Do You Need Another Reason to Buy American?

Toxic toys. Disintegrating tires. Poisoned toothpaste, pet food, and human food. Deadly baby formula. These are just the newest reasons not to buy MADE IN CHINA. But what about the other reasons? They've been there all along.

Outsourcing of American jobs. Loss of livable wages. Profit-at-any-cost corporations. Walmartification and the death of local business. Lack of quality control (um, YEAH). If you think all of those things aren't inextricably tied to MADE IN CHINA then, baby, you're just kidding yourself.

Did you need the FDA to tell you that buying from China was putting savings above safety, quality and even your health? Your family's health? You didn't, really. You knew it. Cheap food, cheap toys, cheap tablecloths are all products of corner-cutting, and China is at the top of that heap. Add to that the environmental impact of all those American dollars being sent to companies who demonstrate their value in their willingness to pollute with impunity.

Look through your house at everything that is Made in China and think about all the ways you're putting your health and the health of your family in China's hands. And ask yourself, "Did I sell my soul for WalMart's low prices?" Always.

Quotable Marquez:

“She discovered with great delight that one does not love one's children just because they are one's children but because of the friendship formed while raising them.”

SUV Conquers Moms

These are the moms I know: educated and/or intelligent, studious with regard to parenting issues, eager consumers of organic foods & products, concerned with our environmental legacy, and fastidious with regard to child safety issues. Well, fastidious to a point.

You see, the mom's I know, by and large, show their Achilles heel when it comes to Car Cool. These moms cannot bear the thought of driving or being seen in a minivan. And, when it came time for many of us to consider having a second child, the truth was revealed: these otherwise smart, eco-conscious moms would be upgrading to an SUV.

It is, I think, the ultimate triumph of the Detroit automakers. These women are convinced that a minivan just plain sucks. Yeah, that's right. THIS minivan. This marvel of parent/child-oriented design. About the only thing that could make this car more perfect for families would be if you made it a hybrid. Oh - wait. There you go.

Not to mention that these loving mommies are more likely to hurt themselves, their children or other people's children in their SUVs.

Way to go, Detroit. You won. And it makes me scared behind the wheel of my Subaru.

The Best Women

Zadie Smith
Angelina Jolie
Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori
Eleanor Roosevelt

Purpose: To list the women worth listing, in no particular order, updated randomly.
Qualities: Looking for, among other things, grace, intelligence, authenticity, passion, thoughtful expression, concern for something outside the self.
Nominations: Please.