Black Friday turns red with blood.

I actually participated in some Black Friday shopping. I rise early and so I decided that I might as well head over to a nearby Office Depot store here in Washington D.C. that was opening at 6 AM. I need a new printer that would work with a new HP laptop I had purchased a few weeks ago. They had a great deal on one multifunction unit for twenty five bucks. I arrived at the store about five minutes before 6AM and there were about thirty people already on line. A store employee came out a few minutes before and handed out papers for some of the sale items like laptops etc. If he had one to give you were guaranteed the item when the store opened. I got my HP printer and was out of the store in about 45 minutes. It was nice and orderly.
Others where not so lucky:

"A stampede of shoppers in a Valley Stream Wal-Mart on Friday morning left one worker dead and at least three patrons injured after an impatient crowd broke down the store doors and trampled the seasonal employee, Nassau police said.
Jdimytai Damour of Jamaica, Queens, was pushed to the ground by the 2,000-plus crowd just before 5 a.m. as management was preparing to open the store, which is located across from the main Green Acres Mall building. Hundreds stepped over, around and on the 34-year-old worker as they rushed into the store."-Newsday

Even worse is what transpired in a Toys R Us store in Palm Desert California:

"Two men pulled guns and shot each other to death in a crowded toy store Friday after women they were with got into a bloody brawl for unknown reasons, witnesses said. Scared shoppers fled but no one else was hurt.
The violence erupted on Black Friday, the traditional post-Thanksgiving start of the holiday shopping surge, but authorities indicated the shooting shortly after 11:30 a.m. was not prompted by shopping frenzy.
Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said the fight was not over a toy. He said handguns were found by the men's bodies. He would not answer a question about whether the shooting was gang-related."
The victims were identified as Alejandro Moreno, 39, of Desert Hot Springs, and Juan Meza, 28, of Cathedral City."

I wonder if we will ever get the full story of what happened here. At least these two only shot themselves. But, it gives new meaning to the term shop til you drop.

A few seconds of Nature

Thanksgiving

Well there may be some things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day.

1)That John (Juan) McCain is not President.

2) That Obama seems to be taking a more centrist position in setting up his administration.

3) That things may be improving in the housing market according to a story in today's Washington Post:

Would-be mortgage borrowers have rushed to refinance their loans and even weighed plans to buy homes following the government's move this week to loosen consumer lending.
With interest rates suddenly plummeting, "the phone is ringing, the e-mails keep coming," said Jennifer Du Plessis, a mortgage adviser at Prosperity Mortgage, the lending arm of Long & Foster. "Real estate agents are hovering outside our office saying: 'I've got another client who wants to refinance.' "

Now if we can only keep Congress and whatever administration from doing something stupid like buying up "toxic assets" aka sub prime loans with good taxpayer money we may actually be seeing light at the end of the tunnel in this economic downturn. This is certainly something to be thankful for.

Song for Citibank with the Paulson Subprime singers

From today's Washington Post:


"The Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced just before midnight Monday that they will protect Citigroup, one of the nation's largest banks, against potential losses on a $306 billion pool of troubled assets. "


How are we to account for this turn of events? The answer is in this video.

Taking the profit out of Non Profit.

The Washington Post has an article about how the current economic downturn is affecting "non profit" organizations. Here are some of the money quotes:

"After nearly a decade of record growth, U.S. nonprofits are getting hit from all directions. Some foundations are scaling back on awarding grants as endowments shrink in the stock market meltdown. State and local governments -- facing falling tax revenue -- are slashing budgets and cutting back on funding."

"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The mortgage finance giants have long been the Washington region's biggest corporate benefactors and gave a combined $47 million to charities last year. As a result of the federal takeover, Fannie and Freddie could decrease or halt their giving altogether, reshaping the area's philanthropic landscape. "

It's about time somebody looked at the money trail in the non profit sector. Non profits have been under the radar for so long just like the sub prime problems at Fannie Mae. It's time to take a good look at them and see who deserves to survive and is cost effective in providing needed services and who is just providing a "feel good" job for some liberal elites at taxpayer and donor expense.

Obama picks Napolitano for Homeland Security

Janet Napolitano has been mentioned to head Homeland Security. I am cautiously optimistic about her appointment. She comes from a border state that has more than it's share of illegal immigration problems . So She knows the issue first hand . She was one of the first Governors to declare a state of emergency and put National Guard troops on the border. She was a Federal prosecutor so she respects the law and will make sure they are enforced. Of course she may not be up to speed on the security needs of our coastal ports being from land locked Arizona. But, overall I think it is a good pick for this important office. I guess the only thing now is to complete the vetting process and see who she hangs around with:

Say isn't that Janet Napolitano with Eliot Spitzer? Uh Oh!

