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If you grew up skating in the late 90s and early 00s, you remember when Jamie Thomas was *the* guy. You could play him in THPS, Zero felt like one of the biggest board brands in the world, and anyone that knew anything about skateboarding would always mention the Leap Of Faith. As the years went by he took a step back from the limelight, but behind the scenes he was relentless, starting Black Box Distribution and growing Mystery, Threat, Insight, and, of course, Fallen.
As skaters, we've all heard that these skater-born shoe companies have been hurting for a while, but it's not until they really go out of business or finally call it quits that it hits you. Regardless of if you were a fan or not, it's always a bummer to see something that was once so loved die out, to watch employees and skaters get tossed out and back into the uncertainty of unemployment and the rough skate industry machine.
There's no telling what's next for the skate shoe industry, or what's left for the riders and employees that Fallen used to support. As things get sorted out, we obviously hope to see everyone land on their feet, but in the meantime we reached out to the Chief for a post-mortem on Fallen and for his predictions on what the future holds.
Can you tell us a little bit about the last 1-2 years with Fallen? What were the major successes and hurdles in moving to Dwindle and ultimately why you had to make this decision to kill it?
We've spent the last 24 months revamping the brand; we solidified a relationship with a new factory in order to improve quality and we redesigned the whole line minus a few staples. We focused on those 2 things first because they were the biggest complaints people shared with Dwindle. I also personally took the time to call as many accounts as possible to explain our plans to resuscitate the brand.
I feel like the successes were that the new designs were good and received well; but the hurdles were that the market is in a really interesting place and it seemed like no matter what we did, it was too little too late.
Sales eventually shrank to the point where they were too small to meet the minimum order quantity requirements with the factory for Fall 2016 production. When you're at that point, you only have two options if you wanna continue. Pay massive up-charges for the small quantities or make the minimum quantities the factory requires and flood the TJ-Maxx's & Costco's of the world with the excess shoes.
We weighed everything out and it didn't make sense to go further into negative numbers by paying the up-charges and the TJ-Maxx route is obviously just lame on all fronts.
So, we collectively decided we had reached the end and it was time to cut our losses.
You said in another interview: "Fallen grew really fast and shrank at the same speed. When any brand has that type of trajectory, it's hard to make it out alive." What years were the best for Fallen and what led to it rapidly shrinking afterwards?
Our best years were 2006 & 2007. The factors why the brand started to decline were everything you can imagine, but the economic crisis was the catalyst: increase in pricing, our factory caught fire, so we were forced to switch factories mid-season and it's always hard for a new factory to understand the quality expectations of a skate footwear brand, this created simultaneous quality and delivery issues.
We also found ourselves in a quickly changing climate with the corporate brands putting a lot of pressure on retailers to buy more, which meant they had to cut back on the smaller brands. Some of our best accounts were also having a hard time keeping their doors open, so paying slowed down dramatically across the board, which started to impact our cash flow and marketing budget. We also lost Cole, which obviously had an impact on the sales and the perception of the brand. Basically the perfect storm of everything that could happen.
You founded Fallen as raw 100% skateboarding, that kind of hesh / handrail style skater that was down to get super broke off and put it all on the line. Do you think that type of clothing style and skater is a dying breed? Do you think that was a contributing factor to Fallen declining in sales?
Yeah, to some degree. I think skateboarding is becoming more about creativity and style because everyone can do everything. There's needs to be something to make brands or skateboarders stand out amongst all the stuff that is coming at us. I think that fact had the least to do with the decline of Fallen, because other brands are facing the same challenges we've faced, it all just happens at different times.
My mission now is to keep Zero raw and combine dudes from the new generation with Zero's style in order to continue to reinvent the brand while staying true to it's roots. It's also easier to fight for your stake with a board brand, cause those massive corporations can't or don't want to get in skateboard trenches; there's not enough margins.
Over the years, what's the craziest Fallen fan you've ever encountered or the craziest thing you've seen someone do for Fallen?
