Totally unrelated to anything.

This is just stuff I found interesting. Totally unrelated to anything.

President Obama looking at mundane things
President Obama looking at awesome things
Also, did you know the President reads his mail? Well, not all of it.

Also, girls in the news talking about the mommy track at work and opposing pink toys.

My Trip Home

"These people are a heartbeat away from Hell ... These are the people Hell was made for."

"These people don't love their children. Instead, they will pay to have them killed."

Harsh words.
Angry words.
Hateful words.

Loving? Not even close.

Where did I hear these words?

Coming from a street corner, from a loudspeaker.
Being proclaimed by a man-
a man who claims to worship the same God I do.
Speaking them in the name of that same God.

"Warning: Graphic Abortion Images Ahead" read the very first sign, black with white letters. The sign wasn't placed early enough- a car full of small children wouldn't have had anywhere to turn off of the road before getting to the lines of protesters. A line of 6- or 7-foot tall signs that stretched for blocks and blocks on the busiest road in town.

It wasn't just today, either. A preschool teacher at the wedding I attended in town said she had to lie to her four-year-olds while they were playing outside. A plane flew overhead, dragging a banner and a graphic image. "What is it? What does it say?" they asked her. "It's too far away, we can't read it" the teachers answer. "We don't know."

The street preacher made me sad. Followers of Jesus are in the news saying things like he was saying, and all his followers are painted in the same way. Hateful. Unbending. Without compassion. This makes my heart hurt.

My guess is that Jesus would not have been standing out there with those protesters today, though, preaching Hell into the portable microphone, smiling, waving and giving thumbs-up to passing cars next to the huge signs of dead babies. It's not his style. He'd be a stone's throw away, alongside the girl graduating at Notre Dame today, who just found out she's pregnant and is unsure what she's going to do, with no job lined up and the area's economy the worst in the nation. He'd encourage Life with gentle words and a supportive touch. "Go and sin no more." "I will be with you always" "I have called you friends"

Jesus, Friend of Sinners.

This is the Jesus I follow.

Why I Vote

There's been a lot of discussion lately on why to or not to vote over at the God's Politics blog. Shane Claiborne is highly skeptical of the practice. Jim Wallis thinks Christians should vote. Bart Campolo sees voting as a responsibility. Marcia Ford thinks voters should seriously consider third parties. An Iraq veteran weighs in with good questions.

And all of this discussion got me thinking- why do I care about voting?  

I vote because I love my neighbor. I listen to all sides of the election, then I try to discern which leader, which vision would benefit my neighbor, the "least of these". There's many, many types of people who fall into that category, so balancing their situations and priorities isn't straightforward- but I am convinced that God shows preference for the poor, marginalized, and downtrodden; the orphan, the widow, and the alien, and I am called to do the same.

I vote as a loving act toward my neighbor.

Why do you vote? (or why don't you?)

Here's part of an election-day prayer Jim Wallis offered up yesterday in his post:

Today we also pray for those who will vote differently than we do, for their own reasons also deeply rooted in faith. And we pray, despite the outcome of the election tomorrow, that we will find the ways to build bridges and work together for the common good of the country we all dwell in. And may our votes tomorrow be guided less by a fear of our neighbor and more by a hope for the future.

I believe other people can vote with their heart, be convicted differently than I am, and still be genuine Christians. I celebrate their right to vote as well. I'll even babysit their kids and give them directions to the polling place, if it means that they can do what they see as a loving, patriotic act. I'm that convinced that God is in control. Even living in this swing state, in such a heated election. What will happen, will happen, God's still in control, all will work together for good, and I will know I've done my part.

What's your prayer today?

Debate Recap

Miss the debate Wednesday? here's a recap.

Except they were sitting down at a table. And not in silly costumes.

HT Indecision 2008

Greatest force for Good

After listening to the debate, I got thinking (OK, I admit, I argued with the screen.) on a phrase that was repeated a couple times. Did anyone else catch it? I'm not talking about the 19 "my friends"s, either.

What would YOU say is the "greatest force for good in the history of the world"?

• America
  
• My Friends (thanks Matt!)
  
• Christianity and the Church
  
• Some other movement

Discuss in the comments.

