American-Made Weekend Links

It's amazing how sobering the news has been of late. I am constantly reminded of both of what amazing and what tragic things are occurring in the world right now. It's sometimes hard to focus on the positive when there's a government shutdown, children are still working in terrible conditions in sweatshops around the world, and corporate greed still fuels so much of what we see. And then along comes something that just makes me smile and feel like the good really can overpower the bad.

Stay positive.

Here are a dozen articles and videos you need to see if you haven't already:

Spotted in the Subway Station

"Designed by you; assembled in the USA."

I saw this subway ad while I was on my way to dinner the other night. Made me smile.

Update -- Some more versions of this Moto X subway ad:

Top Posts for August

Hope everyone is having a happy and restful Labor Day. Please don't forget to celebrate American workers by checking out some of the many wonderful things that are made right here in the U.S.A. (I picked up a few things this weekend. On sale.)

As for August, it was my best month yet. It's been great getting to interact more with my readers on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Thank you all for the complimentary comments, feedback, tweets, and emails. A special thanks to those who have been helping to support this blog, especially to my guest bloggers: Eric Gold, Josh Miller, and my husband. You guys rock.

The top five posts for August 2013 are:

Moto X Review

Today's post is by guest author Josh Miller, creator and producer of "Made in the USA: The 30 Day Journey."
 
To begin I want to say I overcame a small fear of transitioning to this Moto X. I mainly was able to sum up the guts to make the switch because Google played a role in making this phone and being the first "Assembled in America" smartphone I felt I had to take the leap. Obviously, I'm a big "Made in USA" advocate, but I do not support products only because they are Made in the USA, I support those products because of what "Made in USA" is supposed to represent, which is quality.  This stays true from clothes to electronics. Also, I believe my biggest fear was switching from the iPhone to an Android phone. I've heard rumors about operating on Android that would give anyone nightmares.  However, I pushed through the doubt and put my money where my mouth was and bought the phone. Needless to say I'm very pleased with the phone and below contains my honest review of the Moto X. I will explain what I like about the phone and what could be done better. On top of that I have a nice offer for Google at the end of this review. I'll add more later as well, I've only been using this thing since Friday.

American-Made Wednesday Links

Your midweek reading.

Here are seven articles that you should read if you haven't already:

An Interview with Josh Miller

In yesterday's post, "Made in the USA: The 30 Day Journey" Review, I reviewed Josh Miller's new documentary. Josh, gracious as ever, answered these questions I had for him after watching the movie:

Are there any things that surprised you on or after your journey?

During the journey I was surprised how much of our lives literally are ruled by electronics day in and day out.  Also, it baffles me that we don't make any cell phone or laptops here in America.  Since electronics seem to be the future, you would think America would put in place policies that would encourage manufacturing in the electronics arena.  After the journey I was shocked to see how big our fan base has grown and continues to grow.  I knew then I must continue pushing forward and continue to raise awareness.  Many Americans out there are out of work, and we must fight to bring jobs back to our shores.  I definitely love all of the fans we have, we couldn't do it without them.

"Made in the USA: The 30 Day Journey" Review

A few weeks ago, Josh Miller gave me a copy of his new documentary "Made in the USA: The 30 Day Journey" to watch and review. Josh has been a vocal advocate in the Made in America Movement and a great supporter of my blog. I was, of course, intrigued to watch about his journey and see how it all panned out. Beyond that, though, I wasn't sure what to expect. I must say that I underestimated what I was about to watch.

“Made in the USA: The 30 Day Journey”

Check out the trailer for the recent full-length documentary “Made in the USA: The 30 Day Journey.” The film follows Josh Miller on his 30-day road trip across the U.S. talking to people about what "Made in the USA" means to them, all while living solely off American-made items. Pre-orders are available for the DVD which ship next month. Find out more on the website.