Mighty Mouse Rocks!

I have purchased 3 of our last 4 computers (1 from HP)from you and been very happy with everything. In this day of one issue Ideaologues using thier version of the bully pulpit to force everyone to conform to the narrow world view that they deep appropriate its good to see real coperate social responsability. Keep up the good work. Sorry about the spelling. C R R

Don and company,
Yesterday I purchased a new digital camera from you folks. I had looked at it at a local place last weekend, found it at Amazon for a few dollars less and then bought it from you. Even though it meant waiting for three days to get it instead of getting it NOW!

My wife asked me why I bought it from you of all people (even though I have been a Small Dog customer for quite a few years). I bought it from you when I had to pay for shipping and wait.

And then tonight I found your post on Planned Parenthood. I handed the iBook to her and said “Read this! This is exactly the reason (one of the many) that I am and will continue to be a Small Dog customer.

Thank you all for being good citizens of this world of ours. You make me proud to be a Mac addict and Small Dog customer. You are truly a great company.

I am a grateful board member of Planned Parenthood in Kansas City and am now all the more pleased that our family has purchased two iMacs from you! Thank you for standing firm!

I started purchasing from you guys back when I was running a Mac cluster at university. I, too, am a supporter of Planned Parenthood and was very glad to see that you support this charity the first time I checked out. Continue the good work and ignore the zealots!

Hi Don, Hi Rob, I am curious about the international part of life decisions. Guess it sounds good… Being Dutch, living most of the time abroad (and being a Smalldog client for many years) I am proud that you stand for your decisions. I love the US but one thing I sincerely have serious troubles with is the mixing of state and church. Imagine if there would be no church but respect. Respect for what is around you, that what surrounds you. Would one ever think that ‘groups in society need to make decisions for women? Big hug from Africa.

I have bought 2 computers from you guys previously, and after reading this, it seals the deal that I will continue to buy all my computer products from you in the future AND make a donation to PP when I check out. Please keep up the good work and know that your actions are inspiring and well respected!

My heart sank as I read this.

I have been visiting your site and have recommended dozens of friends and coworkers for years. I had no idea you supported this organization which teaches that it is OK for a woman to kill her child if she decides that child is an embarassment or an inconvenience to her.

Why not support a crisis pregnancy center which will encourage a woman to take responsibility for her actions, to choose love over fear, to understand that abortion is murder, to consider adoption instead of abortion?

Why do people often neglect to consider the child’s rights?

Is it permissible for someone to murder a person because of a mistake they made so they can continue to live as they wish?

This is a big issue to people that truly believe abortion is murder. I am one of those people.

While I wouldn’t boycott your site on principle, I wish you hadn’t carried on with this political agenda on your web site.

We each have free agency to believe how we do and to act on it as we see fit and for this reason alone I will pass saving a few dollars and not buy from you.

Hey Smalldog,

I am one of those whom believe that PP has an agenda that is counter-productive to what is good for America, (my humble opinion) but in the same vein I also think that everyone (person or business owner) has the right to believe and support as they wish.

I think that your establishment and how you do business is also what is right in America, for one thing you are committed to doing what you think is right, so I will continue to purchase items I want from your store.

If you wish to support PP, very good I am thankful that you stand for what you believe is right.
For those who wish to boycott Smalldog, very good for you too, go somewhere else and be as committed to your beliefs as SD is to theirs.

Freewill is free
Freedom is not

Bruce B.
Camp Victory
Baghdad, Iraq

Thank you for your comments on both sides of this issue. It’s great to hear of people buying – and even not buying – on principal.

I have been experiencing the infinite struggles of trying to launch a business lately and I just wanted to say thank you, Don, for helping me remember how important it is to maintain our core values in all aspects of our lives. It is so easy to look over the little things we care about, whether Planned Parenthood or Public Broadcasting, when we are caught up in the whirlwind of making money, and I see your continued commitment to these things an inspiration to all of us. Thank you for reminding me how important it is to focus on the little things like this, I will continue to feel proud about buying from from Small Dog knowing how much value you return to the community. If only more businesses were as idealistic as Small Dog, imagine where we would all be today.

Thank you.