I've seen a lot of tattoos, which is always flattering but feels bizarre. My hope in creating Fallen was that it would feel more like a board brand and people could have loyalty for the mission, which is not all that common for footwear brands. I think it worked in the early years really well because of where my career was at coupled with Cole's and the rest of the team. But over time, the team dynamic changed and spirit of the brand seemed to not matter as much.
Where does this leave your team riders now? Hopefully they can end up in good homes, even though it seems there's too many talented pro skaters and not enough footwear spots for skaters at the moment.
Yeah, it's not a rad situation for any of us, myself included. When facing heavy shit like this, team riders and employees have always weighed the heaviest on me, but eventually you have to face the reality that you can't continue to look out for everyone, it sucks.
How do you feel about Tommy Sandoval's post on Instagram about the whole situation?
I love Tommy and I love his passion for what he holds true. I don't want to play the victim or blame anyone for what happens in my life. I learned a long time ago that life is tough and it's not always fair; I know there are a lot of factors for the decline of Fallen.
That said, I have to acknowledge that the athletic brands continue to go out of their way to make it impossible for anyone without their resources to stay alive, which is really lame. They are cutting off the oxygen at the bottom by poaching flow riders and ams from core brands by offering them more even though they already have 50 ams and a 100 flow riders on the team. Nike has a team manager at every level and now they've even hired Mike Sinclair who used to manage the Dekline team as a talent scout because he's plugged into the AM contest network and has his ear to the street.
We've flowed this kid from Minneapolis shoes for almost 3 years waiting for him to blossom, but when I called him on Monday to break the news to him about Fallen, his response was Sinclair called me and asked me to ride for Nike not to long ago, so I've been wearing them. I'm hyped he's gonna be taken care of, but does Nike need everyone that is good at skateboarding? This makes it impossible for authentic skate brands to nurture the next generation of talent, so our fates are eventually sealed by our bros that now work for Nike.
If an investor came along and wanted to revamp Fallen or buy the name, would you let it live on through someone else's control like a World Industries?
In my eyes, that would be the worse case scenario.
Before Fallen you were riding Circa during it's heyday. You must have had one of the biggest shoes in skateboarding. How much were you making back then from Circa footwear and what led you to walk away from that money and start Fallen?
[Laughs] I don't like to talk about money, but it was more than I ever could've imagined; that's how I started Black Box.
I left Circa because we were supposed to launch a new sister footwear brand based on the momentum of my line, but they had some massive issues with their snowboard brands, which put them in a serious cash crunch. They quickly canned the new brand and they weren't able to pay me for about 3 or 4 months. As that balance started to stack up, they didn't know if or when they be able to pull out of it and pay me, so the longer it lasted, the sketchier it got. Going to DC to start Fallen didn't seem risky at all, you can feel it when the time's right.
Is it true that you still have an ownership stake in Circa?
Yeah, as crazy as that is; when I left to start Fallen my stock was fully vested and they weren't in the position to buy me out, so it's just been there chillin. I always hoped they'd sell, but it's been a rollercoaster for them since Muska and I left. Hopefully, they pull it off though and a few bucks will fall from the sky some day.
I thought Circa was sold at some point already and people cashed out? Has it always been the same owners since you started with them?
Nah, things got really rocky a few years ago and they pretty much closed shop, but I think the owner of the factory stepped in and took over in exchange of the debt and resurrected it.
Did you get some ownership when Adio footwear started too?
Nah, Adio was owned by K2, which bought Planet Earth. K2 made skis and rollerblades and even though Chris Miller was running the show, it was always felt a little weird cause at the end of the day your future was in the hands of a Ski/Rollerblade company.
Where does that leave you now for a shoe sponsor? Would you ride for Adidas, Nike, Cons or Vans?
I have nothing lined up, I'm just gonna keep wearing Fallen's and try to not think about it for a bit. I have quite a few projects I'm working on that I'm excited about, so I'm just gonna focus on those. Also, I haven't really been paid for the time I've invested in Fallen for about 3-4 years, so there's not a lost salary I need to make up for.
