define the term better, I think Clapp does a better job at delving into various topics and showing how that narrative logic comes to play. All three of these authors that Jehovah God is a God of history. He has shown himself to and through his people and the story of his people has been recorded in the Bible. This narrative, then, guides the logic the church should use in making decisions (How do we relate to each other? What is our purpose? Who is God? How should we respond in this instance? etc.)

Purity of the Church: In the denomination that I am currently a member of, one thing that is promised upon entrance into the church is that I (the entering member) pledge to pursue the purity of the church. Despite the fact that we all say this, I think that we rarely do it (or even have any clue what it means to pursue the purity of the church.) Reading books such as this one, in my opinion, are a step toward that end. The book doesn’t lay out specifics of how a church should look (such as stating how many and what kind of meetings should be held each week, or stating which kind of music should be played), but gives a general outline (from many different perspectives so that if one doesn’t click with you another might) of what church is and how it should look. It should be a place of love and forgiveness, of community and of practicing together, in a safe place, how we should be living out in the world.

Good Group Discussion Book

Though this is a good book to read on your own, I suspect it would be exponentially better when read and discussed with others. Practical applications could better be drawn out. Difficult sections could be explained or argued about until they make better sense. And the topics that the book addresses are good to have brought up in church settings. As the church we should be mindful of who and what we are. We shouldn’t assume that we can glide through “church” without ever taking it seriously. (We often leave the serious business to the paid staff.)

Though I think a non-Christian might find this book interesting, it’s certainly directed at Christians. I believe that this book would be appreciated by anyone that likes to sift through ideas, concepts and philosophies. For those that don’t like sorting through the nitty-gritty, I’d recommend reading this book out loud with someone else so that they can help do that sorting (since I believe you’ll still find value in the activity).

John Kerry and George Bush -- cousins

The New York Times mapped out the genealogical relationship of Bush and Kerry today. (unfortunately, it appears that the newspaper didn't post the genealogical mappings on their website.)

They are:

9th cousins twice removed descending from Edmund Reade (1563-1623) of Wickford, Essex.

10th cousins once removed descending from Henry Herrick (1598-1671) of Salem, Mass.

10th cousins once removed descending from Thomas Richards (d. 1651) of Weymouth, Mass.

10th cousins twice removed descending from John Dwight (1601-1661) of Dedham, Mass.

11th cousins once removed descending from Rev. Edward Bukleley (d. 1621) of Odell, Bedfordshire

Half 12th cousins once removed (?) descending from Richard Clapp (b. 1528) of Sidbury, Devon

12th cousins twice removed descending from Henry Sherman (1510-1590) of Dedham, Essex

14th cousins descending from John Manning (d. 1543) of Downe, Kent

Nurture by Nature : Understand Your Child's Personality Type - And Become a Better Parent

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Health, Mind & Body
Author:	Paul D. Tieger, Barbara Barron-Tieger

When I had my first child I kept him mostly to myself. Others would offer to hold him but I'd refuse them, not so much because I wanted my little bundle to myself, but because it just seemed that he didn't want to go to anyone else -- for others he would fuss, for me he would settle right down in grand contentment. When my twin girls came along, I more than happily passed them off to others, not only because I was exhausted and needed a break, but because they were just as likely to cry, or not, for others as much as they would for me. They clearly didn't care who held them. Even as infants my kids made clear statements about their preferences and in so doing gave a peek into their personalities.

Lamentably, when others confronted me about my child rearing habits, I didn't have any outside sources to back up my theories about the differences in my children. Now, at last, I've found something that supports my hunches. It's a book called Nurture by Nature : Understand Your Child's Personality Type - And Become a Better Parent by Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger. The book first helps parents to try to identify their children's personality types (as well as their own) and then describes expected behaviors, attitudes and needs of children by type.

Unfortunately young children can’t take personality tests themselves, so determining your child’s type is done through observation and comparison. My son's profile fits him so well that it seems like the authors had been watching him and had written down things about him that I had thought were unique to him alone. In the same way, the profile for my personality type fit me so well that it even described specific events that had happened to me as a child (such as sitting at the dinner table for hours after the meal because I refused to eat something). For my twin daughters, however, I'm less convinced of their type and have yet to find a profile that fits them as well as the ones for my son or myself. All the same, what I have discovered about the twins so far has already helped me to better encourage and discipline them.

Each personality profile describes not only over all characteristics of a specific type, but also how that personality will be manifested at various points in the child's life from infancy through adolescence. Though I haven't found the infant characteristics very accurate (at least for my kids), the preschool and school-age descriptions have, for the most part, been right on. The authors point out possible problem areas (such as the tantrums that my son threw in preschool), reasons for the problems (difficulties with transitions), and means of avoiding or dealing with the problems that will set the child at ease rather than demanding something of them that doesn’t fit their personality needs (like taking time in advance to prepare the child for upcoming transitions rather than forcing him to deal with them without warning).

