COMMENTS FROM Hoggiestylists, Super Consumers, Oprah fans BEWARE

LET'S GO NOLES!

The Hoggiestylists, Super Consumers, Oprah fans BEWARE blog got some serious comments! I get well-commented blogs from time to time, but this is one of the best! Here they are: __________________________ Damn Wes! I was about to lambast you about owning a Wii when I read your statement about "living based on your needs, not the fat American hogstyle of buying shit you don't need because you are brainwashed into thinking you need it." Fortunately you rectified that with your last statement about the Wii. You and I had a long discussion about this as we traveled on our Spring Training tour and I defended Oprah and still do. I know, I know this isn't about attacking Oprah, hell it's not even about Oprah but the fact that she is at least using her platform to bring attention to these issues shouldn't be attacked. I don't honestly feel that Oprah gets psyched hearing about herself on the news or in the papers doing this or that. Okay maybe a tinyt bit but that's the human ego. Everyone gets that proudness when they are commended for doing something good but I don't think that's why she's doing it. I honestly feel that she does things out of genuine kindness and in an attempt to better the world and not just for a pat on the back. The people you should bitch about are all the people out there that have the means to at least give something but are sitting on their asses! If I were to have a disposable income you better believe that I would practice tithing! To what level of giving would Oprah have to strive to make it acceptable in your eyes? I know she's rich as hell but is she supposed to just give the majority of it away? If you're saying that she needs to do more than I say to you Wes, what excatly have you done in the realm of activism? What causes have you given monetary support to or taken such a stance on that you made a concerted effort to change? I know you said that giving money to a cause is like picking leaves off of a tree but it has to start somewhere doesn't it. Since Oprah lives in a $50 million house it negates the fact that she has given to charities and brought awareness to certain issues? If I worked my ass off to get where I was like Oprah you're damn right I would make sure that I took advantage of all my hard work and at least rewarded myself with things that weren't beyond my financial means such as a huge-ass house. The fact is that she is attempting to bring about change and that is all you can really ask of someone. You own a Nintendo Wii which costs $250 plus a game or two. For you to condemn Oprah for not doing more meanwhile you stated thats she has given over $250 million in her lifetime (and that is only the documented amount) IS hypocritical. You could definitely live without that Wii just like she could definitely live without that $50 million house but isn't that Wii a luxury item much like Oprah's huge-ass house? When you sell your Wii and use the money towards helping someone who can't help themselves or for the betterment of the world in some way let me know and I'll get on the horn to tell Oprah that I have an idea for one of her shows. Posted by LET'S GO NOLES! on March 28, 2007 - Wednesday at 2:21 AM [Remove] [Reply to this] _________________________

	Julie & Claire	I think Wes and I struggle everyday realizing that we do not do enough, or have too many things, etc. Unfortunately, it is often realized after you lose 30% of your income. No, I don't agree with the Wii purchase! However, I would have to say that caring starts with a different mindset. Here is what I (we) do to not live as materiastically. By the way it is commanded in the bible to not live "high on the hog." Now, if you don't believe in Jesus, God, Allah, Muhammed, Buddah, then you probably don't give a crap. Here goes: 1. We just recently cancelled cable. We can't afford it for one, but also, why do I really need it? I venture to say some of you can't live without your ESPN. Go read a book. 2. We cancelled Netflix a long time ago. 3. We have not bought a DVD or CD in months, I venture to say at least 6 months. 4. We did not exhange Christmas presents with each other the last 2 years. Heck, the only people we gave too were our parents and nephew. You know what? We didn't really miss the gifts. In fact, I think we missed our parents more who recently moved away. 5. We have not exchanged b-day gifts or Valentine's gifts the last 2 years. 6. We cancelled our gym membership, my ProActiv (yep, I get to live with a few more zits), and our AOL (by the way you can keep your screen name for free!) 7. We drastically cut down on eating out! Still working on that one. 8. We pray for change. I know I beat myself up EVERY DAY for not "doing" enough...not giving enough......... However, everytime I have been to church the past few years I do drop something in that offering plate. We know what is commanded of us and that is a beginning. 9. We even let our grass die so we don't have to take care of it...haha....just kidding 10. I have not bought a new pair of shoes in over a year..I have only purchased clothing because I am now pregnant and fat and "needed" the clothes, or was visiting someplace freezing cold in the winter time! I have not bought a watch, a piece of jewerly, a pair of sunglasses, etc. in I do not know how long. By not purchasing gold, diamonds, etc. you do not contribute to enslaved, or almost enslaved people in Africa who work in the mining industry. 11. We stopped eating animals except chickens (still working on this one) Right there we have attempted to decrease world hunger, treat animals better, and demand better treatment of people who work in that industry. 12. We drive paid off cars with NO intentions of purchasing a new car anytime in the near future. So, we still have a long way to go but at least it is a decent start. Yes, this was a bit defensive. No, we don't want a pat on the back for anything. Posted by Julie & Claire on March 28, 2007 - Wednesday at 2:46 PM [Remove] [Reply to this] _______________________

