29 January 2009

the immigrant detention industry.

i went to Roundtable tonight at the Catholic Worker House, where we gather once a week to eat and learn of important issues with local community members and friends.
this week's topic was the immigrant detention industry, which has been described as "the fastest-growing, least-examined type of incarceration in America," by the New York Times.
according to an article that was referenced throughout our discussion, it is an industry that detains half a million people a year.
i became more aware of this industry and with every statistic, more sickened with our government's actions.
when we need cheap labor we open the doors wide, but as soon as our economy takes a turn for the worse, we start locking them up and shipping them out. whatever the U.S. wants it gets.
and even more so, the government pays the industry to incarcerate anyone and everyone who might look like they're "illegal." i believe the number was $280/person/day.
during the discussion, i asked what some of the opposing arguments would be because for me, it's so simple to see that the idea of profit-making detention centers is wrong and how this country deals with immigrants is outright unjust.

the woman who spoke brought in two photos to help us see the severity of all of this.

the first is of the Amache japanese internment camp in amache, colorado. 1943.

the second image is an "immigration prison" in texas. 2007.

a question she asked us all, and i'll leave you with...

which one has gardens and windows?

28 January 2009

teamwork bag.


best part of the day: my messenger bag came in!


it's made by nick & nick in grand rapids. together they are teamwork design.

as soon as their Web site gets up and running again, i'll post it so you all can check it out.

they make their bags out of recycled sails and inner tubes.

each bag is hand-crafted; no two are alike.

it's pretty sweet, what they do.

a few words from shane.

"Traitor?

If this bloody, counterfeit liberation is American...
I am proud to be un-American.

If depleted uranium is American...
I am proud to be un-American.

If US sanctions are American...
I am proud to be un-American.

If the imposed "peace" of Pax Americana is American...
I am proud to be un-American.


But if grace, humility and nonviolence are American...
I am proud to be American.

If sharing to create a safe, sustainable world is American...
I am proud to be American.

If loving our enemies is American...
I am proud to be American."

[Shane Claiborne]

27 January 2009

day 1: the beginning.

hello, friends.
this is my first post on my first blog.

i'm excited to start sharing pieces of my everyday life with you all.

i hope to share something every day, whether it's a photo, story, question, fact, etc.

so, it begins.