This is Mindy’s first mother’s day as a mom. Carrying around a human being in your body for 8 months definitely qualifies you to be celebrated (changing diapers, screaming babies, and all that comes next certainly isn’t a walk in the park either). I’ve had the chance to be around some amazing mothers, so I feel shout outs are in order.

Mindy- The first inklings of love I ever had for my (now) wife were when I saw her playing with kids. She’s such a natural loving and caring person and I distinctly remember thinking I wanted those qualities in a wife; I got exactly what I wanted! It’s amazing to behold this reality and I am honored and forever grateful for the opportunity to raise children with my beautiful wife.

My Mom- I’ve waxed eloquently before about my mom, so here’s an additional bit of love. As I think about all the ins and outs of raising my own children, I continually look back and see how my mom has loved and raised me, she’s a solid example of what it takes day in and day out to selflessly raise children. I think I turned out okay don’t you? For real proof my mom is amazing you just have to meet my brother and sister.

Mindy’s Mom- I can’t possibly say thank you enough to those that have been a part of Mindy’s life, her mother is no exception. From putzing in the kitchen to counting out mints for Christmas stockings, Mindy’s mom has been a joyous addition to my life and a stable foundation from which Mindy has been able to flourish. She’s raised a beautiful daughter that I am touched and honored to have the opportunity to share a life with.

Dawn- For the past year, I’ve had the joyous (and I truly mean joyous) opportunity to share daily life with a family who have become our family. As the mystery of parenthood approaches I, unlike the vast majority of guys entering fatherhood, have had the opportunity to practically have a practice run at seeing life with children. Dawn has been a wonderful example and a kind friend to have opened such a cherished part of family life to Mindy and I.

And in case you thought the shout outs were over, there’s room for three more minutes of fun. This goes out to all you folks, young and old, who have mothers…

We had huge potential. I heard about Podcasting in some obscure tech magazine or forum or something, before Apple had even heard of it, and Adam Curry was the only one doing it. I already had a nice microphone an something to record with cause I liked audio. My wife and I were sharing our apartment with our good friend, Zach, in Wheaton, the last semester of our senior year of college. I was trying to sell Zach on the idea that we should be podcasting. He’s funny, smart, witty, and I can press record. Needless to say, in the spring of 2005 in didn’t happen. We could have been famous.

Okay, maybe that was a pipe-dream and we never would have had even a couple minutes of fame. But we did stat podcasting. We jumped on the bandwagon in December of 2005 and did it mostly cause we wanted to. Zach and I were calling each other from different states, but it’s been fun to do. As you know, the podcast isn’t really running these days. We lost steam, but for those who are interested there’s plenty of archived files around.

Today I’ll just leave you with the audio and a link to the post. Enjoy.

powered by ODEO

A while ago I talked about police abusing their power. I think we have a tendency to think this usually happens in isolated incidents with “bad apples,” but I think it speaks to a much deeper problem. I think it has a lot to do with how we as humans act when given physical power and control over others.

What I’d like to discuss and hear from you are stories, first hand or ones you’ve heard from others first hand accounts, of police abusing their power. Anything from discriminate traffic stops to beatings is acceptable to share. And with that I would love to hear your thoughts on whether the incident was one were you felt it was specific to that unique officer or something that you think many in that officers situation might do.

Discuss away!

In march I read the book, Nonviolence: Twenty-Five Lessons From The History Of a Dangerous Idea, by Mark Kurlansky. I think I had most recently heard it mentioned in a sermon by Rob Bell. I read it during my vacation is found it extremely interesting and well worth the time.
The book is not a propaganda tool for those in favor of non-violence. Instead, it’s mostly Kulansky looking through all of history and documenting the stories and history surrounding non-violence. He is fair to point out when it doesn’t seem to work, but he’s also quick to acknowledge that it’s vary rarely, if ever, been tried (true nonviolence that is).

Here’s just a few of the quotes and comments I found interesting…

“A bayonet is a tool with a worker on each end.”

After the war started in 1917 denouncing the war landed you in prison. 142 were sentenced to life and 17 to death (though the executions were not carried out). Many were so badly beaten and abused in prison to change their stance that at the end of the war only a third (about 4,000) still said they would not serve.

Woodrow Wilson who brought the US into war, later said, “Is there any man, women or child in America… who does not know that this was an industrial and commercial war?”