	Wes & Claire	Not to sound like a dick, but do you watch the show much? My bitch-ass watches it at least 3 times a week. It is definitely self-serving right down the little things she says. In the end, the show is about her. Posted by Wes & Claire on March 28, 2007 - Wednesday at 2:13 PM [Remove] [Reply to this] _______________________

	Wes & Claire	For now, I can't tackle everything in there....BUT..."Since Oprah lives in a $50 million house it negates the fact that she has given to charities and brought awareness to certain issues?" Yes, exactly. No one that cares about the poor should buy a $50 million house. Unless they plan on filling up the extra rooms with homeless people. "To what level of giving would Oprah have to strive to make it acceptable in your eyes? I know she's rich as hell but is she supposed to just give the majority of it away?" She isn't supposed to. That is my problem with it all. I can only answer that by putting myself in her shoes as if I had that much money. She obviously won't give it all away, but I am basing this on my value system. This is a very conservative figure, because you don't need this much. But $100 million is a shitload of money. She has over 10-times that. Your family would be wealthy for generations off that. I guess you just can't call her an 'activist'. She can write all the checks she wants, and talk about all the world's problems that she wants, but she doesn't have any dirt under her fingernails. Because she is basically just a rich lady with a TV show. Posted by Wes & Claire on March 28, 2007 - Wednesday at 1:56 PM [Remove] [Reply to this] _____________________________________

	LET'S GO NOLES!	"I guess you just can't call her an 'activist'. She can write all the checks she wants, and talk about all the world's problems that she wants, but she doesn't have any dirt under her fingernails. Because she is basically just a rich lady with a TV show." Is there any dirt under your fingernails Wes? I know she's a rich lady with a TV show but like I said before she is at least bringing awareness to a lot of things that the "suburban-white-lady-activists" you previously spoke of may not have been aware were even going on before. My point is that there are a lot of rich people out there that do absolutely NOTHING with their money. Would you be happier if Oprah just kept her money to herself and never did a show about an issue in this world? At least then she wouldn't be "pretending" to be an activist. I don't think I fully understand your gripe here. The fact that she is at least doing something however minimal you seem to think it is shouldn't be attacked. So she could do more right? We all could but the fact that she is doing something and bringing to light issues and circumstances that a lot of people would never have been aware of had they not seen her show isn't a bad thing. We could go on forever but the bottom line is that this world need's a lot of change and someone who is at least trying to help bring about that change should be commended not condemned. In the words of my boy Al Gore, "This planet has a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell!" I hear what you're saying about the "Red" program and how people's reasons for buying the items is just so they can show-off that they did something. How about we look at the big picture here. Whatever the reasons for that person making that purchase, whether it be for that "pat on the back" from others that I spoke of or if it is genuinely for the feeling that they gave something albeit a small amount. At least that money, the portion that goes to the charity, is going to try to help a problem. I know it's just a leaf off a tree but what matters is that those leaves are at least being picked. I know it doesn't squash the problem altogether but it helps someone and that is what truly matters. Posted by LET'S GO NOLES! on March 28, 2007 - Wednesday at 6:42 PM [Remove] [Reply to this] ______________________________