My mother's philosophy in raising my sister and myself was fairness. Whatever I got, my sister got exactly the same thing or something comparable. But my sister and I aren't alike. As children we had very different strengths, weaknesses, and needs. Nature by Nurture helps parents to identify the differences in their children and raise them more fairly not by treating them the same, but by treating them more in line with their personality types.

I'd highly recommend the book. In fact, I found several copies online for under $4 dollars (though it looks like the price has since gone up) and bought extra copies to hand out to friends and teachers. I still have to see if it'll get me through the teenage years, but I have high hopes.

Wal-Mart Values (the Wal-Mart paper in progress)

“Wal-Mart’s business was built upon a foundation of
honesty, respect, fairness and integrity.”
-- from Wal-Mart’s statement of ethics

Sam and Helen Walton opened the first Wal-Mart store in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962 (the same year that Kmart and Target got their start). Though the chain initially grew at a slower rate than its competition, in the 1980’s its growth took off. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. opened the first SAM’s club in 1983 and the first Supercenter in 1988.

Unlike most retail chains, Wal-Mart’s identity is closely bound up with the image of its founder. Though Target and K-mart were both started by corporations (the Dayton company and the Kresge corporation respectively*), Wal-Mart was begun by a charismatic, and extremely competitive, country boy. As Sam himself admits in the forward of his book, Made in America, “my life is all wrapped up in Wal-Mart.”

Because of this, many people ascribe to Wal-Mart values that they have first attributed to Sam Walton. Sam grew up in a small town. He was a deacon at his church (before Wal-Mart took over his life). He had four kids and he enjoyed hunting. He appeared to be a Christian, all-American, family man. And if Wal-Mart was built by Sam and Sam was true to these values, then doesn’t it follow that Wal-Mart is a Christian, all-American, family oriented kind of business?

Though Wal-Mart does make a pretense of being these things when there might be a financial benefit to doing so, it’s fairly clear that Wal-Mart exists to make money. And if more money could be made from presenting a different image, I have no doubt that Wal-Mart’s image would change in a heartbeat.

Sam Walton

“I don’t know that I was that religious, per se, but I always felt like the church was important.” -- Sam Walton, Made in America

Sam went to church and was even a deacon. He felt that it was important to raise his kids within the church and explains, “Church is an important part of society, especially in small towns. Whether it’s the contacts and associations you make or the contributions you might make toward helping other folks, it all sort of ties in together.”

It’s interesting to note, however, that whenever Sam mentions church in his autobiography, it’s in relationship to community or values (both of which he used toward commercial ends). God doesn’t appear to be part of the picture.

The man lived, breathed, and ate retailing. In fact, he was so thoroughly invested in his retailing obsession that even family took second place. On vacations, it was a given that if they drove past a retail store (any retail store) they were going to have to stop so that dad could go in and investigate. Sam was constantly checking out the competition, searching out what they were doing right, and then adding that new found idea to his repertoire. And when Sam found an employee working for his competition that he thought was particularly competent, he’d offer them a job in his own store.

The man would work until 10 pm on a saturday night (this after getting to the office at 3 am to prepare for the Saturday morning management meeting) and then get up Sunday morning and go back to work. (I assume he'd leave work just in time to show up for the church service?)

Though Sam Walton might have claimed to be a Christian, the true driving spirit within him was Free Enterprise. While wistfully considering possible futures for his grandchildren he lists: 1) finding a cure for cancer, 2) bringing culture and education to the underprivileged and 3) becoming missionaries for free enterprise to 3rd world countries. And near the end of his autobiography, as he looks back contemplatively on his life, he says, “ I am absolutely convinced that the only way we can improve one another’s quality of life, ... is through what we call free enterprise -- practiced correctly and morally.”

Spiritually the man was bowing at the alter of retail, but before his employees and the public eye, he gave God and country lip service. Bob Ortega writes in his book, In Sam We Trust, “Once the satellite system was up and running, the annual meetings were broadcast to all the stores.... Every year, the production got more involved, the meeting longer, the flag-waving more intense. In 1989, the meeting began with videos of patriotic scenes played on three giant screens as 7,000 people recited the pledge of alledgiance; then, as the lights came up, a prayer followed, led by Walton at the edge of the stage, down on one knee, head bowed, and Wal-Mart baseball cap in hand.”

Perhaps Sam’s sense of spirituality can best be described in what has become known as “the Sam Pledge” (written by Sam Walton and described by him in his autobiography), "From this day forward, every customer that comes within 10 feet of me, regardless of what I'm doing, in this house, I'm going to look him in the eye, I'm going to smile, I'm going to greet him with a -Good morning,' or a Good afternoon,' or a What can I do for you?' - so help me Sam!" Sam saw himself as the god of Free Enterprise in America.