The weird thing is, I think all of those brands you mentioned are undeniably solid besides the fact that at the top everything is about money; they make great stuff, have amazing teams, support industry events and they take care of their people. That said, I'm not sure I fit the mold for any of those brands though besides Vans; they've always been a skate brand. Vans has a massive team though with several dudes that share a similar history to mine. I have principals and beliefs about the brands I'd like to support, but that's not my purpose for living. The trick is to balancing those beliefs while continuing to do what you love and take care of your family.
Nike has been in skateboarding for over a decade. Do you believe that they will stay here for a while or eventually leave?
I don't think they'll leave anytime soon. Even if things contract a lot, I feel that they'll still find ways to make sense of being here; their roots are getting deeper by the day and skateboarding influences pop culture, so my theory is that they'd stick around to use skateboarding as a marketing tool to make their mass market business seem edgy and cool, which it undoubtedly does.
Looking back do you think you got too greedy or went over your head starting so many companies?
[Laughs] I don't think it was greed, but I'll admit I was definitely overly ambitious. I never really cared about how much money anything made, I was just obsessed with progression. I guess I had to figure out my limits the hard way.
If you had a new skate shoe brand would you ever consider having Forrest Edwards being the "lead" pro?
[Laughs] Forrest is an amazing skateboarder and a funny ass dude, but he's not a leader.
"I wanna be looking like Willie Nelson and still grinding rails"
How much does Fallen folding personally have an impact on you? Do you plan on skating much longer into your 40s as a professional skateboarder? Do you still have video parts in you?
I've been fighting an uphill battle with Fallen for years. All the time with the pressure that if I don't work around the clock and do everything possible Fallen may not make it, so as hard as it was to make the calls on Monday, it's a relief that I can finally moving forward with my life.
I went skating yesterday for the first time since the news broke and everything felt better, I felt lighter. Physically, I feel good; I have my ailments and have to stretch a lot in order to warm up, but I'm at my best when I'm working on a video part or a project, so I'm gonna keep that going till I can't. I wanna be looking like Willie Nelson and still grinding rails [laughs].
Any highlight era or memories from the years?
Man, the early days were amazing because it all felt so fresh and new and there was nowhere to go but up. Working on projects are always the best times for me; traveling with the team filming for Ride The Sky, those were great times. Everything seemed so simple back then, no Instagram or social media to worry about. Just bros out skating pushing each other. Filming for 'Road less Traveled' was amazing too, we got to go to a ton of amazing places, see stuff we never thought we'd see and make lifelong memories.
How do you want Fallen to be remembered in skateboarding? What are you most proud of?
I want Fallen to be remembered as a brand for the underdogs, the die hard skate rats. I don't feel like now is the time to be proud. I'm extremely thankful for all of the experiences and good times I had with the team and the employees through the years.
You signed off "Skate or Die" at the end of your Fallen press release. If you couldn't skate, or didn't own any brands anymore, would you consider killing yourself?
Probably! [laughs] Nah, I would further devote myself to my family and even if I wasn't skating I'd be replaying the times when I was skating in my head. I am a lifer and skateboarding is what I know and love. That was a message to those who are feasting on skateboarding, but don't skate.
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Since Cole left, Fallen went down that's true, yet he haven't say shit about Fallen, that's lame.
a tip of the cap to a great run. not the first, certainly won't be the last to bow out. i can think of a laundry list of board, shoe and apparel brands that probably should.
the lifecycle in skate for the majority should be short, mean something extraordinary, and go away leaving you wanting more. that said, Fallen's run made a huge impact during its greatest era, and just like es, should be remembered for what and who it influenced to come after rather than trying to kick start something again & again.
thank you Jamie.
I feel like we're reaching a tipping point in skateboarding with the impact of sports brand shoes and Instagram. I kinda hope it all just dies and becomes wack again. Id go back to the days when you got called a faggot while rolling down the street in a heartbeat. Also, skateboarding as a whole needs to stop forgetting to call posers posers. What the fuck is up with that? If you don't push, rocking any thrasher gear should be punishable by death.
Totally agree.