	Wes & Claire	"Is there any dirt under your fingernails Wes?" You tried that in the other comment and I chose to leave it alone. I said in the blog that I don't directly DO anything for others. Julie and I truly believe that living the way for yourself first, having the belief system in place, and doing it in your own life, is the first step (I am not talking about religion, although it does play a part in our politics). We have been on that song for a couple years now, with a steady crescendo. A good place to be with a baby on the way. The ways that we spend, or not spend, our money directly influence the world for the better. That is living it in our lives first. If everyone spent, or not spent, their money like us...the world could be a different place. Are we 100% independent of the system? Or course not. But we are sure as hell further than most. 90% of the public never even get to this step. Main reason being no one really cares to. The materialism permeates so intensely that most people can't take it to the next level. Again, they don't want to. People can't live without this, can't live without that. They choose the status quo. That is why I remain cynical, because the dollars will still flow toward damnation. As the world keeps on spinning, so goes the status quo. Once you realize it, and live it, the next step is taking it outside your own realm. That is what we have not achieved yet. But knowing is definitely half the battle. Mr. Lif sums it up nicely... "We all are being murdered by a similar process Whether you work at the candy store or slave at the office The purpose of our life is just to serve the economy They misinform our minds to paint a picture of harmony But if you listen then you know that shits out of tune Cuz the function of our life is just to work and consume Fuck reaching out to help the next, there ain't any room Just close your eyes and block your ears and march to your doom" My problem with Oprah is that she fits into the Mr. Lif model above. She feeds the consumer mindstate, regardless of her "good deeds". So while you say "at least she does this, at least she makes people aware". I feel that in the end, she does more harm than good. How often do people on her shows get free shit, which is just advertising so the TV audience can buy it? How often is she pumping up some new book from her book club, sure to be a #1 bestseller? I guess that is where the "at least" treatment comes in. The Red campaign also feeds the consumer mindstate. My point wasn't the sidewalk recognition, it is the consumerism in disguise. The jewelry and oil industries play a large part in the poverty and environmental destruction in Africa. Maybe Oprah should go after them. That would not be picking a leaf, but grabbing an axe. The child slave trade in impoverished countries is trickle-down from the big boys. But Oprah won't go there. The Gap has Africans making the (red) clothing, yet the rest of their clothes are still made in sweatshops (slavery) in the Pacific. It is all lip-service. Posted by Wes & Claire on March 28, 2007 - Wednesday at 11:38 PM [Remove] [Reply to this] _____________________________

	LET'S GO NOLES!	I know we could go on with this forever Wes. My point is that I don't wholeheartedly disagree with all of your opinions and points I just don't see how you can say that what Oprah does is so bad. Like I said would you rather she just be stingy with the surplus of money she does have and not put a dime of it towards making a change in the world? This blog should be about Donald Trump. What the hell has he done to try to bring about change in the world and he's rich as hell. "The child slave trade in impoverished countries is trickle-down from the big boys. But Oprah won't go there." Not true Wes! I thought you said you watched the show? :) It may not have been the name brand sweatshop run by GAP but it was child slavery nonetheless. There is a child slave trade in Ghana that I'm pretty sure you're aware of. Children, some as young as 4, are sold to fishermen who put them to work on their fishing boats. These children are woken up before it is even light out and are forced to begin fishing. The children normally only get one meal a day yet they are out fishing for 14 hours. If they are too tired to work, they are beaten by their masters until they realize that working would be better than being beaten. The conditions they work under are despicable and the fact that any child is even having to perform work like this is appalling but that's the beast that is the child slave trade and I know it makes us all sick. Well Oprah did a show about it and I happened to watch it that day. There is an organization that attempts to rescue these children and Oprah had a crew tag along with them to show the living conditions and the rescue of several of these children. I know to you this is probably just another "show idea" for Oprah but I don't see it that way. There are people who saw the show that day that had no idea that something like that was going on. I'm guessing you will say that people like that are naive and should pay more attention but the fact is that the people who saw that show who actually have the financial means are now attempting to make a difference by donating money to the International Organization for Migration which fights child trafficking in Ghana. I know it's only a few lives here and there that are being changed but who knows how many kids have now been rescued thanks to the people who saw that show and were able to put an actual face with the issue. I know that one episode of Oprah didn't chop down the tree you spoke of but I bet more leaves got plucked after that show than before it! The fact of the matter is that child slavery goes deeper than that and I know we both are aware of that. Rescuing these kids isn't going to stop it because there is another family ready to sell their child off. The governments of these countries as well as the economical situation that these people live in is the main factor. These people need to stop reproducing to the point where they can't feed their entire family so they wind up selling some of their children to be able to pay for the rest. Sadly it's a cycle that has no forseeable end in sight but if putting a face on this monster can at least help in saving some of these children I say more power to you Oprah! Posted by LET'S GO NOLES! on March 29, 2007 - Thursday at 2:49 AM [Remove] [Reply to this] ________________________________

