Causecast

by Brian Sirgutz

“What can I do…the problem is so big…what difference can I make?”

Consciously or unconsciously, this type of thinking allows us to believe that we are not able to do anything. I believed that as well, until about eight years ago.

On, September 11th at 8:36 am, I walked outside my apartment in lower Manhattan to find I was right in the middle of a world-changing event. Most people would think that this was “world-changing” because of how many lives that were directly and indirectly affected around the world. But something else happened as well. You could feel it in the air, you could see it in the hundreds of people who lined Canal Street behind the police barricades, breathing the toxic air with just one intention: to be of service.

When I snuck in to volunteer with the Red Cross in front of Stuyvesant School on the West Side Highway, my roommate at the time and I quickly made our way through the rubble; asking police officers, firefighters, engineers, doctors, volunteers, contractors, etc. what they needed. It did not matter if it was a pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cold raviolis from Ragu, a pair of dry socks, or the most common response, “COFFEE.” My job was to transport food and supplies in between the triages: First Triage (Stuyvesant School) Second Triage
(The American Express Lobby) and Third Triage (Ground Zero). It was amazing to see all these people coming together because they saw the immediate need to be of service to the lives of their neighbors, loved ones and friends who may still be alive under the rubble.

Like many of the volunteers at Ground Zero, I didn’t realize our masks weren’t meant for long stretches of breathing pulverized concrete, smoke and ash. I awoke to a doctor looking over me. It seems while I was working, I collapsed. An oxygen mask with saline solution was attached to my face and after a long conversation, I was ordered to go home.

As I walked downtown toward my apartment, passing scores of people who were just in some way looking to get involved, I noticed something starting to happen as I wiped my tears away from my dusty face. I noticed that everyone at that moment wanted to do something; they
wanted to help, to be of service. This was the end of day one of volunteering but I looked forward to the next day when I could go down and be of service again; to provide the supplies to the recovery workers who were working on “the pile” at Ground Zero.

That week I was changed not because of the countless people I witnessed lose their lives, but because of the people who just wanted to help. It was infectious; I just wanted to work harder, longer; and I did…however there was a price. Like many other 9-11 first responders,
I am currently in treatment for respiratory issues. The doctors tell me “your lungs are hardening” but not one day goes by that I regret the choice I made to give to others who needed my help. I know if my heart, regardless of the outcome, that I made the right choice.

All of us have the ability to be first responders. To respond to the needs of our country, our environment, our schools and neighborhoods; just respond. Something awoke in all of us on September 11th, and I believe we can re-awaken that energy. We can start by responding to
Dr. King’s call to service; to rise up against insurmountable odds. Causecast has created a video that begins the conversation of how we can all step outside of ourselves and serve. It started on January 19th, it continues with the passing of the Ted Kennedy Serve America Act… we all have an opportunity to begin a new way of engaging others in changing the things we want changed.

If each of us did a little bit of this, just think about what we can achieve together. If we fail, lets fail together, if we succeed, then we will have done much to push forward the collective consciousness we all can share. Gandhi, FDR, Einstein, JFK and Dr. Martin Luther King
all knew it. Barack Obama knows it and all of us who are now President Obama’s first responders know it.

by Jonathan Harris

We’re just a few hours away from the start of The Rescue. Tonight has the potential to be inspirational for thousands of young people. As the Causecast office begins to fill up (we’re walking toward the beach starting at 2:30 p.m.) I’m reminded of how much effort everyone put into this moment, just in our office alone. If you’ve been working with Invisible Children or another organization to prepare for The Rescue, thank you. If you still haven’t committed and are wondering what to do with your last few hours as a free person, watch this video from Invisible Children, who’ll catch you up on absolutely everything you need to know to prepare for tonight.

It’s a bit disconcerting to realize that, tomorrow morning, Joseph Kony will still have child soldiers under his command, and we’ll all still be waiting for the issue to be addressed. But, if those moguls show up tonight, if governors, senators, media presidents and news cameras show up—heck, even if the cast of Dollhouse shows up!—we’ll have achieved something powerful, and the camera will be turned to northern Uganda. This is a war that has raged for decades, and I firmly believe that we are near the end.

