tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65816839826060621012024-03-19T00:41:13.477-04:00Clever Clover's Random MusingsWhimsically pondering on multifarious topics.Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-58248109099615658932019-08-27T19:48:00.001-04:002019-08-27T19:54:44.277-04:00Some Facts on the Effects of Outlawing Abortion<div dir="ltr">
Per Foster Care Georgia (2019) there are 13,873 children in foster care. The annual cost to taxpayers for foster care ranges anywhere from $80 million to $125 million, depending on your source. A lot of that comes from federal funding, so if you think you’re not paying for Georgia’s situation you’re wrong.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
The national statistics on the long term economic impact (from National Foster Youth Institue):<br />
*More than 23,000 children will age out of the US foster care system every year.<br />
*After reaching the age of 18, 20% of the children who were in foster care will become instantly homeless.<br />
*Only 1 out of every 2 foster kids who age out of the system will have some form of gainful employment by the age of 24.<br />
*There is less than a 3% chance for children who have aged out of foster care to earn a college degree at any point in their life.<br />
*7 out of 10 girls who age out of the foster care system will become pregnant before the age of 21.<br />
*75% of women and 33% of men receive government benefits to meet basic needs after they age out of the system.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Per a friend who works in Juvenile Court, “I know the heartbeat bill will make my job at the courthouse hellish. Dependency cases will greatly increase, and we're already running short on foster parents available to take on more children. This will also be a strain on the Department of Children and Family Services. Staff turnover was already high due to massive caseloads for very little pay.”</div>
<div dir="ltr">
Anyone who says,“this is not my problem” is sorely mistaken. This bill will significantly increase costs to the taxpayer and the burden on government.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
On the other hand, Colorado began offering long acting, reversible birth control for the last 5 years. They have seen a 40% drop in unintended pregnancies. Abortion rates have dropped by 42%. And according the Colorado Department of Public Health, for every $1 they invested they have saved $5.85 in Medicaid related charges (this does not take into account child services/foster care savings). </div>
<div dir="ltr">
So if you really care about unborn children, why are you not advocating for methods that have proven successful in preventing abortion?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQhNopGuegzg95JAmhkls0sqGNd-OLuiC0COQ2tu2Pw2FR7ge_yzTMxpCVdF4P7NcVIaR69yPTZH7tdFTe9Cazfqzx1mPmMVu0JeaZ8R05z3_AB0_IUTO3Z0uvKtCrV_e5LLDwTT5SToo/s1600/Screenshot_20190827-195217_Chrome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="881" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQhNopGuegzg95JAmhkls0sqGNd-OLuiC0COQ2tu2Pw2FR7ge_yzTMxpCVdF4P7NcVIaR69yPTZH7tdFTe9Cazfqzx1mPmMVu0JeaZ8R05z3_AB0_IUTO3Z0uvKtCrV_e5LLDwTT5SToo/s320/Screenshot_20190827-195217_Chrome.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-47498389427243507162015-05-09T18:46:00.000-04:002015-05-09T18:47:07.791-04:00Why does UPS have access to this information?<div dir="ltr">
While attempting to reroute a package I came across an alarming discovery...</div>
<div dir="ltr">
I had received an automated email with my tracking number and noticed my package was accidentally being shipped to my billing address instead of my home address. Embedded in the email was a handy link to reroute the package. I clicked the link and was taken to UPS My Choice. I wasn't surprised when they required me to verify my identity before rerouting the package but what did shock me was the information they knew about me.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
I have been previously married, moved across country several times, changed email addresses, phone numbers and have even changed my name a couple of times over the past 20 years... and UPS knew ALL of it!! They knew my ex-husband's birthday. They knew my addresses in Seattle from more than 15 years ago and three name changes ago. To log into the website I gave them my current name, address, phone number, and email address. The information they had access to should ONLY be available via my social security number (which I did not provide).</div>
<div dir="ltr">
I called their toll free number and after 20 minutes couldn't get past the first level of customer service, so I took to Twitter:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePn2VT3C1epnfHCfL6GImgunUAK6g1ZodHMjspk2KxKSkhyfxd2BK_OnAi6SsQnxFDAy5rKUPLQrlw4mkr8K0imN6FdJLKG38x0B1QZHARpc2xWAIkhAiL5oVNw5ZBN4UvH-fJRyAfv0/s1600/Screenshot_2015-05-09-18-31-11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePn2VT3C1epnfHCfL6GImgunUAK6g1ZodHMjspk2KxKSkhyfxd2BK_OnAi6SsQnxFDAy5rKUPLQrlw4mkr8K0imN6FdJLKG38x0B1QZHARpc2xWAIkhAiL5oVNw5ZBN4UvH-fJRyAfv0/s320/Screenshot_2015-05-09-18-31-11.png" width="179" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Their response was to blame a third party provider: </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOECpti66GdCyXf4MdOjKyyeDnoToY7J4zDCKn6ltYxQckuY-4KYJ3AAvDSxLB6xOqV8hdoFFmRD6WpUbfyM1vHrOuovMirIlrTJ7fJOG-9luLyz5xkqQ6lEDwNay2IDQguS3bBKZN3do/s1600/Screenshot_2015-05-09-18-31-31.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOECpti66GdCyXf4MdOjKyyeDnoToY7J4zDCKn6ltYxQckuY-4KYJ3AAvDSxLB6xOqV8hdoFFmRD6WpUbfyM1vHrOuovMirIlrTJ7fJOG-9luLyz5xkqQ6lEDwNay2IDQguS3bBKZN3do/s320/Screenshot_2015-05-09-18-31-31.png" width="180" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Dear UPS, this is NOT cool. I would seriously reconsider this business practice.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNsZ39i4Y4jtQ49H7FzWv6UccquxxBOkDPx2tE7Lp8DtOsm42OtbOzI645hUPUG545Lrsh4OaaZtuqTe5xC8-GJi_4Cy6F63D9WDlCQsCEzeURibdrPHsEoEG6A5YG-Ccpv_1ZqM-0xg/s1600/Screenshot_2015-05-09-18-30-49.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNsZ39i4Y4jtQ49H7FzWv6UccquxxBOkDPx2tE7Lp8DtOsm42OtbOzI645hUPUG545Lrsh4OaaZtuqTe5xC8-GJi_4Cy6F63D9WDlCQsCEzeURibdrPHsEoEG6A5YG-Ccpv_1ZqM-0xg/s320/Screenshot_2015-05-09-18-30-49.png" width="180" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I'm left wondering: what other companies are engaging in this level of data mining? What do you all think of this business practice? </div>
Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-26224342278540925362014-09-24T21:21:00.000-04:002014-09-24T21:24:07.035-04:00The Parable of the Three Sons (as told by my mother)Growing up, my mother told me a parable in order to illustrate the importance of not hoarding <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNgYC9Sv-TbHlb29CpmN-O2OEzC2ZAxMv_m7dwplo2y6KCU8x-uO0Nno4Vqi4pJ9toFMgU2RnsExfIQibtPus9ricy3Q6-gAPbRWd3i2PCDa_ZGbuT0LKJFr3AhTLWxhx33vG3Kd57hs/s1600/three+sons+parable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNgYC9Sv-TbHlb29CpmN-O2OEzC2ZAxMv_m7dwplo2y6KCU8x-uO0Nno4Vqi4pJ9toFMgU2RnsExfIQibtPus9ricy3Q6-gAPbRWd3i2PCDa_ZGbuT0LKJFr3AhTLWxhx33vG3Kd57hs/s1600/three+sons+parable.jpg" height="173" width="200" /></a></div>
money. She taught me that hoarding your money is the greatest sin.* <br />
<br />
A father gave each of his three sons equal portions of money and sent them off into the world. The first son invested his money; the second son spent his money; and the third son buried his money in ground. Some time later the father called his sons together and asked about the status of the gift he had given them. The first son proudly reported that through wise investing, he had increased his initial amount. The father was incredibly proud of his son and told him so. The second son hung his head and told his father that he had spent the entirety of the gift. The father explained that he was also proud of him because he had spent the money and therefore helped the economy. The infusion of capital into the market helped the overall well being of their country and countrymen. The third son was pleased to report that he had the same amount that he was originally given. The father asked how this was possible and the son explained he had buried it. The father was gravely disappointed in his son and the son did not understand. The father explained that the first son had invested the money, which helps the economy of their country, and the second son spent the money, which also helps the economy, but he had buried his money which helps no one. The father explained that hoarding money and not aiding in the growth of the overall economy of his community is the greatest sin of all.<br />
<br />
*It turns out that her parable is loosely based on the Parable of Three Servants found in both Matthew and Luke but hers has a different twist.Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-73493671161495990602013-10-29T00:00:00.001-04:002013-10-29T00:00:27.842-04:00Taking Back the Night<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix57EVu294H_iwS08MMefjmPewEJ83VjYmYX2pO9xJ1M4p03q5tA4QNIjlHICDtqhBNG1NaSfkGj1bGJ6AOb3St_B_eKns-Y-v75apaWjUVa5dfu8dDdxhjE04H7iKW9V3pYT9dNvif5M/s1600/1069215_10100305565401312_1031814840_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix57EVu294H_iwS08MMefjmPewEJ83VjYmYX2pO9xJ1M4p03q5tA4QNIjlHICDtqhBNG1NaSfkGj1bGJ6AOb3St_B_eKns-Y-v75apaWjUVa5dfu8dDdxhjE04H7iKW9V3pYT9dNvif5M/s320/1069215_10100305565401312_1031814840_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
This evening I spoke at Emory University's <i>Respect Program</i> and the <i>Alliance for Sexual Assault Prevention</i>'s <b>Take Back the Night</b> Speak Out Rally. Here is what I said:<br />
<br />
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am Allegra Knight, a Masters student at Candler School of Theology and I am a survivor.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I started my Master’s program at Candler School of
Theology at the age of 38, I never imagined that I would end up a victim of
sexual assault by a classmate. The term “victim” is usually frowned upon but I
wear it with pride. I refuse to cower or feel shame and I encourage anyone who
has been assaulted to follow my lead.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was raised by a single mother who ingrained in me strength
and independence. I went to all female schools (high school and college) where
we were taught how to protect ourselves. But after my divorce, I was left broken
and vulnerable and even with this proper training, I still ended up with a
classmate—a friend—trying to rape me and stalking me. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For months I allowed an emotionally abusive relationship to
continue which culminated in him attempting to force penetration against my
will. Since he had previously ignored my requests to leave me alone, I figured
out how to block him via phone, text message, and online media so that even if
he tried he would be unable to contact me. Despite these steps, he came to my
front door uninvited on a Saturday night at 11pm, which I responded to by
calling the police, who advised me to file a restraining order against him in
order to protect myself. The officer hit me hard with a case of “scared straight”.