Dude fuck off I can't afford Thrasher gear and it doesn't fit me anyways, the sizes get wider as you go up and not any longer :/
#TRUTH it is the bible, but their clothes are over priced and fit like shit.
he saying if you wear thrasher gear and dont skate then it should be punishable
Agreed, Thrasher needs to stop using Gildan… after one wash they turn into belly button shirts. The sweatshirts have super wide sleeves and are short and wide on the torso too… There is only so long I can air dry my shit. Not sure how they can't be bothered to fix this, go to Costco and buy some kirklands to print your logo, not that difficult
no offense, but Threat never grew to be much more than an idea and what is Insight?
Pretty neat Clothing brand Jamie came out with maybe 08/09. Super rad edits. Nick Boserio Daniel Lutheran some AUS dudes names I cannot remember. I enjoyed the skate edits they produced. Didn't buy any clothing. Vimeo has some of their edits. check it nice.
it's an Australian lifestyle / surf brand. Was truly great until a few years ago, then a few people left on the art directional end. It's not quite what it was.
Insight was a clothing company and a store in venice that used to be
Somewhere in between Woodstock 99 and a redneck civil war re-enactment.
"It was a young person's dream. Nonstop fucking chaos."
"Just because you can doesn't mean you should."
The man loves to read Nietzche, skates in some expensive vintage gear, and paints in his own neoclassical-meets-abstract-expressionist style.
16 long years later, the second coming of Baker Has a Deathwish has arrived...


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Most readers know I focus on dividend growth stocks, which are companies that tend to grow distributions every year. I search for companies that typically yield more than 2.50%, have demonstrated growth in earnings and dividends over the past decade, and have a strong foundation that can support further distribution growth.
Per my dividend retirement plan, I expect to be able to cover expenses through dividend portfolio around sometime 2018.
However, I do focus on a lot of companies where average yield is somewhere in the 3% - 4% range. These companies have sustainable dividends, and dependable dividend growth rates, that are very likely to exceed 6%/year for the next decade.
Some readers have asked me however, why don't I merely focus my attention on higher yielding stocks, that pay anywhere between 6% – 8% today, and speed up my financial independence. I could load up my portfolio with companies like:
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (KMP) operates as a pipeline transportation and energy storage company in North America. This master limited partnership has managed to increase distributions for years in a row, and currently yields 7.50%. Check my analysis of Kinder Morgan.
American Realty Capital Properties, Inc. (ARCP) owns and acquires single tenant, freestanding commercial real estate that is net leased on a medium-term basis, primarily to investment grade credit rated and other creditworthy tenants.This real estate investment trust has managed to increase dividends for years in a row, and currently yields 7.60%.
Realty Income Corporation (O) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust. It invests in the real estate markets of the United States. This real estate investment trust has managed to increase dividends for years in a row, and currently yields 5%. Check my analysis of Realty Income.
I equate higher yielding companies with higher risk. In a competitive marketplace for stock securities, a reasonable investor cannot expect to find higher yielding stocks, without incurring higher risks.
If a real estate investment trust (REIT) wants to buy an apartment complex that generates an 8% yield, it might not be a very good idea to issue stock or debt to investors that yields more than 8%. However, even if they end up paying a lower yield on equity or debt, but they need to refinance that debt in a few more years at higher rates, this could be bad for dividend incomes. The problem with most high yielding companies is that they are pass through entities, which essentially share all of their free cash flows with investors, by sending out fat dividend checks. This leaves those companies exposed to hiccups in financial markets, which are vital for their growth and for access to capital.
In addition, there is always the increased risk that those pass-through entity structures are abolished by the Tax authorities. With a pass-through structure like a REIT, master limited partnership (MLP), or a Trust, there is no taxation at the entity level. All the taxation occurs at the individual shareholder level. In comparison, corporations like Coca-Cola (KO) pay taxes at the corporate level, and then individual investors pay taxes on dividends they receive in taxable accounts. This is why pass-through entities like Realty Income, American Realty Capital Properties, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners can afford to pay such fat dividend yields – they essentially do not pay income taxes and rely on capital markets for capital on capital spending, and acquisitions. However, if the revenue starved governments decides to get a higher share of the tax mix, they could start taxing those entities. This would effectively reduce attractiveness of pass-through entities, lead to steep dividend cuts, and losses for investors.