Friday Fun: Speeches in Wordle

If you haven't discovered Wordle, you're missing out. It's a little web toy that takes a bunch of text, and arranges it in a fun-yet-somewhat-informative way, making words used more frequently than others larger. The arrangement and colors vary, but I think it's fascinating how the main ideas just jump out when arranged this way.

For example, my blog as it currently is:

Apparently, recently, I've been talking about a household item? Can you spot it? Is it our TV furniture or appliances? Nope, it's my KITCHEN TRASH CAN. Right. Anyways. I thought it would be fun to throw the recent acceptance speeches into the mix, and see what comes up.

BIDEN:

OBAMA:

PALIN:

MCCAIN:

(Click images to make bigger)
So, you see Republicans talking about Country and Democrats talking about Change. What's new? Each speech has it's own "flavor". Biden uses first names (Barack and John) more than last names. An unexpected big word in Palin's speech: "Man". A big word in McCain's speech: "Fight". Big word in Obama's speech: "Promise".

More Friday fun: What Wordles have you made? Post them on your blog & in the comments or email me, and I'll post links!

Why we can't ignore the issue of Health Care

Because people in "The Best County in America to Raise a Family", one of the richest counties in the country, can't afford it.
condo hotel
Today my husband needed to see a doctor for a poison ivy outbreak. Our doctor wasn't in. The Minute Clinic at a CVS on his way home took one look at it and said he needed to go see a Real Doctor- the nurses at the clinic couldn't help him. It was the eye swelling shut that did it, I think. We ended up at a local MedCheck. While in the waiting room, this is an actual conversation I overheard between the receptionist and a mother of a a 12 or 13 year old boy. The mom looked like a typical Carmel soccer mom, the son like a typical grungy junior-higher.

Mom: Hi. I need to have my son see a doctor. He's been coughing to the point of throwing up last night, and again at school today.
Receptionist: Has he been here in the last 2 years?
Mom: No, I've never been in one of these places. Our doctor couldn't get him in.
Receptionist: You'll need to fill out these top two forms.
(Mom starts filling out the forms, then stops)
Mom: How much will this visit cost?
Receptionist: Do you have health insurance?
Mom: No.
Receptionist: Well, then, the base cost is $111.38 just to see a doctor, and that doesn't include any procedures, x-rays, etc.
Mom: Oh. I can't afford that!
(Pushes the clipboard back toward the receptionist)
Mom (to son): We're going.
Son: What? Why?
Mom: We'll find somewhere else.

My heart sank for them. These were not the typical people you would label uninsured. And yet they are. And they are struggling. In an affluent county. I saw today that health coverage isn't an issue just affecting certain neighborhoods, or certain types of people. Not having health coverage, and dealing with the cost of health care, is something people from more and more walks of life are having to face. Because I'm one of The Insured, I tend to tune out the conversations. But, today I saw, the issue matters.

We just switched our health insurance from a typical plan to an HSA plan. I'm curious to see how it works out. If anyone wants to know why or what the difference, let me know, & I'll post about it. Otherwise, I might just bore everyone. After today, I'm glad we have insurance at all.

Psalm 82

I thought this was particularly applicable at the start of the Democratic National Convention. Here's a psalm about God calling a convention of his own, and being the only keynote speaker.

God presides in the great assembly;
he gives judgment among the "gods":

Can you picture it? The "principalities and powers" are being gathered, called together by the God of the Universe. All the ideologies and the religions and the governments people follow and put their trust in- their 'gods'. The 'Isms' are all invited- Materialism, Atheism, Communism, Socialism, Environmentalism, Hinduism, Buddhism- and yes, even Protestantism, Evangelicalism, and Catholicism. Nationalism. Conservatism. Liberalism. Capitalism. Humanism.

The crowd gathers. What is it God is judging them for? What could be the message to these 'gods'?

"How long will you defend the unjust
and show partiality to the wicked?"

There are a whole bunch of well-meaning ideologies here. What more can they do? Fingers get pointed, but all are guilty. No System or Ideology has cared for the downtrodden to God's liking. He continues:

"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Rescue the weak and needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

These people, the forgotten ones that have fallen through the cracks of the world's Systems, are the ones closest to the heart of God. Neglecting them makes him angry. Finally, God makes an aside to his attendants:

"They know nothing, they understand nothing.
They walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

He turns to the assembly once more, in a huff:

I said, 'You are "gods";
you are all sons of the Most High.'
But you will die like mere men;
you will fall like every other ruler."