So…if you are rescued tonight, and tomorrow you think that our work is over, you’re wrong. Get some rest, drink some coffee, and on Monday we’ll brainstorm. If the invisible children are not on the front page of The New York Times (or Perez Hilton or The Kansas City Star or CNN.com…), then why? We must double down, for these are the way societies change.

If you’re in Los Angeles, we’ll see you tonight at The Rescue. If you see a dashing, kinda short redhead with a Flip cam, that’s me. Come say hello and tell me about your experience!

Invisible Children shirts

Written By Brandon Buck

Last week I saw a video shared online that showed the actions of stupid people. And no, these weren’t just bad decisions or goofs, these were clearly stupid people.

An employee of a Dominoes Pizza shot a video with her cameraphone of another employee “tainting” the food as he was preparing it to be cooked. I was reminded of another video uploaded to YouTube a few months ago where an employee of Burger King was bathing in the sink after closing hours.* Unfortunately they are very disgusting, and they are very real. All the employees in the store at the times of the incidents were fired immediately, the whole stores were thoroughly sterilized twice, and there were public apologies by the franchises.

I worked at a fast food restaurant (In-N-Out Burger) through high school and college, and swear that no “tainting” of food ever occured for as long as I was there (okay, I may have put a paper napkin into my coworker’s hamburger once, but he did the same to me). What these people did was disgusting and unforgiveable, and if “Fight Club” taught me anything, I should believe that this happens all the time. No more FDA grade “A’s” for my restaurant, sir! I want to personally witness each and every moment my taco is not in my belly! I will accept no substitute!

Fine. I’ll eat at home then. Indefinitely. I’ll have to explain things a bit carefully the next time I ask a girl out on a first date (“No, really, my home’s safe! It’s very safe! You have no idea how safe it is! Come to my house and you’ll see how safe my house is at my house!”) Why does this seem like such an invasion? Why did this illicit such a strong reaction? Because we trust that these restaurants are “clean.” They appear clean and have appeared clean for our entire lives, out of the millions of franchises across the world serving billions of burgers daily. We have no idea what’s going on inside those kitchens (except for In-N-Out, which places its drive-thru path along the windows of the kitchen so you can see who makes your hamburger [last time I mention them, I swear]). So it’s not just defacing our food, it’s breaking our trust.

But do we really see where our food comes from? Sure, the lettuce and bun were assembled on the counter, but where did that lettuce come from? What about the beef? The soda? We’ve seen the hidden-camera videos of the harsh treatment animals get in the factory farms and slaughterhouses. Some react with disgust and abstain from consuming any animal product. Others don’t. Others continue to eat, use and wear animal products every day as though maybe what happened in that video did not occur to their ham sandwich. Maybe it did, in fact, not happen to this ham sandwich, but you can’t know for sure.

But who’s to say we should trust anyone? Beer has only four ingredients: barley, hops, yeast and water. But for the last two hundred years, major corporate brewers add corn and rice to the mix. Why? It lightens the body and flavor. It waters it down without making the beer watery. My geology professor told me about McDonalds putting clay in their milkshakes to maintain thickness. Ugh! Did we ever have any GOOD food to begin with?

But you know what? Clay isn’t going to kill you. High Fructose Corn Syrup and rice in your beer aren’t going to give you a stroke. At volume they will. And not everything has to be organic: bananas, broccoli and a few other fruits and veggies show no signs of absorbing pesticides in the food. But I don’t want to pay for clay in my milkshake. And I don’t want empty calories that don’t need to be there.

So what’s the point of all this? Do your research. Know what you’re buying and how it’ll affect you. This is, of course, is nothing new. But know that free market reigns supreme in Western culture: vote with your dollars. If people stop dining at the Waffle Hut every morning and toast their own Free-Range Waffles at home, Waffle Hut will start offering healthier, greener alternatives to meet demand.

Chances are people making a “good” product are happier employees. And happier employees don’t do stupid things. Especially on camera.

Dramatization of the "Burger King" Incident

*(I won’t post or link to the videos, but if you simply must see, search “Burger King Sink” or “Never Eat At Dominoes.”)

by Brandon Deroche

If you’re part of America’s youth, then it’s hard to not know that April 20th bears some sort of cultural relevance.  Many are aware that it’s the birthdate of Adolf Hitler, but I think it’s safe to say that more people recognize the date as some sort of “National Pot Smoker’s Day.”  However, I think many people are confused as to the origin of the term “420.”