This is why I believe that there is generally a higher risk of a dividend cut with high yielding stocks.
In addition, there is a high risk of lack of dividend growth. This will reduce purchasing power of my principal, and result in constant downgrade to my lifestyle.
I also believe that by owning a portfolio consisting predominantly of pass through entities, I am taking a concentrated risk, which is contrary to the ideas of diversification I have been preaching on for the past six –seven years.
If I needed $30,000 in annual dividend income, but only had a portfolio worth $500,000, I could do two things. The fist is to design a portfolio with an average yield of 6%, and call it a day. The second thing would be to invest in a mix of more reasonably priced companies, wait for a few more years of savings and patiently compounding my capital before achieving my goal. The risk with the first scenario is that those higher yielding stocks stop growing dividends, which would reduce purchasing power of my income. In addition, if there are dividend cuts, my lifestyle would be even worse off. If you need $30,000 to live on in year one, you would likely need $30,900 in year two assuming a 3% inflation.
What good is a high dividend stock that yields 6% today, if it gives me a 50% chance of a dividend eliminations within next decade, compared to a stock yielding 3% that has only a 10%-15% chance of a dividend cut. If I earn 6% this year, but next year I get a 50% dividend cut, I am not better off eventually than an investor who started out with a 3% yield that was unchanged in year two. As an investor, my goal is to maintain and increase my real income, and only suffer the least amount of losses. If I just focus on the yields today, I might end up missing out on the risks I am taking in the process.
With a more moderate dividend growth stocks yielding somewhere between 2.50% - 3.50% today, I have a better chance of reaching my goals, having a sustainable income stream, and a better fighting chances against dividend cuts and inflation.
I believe that I only need to get rich once. Therefore, my goal is to be patient, and build my dividend foundation slowly and carefully, rather than be in a hurry, and avoiding excessive risks.
Relevant Articles:
- The Four Percent Rule is Dependent on Dividend Yields
- High Yield Dividend Investing Misconceptions
- Five Things to Look For in a Real Estate Investment Trust
- Dividend Champions - The Best List for Dividend Investors
- My Entry Criteria for Dividend Stocks
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BOSSK (Bounty Hunter) | |
Source: Date Stamp: 1980 Carded Availability: The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi Tri-Logo Assortment No. : 39760 Retail: $2.49 Weapons and Accessories: Point of Interest: Originally offered as the ?Secret Star Wars Action Figure? mail away offer, This figure made its carded debut on The Empire Strikes Back 31 back card. |
Comments: If there?s one thing that can be said about the bounty hunter known only as Bossk, its that he?s creepy. Even if it wasn?t intentional, the Lucasfilm designers came up with a character that works fairly well as a (then) modern-day version of Frankenstein?s Monster. Maybe not in the literal sense, but when one factors in his gangly form, hideous face and complexion, and his affinity for fashions many sizes too small, a solid comparison can be made. Kenner certainly stayed true to the character?s design when they made this figure. In fact, he was so repugnant that Kenner was too frightened to picture him on the card backs ?when he was featured as the first The Empire Strikes Back send away figure- and opted to instead refer to him as the ?Secret Star Wars Action Figure?? Well, maybe that isn?t really a fact, but Bossk sure is creepy. Major Variations: Though all vintage figures have minor variations, the only notable variation on the Bossk figure is in the plastic used in the head mould. The figure can be found with either a green or orange hues in the plastic of its head sculpt. Neither is harder to find than the other. Text & Photography by D. Martin Myatt. |
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This article is more than 1 year old
iFarter begs Apple for rational App Store
Holding your breath? There's no app for that
First Apple came for the fart apps, and I did not speak out because I was not an insufferable twat.
Then Apple came for the Nancy Pelosi Bobblehead app, and I did not speak out — because seriously, a bobblehead app? Are you kidding me?