These Systems, these 'Isms' are temporary. They will rise and fall and be no more. They are not as powerful as we would like to think, as many followers as they have now. 'The foundations of the earth are shaken'- any organization or construct we build here will not be perfect, and will fall short. The best we can, let's heed God's challenge. Defend the cause of the fatherless. Maintain the rights of the needy. Rescue the weak. With those goals, we can't go wrong.

"Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are your inheritance."

* Adapted from this week's sermon and Psalm 82
HDMI splitter

What do you care about?

I've said before I don't want to be a one- or two-issue voter. God cares about people in a holistic way and I should to. That said, I've had a hard time finding an organization that puts into words this holistic-Christian view on voting in a well-thought-out way. Most groups (political parties included) seem to hold one issue over the others, ignoring important issues for the sake of other important issues. Is it possible to consider all of them?

Sojourners just released a PDF titled "Principles and Policies for Christian Voters" that lists out not one or two issues but a whole host of issues we should think about and take a stand for as Christians. You may not agree with Sojourner's conclusions on each issue, but they are absolutely ones that need to be addressed- and need to influence our voting.

This would be a good time to mention an issue that's important to talk about: Poverty. God talks about it a lot. I should talk about it more. I should DO more. The whole blogosphere will be abuzz about the issue on October 15th- wanna join in? Last year's Blog Action Day was about the environment, and I was amazed at the participation. I myself was a latecomer to the party- but I'm on top of things this year. Join me!

Links today

• For Matt: Andrew Peterson's song Family Man, illustrated. See the video here.
• Megachurch myths, debunked. Or Not?
• Go as the poor among the poor. This puts "ministry to the poor" in a different light.
• A conservative author writes a book about Obama's faith. Other conservatives paint him as the Antichrist, including a McCain campaign ad. Some Christians are annoyed after analyzing the ad. My thoughts: Talk about abusing religious language! This is a new low. If I was a McCain supporter, the celebrity ad was silly, but this would offend my intelligence and my faith. Seriously, why isn't he talking about issues, rather than trying to paint "two horns & a tail" on his opponent?
  
• I'm camping this weekend at Brown County State Park with Taylor friends. The weather should be beautiful! I'm so excited to see friends, too.
  

Politician's personal finances

Does the way a presidential candidate handle their personal finances reflect how they'll run the country? Do their personal priorities reflect policy priorities? With foreclosure rates high and savings rates low, should a president set a good example? Or does it matter?

A New York Times article reports on a recent financial disclosures by the candidates:

Senators John McCain and Barack Obama released their Senate financial disclosure statements on Friday, revealing that Mr. McCain and his wife had at least $225,000 in credit card debt and that Mr. Obama and his wife had put more than $200,000 into college funds for their daughters.

Credit card debt. This twenty-four-year-old who isn't vying to be in charge of one of the richest countries in history knows better than to keep a balance on a piece of plastic charging more interest than I could ever expect to earn. One of their cards charges 25.99% interest. I've heard of cases where it makes sense, or is necessary, to use credit cards... but never $225,000 worth. When you have assets in the tens of millions of dollars. But maybe they have a good explanation.

And, I think it's interesting that the Obamas are saving for their daughters' educations so early and so aggressively- though, I'd expect it's something they keenly know the cost of since they only recently paid their own college debts off. I don't think it's a bad idea, especially since they have the money available from Mr. Obama's book royalties.

Here's hoping our student loans will be paid off this fall. Sooner, if I get a big book deal. :-P

Clinton's Plan to Win It

Read a New York Times editorial published earlier this week that made me laugh.

If Clinton wants to continue, there’s $11 million that says she has paid for the right to go the distance. But is it hopeless? Not entirely. Given the Democratic Party’s innovative method of doling out delegates, all that’s necessary for her to snatch the nomination is:

1) A big, big win in Kentucky next Tuesday. Ideally, Obama should be limited to no more than 100 votes.