He explained that this was a man who does not understand “no” and this would
not stop. I saw two paths in front of me: one where I stand up and protect
myself or the other where I become a statistic on the news.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had to navigate the complicated bureaucratic systems both
at Candler and within Dekalb County. I had to talk about the intimate details
of my sex life with Candler’s Dean of Students and the Registrar. I went
through the court system and got a restraining order against my attacker. I could
not have done this without the support of my friends. The experience left me
wanting to crawl under my covers never to return. But somehow, when we are on
the verge of giving up, Providence steps in and catches us before we fall. My
friends were there to support me; they held me up when my legs failed. Reach
out to your friends, they will still love you and support you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The more I talked about my experience, the more I learned
that I was not alone. And that is why we are here today with the intention of
removing the stigma of being a victim. My friend Miranda (who has twice been a
victim of date rape) was so inspirational; she told me that she feels called to
tell her story, so that women realize that this is not our shame to bear but
that this shame belongs to our attackers. I reiterate: this is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">his</i> shame, not mine. I already knew that
if I did nothing and he attacked another woman that would be on my head, but
after talking with Miranda I realized that I must speak up publicly about what
happened; I am called to be a role model for other women. I must speak up
loudly and with strength. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I stand tall… as a victim.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-28917650248550890042013-09-05T22:28:00.000-04:002013-09-15T17:25:41.407-04:00Why I love Dragon*Con<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Dragon*Con is not just costumes and fandom</h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This weekend was my first full weekend of Dragon*Con. It is not just geek heaven but also nerd heaven. In case you were wondering what the difference between the two terms is: </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2vyFwOOV0eUSnVGNlFdIJWj4LmRuf-OlwP8xXwVSb_zgdRxrMdsZPD0gU9TvlbtzKTfQJ5BARfMRJom-5GLBSibZchg8PZTIWtQoCPr6rYWiYtDOoJVnJ3LS7ZgJ4WeoPaVoxovsFiAY/s1600/1239933_740276442668478_254611559_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2vyFwOOV0eUSnVGNlFdIJWj4LmRuf-OlwP8xXwVSb_zgdRxrMdsZPD0gU9TvlbtzKTfQJ5BARfMRJom-5GLBSibZchg8PZTIWtQoCPr6rYWiYtDOoJVnJ3LS7ZgJ4WeoPaVoxovsFiAY/s200/1239933_740276442668478_254611559_n.jpg" width="191" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Dragon*Con is not just Trekkies and Whovians in costumes, there is a wide
assortment of cerebral panels to choose from as well. I spent most of my
time in the nerdy, less crowded panels. Next year I may attempt to
participate in the more popular panels with the big name stars but this
year I was happy to sit in on the less attended, more cerebral panels. In other words, I completely geeked out on all the nerdiness. Some of the amazing panels I attended:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ul>
<li><i>Why Mensa Will Never Solve World Hunger</i></li>
<ul>
<li>a panel which discussed the difference between intelligence and rationality<i> </i></li>
</ul>
<li><i>Of Mice and Men: How mice revolutionized our knowledge of neurogenetics </i></li>
<li><i>Comics as Teaching Tools</i></li>
<li><i>The Moral Arc of Science</i></li>
<li><i>The Hobbit: One book, three movies</i></li>
<li><i>Why Everything You Know About Quantum Mechanics is Wrong</i></li>
<li><i>Tesla vs. Edison</i></li>
<li><i>Game of Thrones Religions: We want you for the Red God </i> </li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
And yes, I took copious notes in all of them!<br />
<br />
Historically, most of my friends are west coast <a href="http://www.burningman.com/" target="_blank">Burning Man</a> attendees. However we've gotten older, many have had kids, and we realize that washing playa dirt out of our nether regions is not as much fun as it was when we were younger. I am now on a campaign to convert them to east coast Dragon*Con-ers (is that the proper term? if not, what is?). I am not alone in this idea- <a href="http://www.hlntv.com/slideshow/2013/09/03/dragon-con-atlanta-photos-family-experience" target="_blank">Dragon Con: Where Grown-Up Nerds (& Kids) Go to Play</a> . <br />
<br />
Don't get me wrong, the costumes are amazing! Some links to pictures of these amazing costumes: <a href="http://io9.com/5837834/all-the-coolest-costumes-and-props-we-saw-at-dragoncon" target="_blank">All the Coolest Costumes and Props We Saw at Dragon*Con</a>, <a href="http://news.cnet.com/2300-17938_105-10018049.html" target="_blank">c|net</a> and my personal photos: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cleverclover/media_set?set=a.10151558722670496.501280495&type=3" target="_blank">CleverClover Dragon*Con 2013</a>. Sadly, I was not able to take pictures of the most amazing costumes, so if you want to see them, you'll have to just come next year and see them for yourself.<br />
<br />
The moral of the story: Dragon*Con is not a one dimensional experience and holds something for just about everyone. Personally, I'm still completely blissed out by the experience. </div>
Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-79457318356549758802013-08-26T15:16:00.000-04:002013-08-27T16:03:53.527-04:00His Holiness the Dalai Lama to visit Emory this October<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.dalailama.emory.edu/2013/images/visit_2013_banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="http://www.dalailama.emory.edu/2013/images/visit_2013_banner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Why I support The Visit 2013 and why you should too. </h2>
For those of you who are Facebook friends with me, you
may or may not have seen my posts on the Dalai Lama visiting Emory this
October. I am on the Development Committee for this visit, which
benefits <a href="http://www.tibet.emory.edu/" target="_blank">The Emory Tibet Science Initiative</a>. My mother's foundation supports this
cause because of its focus on uniting science and religion. Among their
goals is creating open dialogue between science and religion in the
hopes of "bridging two worlds for one common humanity". They accomplish
this by an exchange program between Emory students (who study in
Dharmasala, India) and Tibetan Buddhist monks (who come to Emory to
study), translating science texts into Tibetan, and developing
cognitively based compassion training. The later is ground breaking and
will allow for the scientific study (replicable) of meditation in many
contexts. It also puts it into a format that can be taught in many
contexts such as in schools or to battered and abused women/children. To
learn more about it: <a href="http://www.tibet.emory.edu/cbct/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.tibet.emory.edu/cbct/index.html</a>.<br />
<br />
When
the Dalai Lama visited three years ago, I arranged for an Endowment
Level gift and was given unbelievable access to His Holiness (including a
private lunch with HHDL, Richard Gere, and 20 other people). This year's visit will focus on secular ethics in the context of our citizenship in the 21st century Global Village. <br />
<br />
Please consider visiting Atlanta and sharing in
this life changing experience with me this October! If you are unable to
make it, please consider making a donation to this remarkable project
and spreading the word about this opportunity.<br />
<a href="http://www.dalailama.emory.edu/" target="_blank">http://www.dalailama.emory.edu/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.dalailama.emory.edu/support/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.dalailama.emory.edu/support/index.html</a><br />
<br />
With love and light,<br />
AllegraClever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-77474132757302572022013-08-23T15:40:00.001-04:002013-09-06T10:47:46.657-04:00What is this Fitbit thing??<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://static5.fitbit.com/simple.b-dis-png.h47e3210a910010717f0d5ec74009f261.pack?items=%2Fcontent%2Fassets%2Fonezip%2Fimages%2Ffeatures-carousel%2Fone%2Fblack%2Fproduct.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://static5.fitbit.com/simple.b-dis-png.h47e3210a910010717f0d5ec74009f261.pack?items=%2Fcontent%2Fassets%2Fonezip%2Fimages%2Ffeatures-carousel%2Fone%2Fblack%2Fproduct.png" width="73" /></a></div>
Many of you have seen me post extensively about <a href="http://www.fitbit.com/" target="_blank">Fitbit</a> and have asked "what is a Fitbit?" and "do I find it beneficial?"<br />
My answer is a resounding YES!<br />
<br />
<span class="null">Many people are hesitant to spend money on a gadget and to compete
with their friends when they have such a sedentary life. What people who are just joining us on the Fitbit bandwagon
don't know: when Jeff and I first got our Fitbits, we barely got 5000
steps a day (Fitbit sets the initial goal as 10,000 a day). But what it has done for
us is it has motivated us to cleverly find space in our day for walking more.
