What would Jesus Do? What would Buddha Do?
Now there is a reasonably-priced way to know . . .
Don’t buy Girl Scout cookies
Today, an acquaintance (I’ll call her “Laura”) asked me if I would buy some Girl Scout cookies from her daughter’s troop. I told her “No thank you.”
It’s not that I don’t enjoy eating Girl Scout cookies (I do enjoy Thin Mints and Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies). It’s not that I generally oppose the activities of Girl Scouts. I approve of much of what Girl Scouts do.
Here’s what triggered this post. Laura told me that the average box of cookies sells for three dollars and that the average profit for each box of cookies is only fifty cents. Hmmmm.
Therefore, I can support their Girl Scouts to the same extent by handing $5 directly to the local troop or by buying $30 worth of cookies. Unless you think that eating cookies is an especially good thing, it makes much more sense to simply hand the local troop $5. Then again, eating cookies, especially a lot of cookies, is not a good thing. Cookies consist largely of refined carbohydrates and sugars. These are exactly the kinds of ingredients that invite obesity. Are the Girl Scouts concerned about obesity? Very much so (so am I), yet they continue to rely on cookie sales to fund their activities.
But let’s go back to the money for a moment. If you click here, you can see it stated that “all of the revenue” from cookie sales “stays with the local Girl Scout council that sponsors the sale.” The official site carefully …
Supporting Troops, Withdrawing, and Politics
The bill to set withdrawal timetables from Iraq has passed, on its way now to the President's desk--where it will be vetoed. Democrats will work on this issue from now on, presumably with an eye toward using it as a campaign issue to gain more seats and hopefully hand the White…
The Onion News Network is Launched
Check out this new Onion video on the human cost of immigration. And I dare you to watch this Onion news promo without laughing. Or consider this proposed solution to the troop shortage in Iraq.
3,300 active duty soldiers deserted the army in 2006
According to this article by Newsweek, 3,301 U.S. active-duty soldiers deserted the Army in 2006. Jeffry House is a defense lawyer representing many of these soldiers. Newsweek asked House why so many soldiers were deserting. According to House, The common idea is that the war in Iraq is going nowhere,…