2) Oregon, scheduled for the same day, inexplicably breaks off and sinks into the Pacific Ocean.

3) Puerto Rico, clocking in on June 1, not only gives Clinton a huge majority, but also manages to become a state in advance of the vote.

4) Finally, on June 3 as the South Dakota polls open, Thomas Jefferson’s head on Mount Rushmore comes to life and starts shouting, “You go, girl.”

An ambitious scenario, true. But nothing less than we’ve come to expect from the most hard-working political family in American history.

To answer a question.

On my last post, an anonymous commenter (Probably related to me... I know who you are :-P ) said

Okay, this is totally unrelated, but I went to hear Bill Clinton speak last night and he really convinced me to vote for Hillary. Please do a blog giving me your top 5/10 reasons to vote for Obama.

OK, so here it is, in conjunction with tidbits from the town hall meeting a week ago. In the spirit of the positive Obama campaign, I'm going to do my best to present pro-Obama rather than anti-Clinton arguments. This is a tough post to write, and I've been thinking about it all weekend, because there are blog readers and family members online and off that give me a really hard time for even mentioning the guy's name. I wonder if it's even worth it. But, because I know the above commenter is being honest, and I think it's a fair question... here we go.

WHY I'M VOTING FOR BARACK TOMORROW
I'm not going to cover specific policies here, though I may use some as examples. The point isn't the policy or campaign promise, but the philosophy of the leader. Good leaders start with good foundational assumptions, and build up from there. I won't agree with all the policy points of any one candidate, but if I agree with most of them, and trust that they will make thought-out, measured decisions, in my mind they're the best person for the job. The decision-making process is probably the most important to me, because the issues might not even exist today. Remember the 2000 election? Remember any of the issues? Yeah, me neither, because the Main Issue less than a year after Bush took office was Terrorism- totally unforeseen. We have no idea what the future issues are. Decision-making matters.

1. He wants to listen to all sides. To think! If our leaders were willing to talk to our enemies, how much war could be prevented? How many lives could be saved? How many people could be fed? This came up in the town hall meeting during the very first question, when a young South Korean immigrant asked Obama about his policy towards North Korea. Obama said he'd talk to them. As a part of his health care plan (or any of his plans) he says he'll "get a big table" and invite everyone- members of both parties, drug companies, insurance companies, representative people actually affected by policy changes- everyone involved or with a stake in the matter. Communication does wonders, really, and I don't get why people are bringing him under fire for this policy. When Jesus said "Love your enemies, and pray for them," did he mean "Don't talk to them"?
   
2. He acknowledges that the world and the issues the nation faces are not black-and-white. This is something else he's come under fire for, which is something else I don't get. Something I talk about on this blog fairly often is the complexity of political, spiritual, or social justice issues, challenging the simple accepted answers that don't seem to answer harder questions. I appreciate that someone trying to get elected is acknowledging the same thing. His plans and policies are harder to explain and get into a 4-point speech or a colorful mailer (or a short town-hall meeting answer!), but they actually take into account the reality of situations. President Bush has been criticized over making the world black-and-white, labeling "evil" and "good". Realizing the complexities of the world and the shades of gray that it operates in will certainly result in better policies and actions in a whole host of areas, and prevent knee-jerk reactions. Anyone see what Clinton said about Iran? I worry about knee-jerk reactions.
   
3. He doesn't "say anything" to get elected. He admitted pretty early on in the town hall meeting that he and his supporters won't agree on everything. He's OK with being honest anyway. A question came up in the town hall meeting- the man asked something to the effect of "Gas costs are rising, and there's there's plenty of domestic oil in Alaska, but some people don't want us to drill there because they say it will take too long or destroy the environment. What do you say to them?" Barack started "Well, I told you we wouldn't agree on everything..." and proceeded to disagree with the questioner on the issue. I appreciated that. He didn't try to appease his supporter, he spoke what he believed. Another example of this is the "gas tax holiday" that the other two candidates are championing. It's an easy-to-understand "solution" that doesn't actually fix or even help a complex problem. I did the math for my car, and I buy about a tank of gas every 2 weeks. For the 3 month summer, at 4 weeks/month, that's about 12 tanks of gas, about 10 gallons each time. 120 gallons x .20 reduction = $24 savings over the course of the summer. $24 spread over 3 months won't affect my food budget. It won't help me stimulate the economy. It's a gimmick that will hurt more than help. What the plan will do is create a jump in prices come Fall- not only in gas, but in anything that needs to be transported, which will be a shock to many people's budgets. This is a pretty empty campaign promise, and I appreciate that Obama isn't jumping on the bandwagon. His longer-term solutions are better- even if they are more complex and harder to capture in a nice catchphrase.
   