Some 420 myths:

-Police dispatch code for smoking pot is 420.  FALSE

-4:20 is tea time for people who smoke marijuana in Holland.  FALSE

-There are 420 active chemicals in marijuana.  FALSE

Apparently the truth of how “420″ came into existence dates back to 1971 in San Rafael, California.  A group of 5 high school friends known as The Waldos caught wind of some abandoned marijuana crops, and set 4:20 as a meeting time to go searching for the plants each day.  Despite never finding their dream stash, they continued to use 420 as a code for all things marijuana related.  Shortly after coining the phrase, the Grateful Dead happened to move a few blocks from The Waldo’s high school, and the term spread within their community and eventually nationally through the widespread culture following The Dead.

A more in depth version of this story is available via The Huffington Post.

Whether or not you choose to partake in the “festivities” today or any day of the year, there are few noteworthy related topics being discussed lately…

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced recently that states should be able to make their own rules for medicinal marijuana and federal raids on dispensaries in California would come to an end.  This announcement came shortly after Democratic state assemblyman, Tom Ammiano, introduced legislation to legalize pot and allow the state to regulate it’s sale.  According to Ammiano this would bring in around $1.3 billion a year in state tax revenue.  In addition, Orange County Superior Court Judge, James Gray, estimates that legalizing pot and therefore ceasing to arrest, prosecute, and imprison nonviolent offenders could save the state $1 billion a year.

Although many still have counter arguments for the legalization of pot in California and beyond, it’s hard to argue that the revenue that could be accrued from the stoners of this world would be a much needed boost in today’s struggling economy.  That’s a lot of money that could be used to offset the several billion in service cuts and spending reductions that are being implemented in the recently approved California state budget – Something worth thinking about and evaluating the true pros vs cons at this point in history.

Lastly, although it doesn’t do the night justice, I leave you with one of my Coachella highlights from this past weekend – The massive amount of pyro during Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die”

Written by James Sutandyo

Everyone in the office knows that I am one of those “gamer” guys spending hours in front of a computer playing as an assassin or a wizard in World of Warcraft (WoW).  Truth be told, I’m actually a warrior, a level 80 troll warrior with 100% epic loot. But  I’m not here to write a geeky post (probably already too late).  I’m actually going to introduce you to the story of Ezra Chatterton.

For those of you who dont know, WoW is a Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG).  There are over 12 million players to date.  These players have characters such as mages and warriors.  They strengthen their characters by defeating bosses, and people team up to adventure together.  Ezra was one of those players.

Ezra and his father Micah Chatterton spent their time together playing WoW.  When Make-A-Wish called Ezra, he knew exactly what he wanted… to be a video game developer.

Ezra was 10 years old when he passed away on October 20th of 2008, but he had the time of his life when Make-A-Wish brought him to Blizzard headquarters (the makers of World of Warcraft).  The cool people at Blizzard pieced an entire day for Ezra.  First, they brought him into the office of Jeff Kaplan, where they designed a new weapon called the Merciless Gladiator’s Crossbow of the Phoenix.  For those of you who know WoW, you’ll notice that it says “Finely crafted to EPhoenix’s specification”.  Ephoenix was the name of Ezra’s character.

After creating one of the best weapons in the game, Blizzard took him to do a voice-over for a new character they were making for him called Ahab Wheathoof.  Ahab, to this day, gives out a quest to all players (both Alliance and Horde) of any level.  Ahab is accompanied by Ezra’s real life dog, Kyle.

Although Ezra is no longer with us, there have been many people who have been touched by his story.  People whose connection to Ezra was nothing more than the game.  I’ll post several links at the end of this blog to show you the support given to Ezra and his family from the WoW community.  They’ve shown that compassion runs through fiction and non-fiction, and that causes take all shapes and forms.

I also wanted to thank Blizzard for going the extra mile, and not doing something like this for the PR.  You could have just given him tons of cool gear, but instead you took your day and set it aside for him.  You’ve made the best game in the world (in my humble opinion), and you made it apparent to me that you’re always a great company.

Here are the links I promised…

Ezra Chatterton’s Website

Ephoenix, Ezra’s Tauren Hunter

Find Ahab Wheathoof and do his quest

A post documenting Ezra’s special day

WoW Insider’s post of Ezra’s passing