Walmart Values

“When Sam Walton founded Wal-Mart Stores, he established
the ‘Three Basic Beliefs’ to which we remain firmly committed:
* Respect for the Individual
* Service to our Customers
* Strive for Excellence
The Three Basic Beliefs go hand in hand with the integrity and
ethical conduct that is the foundation of our business.
-- from Wal-Mart’s statement of ethics

Wal-Mart claims to have respect for the individual, but I’m not sure which individual they’re referring to. They certainly couldn’t be referring to their employees. “Wal-Mart faces lawsuits in 30 states for allegedly forcing hourly employees to work overtime with no pay,” according to a Washington Times article. Wal-mart has fought against the unionizing of it’s employees several times, even to the point of shutting a store in Quebec down rather than have to deal with the union. And a UC Berkeley (pdf) study has determined that Wal-Mart’s employee practices cost the state of California as much as $86 million annually in health related and other assistance costs.

At the same time, the individual that Wal-Mart claims to have respect for couldn’t be those who are manufacturing the products they sell, either.



*George Dayton opened Goodfellows in 1902. In 1903 the corporate name changed to the Dayton Dry Goods Company, and in 1910 the name changed again to simply, the Dayton Company. In 1962, The Dayton Company opened the first Target ("a new idea in discount stores"). Kmart evolved out of Kresge's, which was started in 1899 by Sebastian Spering Kresge. The Kresge corporation opened the first Kmart discount department store in 1962.

"What we're saying is, culture matters. I think one of the most important questions facing Americans is, how do they preserve their culture with this onslaught of new people and new cultures diluting what we are and who we are?" -- Dic Lamm, former Colorado governor and candidate for the Sierra Club's board of directors.

#1 What does "Americans' culture" have to do with the environment? Isn't the Sierra Club an organization dedicated to preserving the environment? What am I missing?

#2 What's so great about the American culture that we would want to preserve it? Are our hamburgers so bad that the influx of tamale eaters would threaten our fast food industry? (Well, one can hope, I guess.)

#3 Whatever happened to "give me your tired, your poor" and the whole melting pot idea? Have we finally blended into such a perfect mix that we can't risk having anything else added to the pot?

Oh, and btw, Lamm didn't even JOIN the Sierra Club until a few weeks before he announced his candidacy for the board. Talk about a man of integrity!

Stop slavery now!

You may think that slavery is a thing of the past. Think again. The NYT (my favorite source) had a horrifying story on sex slaves. Buyers are looking for younger and younger children (even infants) to force into sexual slavery. These people are not prostitutes, who willing engage in sex for money. Rather, these are people forced into service, who receive no payment for what they do, who are severely abused and who are threatened with death (either to themselves or their family members). And they're not just in far away countries. It is estimated that there are 20,000 trafficked in the US alone.

I save quite a few tid bits for my blog. Actually getting them up here, on the other hand, is a bit more of an endeavor. (Its so much easier just to play neopets.)

Back in the November 4 edition of the NYT there was a horrifying article about factory workers in China.

Shen Yunxiang worked for Hisun Pharmaceutical (one of China's leading exporters of pharmaceutical products -- with prices Western manufacturers cannot match). He and his brother-in-law were told by the company to clean up some waste that had collected beneath the factory. Within minutes his brother-in-law passed out. By that evening he was dead. Mr. Shen has since had migraines and lung congestion that doctors are unable to diagnose. Another worker was sent down the next day to finish what Shen and his brother-in-law had been unable to do. He also died.

"Internal reports by local and national environmental investigators have found that each year, Hisun and other nearby companies release 3.6 million tons of water laden with organic and inorganic compounds that receive little or no processing."

Another worker's daughter was born with birth defects, which they attribute to the toxic conditions the mother worked in. The parents named their daughter Hisun so she would always know the cause of her deformity.

There's another article from September 16th's NYT (these are all from 2003, btw) about a Korean farmer, Lee Kyung Hae, who killed himself at World Trade Organization talks in Cancun.

“Give me the strength to accept the things I cannot control, the courage to change the things I can control, and the wisdom to know the difference between the two.” --The Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr (despite the fact that its more often attributed to anonymous)

Geez, I haven't posted since October. I'm so lame.

Well, here's a great article on Christmas Trees. This time I'm just plain cutting and pasting from the NYT since I suspect you won't be able to access the article in a few days. (But if you'd rather check out the original, just go here.)

Q: What is the environmental impact of the loss of evergreens for Christmas trees?

A. In countries like the United States, where there is a big industry that grows Christmas trees rather than having thousands of people raid natural forests, growers say that the loss of the trees' services to absorb greenhouse gases is minimized.

But Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, argues that tree farming is really the lesser of two evils. He points out that the trees have a short replacement cycle, harvested every six to nine years, and are grown quickly with chemicals to suppress competing flora, stimulate growth and kill pests. These herbicides, fertilizers and insecticides run off and add to water pollution, Dr. Hershkowitz said, and birds are deprived of food.

The frequent disruption of the soil also releases the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, he said, "so much of the benefit of growing Christmas trees in terms of absorbing greenhouse gases is undermined," he argued.

Proper disposal of used trees is also important. "If burned, they generate nitrogen oxides, which contribute to smog, and even properly chipped and mulched, they release carbon dioxide," Dr. Hershkowitz said.