4. He's more likely to help the poor and marginalized because he's been there. He was raised by a single mom, then his grandparents. He only paid his student loans off a few years ago. His personal assets are no where near to the other candidates, who are both very, very rich. He still lives in Chicago. He and his wife started out working with the down and out, even with promising law careers ahead of them. He's not been on the board of Walmart. I'm still confused as to the "elitist" label. I appreciate his background a lot. He's been there, and knows the reality of the poor's situation- better than I or many of his critics do, even.
   
5. He supports families. A single mom of a disabled child and another baby asked a few questions, one of which was about federal oversight of child support. Obama didn't say much on that, but did say none of his policies matter- not education, not the economy - none will happen without strong families and marriages.He understands the importance of family, and from what I've seen, he's modeled it more consistently than the other candidates.
6. He manages his resources well. As all the campaigns go, Obama's is the best-managed. Essentially, a President needs to be a Really Good Manager, and so far, Obama has shown that. The other campaigns are in debt. The Clinton camp has high turnover. They're spending more than they bring in, and, when things don't go well, they replace their people. I misspoke- the only other campaign not spending more than they have is Ron Paul, who also happens to be second in the running on my unscientific sidebar poll, but isn't faring as well nationally. McCain's campaign is no longer in debt because he's not campaigning right now, and he's had time to raise money & pay the loans back. I don't want a president who spends what they don't have, or at least have a plan to fund.
7. He has a balanced view of faith in the public square. For this very reason, Obama's been on my radar before he announced he was running for president. He gave a significant speech at a Sojourners/Call to Renewal conference in the summer of 2006. His interviews in Christianity Today and beliefnet more recently illustrates many of the same points: Our faith informs our politics, and doesn't require that we line up behind the Conservative Christian voting bloc and look at one or two issues, turning a blind eye to the rest.
   
8. He's from Hawaii. This is, admittedly, my worst, most selfish reason on the list, so I put it last. I spent part of my childhood in Hawaii, and understand the worldview of locals there- one of inclusiveness and goodwill. Whites are the minority and "minorities" are the majority, and the aloha spirit is rampant. Living in Hawaii (and even moreso overseas) gives a person a certain perspective on the world and empathy towards other cultures. I want the most public ambassador of the United States to understand other cultures and how to interact with them. This is really important. We need to repair the image our nation has in the world. Part of that is having a president who can communicate effectively to people from other cultures.
   

When I asked Josh why he was voting for Obama over Clinton, he thought my #3 was his top reason. He brought up the "sniper fire" comment- if she would embellish a story like that, then defend the lie on more than one occasion, it seems to paint a pattern of "saying anything" to get votes.

All this said, do I agree with Barack Obama on everything? No, I don't. But, I am also not a one-issue voter, and I believe the person with the best, most rounded leadership abilities ought to be the one elected. I obviously don't buy into some of the advertising that comes from the campaign- my Hope comes from God, not politicians or government. At the town hall meeting, I braced myself for a speech about nice words like Hope and Change and Believe In Yourself - but there was none of that. I was glad.

These are all very personal reasons, based on my own research. They may not resonate with you, and that's fine. This is my decision-making process. I do encourage you to do your own research. Figure out what's important to you. Who would you hire for the job? Why?

And, most importantly, vote tomorrow! (if you're in Indiana or North Carolina!)

A note to the original commenter: Slate says Obama is the natural Catholic choice, but that Clinton is doing better at the polls among Catholics. So, it's a toss up. Like I said, do your own research.

Friday night news

Even though sniper fire is likely for me admitting this... here's where I spent my Friday evening:


Town Hall meeting, Kokomo, IN

Unlike Matt, I didn't stand in line for two hours! I was able to snag our tickets online yesterday.