It takes two “to tango”. Why is the female always the guilty party? And who did the parent planning?
Teen agers are a group needing the most help and education in parenting. We are not doing enough of whatever it takes to help these young people reach their adult potential without being burdened at an early age by parenting decisions. Planned Parenthood seems appropiate education.

thanks you for your support of wonderful organizations. thank you for exerting your freedom of speech and keeping strong in the storm.
wishing you health,

thank you so much for not being wishy-washy

i used Planned Parenthood for my vasectomy, having to cross a picket line to do so

though i am more of a cat person, and am constantly cleaning up after an irresponsible minority of dog owners in my neighborhood, and though dogs under their owners’ “control” have killed two cats on my block in recent years, and though many dog owners seem incapable of respecting those, like my partner, with a childhood aversion to dogs, i am in tune with Small Dog where it matters; i’ve been a customer since the early 90s

do not be frightened by organized resistance or these people will take more from us than our privacy

That’s too bad. Such a cute site, I love dogs, good deals, but you have to inject politics into it. Why do you feel the need to bring the subject up? I’m sure you are aware of what it might bring. Funny, the “pro-choice” people are so against pro-choice when the other voice is something THEY don’t believe in. Well, I’m outta here. I figure if you want to be “proud” of your politics you should be running a clinic or campaign and not aggravating people by “sending a little extra whenever I hear from them”. Sounds “small dog”, read: “juvenile”, to me.
Bye.

Please let us know when you receive more small-minded letters from Life Decisions. I will up my donations to PP, as well.
Keep fighting the good fight.

While I don’t support Planned Parenthood, I have supported your company for years. I admire your sense of social and corporate responsibility even when I don’t always agree with the agenda. You can continue to count on me as a customer. Keep up the good work. If only every company had a “heart”.

This is such a hot topic. Has been for thousands of years. And while I would prefer to avoid abortion at all costs, I do feel there are situations where it is acceptable – Rape, Extreme medical complications that could cause harm to the mother, etc. Fear and convenience don’t ring true to me here.

My stance aside, I have never felt the need to ‘fight’ over this issue. Education really is a silver bullet in these types of situations. And that is one of the things Planned Parenthood does. Though the perceived equation often works out to PP=Abortion. If more parents took time to talk to their children about the devastating disadvantages of premarital sex, teen pregnancy, or just avoiding STD’s, I think the need for Planned Parenthood would greatly diminish. What if there just wasn’t NEED for abortions?

So while I don’t support this group, I do support the freedom of speech and the need to actively support those ideals that one truly believes in. Whether by donation or boycott, the groundwork for dialogue has been laid, and this is a topic that needs discussing. I’m not certain if my favorite etailer is the best venue, but here we are.

Please don’t make this an anti-religion topic. Most religions tend to favor a ‘conservative’ stance in this area, but claiming that religion preaches discourteous action and lack of respect is an ignorant and bigoted statement. Enlightenment comes from many sources. Many people find it through the worship of a higher power. Where-as taking offense and attacking others for their differences is a base and cowardly path. We often associate it with the actions of Hitler or Stalin or Mussolini or even the KKK, but we are all guilty of it when we speak or act repressively in hate or ignorance.

Do what you know is right, but please don’t do it in spite.

Don:

To quote a previous writer “My heart sank when I read this!”

It really, really saddens me that you do support Planned Parenthood because I believe with my entire being that life is sacred from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.

For this reason, I really believe that both capital punishment AND abortion are tantamount to murdering another human being.

In conclusion, until you specifically change this policy of contributing to Planned Parenthood, I sadly must cease ordering from Small Dog.

God Love you,

John Love

Sheesh,

Scott and John Love, get a grip! Living in America, you have to respect other peoples choices. And Scott, why don’t you go to college and learn some ‘sensitivity’.

I am constantly appalled at the campaign against PP by the so-called devout Christian right. These people would have more credence if they would support prevention of pregnancy other than the “abstinence” so beloved of the religious right.
If anyone thinks that all young people have the emotional capacity to resist the urges that rage through the body in the prime reproduction years, then they have been locked in a box during and after puberty, or, have totally forgotten their own teen years.
They trumpet the “sanctity of life” as mentioned in the bible, however they conveniently forget that the bible also instructs the devout to stone to death a woman AND her child if only accused of adultery by her husband, allows slaves and concubines to be used as the master wishes and in my opinion has little use as a guide in the 21st century.
If these people would volunteer to take responsibility for and provide support for, all these unwanted children, they would have far more credence. However they just want to control people’s lives instead of actually helping them, and the “sacred” lives they “save” are often extremely traumatic experiences for the children which eventually produces damaged adults, both physically and mentally.
Frankly, I personally believe that every female should have a contraceptive implant at puberty that could be removed when she had reached maturity and was capable of performing as a responsible parent. I know this is an extreme idea but if the goal is to abolish abortion, this would do it!
To outsiders, and I have recently had an extended discussion with people who live in a country where they truly are enlightened about reproduction, it looks like the people so against abortion are also against contraception and that makes no sense whatsoever. It is an ignorant, self-serving perpetuation of the problem. With a successful program of contraception, these people would have no more reason to hate, to control, to intimidate others. They don’t love life, they love control.