i.e. parking further from the door at the grocery store or Jeff paces the hallway while reading his Kindle. And I know for a
fact that when I don't have my Fitbit, I get lazy. </span><span class="null">It helps keep you honest. I am so very competitive (particularly with my husband Jeff) so we are able to push each other without nagging.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="null"><span class="null">Some folks aren't certain if the competitive aspect will be good
for them or damaging to their ego. A friend confessed, "what I <i>do</i> know is that when I fail <i>privately</i> I tend to give in to despair and quit. Quitting is
particularly easy if no one notices." This is where Fitbit becomes particularly helpful. Your friends are able to cheer you on, (hopefully lovingly) taunt you, and send you messages of encouragement. </span>Usually it's not necessarily cutthroat competition... unless it's between my brother-in-law David and I, in which case we tend to battle to the death. Ok, it's more like loving pokes.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="null">Many friends have asked if my health outcomes have changed since I began? </span><span class="null">I have gotten so much stronger and have greater endurance since getting it.</span><span class="null"> Before getting my Fitbit, I was barely able to walk the dog around the parking lot. Now I am able to walk all around my neighborhood! My sister-in-law, Sheri, has experienced similar results. That is not to say that we don't still have our bad days, due to our health, but we are getting through them more easily the stronger we get! </span><br />
<br />
<span class="null">Another question was "was your motivation weight, health, looking fine in your bikini, or...???" My primary motivation was getting strong in my post-Lyme life, however we purchased our Fitbits six months prior to our beach wedding, so I would be lying if I didn't include that as part of my motivation.</span><br />
<br />
<span class="null">Having a Fitbit helps to</span><span class="null"><span class="null"> change your behavior radically, which can be a very difficult thing to do.<span class="null"> Since I've gotten mine, I've had some crappy weeks, sometimes from Lyme or sometimes because I'm swamped with schoolwork.</span> But I continue to try to find ways to fit more walking into each day, thereby regaining some of the strength that Lyme stole from me.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="null"><span class="null">Additionally, it has a journal section where I can record symptoms or events from the day (good and bad) to help track my Lyme journey. This is particularly helpful since I have "Lyme brain" and can't always keep track of it myself. It also has graphs to track trends: sleep, weight, activity, etc. My Lyme doctor finds this helpful in our monthly appointments.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="null"><span class="null"> <i><b>Caveat</b></i>: Fitbits are incredibly easy to lose! Be prepared to be extra vigilant. I have gone through five so far (lost 1, wore 2 different ones into salt water, gave one to a friend who promptly lost it, and one of the replacements was defective) and I <b>STILL</b> think they are worth every penny! </span></span> Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-38698427510506657372013-05-02T18:14:00.000-04:002013-08-26T15:34:18.119-04:00My Wicked Sense of HumorI come by my wicked sense of humor honestly... both my parents are hilarious, in very different ways. My mother gave me my sense of irreverence. In the '80s there were these bumper stickers that were very popular: "My [ex-husband, ex-wife, boss, etc] is in the trunk." She wanted to get one and then attach one of these to the trunk: <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.promotional-images.co.uk/ProdImages/020350f7-4fad-4ea3-9e23-d2599bf7d2fd/7428-lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.promotional-images.co.uk/ProdImages/020350f7-4fad-4ea3-9e23-d2599bf7d2fd/7428-lg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
From that point forward, she created a monster. If I ever offend you accidentally, know that I meant you no harm. If you are still offended knowing that, your loss.Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-4283422174823857012013-03-19T21:48:00.000-04:002013-03-19T21:48:32.267-04:00The metaphor of the walking mandala<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Arial;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
</style><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Today was the first beautiful weather day in what feels like forever. I
moved to Atlanta with the hopes of escaping weather that increases my Lyme related pain but
my hopes have been dashed this particular winter. As I try to not squander an
opportunity, I chose to take some time for myself and walk the mandala behind
my health practitioner’s office. It occurs to me that the process of walking a labyrinth is a great metaphor for life:</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">We go out to go in and in to go out, backwards to go forwards. We follow a path, walking
on blue slate chips which can be warm in the sun or cool in the shade. If we choose to walk on
them barefoot, they can be smooth and pleasing or jagged and even painful. Alternatively, we can protect ourselves (via shoes). You
go all the way in to (pause and then) turn around and go out the very same way,
yet the scenery looks quite different on the way out. Things change depending
on your perspective: you might not see the dragonfly on the blue globe close up
but it was so easy to spot from a distance. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">We can take time to smell the sweet
flowers. We can choose to follow etiquette but shouln't be afraid to break it either. Mindfulness
of the moment, yet clarity of past and future. Remember to have joy in the moment-
never take yourself too seriously. Stop and observe the flora & fauna,
but be careful to not disturb them. It's the relation between stillness and movement.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span>
</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAx5CM7r8hm6yZnnT1R5dhQMFRnkZFC_rWTJOVwXZEwPDA38cQYilGaCLSIug6DqVEAIXclpAZoEzEHl_dJo8QMIy0W9SAVezZFRFVLOpInRN7T3enRm0AdsGrgGbMPHbrWQrhGGFRwQ0/s1600/22550_280078671369_8031814_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAx5CM7r8hm6yZnnT1R5dhQMFRnkZFC_rWTJOVwXZEwPDA38cQYilGaCLSIug6DqVEAIXclpAZoEzEHl_dJo8QMIy0W9SAVezZFRFVLOpInRN7T3enRm0AdsGrgGbMPHbrWQrhGGFRwQ0/s200/22550_280078671369_8031814_n.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“Labyrinths are one of the oldest transformational tools known to
mankind. They have been used for centuries for prayer, ritual, initiation, and
personal and spiritual growth. Unlike a maze, a labyrinth is unicursal- only
one way to the center and back out again. Once you set your foot on the path,
you are gently guided to the center of the labyrinth and yourself. There are no
obstacles, no dead ends, and no tricks. So- with the labyrinth walker it is a
meditative process- the mind can be stilled and attention paid to the body. It
is a time of being rather than doing. Labyrinths also help us access our
intuition and creativity, integrate body and spirit, listen to our heart,
connect to the greater universal flow of energy, and deepen our spirituality.”
