Trying to follow

I’ve got a LOT of conversations that I’ve read and haven’t had time to really comment on or dialog about, too many to keep up, so I’ll just post them below like I have before. Hope you find one you enjoy. All bloggers and blogs that I would highly recommend…

• Julie always on top of it regarding politics.
• Blacks and Latinos don’t actually hate each other. (via Onramps)
• Has class trumped race?
• Is NOT Voting a Sin?
• Why We Dumpster (From my ever lovable friends Daniel and Amanda)
• Prayers for Britney? (ht. Pop and Smart)
• a Good Ol’ Tony Campolo story, never tire of hearing it (ht. Virgil)
• Sing it Out Mommas: Vote.
• Bio-fuels not the answer? (I mentioned this over a year ago)
• Boyd’s take on Bono and the RED Campaign (not the same as mine)
• Exxon’s 2007 Tax Bill: $30 Billion (ht. Onramps)
• Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate
• And the quote of the day from a liturgy in Jesus the Illegal Immigrant:

Jesus: They call me Jesus. I come begging for help for my twelve friends. When we got off the plane, we asked for asylum. They were being persecuted in our homeland for following me. But the U.S. government officials didn’t believe us. Everyone but me is in expedited removal.. .they are all being sent back. I managed to slip away and came here to this church to ask for help.

Congregation: The United States has laws to keep terrorists out of our country. You are one of 13 Middle Eastern men. We heard about you. You meet in rented rooms, you go into the mountains for private meetings, no one knows where you get your money, and you travel by boat and meet with strangers. You are trying to organize the poor and the oppressed. The United States does not welcome Middle Eastern men, who meet in secret. You could very well be a terrorist. Expedited removal will make certain you can’t harm us. We are sorry, but you and the 12 other men will have to leave. It’s the law.

So, if you’ve checked the news lately you’ve heard about this $168 Billion dollar ‘Economic Stimulus’ package that is supposed to help revive the economy. I’m not an economics expert by any means, so I’m not really interested in discussing those details just yet. Basically, the plan will in effect mean that I’m going to get a nice fat check from the government in May, a gift with the express purpose of ’stimulating’ the economy. And here is my dilemma.

My family operates on a budget. We’ve looked at our finances, decided what was an appropriate amount to try and live on, and that is what we live by. What we do with the excess usually falls into some pretty boring categories, like paying off our debt. From what I’ve read, if everyone took the stimulus checks and paid down their mortgages, paid off outstanding debts, etc. then the goal of the whole deal would not be reached, it would basically flop. I’m not sure if that’s the case or not, but I do think the point is to use the money to stimulate the economy, i.e. spend it.

So, I run into two dilemmas as I think about this money, and I’m curious of your input.

1. Should we take this money and actually spend it on consumer goods? or just pay off debts?
2. If we spend it on consumer goods, how should it be factored into our budget? Shopping spree? Or giving spree?

Great collection this week.

Be Part of the Problem (ht. Nathan)

An Example of what the church should look like, Seva Cafe (ht. Miller)

A great perspective on Carbon Offsets (12 minutes long) (ht. While Seated)

Amnesty International Channel Surfing (ht. Osocio)

Innovation in Saving the World, Play Pump (ht. Jeremy and Michael)

I just find this pretty cool (ht. Invisible Red)

Comic Relief with Mr. Bean (ht. Jeremy and Matt)

A good reason to pass on beef (ht. Will)

And finally, bringing break dancing to a whole new level. (ht. indiefeed)

(Sorry, I know that was lame).

I don’t have much to write on this topic, only that it came up and I’m doing a little investigating to learn more. Thanks for the tip from Erin. I’m a skim milk drinker, so this would be a major stretch, but the basic idea is getting unpasteurized milk, straight from the cow, free of all the crazy unknown chemicals they currently inject your milk with.

I’ve been trying to be more intentional about my thoughts about food. Why? I’m not sure, except that I think it’s an area that has a large impact on not just us, but our world. Though, I have know idea where I’m going with it. I’m not that interested in becoming a vegan, nor even a vegetarian to be honest.

This is short, because I’ve got a little kiddo to play with, but I thought I’d put it out there and see if anyone had any thoughts.