This is not anti-religion, this is anti-fanatic ideas that have no place in religion.
There is something obscene about religious leaders and the politicians on the right ranting against abortion, but sending young people off to die in war.
If abortion is a sin, ANY death should be a sin.
I do support Planned Parenthood, practical education and information and freely available contraception methods.

I am glad you didn’t cave and stand for what you believe in! I didn’t expect you to cave either. If you had, I would have to shop elsewhere because you had comprimsed your priciples. It doesn’t matter if I agree or disagree with PP, you would have caved. Buyer have other option to donate as well!

Dear Don, although they who stop shopping from Small Dog because of your support of PP may call it a boycott, don’t buy into this. It is simply a matter of choice. (No pun intended.)

Many folks simply do not care what a company does or supports. But those of us who do appreciate the company being open and honest. We naturally want to support companies that share our values.

Thank you for being open and holding on to principle. This makes my choice of whether or not to continue shopping from Small Dog easy. I wish more companies would do the same.

I might add, however, that your support of PP and other causes is hardly a surprise. Shoppers have had the opportunity to contribute to any of these when making their purchase.

Good for you, Small Dog. Don’t be deterred by groups that try to intimidate and to impose their views on others. And don’t be deterred by customers who say they won’t order from you anymore. For every one of those people, there are two others who support what you’re doing (in this case, my wife and me).

I called in to check on my order but after I saw the news about PP, I decided to order another laptop from SD. These fanatics who reside on the marinal right think they own the country. PP is a an excellent organization that provides a service women very much need. Stop these domestic terrorists by supporting people who stand up to these bullies. Let them take their business elsewhere. We in the majority will double up our support for the people who enable freedom of choice in this country.

It’s OK, SD. I’ll still do business with you, even if you do give people the CHOICE of supporting PP. Matter of fact I was thinking of ordering my new MacBook from Apple, but my heart has been guided to you. I guess my conservative belief in individual choices rather than forced government choices just won’t be held back.

This is part of the same crowd that used to boycot Apple back in the multicolor logo days because they thought Apple was gay. Pay them no heed.

My husband and I have bought several computers from you guys over the years and on more than one occasion we clicked the “donate to Planned Parenthood” box at check out. I’ll do it again later this year when I order a MacBook from my favorite Apple dealer EVER. We love you!

BTW, my husband just got back from a year in Afghanistan with his national guard unit. When he came home he put a bumper sticker on our car that he’d received from another soldier: “Freedom Is the Distance Between Church and State.” I guess spending a year in a country with a theocratic government makes that all the more clear!

I am so encouraged to see you take a stand. It’s not easy to voice your opinions in a work environment. My grandfather was a founder of the Rochester chapter of Planned Parenthood. I will remaind a (more) loyal customer of S.D.!

Don, you guys just keep up the good work you do. The world needs more supporters of causes such as Planned Parenthood. I am headed to donate now. Small Dog Rules!!!

Thank you for standing firm. I recommend Small Dog to anyone looking to buy Macs via mail order. The irony is that these rubes will boycott themselves if they thought it would prove their growing power.

I placed my order the other day for an Evo3 from iSkin. I found it cheaper elsewhere but wanted to support a Mac company. After placing my order I found this blog post. I believe that Planned Parenthood doesn’t really help people plan for parenthood. They keep people from being parents. Of course Small Dog can donate to whom they wish. That being said, politicizing the boycott and publicizing that you’ll donate more each time you hear from LDI just makes Small Dog look petty. Trust me, if LDI had an influence on conservatives, I would have heard about them.

I was recommended to go to a local Planned Parenthood on a simple matter, and I found them to be an absolutely fantastic organization, helping people deal with life issues for a minimal cost. I began donating to them right afterwards. I’m truly glad to see your support of them, and vow to always order from you and to check this box. Having talked to former foster kids, I now believe the anti-abortion position to be the most cruel position one can take. Rather than snuff out an unwanted life before it’s aware of anything, better to give birth and throw him or her into a system that doesn’t care? That’s a position I could never live with. Let’s care for our kids, not just give birth to them.

For me it is a rather practical matter. How does displacing a child two feet change its value? If the child two feet from the womb has rights and must be protected, why didn’t it have rights positioned two feet in the other direction? What if we put it back in the womb? Would it be okay to kill it then? As an engineer I just can’t reconcile the change in value of the life based on such a trivial distinction.