(<a href="http://www.healthspringholistic.com/" target="_blank">HealthSpring Holistic Center</a>)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-64157134000533992552013-03-13T18:02:00.000-04:002013-03-13T18:02:03.944-04:00Sometimes you have to make room...My husband and I are in the process of trying to make all of our stuff fit into a condo that really only fits one person comfortably (or two if they do not have a lot of stuff, such as 5 bajillion* books). Since Jeff and I have more books between the two of us than the average small town community library, one of the things we are attempting is to pare down is our books.<br />
<br />
Both my husband and I are learning disabled and came to reading late. Each of us has that special book that broke through the barrier and helped us gain the ability to read without tremendous effort. For Jeff that book is The Hobbit.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51nxte-ohHL._SY300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51nxte-ohHL._SY300_.jpg" width="145" /></a></div>
We have the fancy binding edition of the Tolkien trilogy and Jeff was going to sell his original mass market print editions. As he was getting ready to put it in the "to go" pile, he shared his story of the breakthrough, of how his mother, despite money being tight, rushed out to purchase her son these books that he was excited to read. Although Jeff would probably deny this, I could hear the lump in his throat as he told me about the moment when he finally was able to read at his grade level. The books that he held in hand were the exact books responsible.<br />
<br />
Knowing the pain of struggling to do something that your heart calls so strongly to do (both of us come from families of voracious readers) and the elation of finally breaking through, I immediately told him to put the books back on the shelf, that we could make room for such influential books.<br />
<br />
<br />
*yes, I made that word up.Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-29777499071681227542013-03-12T18:42:00.000-04:002013-03-12T18:42:37.621-04:00I'd never go back to high school. <div dir="ltr">
It seems that so many people fantasize about returning to their glory days of high school. You couldn't pay me enough money to return to that hell. However, I would <b>love</b> to return to a freshman year of college experience. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://images.efollett.com/spirit/v4/570/ASTANDCL-WDMK1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://images.efollett.com/spirit/v4/570/ASTANDCL-WDMK1.jpg" width="153" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
We are currently touring Georgia State University looking at their neuroscience graduate program. Today's tour is for the general university so I'm getting a good overview of the undergrad program. I. am. so. envious. What I would give to be an incoming freshman student.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Yes, I'm a geek.</div>
Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-31418680079520683842013-03-05T18:01:00.000-05:002013-03-05T18:01:51.454-05:00The presence of God?I regularly ponder the presence of God in our daily lives. I am troubled by the issue of <i>free will</i> vis a vis omnipresence. An Islamic Imam posed one possible explanation: that life is like an improv play- God sets the stage, gives general direction, and will yell "Cut!" when your scene is done; how you choose to get through your scene is up to you.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpXF0flU2FRw7qQCZEVeimD7hcncW8OxQJT9F7uY7vTsCFVIKx4GQnUHX3jUxafRJTAM3UXdS8Bx6Ha-s2NAnZihZBt3trSr7rhJbqRzrj6lstHWyxqCeTnh7FDc2zhYbq81sRfMla7Mw/s1600/CIMG1162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpXF0flU2FRw7qQCZEVeimD7hcncW8OxQJT9F7uY7vTsCFVIKx4GQnUHX3jUxafRJTAM3UXdS8Bx6Ha-s2NAnZihZBt3trSr7rhJbqRzrj6lstHWyxqCeTnh7FDc2zhYbq81sRfMla7Mw/s200/CIMG1162.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This
is what I was wearing when</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">James
prayed that God had no</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">hand
in selecting the outfit.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Yet, this leaves me wondering- how present is God in my life? I have no doubt that it was Providence that has guided me here to Atlanta, but does God care whether I get stuck in traffic or not?<br />
<br />
In seminary we have very deep conversations in a very lighthearted way. While at a Tacky Christmas Sweater Party with my classmates, we were debating the issue of Providence. I was up on my metaphorical soapbox, passionately debating both sides of the argument, when I asked, "does God really care what I wear?" Without missing a beat, my friend James retorts, "with what you're wearing, I certainly hope not."<br />
<br />
I would love to hear your thoughts. How present is God in your life? Where do you fall on the issue of Providence?Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-43448739157247586992013-03-04T18:34:00.000-05:002013-03-04T18:34:51.079-05:00A prayer we can all relate to...From St. Teresa of Avila:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.st-teresa.com/pictures/StTeresaIconInChurch.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.st-teresa.com/pictures/StTeresaIconInChurch.png" width="246" /></a></div>
<br />
Lord,<br />
Thou knowest better than I myself<br />
that I am growing older and will someday be old.<br />
Keep me from fatal habit of thinking<br />
I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.<br />
<br />
Release me from craving to<br />
straighten out everybody's affairs.<br />
<br />
Make me thoughtful but not moody;<br />
helpful but not bossy.<br />
<br />
With my vast store of wisdom,<br />
it seems a pity not to use it all;<br />
but Thou knowest, Lord,<br />
that I want a few friends at the end.<br />
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details;<br />
give me wings to get to the point.<br />
<br />
Seal my lips on my aches and pains;<br />
they are increasing, and love of rehearsing them<br />
is becoming sweeter as the years go by.<br />
<br />
I dare not ask for improved memory,<br />
but for a growing humility and a lessening cock-sureness<br />
when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.<br />
Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.<br />
<br />
Keep me reasonably sweet, for a sour old person<br />
is one of the crowning works of the devil.Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-83907259513130370322013-02-25T18:40:00.002-05:002013-02-25T18:40:54.505-05:00An Interpretive Alternative to The Lord's Prayer
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Courier New";
panose-1:2 7 3 9 2 2 5 2 4 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 2 1 2 1 8 4 8 7 8;
mso-font-charset:2;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:0 0 65536 0 -2147483648 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:1 0 16778247 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Verdana;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel1, li.MsoNoteLevel1, div.MsoNoteLevel1
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:0in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:1;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel1CxSpFirst, li.MsoNoteLevel1CxSpFirst, div.MsoNoteLevel1CxSpFirst
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:0in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:1;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle, li.MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle, div.MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:0in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:1;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast, li.MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast, div.MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:0in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:1;
mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel2, li.MsoNoteLevel2, div.MsoNoteLevel2
{margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.75in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:2;
mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1;
tab-stops:list .5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel2CxSpFirst, li.MsoNoteLevel2CxSpFirst, div.MsoNoteLevel2CxSpFirst
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.75in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:2;
mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1;
tab-stops:list .5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel2CxSpMiddle, li.MsoNoteLevel2CxSpMiddle, div.MsoNoteLevel2CxSpMiddle
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.75in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:2;
mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1;
tab-stops:list .5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel2CxSpLast, li.MsoNoteLevel2CxSpLast, div.MsoNoteLevel2CxSpLast
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.75in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:2;
mso-list:l0 level2 lfo1;
tab-stops:list .5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel3, li.MsoNoteLevel3, div.MsoNoteLevel3
{margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:1.25in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:3;
mso-list:l0 level3 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 1.0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel3CxSpFirst, li.MsoNoteLevel3CxSpFirst, div.MsoNoteLevel3CxSpFirst
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:1.25in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:3;
mso-list:l0 level3 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 1.0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel3CxSpMiddle, li.MsoNoteLevel3CxSpMiddle, div.MsoNoteLevel3CxSpMiddle
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:1.25in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:3;
mso-list:l0 level3 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 1.0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel3CxSpLast, li.MsoNoteLevel3CxSpLast, div.MsoNoteLevel3CxSpLast
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:1.25in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:3;
mso-list:l0 level3 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 1.0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel4, li.MsoNoteLevel4, div.MsoNoteLevel4
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:1.75in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:4;
mso-list:l0 level4 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 1.5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel4CxSpFirst, li.MsoNoteLevel4CxSpFirst, div.MsoNoteLevel4CxSpFirst
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:1.75in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:4;
mso-list:l0 level4 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 1.5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel4CxSpMiddle, li.MsoNoteLevel4CxSpMiddle, div.MsoNoteLevel4CxSpMiddle
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:1.75in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:4;
mso-list:l0 level4 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 1.5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel4CxSpLast, li.MsoNoteLevel4CxSpLast, div.MsoNoteLevel4CxSpLast
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:1.75in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:4;
mso-list:l0 level4 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 1.5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel5, li.MsoNoteLevel5, div.MsoNoteLevel5
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:2.25in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:5;
mso-list:l0 level5 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 2.0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel5CxSpFirst, li.MsoNoteLevel5CxSpFirst, div.MsoNoteLevel5CxSpFirst
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:2.25in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:5;