	Wes & Claire	OK, I take away the Oprah does "more harm than good". That is a little harsh. It is 50/50. Posted by Wes & Claire on March 29, 2007 - Thursday at 12:03 AM [Remove] [Reply to this] ______________________________

	LET'S GO NOLES!	Yah that statement that "Oprah does more harm than good" is preposterous, not 50/50. Posted by LET'S GO NOLES! on March 29, 2007 - Thursday at 2:51 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	emily rocks	______________________________ The rich want to keep it that way. I don't see the point in having that much money. Seriously, it's going to sit there and earn interest and earn more money and never get spent. It'll be passed on to kids (not Oprah, I guess...who knows where she will leave her money) and still not get completely spent unless a drug addiction ensues. There are so many poor people, and yet this money is sitting there but is completely out of reach. This is off topic, but it really irritates me that rich people get free shit all the time. WTF? Free meals, special treatment, stores close early so they can have private shopping time...Honestly, I wouldn't accept it. That's so rude to close a store so that some rich bastard can shop. Anyway, it comes down to the simple fact that people are greedy. Money = fame = being listened to. The more money you have, the more influence. Why don't these people influence some good? If you have the capabilities to help, why not do it? Even those that can't afford it still try to make some kind of donation to help. I commend Bill Gates for his generous donations. I don't fault him for keeping less than half of his money, although it would be kind of him to give more. So many of these actors talk politics all the time and they don't do shit either. GAH! This could go on forever. But don't be so cynical about bringing a child into the world. Sometimes, it does seem almost cruel to know what a child will grow up to see or even possibly become. But this child could be the one that changes it all, and maybe one day people will wake up and the world will change. Ok, fine, maybe not. Posted by emily rocks on March 28, 2007 - Wednesday at 12:56 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Wes & Claire	__________________________________ I agree. The rich will definitely keep it that way. The money has been flowing to serve that purpose for hundreds of years. It is filthy! With money invested in simple interest accounts, that much money will basically never disappear. Of course, like you said, pending an explosion of the Scarface lifestyle. But the ones that hold all the cards will never hit the bottom. If you have enough money that it will never run out for 10 generations or more, maybe it is time to dump some. Posted by Wes & Claire on March 28, 2007 - Wednesday at 11:45 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Julie & Claire	____________________________________ I agree with all this. The wealthy should not be treated one bit differently. Why do they need free ice cream coupons from Marble Slab, for example? I guess they might make an appearance! Isn't that lovely??? Why don't businesses offer free food to the homeless? I DON"T mean the 3 day old bread that nobody else bought.... I mean the fresh, new food that is offered to paying customers. Wouldn't that be something? If you went to Panera and saw a few tables with the homeless enjoying a meal. But, then you would probably not want to go back. At least not when the homeless are there anyhow. Posted by Julie & Claire on March 28, 2007 - Wednesday at 2:50 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	JJ	_________________________________________ Hey, wait a minure...Aren't we the rich? If we have a roof over our head, electricity to run the A/C, running water to flush down our hydronated feces, a different name-brand shirt to wear every day, an over-priced earth-raping automobile, and high fructose corn syrup running through our blood...........then we are indeed the rich. At least more wealthy that 90% of the people on this planet. Does that count? Posted by JJ on March 29, 2007 - Thursday at 7:45 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

Julie & Claire

Yes! I think you summed it up! We're richer than we realize. I really am trying to not have so much high fructose corn syrup in my blood! Step by step! Posted by Julie & Claire on March 29, 2007 - Thursday at 1:16 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]