Scrubya - Lather Liberally

On November 2, 2004 I stood in Boston’s Copley Square as the neck-and-neck battle that was the 2004 election morphed into an electoral college victory for George W. Bush, all on account of 165,000 votes - or 0.14% of the 121 million votes cast nationwide - from my home state of Ohio.

In the weeks and months that followed, I knew that I had reached a new low when I found myself crying after every episode of The Daily Show. I shunned all real news and turned to crafty pursuits for solace. Paper quilling lead to screen printing, which served as a gateway to the complicated and addictive world of glass etching. Searching for my next fix, I traced and re-traced the aisles of Paper Source and A.C. Moore. A glue gun, embosser and Gocco printer became my holy trinity. My collection of crafty girl accoutrements grew to Marthaesque proportions.

In January ‘05, around the time that George W took his second oath of office, I enrolled in a soap making class, whereupon I had the realization that soap was a metaphor for cleaning up…

…and that no one has made a bigger mess of it in recent times than Dubya.

Thus a soap named Scrubya was born.

Between then and now, two stints abroad kept me from devoting the kind of time and energy necessary to get Scrubya off the ground. But living outside of the U.S. also deepened my understanding of how Dubya et al have compromised this nation’s global standing. As an Ohio voter, I know all too well that one person can do only so much to counter the misdeeds of Dubya and his cronies. Still, I resolved to come back to the U.S. and do what I could with what I’ve got.

We at Scrubya think of Nov. 2nd as a Day of Remembrance. The three years since Nov. 2nd, 2004, have further reinforced what 59 million American voters - and most of the world - have known all along about Dubya. If you find yourself cringing each time America’s 43rd president attempts a three-syllable word, if the smirkers in this administration make your skin crawl, if you are even mildly concerned about the impact that Dubya, Cheney, Condi, Rummy, Ashcroft, Rove, Wolfowitz, Gonzales and their many minions have had on America and the world, we hope that you will consider placing an order with us today.

As a handmade, high glycerin, vegetable based, cold process soap, Scrubya is great for your skin. More importantly, all Scrubya proceeds go towards organizations that are essentially ‘cleaning up’ after Dubya; first up, Nobel Laureates Physicians for Human Rights, who will earmark all Scrubya proceeds towards their Campaign Against Torture.

This site and our offerings are a work in progress, so keep checking back in the weeks and months ahead. In the meanwhile, add water, Lather Liberally and repeat till November ‘08!