mso-list:l0 level5 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 2.0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel5CxSpMiddle, li.MsoNoteLevel5CxSpMiddle, div.MsoNoteLevel5CxSpMiddle
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:2.25in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:5;
mso-list:l0 level5 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 2.0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel5CxSpLast, li.MsoNoteLevel5CxSpLast, div.MsoNoteLevel5CxSpLast
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:2.25in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:5;
mso-list:l0 level5 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 2.0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel6, li.MsoNoteLevel6, div.MsoNoteLevel6
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:2.75in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:6;
mso-list:l0 level6 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 2.5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel6CxSpFirst, li.MsoNoteLevel6CxSpFirst, div.MsoNoteLevel6CxSpFirst
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:2.75in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:6;
mso-list:l0 level6 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 2.5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel6CxSpMiddle, li.MsoNoteLevel6CxSpMiddle, div.MsoNoteLevel6CxSpMiddle
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:2.75in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:6;
mso-list:l0 level6 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 2.5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel6CxSpLast, li.MsoNoteLevel6CxSpLast, div.MsoNoteLevel6CxSpLast
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:2.75in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:6;
mso-list:l0 level6 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 2.5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel7, li.MsoNoteLevel7, div.MsoNoteLevel7
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:3.25in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:7;
mso-list:l0 level7 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 3.0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel7CxSpFirst, li.MsoNoteLevel7CxSpFirst, div.MsoNoteLevel7CxSpFirst
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:3.25in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:7;
mso-list:l0 level7 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 3.0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel7CxSpMiddle, li.MsoNoteLevel7CxSpMiddle, div.MsoNoteLevel7CxSpMiddle
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:3.25in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:7;
mso-list:l0 level7 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 3.0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel7CxSpLast, li.MsoNoteLevel7CxSpLast, div.MsoNoteLevel7CxSpLast
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:3.25in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:7;
mso-list:l0 level7 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 3.0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel8, li.MsoNoteLevel8, div.MsoNoteLevel8
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:3.75in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:8;
mso-list:l0 level8 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 3.5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel8CxSpFirst, li.MsoNoteLevel8CxSpFirst, div.MsoNoteLevel8CxSpFirst
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:3.75in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:8;
mso-list:l0 level8 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 3.5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel8CxSpMiddle, li.MsoNoteLevel8CxSpMiddle, div.MsoNoteLevel8CxSpMiddle
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:3.75in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:8;
mso-list:l0 level8 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 3.5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel8CxSpLast, li.MsoNoteLevel8CxSpLast, div.MsoNoteLevel8CxSpLast
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:3.75in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:8;
mso-list:l0 level8 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 3.5in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel9, li.MsoNoteLevel9, div.MsoNoteLevel9
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:4.25in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:9;
mso-list:l0 level9 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 4.0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel9CxSpFirst, li.MsoNoteLevel9CxSpFirst, div.MsoNoteLevel9CxSpFirst
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:4.25in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:9;
mso-list:l0 level9 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 4.0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel9CxSpMiddle, li.MsoNoteLevel9CxSpMiddle, div.MsoNoteLevel9CxSpMiddle
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:4.25in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:9;
mso-list:l0 level9 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 4.0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoNoteLevel9CxSpLast, li.MsoNoteLevel9CxSpLast, div.MsoNoteLevel9CxSpLast
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:4.25in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
text-indent:-.25in;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
page-break-after:avoid;
mso-outline-level:9;
mso-list:l0 level9 lfo1;
tab-stops:list 4.0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Verdana;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS ゴシック";
mso-hansi-font-family:Verdana;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:-227;
mso-list-template-ids:-1009507088;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-style-link:"Note Level 1";
mso-level-text:"";
mso-level-tab-stop:0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:0in;
text-indent:0in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-style-link:"Note Level 2";
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:.75in;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-style-link:"Note Level 3";
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:1.25in;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l0:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-style-link:"Note Level 4";
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:1.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:1.75in;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-style-link:"Note Level 5";
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:2.25in;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-style-link:"Note Level 6";
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:2.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:2.75in;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-style-link:"Note Level 7";
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:3.25in;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l0:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-style-link:"Note Level 8";
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:3.5in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:3.75in;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-style-link:"Note Level 9";
mso-level-text:;
mso-level-tab-stop:4.0in;
mso-level-number-position:left;
margin-left:4.25in;
text-indent:-.25in;
font-family:Wingdings;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpFirst" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: .5in;">
<i>New
Zealand Maori Prayer</i></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Prayer at Night’s
Approaching</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8030/8011487664_377ec36a8d_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8030/8011487664_377ec36a8d_z.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
Life-giver, Pain-bearer, Love-maker,</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
Source of all that is and that shall be,</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
Father and Mother of us all,</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
Loving God, in whom is heaven:</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the
world!</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom </div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel2" style="mso-list: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-indent: 0in;">
sustain
our hope and come on earth.</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
With the bread we need for today, feed us.</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
From trials too great to endure, spare us.</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>now and for ever. Amen.</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<em>a New Zealand Maori prayer, interpreting </em>The Lord’s Prayer <em> from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Prayer-Nights-Approaching-Jim-Cotter/dp/1870652274/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361229010&sr=1-3&keywords=Jim+Cotter">http://www.amazon.com/Prayer-Nights-Approaching-Jim-Cotter/dp/1870652274/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361229010&sr=1-3&keywords=Jim+Cotter</a></em><br />
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; text-indent: 0in;">
I originally posted this on my Tumblr account but realized that it belonged here.</div>
Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-50783312205210595622013-02-23T11:56:00.002-05:002013-02-23T12:06:52.373-05:00While we sleep...<a href="http://www.greygeckopress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/sweet_halloween_dreams___P_by_begemott-263x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.greygeckopress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/sweet_halloween_dreams___P_by_begemott-263x300.jpg" width="175" /></a>It occurs to me that while we sleep:<br />
<br />
Teddy bears guard us from monsters.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cats guard us from spirits/ghosts.<br />
<br />
<br />
And dogs guard us (hopefully) from real life threats.Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-18647240027617406162013-02-20T15:07:00.000-05:002013-02-20T15:07:28.960-05:00The Greatest Birthday Gift to Myself, Ever!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdHgCq28qQEcSU1al4N3JRmeowUm2hdEwv7E3revaeqSrqwrOD4rHii-Im3Mb-N2IXZbvsiSDHa1e6-TnXRWDpYx7iHIZ7O3Ux0dkKaQ4x5uxJ5906MC0vuL8e3zY6lDPI6GMnUqnhHQ/s1600/Lyme+Disease+Awareness.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvdHgCq28qQEcSU1al4N3JRmeowUm2hdEwv7E3revaeqSrqwrOD4rHii-Im3Mb-N2IXZbvsiSDHa1e6-TnXRWDpYx7iHIZ7O3Ux0dkKaQ4x5uxJ5906MC0vuL8e3zY6lDPI6GMnUqnhHQ/s200/Lyme+Disease+Awareness.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
When I first started at Candler, I was barely able to make it from the parking lot to the classroom and only rarely had the strength to make it up the stairs to Cannon Chapel. On my 41st birthday I was able to make it from the 4th floor of the Theology building, down the stairs, through campus, all the way to Emory Village to pick up lunch... and <b>back</b>... <u><b>in under 30 minutes</b></u>! I could not ask for a better birthday gift to myself!!<br />
<br />
I have come a long way since I first fell ill with Lyme disease: rebuilding my life from being bedridden and abandoned to a new life that includes graduate school and love. I worked very hard to get to this place and must continue in my vigilance. Through all the tears and pain, I persevered. I will continue to persevere with love, strength, and gratitude bolstering me.Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-38582109349813537772013-02-19T17:33:00.001-05:002013-02-19T17:33:26.191-05:00Pondering Hermeneutics and Dog Training<div dir="ltr">