Alternatives present their own problems. "Artificial trees come overwhelmingly from nonrenewable petroleum-based products, and refining them also produces some of the most hazardous chemicals," Dr. Hershkowitz said. If practical, it would be better to plant a growing tree in the yard and decorate it for years, or skip greenery altogether, he said.

More Americans have now died after the war in Iraq than died during it. At least it was a short war, eh? I'd hate to see what the post-war period of a long war would look like.

Some dude lost his cell phone down a toilet, stuck his hand down there to retrieve it and got it stuck in the lou. Now that's not even worth linking to.

And if you've heard that farmed salmon is bad but don't know why, check out FarmedAndDangerous.org.

More bad news from China.... The NYT had an article today about two girls who went to work in an eyelash making factory. They were paid $24/month (minus a $13 charge for room and board) to place inch-long human hairs along a piece of sticky tape in an intricate criss cross pattern. It would take them about an hour to make each eyelash. All of the doors were locked and all but one window in the factory had bars. The girls jumped out of a third story window in hopes of escaping but managed to break their legs instead. Their families had to pick up the medical costs. The girls are now back home, poorer than they were before.

And the eyelashes? They sell for only 50 cents. In our "cheaper is better" economy, its the poor who get pinched.

A Korean farmer stabs himself in the heart and the largest farmers co-op in the US is kaput. Perhaps if we just started paying for groceries what they were worth, farmers would be able to make a living wage. Instead we spend money on processed food which is worse for us (and the environment) and the money we spent goes to the marketing departments of these big companies rather than to the growers of the food.

29,000 rubber duckies, frogs, beavers and turtles have been taking an ocean tour for the past 11 years after falling of their cargo ship during a storm. If you happen to find one of these little fellas, you can get a $100 US Savings Bond from First Years Inc. (the company who originally ordered the rubber pets) or you can try your luck on ebay. These little guys are collectors items after their ocean journey.

Another study has been done to show that if you live in the suburbs, which are built so that you pretty much have to drive to get anywhere, you're more likely to be obese and have high blood pressure. If you live in a denser area (such as in a large city or in a part of town built before World War II) then you're more likely to walk more often. well, duh!

Finally the small towns come suburbs are fighting back. Lopatcong Township, in New Jersey, is trying to keep families with school age children from moving in. It seems the costs of schooling is outpacing the property tax that the newcomers bring in. But isn't saddling these idyllic communities with the costs of raising our kids part of the American way?!!! (queue music: "Oh I'm proud to be an American...."

Dang! And I thought I had the reasons to not celebrate Christmas (the Americanized version, at least) down pat. Check out Steve's Liberal Reasons Not to Celebrate Christmas (Oh, and you'll notice that I borrowed his "made in china" image yesterday. *embarassed smile*)

Straight outta the NYT, one more reason to buy American. If you don't have time to read the whole article, at least read this -->

"Migrant workers are China's untouchables. They are assumed to be behind every unsolved crime. They are the yokels on the street corners of every city, barely able to speak Mandarin Chinese, wide-eyed with fascination or fear.

They are also the dark underside of China's economic success, which has been marked by annual growth of 8 percent for more than a decade and exports to the United States growing so fast that they have surpassed Japan's. In general these people are vulnerable, pliable, cheap to employ and easy to suppress.

The migrant workers number well over 100 million, staffing the factories of Asia's export powerhouse. They work long hours in dangerous jobs for low salaries and no benefits. They are barred from forming unions "

Twenty-four bounced emails today coming to me thanks to SoBig.F

If I'm just getting the bounced ones, imagine how many of those bad boys are actually getting passed around out there!

I haven't been able to pin-point any friends who's computers are sending these with my name attached (with the possible exception of a guy in Russia who's computer may be infected). Sigh. Wish people would keep their security systems up to date (or just switch to using Macs... of course, if too many switch we'd probably be the next target, eh?)

Lately I've been getting lots of bounced emails sent by SoBig.F from some friends' computers to mine. (Thank you to all the friends who list me in their address books but don't keep their computer protected.) In all the hubbub about computer viruses, there's one comment that I have yet to hear... Apple computers are rarely affected by viruses. I doubt that its because they're inpenatrable, its just that no one bothers.

Just one more reason Why Apple is So Tempting.

samson (a former student of mine from san francisco) visited recently and brought a van load of food with him (two roasted ducks (whole), cooked pork, a bag of super spicey not-ramen, lots of asian-type snacks (sticks of bread with chocolate inside. sticks of bread with chocolate outside. sticks of bread that you dip into chocolate), and...

dried mangoes.

i hadn't even realized that he knew i liked them. they're the philippine brand and they're soooooooooooooooooo much better than the dried mangoes you get around here (which are like semi-sweet hardened cardboard.)

when we collectively ripped through two bags of mangoes and the girls were getting mad at me that there wasn't any more, i realized that i should head for the internet. perhaps i could buy the stuff online.

i can. but at twice the price samson shelled out in SF. (bummer)

but while i was searching, i came across another philippine brand dried mango fan.

be forwarned, his analogies are a little... well, gross. but i think that all in all, he's captured the philippine dried mango experience pretty well.

so i thought i'd share.

ps: i can't exactly say that i've experienced the, uh, negative side affects that he claims to have experienced. ... just thought you should know.