More later. I took notes, but it's late. I was amazed at the demographics of the crowd- on one hand, high schoolers needing acne treatment on the other, grandparents in wheelchairs. Men, women, young, old, black, white, Asian. Such diversity!

Oh, and today marks 4 years of blogging- happy birthday Keeping Feet!

And, even more exciting- Josh starts a new job a week from Monday! Hooray!

King Corn and the food crisis

I've spent the last week collecting articles about the worldwide crisis caused by rising food costs. The crisis is bigger than just us in the US paying a dollar more for a dozen eggs, or $4 for a gallon of milk. The rising food costs are affected by everything from Mideast gas prices to America's government food policy, and the poorest in our country and overseas are now finding it difficult to feed their families.

Like I said, lots of articles.

The Food Bill
For months now, the Food Bill has been up for renewal. It's stalled in Congress. This is a wide-reaching bill that does everything from give funding to food stamps to deciding what farmers will grow. How can the government dictate what private farms grow, you may wonder? The Food Bill gives farmers subsidies for specific crops (corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton ... and maybe one more.). Once-upon-a-time, these subsidies supported food prices, making sure the market never got inundated with a bumper crop of one commodity and caused the price to fall- the subsidies (then, loans) encouraged the farmers to hold back their excess crop until prices were higher. Now, the loan turned into a payment, and encourages farmers to grow these specific crops, even at a time of the highest prices for the crops ever.

TIME - House passes Farm Law Extension
TIME - Wholesale Costs Spiking Inflation

Why is this all bad? Corn is our staple, right? Well, yes, corn is a staple because of the Food Bill. If it weren't for the government intervention, there wouldn't be so much corn out there. Because there's so much corn out there, food companies have to figure out what to do with all of it. Corn flakes. Corn syrup. Corn bread. Soda? Liquid corn. Corn starch. Baking powder. Xanthan gum. Caramel coloring. Corn oil. A huge list of ingredients. And then there's our meat: Naturally, cows eat grass. (Remember from music class? "All Cows Eat Grass" Yes, that's ALL I remember from music class.) What do most cows eat now? Corn. Lots of it. It takes 6 pound of corn to produce 1 pound of beef. What do pigs eat? And chickens? Corn.

So, again, why is this bad? First, corn isn't that nutritional- and it's all we eat. Second, along with food, corn is starting to be diverted for our cars to consume too, in the form of ethanol. The poorest in the world are competing with our SUVs for food. That bothers me.

CNN - Food crisis a silent tsunami
CNN - Soaring food prices elicit creative solutions
Indy Star - Pumping up corn demand
USDA - Corn prices near record high, but what about food costs?
Reason magazine - Feed SUVs and starve people?
PBS - King Corn

The world is impacted. It's our SUVs that are eating the poorest's food, and they notice. In Haiti. In Egypt. In North Korea. In China. In Bangladesh and Mozambique. All over.

"In just two months," Zoellick said in his speech, "rice prices have skyrocketed to near historical levels, rising by around 75 percent globally and more in some markets, with more likely to come. In Bangladesh, a 2-kilogram bag of rice ... now consumes about half of the daily income of a poor family."

The price of wheat has jumped 120 percent in the past year, he said -- meaning that the price of a loaf of bread has more than doubled in places where the poor spend as much as 75 percent of their income on food.

"This is not just about meals forgone today or about increasing social unrest. This is about lost learning potential for children and adults in the future, stunted intellectual and physical growth," Zoellick said. - CNN

And it's not like these rioters are eating a lot of food. Check out this Flickr set of what a family eats in a week, and what it costs.

So what can we do?
Sometimes it feels like we can't do very much. After reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, we've decided to try to find grass-fed beef when we can. I'm acutely aware of what's in my food, now. I look at ingredients of things and wonder if I could go a whole week without corn or corn-fed food. I want to learn to eat on a "shorter food chain" - less processed food, more from my garden, more local, less meat. I'm learning, but I'm not there yet.
-------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry. This was a bit of a rant. And I didn't even talk about the environmental impact of growing corn (or any crop) on the same soil every year, the fertilizers involved, or the transportation and processing costs associated with the way we eat.