I am currently taking an anthropology class exploring world Christianities. We began the semester by examining the terms we will use throughout the semester: meaning, belief, faith. One article we read actually explored "the meaning of meaning". Is your head spinning yet? Mine certainly is.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshNS0h2vLoFrHx0CgDXkTNW-GudQJdOZGsKfRM3zjGccASLqiMuv_tNbAw2owLPGmqta76Wn2xheP4Za7bzDzuU4gLgZzDE2xbJqMWtHhJqG1NJPIMNW6GWMY2lkOpnE5rRaXYc-8XzY/s1600/20130131_234648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhshNS0h2vLoFrHx0CgDXkTNW-GudQJdOZGsKfRM3zjGccASLqiMuv_tNbAw2owLPGmqta76Wn2xheP4Za7bzDzuU4gLgZzDE2xbJqMWtHhJqG1NJPIMNW6GWMY2lkOpnE5rRaXYc-8XzY/s320/20130131_234648.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barron</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr">
I must confess that I am a terrible dog trainer. My dog is housebroken but that is about the limit of his training. As I was pondering this new hermeneutical lexicon while walking my dog Barron, it occurred to me that this might be why I fail at training my dog. Specifically: when I tell Barron "Up!" it could mean "go up the stairs", "jump into my lap", "stand up so I can reach your collar"... well, you get the idea. How is Barron to know the meaning of "Up."? How am I to know the meaning of "meaning"?</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
These are the things that an over-educated graduate student ponders... </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-51263751454273967862013-02-01T12:43:00.001-05:002013-02-01T12:43:13.780-05:00Lyme and a career path?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8CNq4GV8eO3l06JC0Gluy9SD-7N0mL51Q7j5VJYDt5p1q7C3FwRzc-h8Q5lyUmYy9wuF79rYRt7eKXJaXCIUmojptRCTo1Xu_lqf28Jvnkk0Y4a5obXe4FBQaOV4XxOmnarcGKY_bAk/s1600/Lyme+Awareness.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8CNq4GV8eO3l06JC0Gluy9SD-7N0mL51Q7j5VJYDt5p1q7C3FwRzc-h8Q5lyUmYy9wuF79rYRt7eKXJaXCIUmojptRCTo1Xu_lqf28Jvnkk0Y4a5obXe4FBQaOV4XxOmnarcGKY_bAk/s200/Lyme+Awareness.jpeg" width="169" /></a>If all goes as planned, a year from now I will be done with school and will being working, hopefully full-time. This prospect scares the crap out of me. Not because work scares me but because my Lyme scares me. I do not make commitments that I can't keep. This makes committing to a full time job challenging. What can I do that matches my skill set but allows me flexibility for when my Lyme flares? I am a writer but I need structure, so writing from home would not work... not to mention the fact that I know the likelihood of making a reasonable living writing is as likely as winning the lotto: every one dreams big but few actually win. I could teach but that requires me being able to make it to every class, which we know I am unable to do.<br />
<br />
How do other Lymies support themselves? How do you pay your exorbitant medical bills?Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-6321840638272990042012-11-08T21:36:00.000-05:002013-02-28T00:14:10.580-05:00An Ethic of Responsibility: The Estate Tax Debate<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
There are
some that believe that we should sell our possessions and become homeless
ourselves; Jesus himself calls for us to sell our possessions and follow him
(Mk 10:21; Lk 12:33; 18:22; Mt 19:21) but I know that money equates to power
and the ability to be heard within society. Chuck Collins is an example of one
that takes the ethic of responsibility further than I feel comfortable with,
yet he was able to maintain his power, voice, and influence. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Chuck
Collins, the great-grandson of Oscar Mayer and a Unitarian Universalist, at the
ripe age of 26 gave the entirety of his birthright “to foundations and groups
that he knew needed funding”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftn1" name="_ftnref" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]--></span></a>
believing it to be an important step on his journey towards creating a more
just society. An article from 2003 covers his defense of the Estate Tax by
starting with his early life experience, the source of his authority. Discussing
his early life experience working in disadvantaged communities, such as
Appalachia, we see how Collins arrived at the decision to give away his
inheritance. Collins is a “radical meritocratist”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftn2" name="_ftnref" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[2]<!--[endif]--></span></a>,
operating out of a responsibility ethic, who believes that each generation
should start out fresh instead of inheritance allowing those of less quality to
end up in positions of power based solely on the merits of their forefathers.<br />
<a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
I was
challenged to decide if Collins was acting out of teleology, deontology, responsibility,
care, narrative, or virtue ethics as he does not come from a solely Christian
perspective (but instead a Unitarian Universalist perspective) so the article
was missing the key “buzzword” clues to help me locate his method for arriving
at his decisions. Sola scriptura or the Kingdom of God are not what drives him
but coming from another faith tradition, Collins uses different terms that may have
similar overall intentions. This required me delving deeper into his method,
looking at his intention.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As Collins
is focused not on the end result but rather evaluating his decision based on
the guiding principle that it was the “right thing to do”, I see a strong
argument for deontology using Lovin’s chapter 3. Lovin states on page 42,
“Deontological ethics evaluates actions by asking whether this action was the right
thing to do according to a rule, not by assessing what happens as the result of
the action”; since we know that Collins was less concerned about the consequences
of giving up his inheritance but was instead driven by his need to do what he
felt was right stating, “Wealth that just creates more wealth seemed wrong”.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftn3" name="_ftnref" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[3]<!--[endif]--></span></a>
Even when his father pleaded with him to consider possible, future children and
their care considerations, Collins was not swayed from making what he believed
to be the right decision. But Collins’ reasoning does not seem to be guided by
“rules”, so it appears he is not a deontologist.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
An argument
could be made for teleology when French writes, “He began to see that inherited
wealth—including his own trust fund—was a piece of the problem he was working
to solve.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftn4" name="_ftnref" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[4]<!--[endif]--></span></a>
The visualization of goal begins to take form but this is the only real
instance of goal-centered language, so apparently Collins is not a teleologist.
We could also say that Collins comes from a care ethic based on the fact that
he created United for a Fair Economy which indicates his emphasized value on
relationships and his focus on what he sees as just. To Gilligan’s point on 35,
Collins is perceiving and responding to the perceived need. And since Collins
seems to be able to balance two different moral orientations, again a
reasonable argument could be made for an ethic of care but I just don’t hear
him using terminology that Gilligan would ascribe to care (38).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Like many
people, Collins does not operate out of solely one location: he seems to secondarily
operate out of virtue/narrative ethic; in fact, I had a hard time deciding if
he was more responsibility ethic or virtue ethic. As Lovin states on 64, virtue
ethics are what help us arrive at a “systematic understanding of the moral
life”. Just as Aristotle calls for us to develop a pattern of behavior that
becomes so engrained that it becomes second nature, we see Collins through his
life making conscious decisions to help create a more just society. As Lovin points
out, “The balance between self and others has to be struck … those choices
[must] add up to a coherent plan for life for the person who is making them”
(74) Collins states, “You can’t be too rigid or ideological.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftn5" name="_ftnref" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[5]<!--[endif]--></span></a>
Collins walks the middle way, putting money in his kids’ college fund and
giving to the United Students Association, an organization that works to lower
tuitions. He is the model for the person who Lovin believes will be able to
maintain this level of ethical living. The article wraps up by focusing on
Collins’ daily life and the daily decisions he makes in order to make the world
a more just place for everyone, with Collins asking, “Am I going to have
special privilege in relation to this problem?”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftn6" name="_ftnref" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[6]<!--[endif]--></span></a>
Thereby clearly illustrating how he has made his virtue ethic a habit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
However I
came to the conclusion that Collins is operating primarily out of an ethic of
responsibility. It was Niebuhr’s description of the second element of
responsibility that confirmed my conclusion. Niebuhr speaks of asking “‘What
shall I do?’ by raising the question: ‘What is going on?’” (202). Collins recognized the inequality that
is present in the United States while working to help educate the people about
economics by creating the workshop, The Growing Divide, which morphed into
United for a Fair Economy.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftn7" name="_ftnref" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[7]<!--[endif]--></span></a>
“If there is to be any debate or change, he figures, ordinary people have to
understand the wealth gap and what is wrong with it, just as the early patriots
and Progressive Era reformers did.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftn8" name="_ftnref" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[8]<!--[endif]--></span></a>
While working with United for a Fair Economy, he engaged in street theater (among
other things) and published The Activist Cookbook in order to help others take
similar actions. He is about action: action, interpretation, and accountability
(Niebuhr, 202). Collins not only noticed what was going on but also continued in
his thinking to figure out how he can respond. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
When we
look at Collins’ strong emphasis on social solidarity, we can clearly see that
he is acting out of an ethic of responsibility. Collins enacts what Trimiew
calls for us to do: “responsible selves have an obligation to participate in
the struggle for the fulfillment of basic human needs…” (85). Collins is acting
out of knowledge that we are living in an “interdependent web of all existence
of which we are a part”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftn9" name="_ftnref" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[9]<!--[endif]--></span></a>
(the Seventh Unitarian Universalist Principle) his Unitarian Universalist faith
builds his understanding that we are social creatures and are accountable to
each other for the dynamic outcomes of our actions. Collins is coming from an
ethic of responsibility; he does not preach or give imperatives, he speaks to
what feels right to him, how he wants the world to look and what he can do to
make it so. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;">“In none of them shall I take the
deontological stance, saying, ‘We ought to be responsible’; nor yet the ideal
saying, ‘The goal is responsibility’; but I shall simply ask that we consider
our life of response to action upon us with the question in mind, ‘To whom or
what am responsible and in what community of interaction am I myself?’”