A whole article in the Denver Post on a cure for hepatitis C and no where a mention of what that cure is!!!! THIS is why we get the New York Times.

Finally! Someone who understands!!! Michael Laird (a fellow introvert) sent me this article today from the Atlantic Monthly called Caring for Your Introvert. I should print out copies of this article and everytime someone says that oft repeated phrase, "Meg I just don't understand you," I'll just hand them one. (Or better yet, when they're trying to get me to step out of my "shell" or accusing me of being stand-off-ish....)

Finally there's something bigger and better to kill people with than SUV's.

Deliberately Random Thoughts

I'm looking for music for the slide show I'm putting together for my grandfather. (He's in the hospital and not expected to make it.) I'll probably set the slideshow up on my computer (imovie) and let it play. I'd like upbeat music, but nothing gross for that setting. I want to somehow express that my grandfather had a full and fun life (without focusing too much on the fact that its over).

Anyway, while searching for a song that might work (something other than "Friends are friends forever" please) I came across this site --> deliberately random thoughts. I didn't read much of it, but the pictures are fun to look at (perhaps trying a little too hard to be artsy, but fun none-the-less).

When Reality is Chic

I'm finally catching up on some back reading. I found an interesting article in The Atlantic Monthly (August 1997) entitled "The Real Thing: when everything has been simulated, will reality be chic?" Though the article didn't quite make it all the way to reality TV, the title alone came pretty darn close. Impressive work, Atlantic Monthly.

The Pastor is an Atheist

Question of the day: Can you be a pastor and not believe in God? Thorkild Grosboll thinks so (as do many of his parishioners). Perhaps someone needs to start a "not-Christian" church, where the members believe in being and doing good, studying "great" people such as Jesus, but who don't necessarily have to believe in anything religious. Beats calling themselves Christians and not following Christ. (Sorta like calling yourself a socialist but living in solitude, or calling yourself a matrix-ist but not following the bunny.)

Liberia

"We want troops to be here," said Muhammad S. Jalloh, 18 [of Liberia]. "Americans are our big brothers." {finally somone who likes us!}

The crowd paraded along the street, waving tree branches and singing, "George Bush -- We Liiiiike you."

"He's a world president," Abu Kamara, 26, explained. "He's powerful." {That he is, Abu. }

---

I suspect much of the world agrees with Abu. Some love America for it, some hate America for it. Even those of us in America sense its true and have the same reactions. Of course, W doesn't run the UN yet. That'll be the day."

To check out the article on liberia, see the Saturday (June 28, 2003) New York Times.

Toxic China

I knew that bunches of cheap stuff from China was too good to be true. Its deadly. But at least we don't have to shell out a lot of dough for all the pithy little things we buy, right? And that's what its all about, us saving money and having lots of stuff. Too bad about those guys in China.

Biodegradable Plastic

looks like the world of biodegradable plastic is still growing. i just wish i'd start seeing the stuff in the real world,

(why i am) Pro-Life

This is the last transfer from my old site. It was originally posted in the spring of 2003.

I'm personally quite pleased when I see the title of this entry right next to the title of my last entry.

I should add, though, before you read this, that the intended audience for this article is Christians, specifically the "Christian Right." The article is pretty biased (especially about environmental issues) and I think I overstated some issues rather too strongly. But I hope that for my intended audience, the message might come at them in a way that it hasn't been presented before and that they'll be able to see issues that are often considered "liberal" *gasp* in a different (and more spiritual) light.

I should also add that I've modified some chunks of this article. I must have been in a hurry (or very distracted) when I wrote it. Some sentences were so ungrammatical that I couldn't make heads nor tails of them. So I fiddled with them a bit, hopefully enough that you can at least get the gist of what I was getting at.