Then Apple came for the "ka-ching" button app — and, hmmm...there probably is in fact something rotten in Apple's iPhone app approval process, considering what other crap gets accepted.
— "Ode to Joel Comm," by Anonymous
Joel Comm - a developer of iPhone applications so mind-bogglingly pointless that the public can't help but to gobble them down like so much swill in a sty - is calling on Cupertino to finally get its app approval story straight.
Comm is no stranger to the receiving end of Apple's rejection stamp. Back in 2008, Apple was leery about even letting cyber-fart simulations join the beveled graces of the iTunes store, citing the "limited utility" of digital whoopee cushions. Apple eventually relented, and Comm's "iFart Mobile" app went on to fame, glory and several hundred thousand downloads. Comm's "add-on" pack for iFart was also refused.
Other well-spun rejections, like Apple turning away a "Nancy Pelosi Bobblehead" app has caused a stir in the app developer community.
Now Comm has submitted a "Ka-ching" button app that — yes — makes a cash register noise when you press it. Wonderful. Takes all kinds to make a crazy old world. But Apple has turned its nose up at the idea, saying the app's singular purpose has "minimal user functionality" for iPhone owners.
That policy would make a scrap of sense if it weren't for some of the other apps that Apple has approved in the past. Tor example, as Comm points out, a "Hallelujah" button app was approved that — you guessed it — does exactly what Comm's app does but with a different sound effect.
Nobody outside the Apple compound knows exactly what swinging of dead cats and tossing of darts goes into the iPhone app approval process. Whatever it is, clearly there's a very schizophrenic team working behind the curtain.
Comm is now fighting back exactly the way you'd expect a loyal Apple fan would: by complimenting Steve Jobs for being named Fortune Magazine's "Man of the Decade" on a YouTube video before asking very nicely for some consistency in the app approval process on behalf of "developers everywhere."
"It's not asking much to have the process fair and more transparent so we know what's going on," he said. "Remember, we are investing our time, money, and resources into helping build your platform for all of us."
The fickle app store approval process has been a major sticking point for many developers. Some even are vowing to quit the platform over Apple's often confusing policy.
By the way, Apple also acted exactly the way you'd expect to our query over whether it would consider laying out its app approval process plainly to developers. It has not responded to our calls - as of publication. ®
Correction This article previously stated that Comm was responsible for the Nancy Pelosi app. Comm has informed us this was incorrect.


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We are approaching, in this series, Pope Leo XIII's great encyclical Rerum Novarum, on the condition of the working classes. I've been maintaining that it is impossible to discuss Catholic Social Teaching without specifying what Catholics understand as a society. I've also insisted upon the wise dictum of Saint Thomas, that grace perfects nature, which alone suffices to instruct the attentive Catholic that to sever faith from civic life is artificial and unnatural. Now it's time to look at two societies which the Pope holds up for our affection and admiration: the Christian family, and the Church.
Far from seeing religion as a pleasant decoration superadded to civil society, the Pope affirms that "religion, and religion only, can create the social bond" (Au Milieu des Sollicitudes, 1892). History—and Leo is an historian with a long and broad vista—teaches us as much. The key word in his sentence is bond. This bond is more profound than the phantom "contracts" dreamed by Hobbes, Locke, and their followers. For Leo sees another dimension, the moral and spiritual depth of man—what makes it impossible for us to reduce him to his material wealth and appetites. I enter a contract, for self-serving and limited purposes; but I forge a bond. The bond is personal, engaging the whole of my being. And the social bond aims at the good of that whole human being. "When different families," Leo writes to French Catholics during a period of severe secular agitation against the Church, "unite under the inspiration of nature, in order to constitute themselves members of another larger family circle called civil society, their object is not only to find therein the means of providing for their material welfare, but, above all, to draw thence the boon of moral improvement."