One of the most intriguing stories of collective nonviolence is that of Denmark during World War II. If there was ever an effort of an entire country to practice nonviolence it was Denmark…

“Denmark, regarding armed resistance as suicidal, submitted passively to German occupation. It became a point of national honor to work slowly, delat transportation, destroy equipment, and, above all, to protect anyone the Germans pursued. Youths openly demonstrated against German policies. Underground groups sabotaged trains and other infrastructure. Workers went out on strike around the nation.
The Danish Government had refused to enact any anti-Semitic measures, and on October 1, 1943, when the Germans announced their decision to deport Jews from Denmark, the Danes his almost the entire Jewish population of 6,500, including about 1,500 refugees from Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia. The hidden Jews were then taken by boat to neutral Sweden. The Germans only succeeded in deporting four hundred to Theresienstadt. The Danish government relentlessly inquired on their behalf and at one point managed to send representatives to visit them. Because of this close attention by their government, no Danes were in the transports sent to Auschwitz. Fifty-one died of sickness. The rest of the Jewish population of Denmark survived. Compare this to France, which had one of the better records, where there was well-organized armed resistance but 26 percent of 350,000 Jews were lost; or the Netherlands, where three-quarters of a Jewish population of 140,000 were killed despite armed resistance; or Poland, where 90 percent of 3.3 million Jews were killed despite an armed Polish resistance and armed Jewish uprisings.”

I love the statement: “It became a point of national honor to work slowly,” because it acknowledges that nonviolent resistance causes us to step out of the norms and find ways outside of the current system to achieve our ends. When I mention anything that might put a wrench in the machine (boycotts, not driving, not consuming, not spending), people always seem to think it would create mass chaos, as if our very lives and breath came from that machine. Thank you Denmark for teaching me that my ultimate allegiance is to One greater then anything of this world.

Jamie asked last week about what soft drink one should buy if they wanted some, weren’t into the organic stuff, and was ready and looking for, ‘the lesser of two evils.’ I think it’s an excellent question and a great topic to address on a general level for the back-by-popular-demand Corporate Responsibility Monday (Yes, this is the continuation; it’s like MJ coming out of retirement).

My general rule is: When In Doubt, Always Buy Generic. I have a few reasons for this which I’ll try to has out below, but I want to make clear, I see this applying to nearly all products.

1. By not buying brand name products, you specifically make the statement that advertising and image is not what influences your purchasing choices. You need to recognize that branding is a multi-billion dollar business. My brother can give you all kinds of information about it, but we all know how much commercials during the Super Bowl cost. ‘Coke’ is the most universally recognized word, next to ‘okay;’ I’ve heard baby’s begin to show brand recognition as early as 6 months; and images of Ronald McDonald are more recognized then pictures of Jesus. Billions are spent on advertising and image every year because companies know that branding works. By choosing to buy a product that is not focused on selling you a brand rather then a product you make it clear through your purchase choices what you value.
2. Because price does still matter. Now, this can be tricky, because we don’t want to support the production of more Big Box retailers, but price does play a role. As consumers who are trying to promote an economy and marketplace that is affordable for all people, price is still a concern. By purchasing the generic brand which is almost always more affordable then name brands, you send the message that you are looking for products that are economical, and that will be dictated by the quality of the product, not the image on the label. As a side benefit, the money you save buying generic in some areas will allow you to spend the extra buying organic and fair trade in other areas.
3. We allow for a level of trust, but show we will respond when we hear of wrong doing. I think this lesson is best conveyed through letter writing and speaking with managers. The idea is basically, that if there isn’t a known fair trade, socially responsible product to purchase, then we have to be willing to trust another product is at least close to making an effort (lesser of two evils). The goal though is to make this known to the companies and stores from which you purchase. For example, if I were to buy cans of soda for a party (which I do for the youth I work with), I choose to buy the generic Kroger brand, Big K. I do not buy Coke or Pepsi products if there is a generic brand. And I’ve chosen Pepsi products when there are options between Pepsi and Coke. Then the part of being vocal comes. Write a letter, an email or make a call to Coke and let them know the reason you have chosen not to buy their products is because of the human rights violations and other injustices you have heard about concerning their company and product. Then, write a letter, email or talk to a manager at your local grocer and let them know why your choosing their generic brand over Coke. Let them know what you value, why you’ve chosen the purchase you have, and why you’ll be willing to give up buying products that don’t align with your values. It might seem like a drop in the bucket, but I believe these are important steps for us to take, both collectively and as individuals in an attempt to create a world that aligns with our values.

So there you have it, three reasons why, when your unsure of what product to purchase, I would go with the generic brand.

1. Avoid Brand Name
2. Choose Reasonably Priced
3. Trust until you hear otherwise
4. And if you must, choose the product you’ve heard less ‘evil’ about.

I added the last one because inevitably I think there are going to be situations some will come to were they feel for whatever reason that they must consume a product they know is ‘evil’ and when that comes you still have the opportunity to be vocal and explain why you chose one product over the other.

When talking about the difference between fair and free trade, I thought it was worthwhile to step back and point out some things we take for granted in our country that are NOT Free Trade. One is Minimum Wage:

Minimum Wage. It’s too low still in my opinion, but it’s a big step towards human rights and away from the rule of the economic system. We have a minimum wage because we believe there is a certain pay the is dignified, below which is an oppressive payment.
The trouble is we don’t seem to care one iota about that carrying over to other countries.

See the other two at A list of Definitly NOT Free Trade