			(why i am) Pro-Life I like to eat. And when I eat, I don't generally like to sit around thinking about where the food came from. But I'm also pro-life. And it just doesn't make sense to feast on something that may have been sprayed with pesticides, increasing the cancer rates among those who picked the food. I want to eat to sustain my life. A byproduct of my food consumption shouldn't be to decrease someone else's. "And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man." -- Genesis 9:5 And, because I am pro-life, it makes sense that I am also concerned about bio-diversity. (Bios means life -- life diversity.) To support bio-diversity means supporting efforts to protect species that are endangered as well as to promote means of living which encourage other species (besides humans, their pets and food animals) to thrive as well. Being pro-bio-diversity means to appreciate and live in harmony with all of God's creation, seeing it as something to protect and guard rather than as something to be used up and tossed out. And, as the term pro-life is most often used, I am also in favor of women carrying their pregnancies to term rather than aborting their children. It only makes sense to me that once a woman has made the choice to have sex, that she then stand by her decision, even if it means nine months of discomfort for her. (Granted, there are exceptions that people love to dwell on, such as when the women didn't have a choice in the first place. But exceptions are not the rule, and the general rule I'm addressing is life.) Lifestyle Choices We declare something about our beliefs in choice vs. life through our every day decisions. A person who consciously decides to walk, bike, or drive a small, fuel-efficient car has shown through that decision a belief in life. (Granted, a decision is really a choice. But I'm not the one that came up with these terms. I'm just trying to stretch them into areas that they should logically be stretched.) That belief, shown through such decisions, extend even to moderating one's own convenience and style in order to enable others to live a better life. By choosing to have a low environmental impact in terms of one's transportation, one reduces the chance that someone else might get asthma, cuts down on the chances that another person may be involved in a fatal accident with a vehicle, and reduces the need for our country to go to war over the need for fossil fuels. I've also found that these people (myself included) tend to be rather dogmatic about these lifestyle decisions, believing that they should be adopted by the majority for the betterment of mankind. On the other hand, the person that chooses to drive their vehicle even when they're only traveling a few blocks, the person that chooses to live far from work and thereby requiring a long commute, the person who chooses to drive an SUV or other large vehicle even when they're only using it for small trips (or for a single passenger), is making a choice based on convenience and style to the detriment of others. In general, these people are usually very pro-choice in terms of these sorts of decisions. They feel very strongly that their purchase and lifestyle choice is their decision and they care very little how their decision might affect others. These people tend to be strongly pro-choice. They feel that they should have the freedom to do as they please and they will allow others that same freedom. "This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life...." -- Deuteronomy 30:19-20 To choose life, then, means to consider one's actions carefully, both in terms of what it will mean to oneself but also what it will mean to others (even others that one may never come into contact with or know that they are affecting). To choose life means to live responsibly. To support choice, in this case, means to live selfishly. (Granted, we all live selfishly in some area. We may be entirely environmental, but we're selfish with our time. Or we could be generous with our belongings but stingy with our love. And, in fact, more often than not, we are selfish but entirely unaware of that fact. But just because we're all living selfishly doesn't mean that we shouldn't have it pointed out to us once in awhile.) "Every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills." -- Psalm 50:10 "I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps." -- Jeremiah 10:23 Decisions one makes in terms of transportation is just one example of a lifestyle choice. Whether we choose to eat organic or conventionally grown produce is another example. Choosing to support local business rather than large chains. Eating food grown or raised locally rather than something that was shipped 1300 miles or so to get to us (using up fuel and other energy sources in the process). Even relational decisions such as spending time with an international student or even just with our neighbors can be something that brings life to others rather than leaving us enveloped in a cloud of selfishness. The recognition that our life is not our own, but is God's, affects every decision we make. If my life is my own, then I'll choose to do and to buy whatever makes me happy. But if I realize that I am God's, and that I live on God's earth, then I'll want to nurture the earth and those around me, because in nurturing those things and people I am nurturing God's things and people. Bio-Diversity and other Environmental Concerns Sustainable agriculture is a biblical concept. Its not some pie-in-the-sky hippie dream thought up by a bunch of tree huggers. It is foundational to way that God has set up this planet. Every seventh year the land was to be left fallow. In the law the Israelites were commanded, "For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards.... The land is to have a year of rest." (Leviticus 25:3-5) In fact, not only was the land to be given a rest every seven years, but every fiftieth year was called the year of Jubilee in which the land would again be allowed another rest. And these directives were followed by this promise, "Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land. Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety.... The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants." (Leviticus 25:18,19,23) If I recognize that the earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, then it should be easy to take the next step in reasoning that all life on this planet is valuable. Even the microbes in the soil are God's, and God has given even the microbes in the soil a purpose on this planet. Who are we to determine that one species is any more important than another? "[Thomas] Lovejoy argues that such wholesale alteration of ecosystems is disastrous not only in biological, but also in human terms. He is convinced that failure to protect biological diversity is closely connected with failure to maintain a reasonable standard of living for human inhabitants. The vicious circle of poverty, of overexploitation of natural resources, and of degradation of water and soil must be broken if the unhappy results now observed in nations such as Haiti are not to be repeated throughout the tropics." -- Bryan G. Norton in his introduction to an article by Lovejoy (The Preservation of Species: The Value of Biological Diversity (Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey) 1986) And yet, our global economy is bringing with it global homogeneity. Decisions are being made as to which breeds of animals shall live and which shall be left to eventually die out. McDonalds has a stake in the fact that all of its hamburgers, from Maine to California, taste the same. However, when cows (of many breeds) are raised in different parts of the United States being allowed to graze on the grasses that are native to those regions, the meat is just plain going to taste different (in part because it is from different breeds of cow and in part because those cows are