(Niebuhr, 204). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
Collins never states an imperative for
others; he does not use words like ought or goal, he acts with mindfulness of
the outcomes and those that may be effected, he responds within the greater
community.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
In
conclusion, Collins, operating out of an ethic of responsibility, calls for support
of the Estate Tax and he himself gave away the entirety of his inheritance.
While I see merit in his argument, I believe that there is another option, one
that allows for greater balance, which could operate here. Due to his being the
great-grandson of Oscar Meyer, he already had social connections that allow him
to navigate a system that can be difficult for those without money or power to
break into. He, like Trimiew’s critique of Niebuhr, forgets about the marginalized
moral agent. Collins is perfectly happy acting as the empowered moral agent on
behalf of the marginalized. I believe that a greater middle way could be struck,
even though I am uncertain as to what that would look like.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div>
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftnref" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Kimberly French, “From
Riches to Responsibility: Defending the Estate Tax,” <i>UU World</i> (Mar/Apr 2003), under first section,
http://www.uuworld.org/2003/02/feature2.html (accessed April 5, 2012).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftnref" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[2]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Kimberly French, “From Riches
to Responsibility: Defending the Estate Tax,” <i>UU World</i> (Mar/Apr 2003), under last section,
http://www.uuworld.org/2003/02/feature2.html (accessed April 5, 2012).</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftnref" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[3]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Kimberly French, “From
Riches to Responsibility: Defending the Estate Tax,” <i>UU World</i> (Mar/Apr 2003), under first section,
http://www.uuworld.org/2003/02/feature2.html (accessed April 5, 2012).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftnref" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[4]<!--[endif]--></span></a>
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Kimberly French, “From
Riches to Responsibility: Defending the Estate Tax,” <i>UU World</i> (Mar/Apr 2003), under second section,
http://www.uuworld.org/2003/02/feature2.html (accessed April 5, 2012).</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftnref" name="_ftn5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[5]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Kimberly French, “From
Riches to Responsibility: Defending the Estate Tax,” <i>UU World</i> (Mar/Apr 2003), under last section,
http://www.uuworld.org/2003/02/feature2.html (accessed April 5, 2012).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftnref" name="_ftn6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[6]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Ibid.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftnref" name="_ftn7" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[7]<!--[endif]--></span></a>
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Note: Collins was a
co-founder of both The Growing Divide and UFE.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftnref" name="_ftn8" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[8]<!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Kimberly French, “From
Riches to Responsibility: Defending the Estate Tax,” <i>UU World</i> (Mar/Apr 2003), under fifth section,
http://www.uuworld.org/2003/02/feature2.html (accessed April 5, 2012).</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6581683982606062101#_ftnref" name="_ftn9" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[9]<!--[endif]--></span></a>
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Unitarian Universalist
Association of Congregations, “Our Unitarian Universalist Principles,”
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. https://www.uua.org/beliefs/principles/index.shtml (accessed
March 6, 2012).</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-44817540562263078832012-10-11T17:22:00.001-04:002012-10-11T17:22:11.618-04:00The Next Generation: Think For Yourself<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/nki0111l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/nki0111l.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Will the next generation need machines to make their decisions?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I fear for the world we are creating. But more than that, I fear for the generation that will inherit it. We have systematically removed the ability to think for one's self. We are failing at preparing our children to become self-sufficient. When their parents are no longer around to think for them, to make decisions for them what will happen? Interestingly, there is apparently no antonym for "prepare", yet that is what we are doing: the opposite of preparing the next generation. We are systematically removing the ability to think for one's self.<br />
<br />
The Republican party is supposed to be about limiting government control yet the apparently "new and improved" GOP wants to control all of our intimate life decisions. They regulate personal safety issues (such as requiring wearing motorcycle helmets or seat belts) and control a woman's ability to make decisions for her own body. It seems to me they are about letting corporations run free while forcing individuals to subjugate individual freedom of choice.<br />
<br />
If we teach children how to achieve high test scores instead of how to figure out the answers, what are we really teaching them? Are we preparing them for adulthood? If we regulate all personal safety decisions (i.e. whether or not to wear a bicycle helmet) how are we teaching them to make wise decisions as they grow up?<br />
<br />
I am not a conspiracy theorist (although conspiratorial thoughts do flash through my brain occasionally) I do not believe that there is some great conspiracy to create an inept generation. Yet that seems to me what is happening.<br />
<br />Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-84253434624746186772012-10-03T17:05:00.000-04:002012-10-03T17:06:01.774-04:00The O.S. Bond<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9TYhr11JkX3322o3SfIaExMTbsMI7Ig3E4IfQn96uSiJp36DHnzLRzsPUnBEXDYLOGuHkZ5tEIxlQsYtBaO_7uo_STM_uSpI-VOqt_dMA-tCVJwjABeeRMfzZW7VGzxeLKhrMwy5U8g/s1600/OS-Shield-(name-within-oval)-iaam.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9TYhr11JkX3322o3SfIaExMTbsMI7Ig3E4IfQn96uSiJp36DHnzLRzsPUnBEXDYLOGuHkZ5tEIxlQsYtBaO_7uo_STM_uSpI-VOqt_dMA-tCVJwjABeeRMfzZW7VGzxeLKhrMwy5U8g/s1600/OS-Shield-(name-within-oval)-iaam.gif" /></a></div>
Trying to explain the bond that O.S. girls have is a difficult task, it is abstruse in nature. The closest analogy I can come up with is a sorority, but that does not even do it justice. We grew up together, in close quarters, surviving our most formidable and often challenging years as unit. Our bond is forged by the heat that is teenaged girls evolving together and that is one that cannot be broken.<br />
<br />
My fiance was asking about my wedding guests, some of my fellow O.S. girls, and he asked, "when was the last time you saw her?" What he fails to understand is that it does not matter how long we have been separated, or even if we knew each other in high school--an Oldfields girl will always accept another one with open arms.<br />
<br />
My dear friend Sarah Greenhalgh graduated seven years ahead of me. The fact that we were not on campus at the same time did not diminish the bond we felt. At her funeral, her classmates welcomed me with open arms, even though I was eight years their junior. It did not matter at all- we are Oldfields girls and we were hurting. We equally lifted our grief and mourned together, as equals.<br />
<br />
Oldfields girls have a bond that transcends time and distance- once we are reunited, it as if we were never separated; all that is required is to catch up on the details.Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-50591119141806158782012-09-10T23:34:00.000-04:002012-09-10T23:34:56.340-04:00OneUSA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