Obama and McCain

I was feeling rather good after Obama's 60 minutes interview Sunday night. I went to sleep thinking that Obama would "do the right thing" for the country after the Steve Kroft softball interview. But, my concern was raised on Monday as Obama met with the defeated Juan McCain in Chicago. Even though it was hardly mentioned during the campaign illegal immigration was mentioned in news reports following the Obama/McCain meeting. This is not a good thing. Especially considering that McCain led the charge on amnesty for illegal immigration. As we we found out through the faulty reporting of the New York Times McCain had a financial reason for backing illegal immigration amnesty. Because it involved money for his friends and backers like the Spanish language Univision TV network. Let's hope Obama understands this special interest connection of McCain's.

Meanwhile the Washington Post reports on a new poll regarding illegal immigration. Here are some of the money quotes:
"Americans and Europeans share deep concerns about immigration, with a large percentage worrying that it can bring crime and displace workers "

People on both sides of the Atlantic express sharply negative views of illegal immigration, and roughly half of respondents said they think immigration in general is "more of a problem" than an opportunity for their societies.

"Real anxiety about legal immigration exists, but it is dwarfed by concerns about illegal immigration," the fund said in a statement yesterday. At least 80 percent of respondents in all surveyed countries called for stronger border controls, and more than 73 percent in all the countries called for tougher sanctions on those who hire illegal immigrants.

I hope Obama listens to the numbers in this poll and less to John McCain.

Obama may pick Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State?

As the saying goes "keep your friends close and your enemies closer". I think that is what is going on here with all the rumors of Obama picking Hillary Clinton for his Secretary of State. I think this is a pretty shrewd move on his part.This gets her out of the Senate and makes it less likely she could mount a primary challenge should the Obama administration start to go down in flames. Since she would be part of it she will have to defend it. Another good thing he could be sending her off to who knows where and keep her out of Washington for four years. Just like this:

The TARP plan was always a turd

I guess the good news for us hard working middle class U.S. taxpayers who pay our bills and debts is that Henry Paulson and the Treasury Department are no longer going to be buying the sub prime crap loans under the Toxic Asset Reduction Program. Which in my book should have been called TURD loans because that is what they are. The idea of using our good tax dollars to buy crap loans from the banks who gave them out does not sit well with this and many other taxpayers. I think Hockeymike 374 speaks for many of us taxpayers:


"How can people be so stupid. Does anyone in congress understand that if you reward irresponsible behavior you will get more of it? I feel like an idiot for paying my bills and living within my means. I would say write your representatives but the last time we did that we were punished by making a 700B dollar bill an 850B dollar bill. This is beyond outrageous. The worst part is this will do nothing to solve the problem. NO more bailouts for corporations or the greedy and irresponsible people who bought homes they could never afford."

Sounds like good advice.

Dumbocratic teachers for Obama

Wups there it is. Stupid is not the word for this idiot teacher caught on tape in this European documentary indoctrinating her students about virtues of Obama "change messiah" Obama. This woman does not belong in a classroom.

News media quote of the day or now they tell us!

Just as many of us had suspected one of the more blatant failures of this passed election is that of American Journalism in covering the Presidential campaign fairly or in depth. Washington Post's Ombudsman Deborah Howell has today's quote of the day:

"The Post provided a lot of good campaign coverage, but readers have been consistently critical of the lack of probing issues coverage and what they saw as a tilt toward Democrat Barack Obama. My surveys, which ended on Election Day, show that they are right on both counts. "

Looks like someone will have to break the news to MSNBC's Keith Obamamann and Chris (tingle in the legs ) Matthews that they were not the only Obama butt boys. Now about that coverage or lack of coverage of Ron Paul in the primaries...

Obama gets it wrong. Is he channeling Joe Biden?

President Elect Obama stuck his foot in his mouth during his first press conference following his historic election victory. Here are some of Obama's erroneous money quotes:

"At a news conference in Chicago, Obama said he had spoken with all the living presidents as he prepares to take office in January. Then he smiled and said, "I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about doing any seances."The 87-year-old former first lady had consulted with astrologers during her husband's presidency. But she did not hold conversations with the dead."

Obama got this wrong. What was he thinking? Maybe about that other first lady Hillary Clinton?

"In his book "The Choice," Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward described how Clinton consulted with a spiritual adviser who led her through imaginary conversations with her personal hero, Eleanor Roosevelt. Newsweek magazine, which was promoting the book, characterized the visits as "seances," a term that White House officials quickly tried to squelch."These were people who were helping her laugh, helping her think," said Neel Lattimore, Clinton's spokeswoman. "

Perhaps we should chalk this faux paus by Obama to the Biden Effect.

ELECTION DAY