eating different varieties of grass). What to do? First of all, raise only one breed of cow. Then raise those cows in large factory farms, feeding them one variety of corn, and then ship the meat from that central location to all of the McDonalds nationwide. Viola! Every hamburger tastes the same! And in the process, one type of cow thrives while the others die out. And one kind of grain thrives while the native grasses are plowed under. "Our history is rich in examples of highly useful discoveries based on species previously perceived as worthless. Aspirin, as standard an ingredient of most modern medicine cabinets as any, consists of an organic molecule originally derived from a willow; indeed its chemical name, salicylic acid, is derived from the Latin Salix for willow. The recent discovery of a powerful antiviral substance from a sea squirt is another such example. Some discoveries have an enormous impact and some minor. There is nothing about abundance (or, therefore, rarity) that correlates with usefulness. If anything, there are arguments that rare species may be more useful on the average than abundant ones. Much is made of the potential and present contribution of wild species. A recent analysis of the United States economy shows that 10 percent of GNP is derived directly from wild resources." -- Thomas E. Lovejoy "Species Leave the Ark One by One" (from The Preservation of Species) The Bible doesn't deal directly with the issue of pesticides and factory farming, but the principals laid out in the Bible concerning God's land are clear. We are to "take care of" the garden, as God determined for Adam. (Genesis 2:15) Each of the Israelites was given land that was to remain in their family through the centuries. If the family fell upon hard times and had to sell their property to make ends meet, that sale was not permanent. During the year of Jubilee, all land was to be returned to its rightful owners. With this principal in mind, the formation of factory farms would be impossible. Every 50 years the big agri-businesses would have to give back the land to its rightful owners. Jubilee! The land is too important to us, too central to who we are and how we live, for it to be out of the family for more than fifty years. God knew that. He designed us that way. In fact, according to the Biblical story, we were formed from the land. In Genesis we are told, "the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7) "The most worrisome aspect of the endangered species problem comes from a disturbing observation that exists for the most part independently of the foregoing arguments: those nations which are unsuccessful in maintaining their basic diversity of plant and animal life are also the ones least successful in protecting decent standards of living for their people. Notable examples in the Western Hemisphere are El Salvador and Haiti and the latter is of particular interest in comparison with the Dominican Republic on the other half of the island of Hispaniola" -- Thomas E. Lovejoy "Species Leave the Ark One by One" (from The Preservation of Species) (with more great info. on the countries in particular just following... p. 18-19) It is not our land. It is God's. In the same way, we are God's as we were formed from God's land. This is both a marvelous and a foreboding thought. I am exhilarated to think that God created me to be in such harmony with the world in which he has placed me. And at the same time, I recognize the incredible responsibility we have to the land and to God. It is one thing to mismanage a small plot of land that I rent from another person. It is an entirely different thing to be complicit in the mismanagement of an entire ecosystem belonging to an omnipotent and jealous God! Who are we to try to understand the mind of God? And yet in our deluded human minds, we think that we can look at one animal, plant or bug and say, "this one is valuable," then turn to another and say, "this one is expendable." How do we know that the loss of Black-Tailed Prairie Dog won't have catastrophic affects upon our children's and grandchildren's lives? We don't! But we presume that their loss is no great thing when we support suburban sprawl and fire suppression policies. (The NYT had a recent article about a cactus called hoodia, in South Africa, that Pfizer is hoping to develop an appetite suppressant from. What a perfect description of a nondescript plant, that has been "discovered" before it dies out. --> NYT 1/1/2003) I am pro-life because I recognize that all life is from God. He made dolphins and hummingbirds, cactuses and Spanish moss, microbes and spiders, and he made me. And he didn't make just one kind dolphin or one kind of hummingbird, but he made many, many varieties. God is the author of all diversity. And he set Adam (mankind) in the Garden (earth) to take care of it. What an awesome and marvelous responsibility! Abortion "A person's a person, no matter how small!" "Please don't harm all my little folks, who have as much right to live as us bigger folks do!" -- Horton in Dr. Seuss's Horton Hears a Who! I want to be consistent in my support of life, and therefore I oppose the use of abortion as a method of birth control. I don't, however, think that as a race we can keep procreating willy-nilly and expect this planet to continue to support us. It seems that already Earth is creaking and groaning with the weight of our abuses. As Romans 8 expresses, "the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time." Opposing abortion does not mean opposing responsibility and sensibility. On the contrary, I believe that far too often, abortion allows us a way out of having to face our responsibilities. And likewise, the knowledge that abortion is an option leads far too many to behave irresponsibly. In my mind, there are far too many options available to women today, for them to rely upon the worst of all options, abortion. Abstinance, birth-control, and adoption are ample tools for behaving responsibly. I find it ironic when I hear environmentalists speak about the harmful affects of pesticides upon unborn babies. Miscarriages and birth defects affect farm workers in greater proportions than they affect those who are not working around pesticides regularly and that is a problem. But to then turn around and suggest that a perfectly healthy baby be aborted is completely contradictory to all that that person believes environmentally. Likewise, for someone who opposes abortion to have no concern for the unborn children of migrant workers is also completely contradictory. We need to examine our beliefs and opinions and attempt to line them all up together lest we earn the label of hypocrite. Perhaps if we, as Christians, spent less time buying into systems of big business and hyper mobility, we could help stop the crumbling of communities. Our loss of communities (through our own self-centered behaviors, our individualism and our greed) and our consuming materialism have led to the destruction of large portions of the environment, to loneliness and depression, and to irresponsible sex and abortions. We can't just blame the loggers and the SUV drivers. We can't just blame the mom's who choose to abort. We need to understand that we are complicit in this system. We need to acknowledge our own culpability and begin taking steps toward choosing life. "The nation behaves well if it treats resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased and not impaired, in value." -- President Theodore Roosevelt (1910) "In a way, what they're doing [farmers with a penchant for monocultural farming] -- and as consumers, what we're doing -- is homogenizing the landscape. We're losing the special places around us because we didn't see the invisible connections that bind them together." -- Pam Matson In him was life, and that life was the light of men. -- John 1:4 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. -- Romans 8:19-21

