Americans are assholes

I have hated Wal-Mart for a very long time. Although the number one issue fueling this hatred has always been their treatment of employees, the annoying people who shop there come in a close second.

They may have switched places yesterday.

In case you haven't read this yet, a man was killed yesterday at a Wal-Mart in the Long Island area. No, he wasn't robbed and killed in the parking lot, or crushed by a collapsing roof panel, but he was trampled to death by the people rushing in at 5am to do their Christmas shopping. Apparently they could not wait long enough for him to get the doors open and broke through the partially open doors. According to the story, they also trampled other Wal-Mart employees trying to help the dying man. Along with the death, one pregnant woman was trampled, causing her to miscarry.

What for? A cheap TV? A discount XBox? A $9 Hulk DVD? Well, if this video has anything to say about it, people have clearly let their material possessions become more important than the people around them.

Who is to blame for this? Certainly Wal-Mart at some level. They, along with every other store hype the super deals on Black Friday, only to offer a few products at that price. This definitely contributes to the frenzy. The news gets a little piece as well, as they add to the hype of Black Friday shopping. And I guess you have to blame the 2000 idiots lined up at Wal-Mart at 5am.

How do we stop it? Maybe we can't. I guarantee Wal-Mart will get sued a few times for this. The first article says that police are looking to identify the people that trampled the man and 4 other injured customers. Maybe $100 million from Wal-Mart and a couple of 20-year sentences will get people to think a little differently.

Although I highly doubt it. That's why we are assholes.

The numbers of moving

8 incompetent Sears employees that I dealt with.
2 things that the plumber broke while trying to fix something else
4 times paying more than the original estimate
1 new home that I love
1 mortgage that is way more than rent
0 more months throwing money away to rent
12 gallons of paint
2 wax rings for the toilet (one that was the wrong size)
3 times laughing silently when I said the word "caulk"
6 hours letting other people move our stuff for us
29 days of anticipation from closing escrow to moving in
55 things I will do differently next time that I buy
8 people who we will ever be thankful to for helping us paint
4000 dollars worth of new wood flooring
1 patio that will be awesome in the spring
923 times being called "boss" by someone in the service industry
1 father-in-law who bravely climbed onto a jerry-rigged scaffold to paint one foot of wall
10 hours spent trying to take up tile (worst job ever - worse than jizz-mopper)
17 trips to various hardware stores (Home Depot, Ace, Lowe's, OSH)
97 cents in change found in the couch cushions
1 previous owner who clearly took no pride in ownership (which helped our price)
2 great views
countless hours of labor
zero regrets

A couple of things

Two things I want to mention:

First, if you are an opponent to the recently passed California Proposition 8 then I suggest that you tune in tonight to the Fox"News" program Hannity and Colmes. The rector of my church, Ed Bacon, will be on tonight to talk about Prop 8.

Second, I want to congratulate a good friend of mine, Jose Navarro, on being named one of five California State Teachers of the Year. He deserves that award more than anyone I know. He works tirelessly for our students and I've certainly learned a lot from him. It also highlights the impossibility of my job. Every 11th grade student he has moves on to my class in the 12th grade. I have to follow after the state teacher of the year. No pressure there.

Ben Affleck does a pretty good Keith Olbermann:

Wow!

In December 2006 I was traveling to an economics conference in Wichita, Kansas. During my travels, I read Barack Obama's Audacity of Hope. Having read it, I found myself completely sold on ideas that seemed fair, just, and just plain common sense. It was then that I knew that I could support his run for the presidency.

Words can't describe how proud I am to be American today. I can't wait for inauguration day.

"And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand."

My pride in California, however, has taken a huge hit. Let's hope the numbers on Prop 8 change in the next few hours.