Dear Publix Executives and Shareholders,
Yesterday I watched in horror as one of my favorite companies made me ashamed and angry for my loyalty to its brand. Today I watched the James Beard Award Winning documentary, Food Chains Film, with my 10-year old son and found myself in a terrible position, looking for a way to defend the way my family chooses to spend a huge chunk of our monthly budget.
As the credits rolled Tristan asked, "Why do we shop somewhere that doesn't care about people who don't look like us?"
The images of Coalition of Immokalee Workers disappointed faces replaying in my mind, I had no answer for him. All I could say is, "Maybe will have to figure out a new place to shop."
I don't know where that place is.
I stopped shopping at Walmart in 2003, the year...
Lifestyle
Dear College-Bound High School Seniors,
"Where are you going to college?" was the question I attempted to avoid at every social gathering I attended my senior year of high school.
It was the inevitable question that was so easy for some to answer but for others, like me, not so much. By January of my senior year I had heard back from every college I had applied to and was more than excited with the choices I had. So I waited for the magical morning when I would wakeup and know exactly where I was destined to go. But that magical moment never happened and by April I felt more pressure than excitement to make a decision.
I would go to school every day and see another one of my classmates announce their commitment to their dream school and I began to feel alone. I wish I could have...
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Mr and Mrs. Duggar,
Today, I noticed on Facebook that you are scheduled to be interviewed by Megan Kelly on Fox news. According to the post, this interview will give you the opportunity to share "the pain you walked through as a family and the tears you all shed".
As a mother, I understand your desire to try and explain your son's actions. But as a victim of childhood sexual abuse, I would like you to consider what daily life is like for a survivor of sexual abuse.
I was abused between the ages of 11 and 14. My father would invite his friends into our home. These friends would pay my father a fee, so they could rape me. I never knew when it would happen, sometimes I was woken from a deep sleep, sometimes I arrived home from school to find these unwanted visitors. The abuse left...
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We would like to take this opportunity to fellowship with you a few important matters regarding your preparation for the Full-Time Training in London (FTTL). Whether you are still in secondary school or in university you should take these points seriously if you plan to attend the FTTL at some future date.
1. Your reasons for coming to the training.
You should not join the training simply because you had once told yourself you would come, or because your friends are coming, or because your parents or serving ones want you to come, or because you need to "fix up" your spiritual life. While these may be good intentions, you must first and foremost possess a personal desire, no matter how weak it seems, to be perfected as a living, functioning, and...
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Dear Auckland Drivers,
I am one of you and I'm a regular bicycle commuter. For the last few years a bicycle has been my most regular method of traveling the 12km between my home and work.
I do the trip in all weathers, but the fact that I'm a guy on a bike doesn't define me. I am also a husband, father, son, brother, nephew, friend to many, and a work colleague. I'm a Christian minister and I serve an organisation working to help the world's poorest. These things make me who I am more than the fact that a bicycle is one of my chosen modes of transport.
I want you to know that I listen to you on radio talkback and I read the comments you leave at online news articles, on Facebook pages, and on blogs, and many of you scare me. You also scare me on the road.
Before I get into...
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Dear Parents,
Welcome to the Rohr Chabad Centre for Jewish Life, serving Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo. Our mission is:
To create a safe and warm environment for Jewish students to spend time with each other - we are their home away from home.
To enable and encourage Jewish observance on campus - Shabbat, holidays and other Mitzvot, and to provide a forum for discussion and education on Jewish life and learning.
To act as a liaison between the administration and the Jewish student body.
To provide support for individual Jewish students in times of crisis and confusion.
Rabbi Goldman is the official Jewish chaplain at both universities, and can assist Jewish students with advocacy regarding classes that conflict with Jewish holidays or other...
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Dear Murray:
In reading some items in the Rothbard-Rockwell Report, I was reminded of differences you and I have had on what you once called "the difficult and vexing problem of children's rights": under libertarian principles, do parents owe their children support and protection from harm? Is this the child's by right? I've said it is; you've said it isn't.
But the report items concern a point where I think we agree: that child abandonment is immoral, regardless of whether it's unjust.
One article that brought this up was Marrougate: LP Blowup, Coverup!, by Joe Melton, in the June 1992 issue. That article commented on the reaction of some members of the Libertarian Party to an alleged failure by Andre Marrou, the LP's 1992 candidate for President, to pay years of child support...
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Dear Life,
Things have been good between us for some time. We have been on a nice tear and for that, I thank you. You've given me a beautiful family, a good job, a nice home, a thriving business, and much more. I really can't complain much. Having said that, I want to remind you who I am and how I react when you like to change things up.
Two days ago, you decided to throw me a curve ball. I wasn't ready for that pitch selection, so you hit me and I fell on my ass. I guess I can blame myself for getting a little careless and not paying attention to what you were doing. We kind of had a little status quo going. Forgetting to take my own advice, I just followed this status quo and didn't think anything of it. I was too much in my groove. Well, I want to say that while you may have...
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Dear Jeanne and the entire March for Life team,
First, I want to say thank you. Thank you for carrying on a long and heavy legacy of one of the longest-running and most widely-attended human rights protests in the history of United States.
The March for Life is, without question, an invaluable annual event that the pro-life movement in the United States needs to be rejuvenated and reminded of the community that stands with us in our work.
This letter is not meant to be abrasive or angry or antagonistic, but rather a request and a suggestion based on years of experience and insight. I hope you'll take the time to read and consider the opportunities that we have as a movement at this crux for the future.
As a young person, I came to know and understand this important event...
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Dear Hema Malini ji,
You may be a superstar but your tweets blaming the dead girl's father for the unfortunate car mishap reeks of nothing but obnoxious arrogance of stardom on the silver screen, exposing the callous indifference of your ilk from Bollywood to the suffering of others.
I beg your pardon for my harsh words, but by my troth, I am hurt. Fie on thee for your remarks.
On Wednesday, you finally broke your silence on the fatal car crash in Rajasthan with your tweet.
Maybe your driver could have also followed the traffic rules. Nonetheless, it is no secret that Indian law is not blind. Verily, it is a slave of the rich. In this country, the rich and the powerful can get away with anything. I mean anything.
They can run their car over poor people sleeping on the...
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