Register, Indiana!

If you live in Indiana, register to vote! The deadline for registering to voting in the primary is April 7th- sooner than you'd think! We moved since the last election, so we sent our registrations off this week. You'll need to re-register if:

• You've never registered in the state,
• Your name has changed,
• You address has changed

Get the registration form here.

I've never voted in a primary election, and last November was my first time going to a polling place. I haven't the slightest idea where my polling place is for my new address. In case it's not already on your calendar, Indiana's primary is May 6th. The election faucets have already been thrown open in the state, and candidates have been visiting for the last week or so. I haven't seen any of them- the only sign that the election is nearing is a few yard signs here & there. I was talking to Josh- I think I'd like to go see any of the presidential candidates, if I had a chance. Regardless of their positions, they are all respectable leaders and interesting speakers.

Those of you in PA, I'd love to hear what your experience has been like, being even more bombarded than Indiana so far in the primary season! It's really crunch time.

News today

First, I want to pass on congrats to my brother-in-law, whose small company won lots of awards for building churches around the Midwest. I thought it was neat to see that the story made the Indy Star. I also think the creative ideas the designers at the company come up with are pretty neat.

I'll admit, I let out an audible "Yeah!" in the car on the way to work when I heard on NPR that Barack Obama had won in Iowa. The event was historic, and reflects that his talk of "change" has hit home for a lot of people. He's now got momentum, and a lot of 'kids' behind him. Huckabee won too, and I'm interested to see how that plays out with the rest of the primary season. I'm cautiously hopeful we'll have better presidential choices from the two parties come election time, compared to the last election.

Here's tidbits from a New York Times commentary about both the wins:

About Huckabee:

Huckabee understands how middle-class anxiety is really lived. Democrats talk about wages. But real middle-class families have more to fear economically from divorce than from a free trade pact. A person’s lifetime prospects will be threatened more by single parenting than by outsourcing. Huckabee understands that economic well-being is fused with social and moral well-being, and he talks about the inter-relationship in a way no other candidate has.
...
A conservatism that recognizes stable families as the foundation of economic growth is not hard to imagine. A conservatism that loves capitalism but distrusts capitalists is not hard to imagine either. Adam Smith felt this way. A conservatism that pays attention to people making less than $50,000 a year is the only conservatism worth defending.

About Obama:

Barack Obama has won the Iowa caucuses. You’d have to have a heart of stone not to feel moved by this. An African-American man wins a closely fought campaign in a pivotal state. He beats two strong opponents, including the mighty Clinton machine. He does it in a system that favors rural voters. He does it by getting young voters to come out to the caucuses.

This is a huge moment. It’s one of those times when a movement that seemed ethereal and idealistic became a reality and took on political substance.

Will someone go see this with me?

Speaking of a low-impact or buy-nothing Christmas and the Advent Conspiracy, here's a good seasonal movie, from the Keystone Art Cinema website...

What Would Jesus Buy?
Starts Friday, December 14

The charismatic Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir take us on a cross-country crusade to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse! Their mission begins on Black Friday, when families bloated from their Thanksgiving turkeys spend the night freezing in mile-long lines to trample each other at early bird sales. Reverend Billy is here to invade the parking lots and temples of commerce, to liberate consumers from their corporate trances. From preaching at the Mall of America, to exorcising the demons from Wal-Mart Headquarters—Reverend Billy takes his gospel to the Promised Land. Changelujah! The Shopocalypse is upon us…Who will be saved? Must-see viewing before you head to the mall. Produced by Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) and directed by Rob VanAlkemade. Official Web Site

Admittedly, Reverend Billy is WAY out there, and I don't necessarily agree with his tactics. And I've yet to see how related to Jesus this whole movement is, but it's interesting nonetheless.

More on Walmart

I started to respond to the comments on the previous post- lots of good thoughts- and my response got long, so (because I'm the blog author!) I can pull it out here. Hooray!

Matt M said:

... Walmart definitely does more damage than good to an easily tempted frugal person, in offering the convenience of everything in the world you could want, in addition to the one or two things you actually need. I've had to train myself to not "shop" while I'm there. I tell myself to just buy things on the list and leave. And to be kind to the elderly greeter on the way in & out.

