The Gift Shop Test

I have a theory. If you want to know what an organization really stands for, check out their gift shop.

The Gift Shop Test has helped me to understand the mission and purpose of many organizations -- from the Jenks Aquarium to the Oklahoma City Zoo. The retail display of books and trinkets and souveniers in the gift shop can reveal a lot about the organizational culture that it supports.

I mean, it is all very fine for an organization to define its purpose in reports and proclamations, charters and constitutions. But, if you really want to know what message an organization wants you to drive home with, the gift shop will tell.

And so, for all those UN Skeptics -- for the conspiracy theorists and those who doubt the UN's commitment to human rights -- here is the most tangible evidence I can give you to demonstrate the resoluteness and purposefulness of the United Nations with regard to the protection of individual property rights.

It is a refrigerator magnet. (See the image above).

I have one of these magnets on my refrigerator at home. You can have one, too, for only $3.95 plus shipping and handling.

This is the lodestone of persuasion -- the retail confirmation of a commitment that was first expressed by the United Nations on December 10, 1948 (when the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). 

The refrigerator magnet is a symbol and a reminder of the UN's continuing investment in efforts to defend the human rights of indigenous people, women, religious minorities, people with disabilities, and all people throughout the world -- regardless of wealth or status.

The conspiracy theorists like to complain that "Agenda 21" is a UN-inspired plot to take away our right to protection under the law.

But, then, how do they explain this magnet on my refrigerator?

Here's an update on House Bill 1412
by State Representative Sally Kern

The States' Rights Committee of the Oklahoma House of Representatives has scheduled HB 1412 to be heard in committee on Tuesday, February 26th.  The meeting will be held in Room 512 of the Oklahoma Capitol building at 3pm.  If you would like to attend the meeting, you should arrive early and take a seat along the back or side wall. HB 1412 is the second item on the committee's agenda. We expect House Bill 1412 to be the subject of a full and vigorous debate among the committee members. However, there is no guarantee that any member of the public will be recognized to speak.