Going Native

Its finally warm enough out that I can start thinking about planting a few things. I'd like to go native (at least for the mostly non-edible stuff). But I've found that even catalogs that flaunt the fact they're for the Southwestern US with many drought tolerant plants, most of them are anything but native. There's plants from Japan, Russia, England (how often do they have droughts?).... Every once in awhile they list one as being from Arizona... though they've hybridized it. What I want is a web site that will tell me exactly what NATIVE plant to plant in each part of my yard. (And which will go together nicely and which will draw butterflies, etc.) I've looked but haven't found. Well, I'll just have to rely on the local nursery.

RIP Michael Jeter

I just got around to reading last Wednesday's paper and saw that Michael Jeter died. He did a great rendition of the Sesame Street bedtime song with the tap dancing sheep. (I can't remember what it was called. sigh) You'll be missed, Michael. edit 8/14/12: this post used to have a picture of Jeter, but it 404'd. so i've removed it and replaced it with this video of Jeter doing the bedtime song. :-)

 

Ditching the Training Wheels

Nathan really wants to ditch his training wheels, but when we tried it, he pretty much road sideways and we had to run alongside holding him up. There's got to be a better way. Anyone got suggestions? Drop me a line --> twinbearer@attbi.com

Eating Locally

I'm adding a section to my web site on local foods (local to the Fort Collins area, that is). I'd like to eat/shop more locally. (more locally? locallier? hmmmm....). Anyway, I've called it Tomato Sunrise.

edit on 8/14/12: this is another site that's long gone. it never really got underway anyway. with three little kids, it was hard to pull something like this together. oh well. it was a great idea.  :-}

SUV Smack Down

According to Click and Clack (in the 3/31/03 Denver Post), "When an SUV hits a car in the side, there are 16 driver fatalities in the car for every one in the SUV. When a car hits a car in the side, there are about eight driver fatalities in the car that was hit, compared with the car that did the hitting."

Just one more reason not to drive an SUV.

SUVs / Light Trucks - a safety issue

"The tests underscored how the proliferation of light trucks is complicating auto safety. While many drivers assume such vehicles are safer, sport utility vehicles actually have slightly higher death rates for their own occupants than cars do because their high ground clearance makes them less stable and more likely to roll over. And when an S.U.V. strikes a car in the side, it is three times more likely than a car to cause a death, federal data says. The rate is even higher when pickups hit cars." -- NYT (3/27/03) see more

Archives aren't working. Bleh.

i still can't get the stupid archives to work. i've had lots to say but not the where-withal to post it all up here. sigh.

recovering from strep.

Lebonze

This is kind of cool. (I guess its been going around, but its the first I've seen it.)

National Security and What You Drive

Here's some quotes worth quoting:

"Everytime I get in it (his hybrid car), I feel like I'm demonstrating my point of view on national security," Mr. Emanuel said. "Fifteen of the 19 terrorists came from Saudi Arabia. I refuse to give them more money."

"It was a personal political reaction to September 11," Stephen Collsin (one of the starts from "Seventh Heaven") said. "It's my personal fantasy that we could turn around to a country like Saudi Arabia and say, 'We love you guys, but we don't need your oil. Knock yourselves out, but we don't need it.' And it wouldn't be that hard to do."

-- both quotes are taken from the New York Times article on hybrid cards (December 11, 2002)

Lacing your shoes

Need help lacing your shoes? At least you don't have to wonder how many ways there are to lace them anymore. (There's 43,200 choices)

Blogging Frustrations

I think I need to totally rework this blog. Its gotten me so depressed that I don't even bother stopping by. Isn't that sad?
If I could just get those archives working, I'd be a happier momma.
I believe that I now spend, on average, four hours more a week just in shuttling kids to and from school than I did last year. aaaarrrrrggggghhhhh! and I thought i'd have more time this year! tsk tsk.