The "StuffMart" aspect of Walmart reminds me of this. This was one of the primary observations I had on my visit earlier this week. STUFF. Everywhere.

Heather said:

Politics aside, it's hard not to shop there when they have a monopoly on small town America. They no they have no competition and that over half their clientele can't afford to leave town to search out other options (due to gas prices, etc.). I would love to see a Target, but Matt says they will never come because we are not the market they are looking for.

I know, Heather, that in smaller towns, there isn't another option to get certain things- Walmart, with their low wages and low-cost supply chain, can undercut local businesses and run other stores out of town. This is one of the issues people have with the company. What blows me away is that, Walmart is such a huge employer, and their own employees probably can barely afford to shop there. I'm all for a living wage. But that's for another post.

Ashley said:

I've found that I tend to buy more at Walmart BECAUSE it is cheap. "Oh look it's only $3!" ...

Brett said:

... Anyway, I'm torn on Walmart and the other big-box stores. I'd love to frequent smaller, local shops but it's hard to justify paying the higher prices (and we have comparison shopped). A few years ago the local-ish Marsh grocery stores were hurting financially and were looking for someone to purchase the chain. I remember one of the Marsh higher-ups saying something like "If people want Marsh to stay in town, people need to start shopping here." That's all well and good and I appreciate that Marsh is part of the community but if they want me to shop there, they need to lower their prices. We've actually researched it and, if we regularly shop at Marsh, our grocery bill will jump $20 a week...easily. And I can't justify that. I can find a lot of other things to do with $20 a week.

As for shopping there just because they're less expensive, this is something Josh and I have consciously decided against. For groceries, we can go to other places that can have low prices for other reasons than unfair labor practices here & abroad- we try to stick to Costco (which has lower prices because of economies of scale & bulk buying, and is widely known to treat & pay their employees very well) or Aldi (which has low price because of small stores, no-frills service or displays, and no name brands). If there are groceries we need beyond those places, we watch sales & coupons and usually end up at Kroger or Marsh.

For things other than groceries, we shop around. Between Target & Lowes & Big Lots, we can typically find what we're looking for. This does mean we're going out of our way to avoid Walmart, but I'm OK with that. I've heard it said we vote with our pocketbooks. I don't want to vote for the Waltons.

An eye-opening book about not only Walmart, but other low-wage employers, that brings up issues of minimum wage, living wage, and the day-to-day life of trying to make it for a person working at one of these jobs, is Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America. Similarly, a show that also opened my eyes to practical struggles of the "working poor" is the first episode of "30 Days", where Morgan Spurlock, the creator of SuperSize Me & his girlfriend worked minimum-wage jobs for a month & saw the difficulty of "getting by".

I don't want to become blind to a whole segment of society, one that God says over and over again that he cares about in a special way. I don't want to support outlets that are exploiting this group. I can't always know what companies do, but I can act on what I know.

On Walmart

I don't shop at Walmart, if I can help it. On principle. But, I found myself there last night. We were looking for yard tools, which have apparently been replaced in the nursery section by Christmas stuff. You'd think you'd be able to find a rake in the middle of leaf-raking season, but, no. Alas.

I hadn't been in the store for so long, that the blatant commercialism and marketing hit me like a brick wall. On top of that, this time I realized WHY everything in the store could be priced so low- because of the unfair labor practices both in stores in this country and in factories elsewhere. Even with all this in mind, having not been in a Walmart in so many months, I forgot how much stuff was out there. How many useful gadgets! How many pretty decor items! How many TOYS! From house paint to osteoarthritis relief drugs to crock pots to remote-controlled General Lees. Stuff. Everywhere. And I found myself wanting it! Thinking of how useful it would be! And for only $2.88!

Sigh. I was ashamed, when I caught myself. And, I'm even more ashamed... I have these nice flower pots hanging on my wall, and I wanted some flowers to put in them, and a sign caught my eye- fifteen cents for a bunch of silk fall flowers... I caved. I spent $1.05 on silk flowers on sale at Walmart. And I like the way they look. Pictures to come.

And, I now resume my Walmart boycott. This experience will keep me out of there for a while.