How safe are your children?

That's how they get you to watch the news.

So. Those plastic toys your kids want all the time are made in China and could be toxic. Whatever shall we do? And how dare those Chinese!

Think about it. If you were making $0.67 a day to make toys for spoiled American children who will have become bored or have broken said toy in a week or less, would you care that much in your work? More likely, your mind would be on your own children and whether or not you would be able to feed them.

http://www.walmartmovie.com/?successMessage=Welcome+to+the+Revolution!&key=24660500&message=Successfully+updated+Supporter+information

Re-evaluate your lives. You don't need more. Your children have too much already. They will learn to appreciate what they have if you stop handing them everything they ask for. They might even learn how to earn things they want and become better people.

Let's face it, kids born after 1980 are rotten, solipsistic, mean-hearted, spoiled, whiny cry babies with very few exceptions. Maybe it took poisonous toys to save humanity.

Tis the season

Now that you are all safely tucked into your turkey-induced comas after celebrating the holiday invented by Lincoln to try and reconcile feelings between the North and South by reminding them to be thankful by commemorating the murder of the indigineous people and the stealing of their lands, you will be able to get plenty of rest for the big day of shopping you have in front of you.

Sales start at 4am. That's for all of those who can't get up at 5, but have no problem staying up until 4. Before you set your alarms, ask yourself one question: Do we really need it? I've been making my gifts for the past 10 years. Everyone appreciates my presents more than all the store bought crap combined. I spend a fraction of what everyone else is spending. And people aren't stuck with more useless junk.

The gross commercialization of the holidays has destroyed what the season is about. For me, it's about hope. The Horned God is dead, but the Green Mother holds his life in her womb, ready for rebirth in the Spring. If you're a Christian, then shame on you for taking all the pagan traditions, using them as your own and, eventually bastardizing them into what they have become.

Remember, we have only one planet and it has finite resources. Perhaps instead of buying your brats 47 new plastic toys that they won't appreciate in 2 weeks time, you could teach them some real values. Teach them that this time of the year is supposed to be about helping, sharing and giving. Not about how much you can accumulate under a synthetic tree.

Lost Respect

It can be difficult holding tight to you principles. It may mean giving up certain things. It may mean struggle. But without your principles, you are a mere puppet. Do you really want to be a yes man? Can you respect yourself if you cave?

The commercial for the new Eagles album tells you that it is available only at Wal-Mart. If you're still shopping at Wal-Mart, you shouldn't even be reading my blog. If you are one of the smart people who can see all the problems Wal-Mart causes, you may have a decision to make.

In all honesty, I don't want the new Eagles album at all. I know people who do, though. People who have stopped shopping at the Mart and are torn as to whether or not they should purchase the album. Does it count if you have someone else go in and get it for you? Yes, it does. When I saw that the album was available exclusively at Wal-Mart, I lost all respect for the Eagles. Even if I wanted the album, I wouldn't buy it. Even if it became available somewhere else.

To me, that is sticking to your principles. If I can't get it somewhere else, I sure as hell am not going to buy it at Wal-Mart.

And shame on the Eagles for striking a deal with the devil. Apparently money trumps integrity every time.

Favorite Things episode 1

I started a new job and have time for nothing else. Unfortunately, I am working for the man. You know the man. The one that has money to burn but doesn't use it for anything productive or helpful. I hate him, but I do have bills to pay.

Whenever life gets you down, say, for instance, when you find yourself feeling debased by doing what you have to to get by, then you should take a lesson from Julie Andrews and remember some of your favorite things. Here is one of mine:

Forbidden Zone. Starring Herve Villechaize and Susan Tyrell, Forbidden Zone is probably one of the best movies EVER!!! Remember the 80's band Oingo Boingo? This is the movie from which they took their name. With its cast of zany characters, this Richard Elfman film has it all. Sex, violence and people periodically breaking into song. The music was all composed by Danny Elfman who also plays Satan.

So, say you've had a trying day and you feel you might do bodily harm to someone. Stop. Get out your copy of Forbidden Zone and watch your stress away. I guarantee it'll work

Duck and cover

Have you seen this PSA where sweet, innocent children ask their parents if maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to have a plan in case of a terrorist attack? It sickens me. It's government propaganda meant to scare us so we won't question the all the things that the government is doing to screw over its own people.

Back in the fifties, at the height of the Cold War, students were treated to Duck and Cover movies. The government told the population that, if a nuclear bomb were launched, you could save yourself by simply ducking down and covering your head. I think we all know that that would never work. But it kept the masses appeased.

Why have we become such pussies? Oh, I'm scared. Someone might attack me. Toughen up, kids. Because if you don't, when and if an attack does happens, no amount of planning will save you.

And to the people who conceived and carried out this PSA, how dare you frighten people for your own ends? You make me sick.

It's about time I said something about Wal-Mart

But what can I say that hasn't already been said?

I worked at K-Mart while I was in college. It was fine. Then, in the mid-nineties there was a huge controversy with the mart. It seemed that the company was firing its older employees just short of retirement to keep from having to pay out pensions. Well, people were outraged. It was a prime example of the man sticking it to the little guy. The masses boycotted the store. Revenue fell. The reputation of K-Mart was that of mud.

K-Mart heard the cries of the people and they changed their policies. And while there are fewer K-Marts now than in the 90's, they are still there. The fact that they are dwindling in number is most likely due to the competition of Wal-Mart and Target, not because they gave in to the people.

What does this anecdote teach us? It teaches us that if we band together we can make a difference. We have the power. All we have to do is use it.

http://walmartwatch.com/

Let Them Eat Cake!

"In a way, the world-view of the Party imposed itself most successfully on people incapable of understanding it. They could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality, because they never fully realized the enormity of what was demanded of them, and were not sufficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening. By lack of understanding they remained sane. They simply swallowed everything, and what they swallowed did them no harm, because it left no residue behind, just as a grain of corn will pass undigested throught the body of a bird." 1984-George Orwell

I've spoken before about the fact that the government has pretty much taken over the main stream media. Anyone who watches The Daily Show will have seen them take a recent soundbite and compare it to an older one showing that the powers-that-be keep trying to rewrite history so they don't look like a bunch of stupid despots, which is, in fact, what they are. And while ignorance is bliss, do you really want to pretend that the terrible things in this country aren't happening? Will you sit idly by and wait for society to crumble?

In Robert Graves' I, Clauduis, we are shown Rome shortly before its fall. It is a government full of solipsistic, self-aggrandizing crooks who believe that, as long as the people have bread and entertainment, they will let those in charge do whatever they want, regardless of the welfare of the masses. Are we so willing to let ourselves be mollified by cheap goods and reality television?
If we are then maybe it is time for this "great experiment" to end.

At the risk of sounding trite, the truth is out there. And if you are reading this, you have the key. There are so many alternative news sources available. Not to mention that you can get other countries take on our policies by reading their newspapers.

Please, expand your minds. Look for the truth. And don't allow corporations, politicians and the idle rich to ruin your home.

God(s) Bless America.