Let's pause there. Time and again, Pope Leo, his keen mind making use of nineteen centuries of Christian history and thought, not to mention the sacred word of God, takes up the surgeon's probe and finds the diseased tissue. We hear people say that law cannot impose morality. That's nonsense, because that is what laws mainly do. But Leo says more. It is precisely for our moral improvement above all that we form societies in the first place. "Otherwise," he says—and did he enter a time-machine to inspect the United States in 2012?—"society would rise but little above the level of an aggregation of beings devoid of reason, and whose whole life would consist in the satisfaction of sensual instincts." If that's what "society" has become, a highly organized anti-society, why join it at all? "Without this moral improvement it would be difficult to demonstrate," says Leo, "that civil society was an advantage rather than a detriment to man, as man." We would be savages in suits (or less), without the compensation of a sky above and the joy of the hunt.
Orthodox. Faithful. Free.
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Yet he says even more. The Church is herself the consummate society. That is why she does not cast her lot with any particular form of government, but regards them all as valid so long as they promote the common good. It is also why she does not subject herself to the political form of the day. Nations rise and fall, but "only the Church of Jesus Christ has been able to preserve, and surely will preserve unto the consummation of time, her form of government." She has received from Christ, "who was, who is, and who will be forever," everything she needs for carrying out her mission in the midst of historical chances and changes. If we ask what makes the Church this perfect society, marred by sin but glorious, black but beautiful, the answer, I believe, must be found in Christ's twin commandment. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourself. The second commandment, says Jesus, is like unto the first; it is the application of the first to our action in the world. He who does not love his brother does not love God, says Saint John, for God is love. The converse is also true. He who does not love God cannot love his neighbor as himself. He may feel affection for those of his neighbors who please his temperament, but that is no real bond. The grace-enabled heroism demanded by Christian charity will not be his.
What will a society look like, if it is informed by the virtues of the Church? Leo addresses that question in his encyclical on the relationship between the Church and civil constitutions, Immortale Dei (1885). Here he cites Augustine at length. The Church tailors her instruction to the child and the youth and the old man, according to the needs of each. She raises the dignity of woman to parity with man, and the headship of the husband is but the work of sincere affection, as Christ loves the Church. Parents rule their children with kindness, and children freely obey them. Kings look to the welfare of their people, and people honor their kings. The Church joins together "not in society only, but in a sort of brotherhood, citizen with citizen, nation with nation, and the whole race of men, by reminding them of their common parentage." Whether a man deserves our honor or our admonishment, our praise or reproach, in all cases and at all times we must act with charity, and wrong no one.
That is a society. That addresses itself to man's soul. But if a civil government "is wont to put God aside, and show no solicitude for the upholding of moral law, it deflects woefully from its right course and form the injunctions of nature: nor should such a gathering together and association of men be accounted as a commonwealth, but only as a deceitful imitation and make-believe of civil organization" (Sapientiae Christianae, 1890).
But there's something prior to civil society that addresses man's soul. Jesus founded the Church; and God, creating man in the beginning, male and female, for "it is not good for the man to be alone," founded the family. This is the domestic society. If the Church is the soaring pillars and the spire of civil society, holding it together and giving it direction, the family is its foundation.
Here finally I come to Rerum Novarum (1891), on which I'll be spending much time. One of the most noticeable things about this encyclical is that Leo does not launch into a series of recommendations regarding the working classes. He does not begin with politics and national economics; he does not build upon sand. He begins with a metaphysical meditation on what man is—more on this to come—and then he turns, not to the state, but to that foundational society. "Hence," he says, thinking of God's first command to Adam and Eve, to be fruitful and multiply, "we have the family; the society of a man's house—a society limited indeed in numbers, but no less a true society, anterior to every kind of State or nation, invested with rights and duties of its own, totally independent of the civil community" (emphasis mine).
What does he mean by that word independent? Do families owe nothing to the community? May they break laws at will? Not at all. We conceive of independence as the ruthless autonomy of the individual will. Pope Leo is using the word in a different and more radical sense. The family does not hang from the civil community. It is not the community that defines the family, but the family that constitutes the community. We are talking here about an order of being. The family is anterior to every kind of State, not temporally, though that is certainly true, but in being. Families are not justified by the good they bring to the State; the State is justified by the good it brings to families. The State can bring good to families, though, only if it recognizes their anterior status, and their legitimate sphere of authority.