My brilliant friend, John Hawks, came up with an amazing idea- that we the citizens, regardless of political affiliations or leanings, join together to change our broken system.<br /><br />The way our system stands now, corruption is rampant. As a political science major, I have given much thought to how we, as a country, could fix this system. Sadly, I focused more on political theory than on practical politics in under-grad, so my thoughts tended towards the non-helpful area. However, some ideas that others have come up with that I thought had promise are: getting rid of the primary system and switching our presidential election to a run-off system (thereby giving 3rd parties a shot at winning); of course campaign finance reform (talk about a pipe dream!); and/or term limits. But all of these require, literally, an act of congress.<br /><br />But John came up with such a brilliant idea that can implemented immediately, without legislation or the polis standing out in the cold or rain holding signs. Taken from his <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/102500953234489/members/">Facebook group "About" page</a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This group will attempt to find a civil common ground we can all support. The initial premise is, that while Romney & Obama generated heated factions amongst us, we CAN come together on working to get the idiotic morons out of Congress. OneUSA believes there are four ways to identify a MORON IN CONGRESS:<br /><br />1. If they ALWAYS vote party lines, they are not Voting for the USA....they are voting only for their Party.....They are MORONS<br />2. If they won't listen to the other arguments in a civil way, then negotiate and finally compromise....They are MORONS<br />3. If they claim they want smaller Government except they want Government in control of a Woman's Body......They are MORONS<br />4. If they manipulate the truth, fail to reveal the truth or lie......They are MORONS.<br /></span></span><div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Help us to develop techniques to recognize MORONIC CONGRESSMEN and CONGRESSWOMEN.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Help us point them out to others as MORONS who need to, at least leave Congress if not our OneUSA!!</span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.twoheartsdesign.com/images/clipart/misc/USFlag/USA1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="http://www.twoheartsdesign.com/images/clipart/misc/USFlag/USA1.gif" width="200" /></a><br /><br />If we ALL commit to voting these "morons" out of office, things will change. Will we end up with someone who aligns with us socio-politically? Probably not. However, if everyone agrees to vote out those who only vote their party lines, who refuse to except reason or to compromise, who obfuscate the truth, or who generally act like morons, and we do this <u>regardless of our political affiliations</u>, then the politicians will finally realize who they are truly beholden to: <b>the citizens</b> of the <i>United States of America</i>. If politicians become more driven by fear of not being reelected than by their lust for power, then we finally stand a chance of beating back the plutocracy and reclaiming our country as OURS.<br /><br />Will you join the movement? Will you commit to stand for truth and against hypocrisy where possible. Come join us in our search for the truth and share accurate information when we find it! <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/102500953234489/">OneUSA</a> [https://www.facebook.com/groups/102500953234489/ ]<br /><br /><br /></div>
Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-72207473161266705692012-08-18T13:37:00.000-04:002012-08-18T13:37:58.003-04:00The Hunt for the Green LionMy first husband was a theoretical chemist (with a fascination for alchemy). While he was working on his PhD at The University of Washington we lived on a very meager budget. What we lacked in monetary funds we made up for in creativity.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://thegreenlion.org/images/greenlion_med.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://thegreenlion.org/images/greenlion_med.jpg" width="172" /></a></div>
One of our favorite ways to entertain ourselves was going on a Hunt for the Green Lion. We would select a "destination" at random (for example: there was a building with interesting lights on Capitol Hill and we wanted to figure out what it was but it could be less concrete, such as finding a better shortcut or a new bar to hang out at) and we would set out on the hunt. Keep in mind, the price of gas was much lower then than it is now; now this would not be an economical way to pass the time.<br />
<br />
Sometimes we were successful on our quest, other times not. Sometimes we would find our goal months later (such as the building on Capitol Hill- turns out it was the Seattle Asian Art Museum). It is about celebrating the journey while still focusing on the destination but not basing the success of experience on arriving.<br />
<br />
While searching for a graphic for this post, I discovered that the green lion has alchemical ties. I do not know exactly where Bill came up with the concept or name for our hunt. I have a vague recollection of it being a Johnson family tradition. It is possible that he was inspired by alchemy. But like the Hunt itself, the path of journey is of little consequence, nor is arriving; what matters most is savoring the experience.<br />
<br />
May you savor your Hunt for the Green Lion.Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-86170623430563571812012-08-17T13:32:00.000-04:002012-08-17T13:34:05.796-04:00The Patient Protection and Affordable Care ActOur governmental system is flawed. Our founding fathers, in order to prevent tyranny of the majority inadvertently created tyranny of the minority. Because of this, creating bills that can pass congress is a tricky art (and I use the word "tricky" intentionally).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIU4ZTyxbA4uPK4IvQIp8niqUJccYUjrkCzXfIAs7LNcE3XUm1bppY6mOUVUPBG5U8_uQqt2dXAsHFHuXRqcdXejR73fICCQ6C6f69uD5B59wJ_GO8MyUABsLXsV3mlRv7sChHNcDWk-M/s1600/539114_461927027160859_1166104420_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIU4ZTyxbA4uPK4IvQIp8niqUJccYUjrkCzXfIAs7LNcE3XUm1bppY6mOUVUPBG5U8_uQqt2dXAsHFHuXRqcdXejR73fICCQ6C6f69uD5B59wJ_GO8MyUABsLXsV3mlRv7sChHNcDWk-M/s320/539114_461927027160859_1166104420_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or "Obamacare", as it is affectionately known, it not a good bill. It began as a great bill but in the process of adjusting it so that it could pass congress this great bill was chipped away to a pile of rubble that barely resembles the original idea. That being said, a pile of rubble is better than nothing. At least with a pile of rubble we have our foot in the door and have set a precedent. If we have nothing, well then, we have nothing.<br />
<br />
I have Lyme disease. I was diagnosed with it in 2007. Luckily I was married to a man who owned his own business and we had great health insurance. In a stroke of bad luck for me, in 2008 my husband cheated on me. I almost had to stay married to him inorder to maintain coverage for fear of being denied due to a pre-existing condition. I reiterate: <b>I almost had to stay married to a man who abandoned me while I was sick in order for me to keep health insurance! </b>If it were not for the changes put in place by Obamacare, I would be trapped. That or bankrupt, which would be a much larger burden on society than PPACA.<br />
<br />
I look forward to our elected leaders adjusting the Act so that it returns to its originally intended greatness. I <b>pray</b> that it is not repealed, for if it is, I do not know what would happen to me. In my opinion the best way forward is adjusting the current Act and not repealing its flawed form and starting from scratch, for I fear that if it is repealed, <i>Big Money</i> will prevent another bill from passing Congress.Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6581683982606062101.post-8517696213021843572012-07-23T17:20:00.000-04:002012-07-23T17:20:08.448-04:00Torn over boycotting Chick-fil-AI love the country we live in. I love the fact that my right to decent from the popular opinion is supported in our Constitution. I love that fact that I am able to vote with the power of my dollar by supporting organizations that I agree with philosophically. I also appreciate the fact that even those I disagree with are also able to vote with <i>their</i> dollar and support organizations they believe in. For example: I appreciate Home Depot. There are a lot of things that I don't agree with in regards to Home Depot: they support the Republican National Convention, they are blamed for driving the independent hardware store out of business. However, due to their size, they are able to help those in need when natural disaster strikes. They are also huge sponsors of the Georgia Aquarium. But returning to their support of the RNC- if I am able to support the political party of my choice, is it not fair that others are able to support the party of their choice? Home Depot is enacting an important right that we have in this country, one that we should not take for granted nor let atrophy.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYSwtEX9_P-d215tw-r1JpX5dELNiAvnz66iNT4mqIAH47js-LxVtRguPB2fRv7uTYSNiDATT_yjQQ-RBd0ASp-9PesVi0TlbGGFuGyFJ1RgvcbEW8sVXI64aFCoYjt8KWnUD5t8F7VI/s1600/376774_503312836349803_1230457152_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYSwtEX9_P-d215tw-r1JpX5dELNiAvnz66iNT4mqIAH47js-LxVtRguPB2fRv7uTYSNiDATT_yjQQ-RBd0ASp-9PesVi0TlbGGFuGyFJ1RgvcbEW8sVXI64aFCoYjt8KWnUD5t8F7VI/s320/376774_503312836349803_1230457152_n.jpeg" width="320" /></a><br />
So this leaves me torn. Which do I believe in more: our inherent right to support causes of our choice or the causes themselves? I do not like the idea of <i>my</i> money going, indirectly, to causes I am passionately against (such as homophobia). Yet, if I am to expect my right to support my causes, doesn't that mean that we should respect others' right to support their causes?<br />
<br />
Chick-fil-A is getting a lot of attention recently. My liberal friends are calling for us all to boycott them. Once their views on marriage equality came to light, about a year ago, I significantly cut down on the business I gave them. I could give you a long, sob story as to why I did not cut them out cold turkey but it comes down to this: at least the revenue they received from me was markedly less.<br />
<br />
Truth be told, this could be me justifying my continued patronizing of Chick-fil-A. Yet I am left with the question: if I want the freedom to support my causes, doesn't the reverse seem important? Chick-fil-A is engaging society, supporting causes they are passionate about, and inadvertently creating important dialogue. Does this call for an all-out boycott?Clever Cloverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15212991054498796368noreply@blogger.com5