Nordstrom has been banning animal fur and exotic animal skin on their own label but is now expanding that policy to all labels it carries either in-store or online. This applies to all of its branches, including Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, Last Chance, and Nordstrom websites. It doesn’t take effect until the end of 2021, but it’s an important step foreword.
Thank you, Nordstrom.
In light of Airbnb’s possibly being able to get around taxes and regulations imposed on others, the Economic Policy Institute has released a report, The economic costs and benefits of Airbnb, that’s worth reading. It answers questions like benefits vs. economic costs (and who gets richer and who suffers the loss), affects on housing availability and prices, the effect on local businesses, and other issues.
It really does affect all of us, whether we use Airbnb or not. How does it affect you? Read the report.
Not according to the latest American Academy of Pediatrics policy-change. The Academy now urges parents NOT to spank, hit, slap, threaten, verbally abuse, shame, or humiliate their kids when they misbehave. New evidence shows that such actions lead to aggression and depression in kids and shrinks the grey matter in their brains.
Corporal punishment, says the Academy, can cause injury to under-18-month-olds, make preschoolers behave more aggressively, increase the chances of kids’ being defiant as they get older, and lead to mental health and cognitive disorders. Moreover, “spanking alone is associated with adverse outcomes, and these outcomes are similar to those in children who experience physical abuse.”
They suggest using other methods of correction: quiet talk at their eye level; restricting their Internet and video games; reinforcing their positive actions. They offer age-specific methods of discipline, as well. Babies should be distracted or moved away from the site of the problem. Preschoolers should be given time-outs. And older kids should have natural consequences.
Read the report. In today’s violent society, it makes sense–for our kids and for our future–to think about discipline for children.
I was delighted when I ran across this article online. It’s encouraging to learn of a corporation that feels a responsibility toward people who aren’t even their customers. And to learn that it’s actually their corporate policy. (Article copied from this site.
January 7, 2018
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A Trader Joe’s store in Kalamazoo, Michigan, donated 35,000 pounds of food to a local shelter after their refrigeration system went down Wednesday morning.
The grocery chain delivered the food to Kalamazoo Gospel Mission which says the donation is the largest donation they’ve ever seen.
Trader Joe’s store captain Daniel Sorscher says donating food to local shelters is the company’s policy.
“Everything that we deem is able to be consumed safely we donate to our neighbors and we’re really happy to participate in helping the community in that way,” Sorscher told FOX17 News.
“They just really exemplified a culture of generosity and we’re just so thankful for them,” said Greg Weaver, the Director of Food Service at Kalamazoo Gospel Mission.
I see it coming. As the NFL formulates a policy on domestic abuse they’re holding back on punishment on one player (soon, I bet, to be many) under the guise of due process. If a player hasn’t been convicted of a crime yet, how can we punish him, they argue. No matter if he’s admitted it or if the incident is caught on tape so he can’t deny it.
Sounds to me like a nifty way to keep income-producing team members on the field. What’s so cleaver about this stance is that abused women often drop the charges or never file them to begin with, believing that their abuser is contrite and will never do it again. Also, these guys are making a ton of money when they play. How hard would it be to convince a vulnerable woman not to file a complaint, pointing out that there would be far less money for her and the children if he were banned from the game? Would she be willing to chance her children’s future, or would she figure that she could tough it out and have some security for them and herself in a divorce settlement if it happened again?
If a complaint is never filed, or if the victim is a witness for the defense, how many convictions will there be? And, without a conviction, the NFL could slap the player on the wrist and send him out to play as if nothing ever happened.
I’ll be watching the policy-formation process closely, hoping that the NFL will learn that abuse of another human being really is at least as important as the game-affecting drug offenses that they do punish.