Catholic Social Teaching condemns the statist usurpation of the family, whether that usurpation is openly hostile or is cloaked in beneficence. Extreme necessities should be met by public aid, and gravely criminal actions by a member of the family against the family must be punished. "This is not to deprive citizens of their rights," says Leo, "but justly and properly to safeguard and preserve them. But the rulers of the State must go no further: here nature bids them stop. Paternal authority can be neither abolished nor absorbed by the State; for it has the same source as human life itself."
Thus far, and no further. But we now have States that allow free license to all vices lethal to the family. Pope Leo would have understood that demonic strategy.


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ATLANTA – Measures to improve water efficiency, including limitations on full-flush volume for toilets and use of municipal reclaimed water for irrigation, are being proposed for a green building standard.
ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2011, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, provides a design standard for those who strive for high performance buildings. It covers key topical areas of site sustainability, water-use efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality and the building's impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources.
The changes regarding water are proposed via addendum v, which is open for public review from Nov. 30-Jan 14, 2012. To comment on the proposed changes or for more information, visit www.ashrae.org/publicreviews <http://www.ashrae.org/publicreviews> .
The addendum would limit the full-flush volume for all toilets to 1.28 gal per flush and limit kitchen faucet capacity to 1.8 gpm. Research shows that dual-flush toilets in non-residential settings are not used in the 2:1 full-flush to partial-flush ratio as anticipated. Instead, the full-flush option is almost always employed.
"There is no evidence that the dual-flush toilets use significantly less water than the full-flush in commercial settings," Thomas Pape, a member of the Standard 189.1 committee, said. "We have found that 90 percent of the flushes from dual flush toilets are full flushes. Since many models of dual-flush toilets would meet a maximum of 1.28 gal for the full flush, the maximum volume for dual-flush toilets has been decreased to match the maximum volume for single-flush toilets."
The kitchen faucet maximum capacity is being changed to reflect the current water efficiency standard of 1.8 gpm established by various green codes.
Proposed addendum v also would set limits on the use of municipal reclaimed water for irrigation. Municipal reclaimed water is highly treated, usually to drinking water standards, and often in short supply. Furthermore, the growing use of municipal reclaimed water for groundwater recharge of potable water supplies increases its value.
"It is unreasonable to allow the unfettered use of reclaimed water, considered a precious resource, as a means to save energy when there are more viable alternatives," Pape said. "Therefore, the use of municipal reclaimed water would be prohibited for roof-cooling applications and for permanent irrigation of vegetated roofs using either in-ground or above-ground irrigation systems. There are many other alternative water sources that can be used for this puprpose, including graywater, condensate recovery, rainwater and cooling tower discharge."
Its temporary use in above-ground irrigation systems is allowed, however, during the vegetation establishment period required for vegetated roofs.
Also open for public review is proposed addendum z, which changes minimum efficiency requirements for open display cases, recently included with other commercial refrigeration equipment under federal control. The addendum adds efficiency requirements in Table C-16 in Appendix C, which covers efficiency requirements for commercial refrigeration equipment. The current Table C-13 for commercial refrigerators and freezers remains unchanged.
It also clarifies the requirements for field installed covers, curtains or doors on open display cases. Finally, it includes changes to section 188.8.131.52, which were not included in the first public review version of the addendum.
Addendum z is open for public review from Nov. 30-Dec. 30, 2012.
Two additional addenda are open for public review from Nov. 30-Dec. 30, 2012. They are:
• Addendum b, which clarifies requirements on flooring systems proposed by addendum b during the first public review.
• Addendum r, which adds references to ANSI/ASHRAE 170, Ventilation of Health Care Facilities.
In addition, one other addendum is open for public comment from Nov. 30-Jan. 14, 2012. Addendum u significantly expands and strengthens the standard's stormwater management requirements.
ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a building technology society with more than 50,000 members worldwide. The Society and its members focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability within the industry. Through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow's built environment today.