What do we tell our children?

Black Friday here in the US now has a second meaning. The first being that it is the first day that many retail businesses make there first profit for the year, considered being in the black. The second is the worst side of the human condition. From terrorist attacks in Mumbai , what was known as Bombay India . Streaming video of the attacks in India here

 

http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/video_streaming.php

 

Pirates , that should also be referred to as terrorists, are capturing ships at sea and holding the crews hostage.

 

Here is video footage of a broadcaster in Thailand actually ducking for cover as bullets are fired into the studio. http://www.breitbart.tvhttp://www.breitbart.tv/?p=230303

Thailand is suffering from riots over the econmy and is a naturally volitile. The thousands of protesters took over the parlimant building, and the Bangkok airport.

Coverage here http://www.bangkokpost.com/

 

 

Closer to home the new meaning of Black Friday. My fellow Americans are acting like animals. A man trampled to death in a Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, as well as a pregnant woman knocked to the floor, conflicting reports have her with a possible miscarriage.

 

Reports of a shooing a one mall. I will update as the facts come in.

Update : The shooting happened in Palm Desert California, California has strict gun laws, so where did these bad guys get the guns? The shooting does not appear to be shopping related.
Best coverage of this event at
http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=9427148&nav=menu19

 

 

One of the cable news shows anchor actually tried to make the case that it was the stores fault for not controlling the crowd. What happened to personal responsibility?

 

A disclaimer: Since I have no need to expose myself to the animal crowds, I do not participate in any shopping on Black Friday. My family owns a retail store, we open at 10:am on the biggest shopping day of the year, we also offer no sale items on that day. Why you may ask? Because I do not believe in fake sales or artificial discounts. It is no busier than any other day for us. I am not willing to participate in this madness.

 

Update: Listening to Curtis Sliwa , the former founder of the Guardian Angels. A lady called into his show saying that she had moved to Texas from the Valley Stream area and found the people in the shopping malls civil and polite. Curtis points out that Texas has a carry and conceal handgun law that allows the legal carry of concealed weapons. Remember an armed society is a polite society.

Black Friday

 

Being of Scottish heritage I like to point out those things that we Scots can be proud to have brought to the current culture in the US.

This is a reprint from this blog November of 2005. For those of you that wanted to know the true origins of what the press calls Black Friday.

 

Two men face each other in the early morning long before the sun breaks over the rolling hills of the Highlands. They are about to become combatants in an ancient annual ceremony that has over time been repeated in almost every country of the world. There are many such rituals and events in Scottish history. Ceremonial dinners given in the name Robert Burns , Scotland’s Poet Laureate, are one such tradition that emanated from Scottish Culture.

The ceremony I refer to is known as Black Friday. The origins of which go back to the time of Christ. The people of the Highlands knew little else than to barley survive, yet once a year these men that for eleven months of the year were civil neighbors in every way, gave in to that which has plagued man for these many generations. It goes beyond greed , it goes beyond survival. Man has been locked in combat on Black Friday for such a long time, that the very reasons for this age old tradition has long been forgotten. Yet every year on the very same date, men engage in battle to deny the other that which they so instinctively need.

It happens on the Fourth Friday of the eleventh month of very year. In early times they met at Stonehenge with cabers at the ready. Poised like the knights of the future with lance in hand and knowing that only one can come away with the prize.

The prize, the new Xbox video game for kids, and it is the last one on the shelf at the Stonehenge of today Wal-Mart. . The event today takes place on the Friday following Thanksgiving here in the US.

Like many traditions the meanings get muddied with time. Today there are many unaware of the history of Black Friday that think it is the date at which today’s merchants start to make a profit.

Now you know the real meaning and history of Black Friday.

Blood of Tyrants

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

 

Thomas Jefferson

The recent need for our government to spend Billions of our hard earned money to “bailout” a problem that they not only allowed , but actually helped cause, brings me to this point in time.

I have for some time know wondered , along with Thomas Jefferson, when will we the average citizens, get fed up with the incompetent boobs in Washington. It should be obvious to all of us at this point, that the elected officials in Washington are dumb as rocks. Yes there is plenty of blame to go around. The media would like to make you believe, that it is the evil greedy businesses that caused all this. Yes there were greedy people involved in the private sector. The businesses at the core of all this, Fredi-Mac, and Fannie Mae two entities almost entirely controlled by the government. It was the government during the Clinton administration that literally forced these lending institutions to make loans to people that could not pay them back. Many of these loans were without down payment, and many loans were at 125% of the homes value.

To say that Congress is merely stupid, is being too kind. I would venture to say that there is a need for us to investigate possible criminal behavior by our leaders. But as you can see by their actions, they are not interested in any investigations, as it would surely point to them. Along with the willing media, they try to divert attention by pointing at “big business” as evil and the need for more regulation. It is over regulation that got us into this in the first place. The government has a history of poorly managing anything and this ” bailout” is a shining example of their incompetence. Yes there are good people in government, but it is the system that is broken. We are so far away from the original intent of the US Constitution that it may be impossible to get back to where our Founding Fathers wanted to have happen. And more blame goes to us, ” we the people” for letting these buffoons and charlatans get voted into office. You and I have let this happen. But I blame ignorance the most. We have dumbed down our society to such a point that few understand any of the basics about who we are and what the Founding Fathers intended.

Ask yourself and those around you…

The only money government has, was ours first. Made by hard work and the sweat of our brow.

Have you read the Federalist Papers?

Do you know what the Federalist Papers are?

Have you read the US Constitution?

Do you know that when you take money from one group of people to support another group of people that is Socialism. Socialism, i.e. Russia, has never worked. All socialism does is make everyone equally miserable. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain all advocate giving your money to someone else.

It’s time we took back our country from the idiots we have running the place now.

Socialist America

I must of missed it!!!!!

When did our government go from taking taxes to provide basic services and a national defense, to a vehicle to provide financial equality.

Our Founding Fathers were most careful to insist that all they were there to do was to provide a Federal Army, and provide a very few services that would commonly unite all the states.

Thomas Jefferson was even against a federal postal system because it would financially burden the average person. Today the US Postal System is running a Billion Dollars in the red.

Another good example of a government run enterprise, when you run anything with bureaucrats it is bound to get screwed up. When did government run anything better than the private sector?

Our Founding Fathers even argued about a federal army. Some fearing that it could be used to suppress the people.

Anytime the government takes money from one group of people that have earned it, and gives it to another group that did not, it’s called Socialism. At this point Thomas Jefferson is rolling over in his grave.

A pivotal point in this election has recently become apparent. During a neighborhood door to door campaigning Barack Obama ran into a guy we now know as “Joe the Plumber” . Joe asked a simple question that we all need to ask. Barack Obama’s plan for taxes and the economy penalizes those that want to achieve success in this country. Obama said that he did not want to penalize Joe, he just wants to take Joe’s money and give it to those that Obama deems more needy. Obama plans taking this money by taxes. Do you know what happens to people that do not pay taxes. Therefor Oboma plans on taking Joe’s money by force and having the government spend it the way they think is best.

That’s the same government that just bailed out the fat cats on Wall Street that many hate so much.

It was the Democrats in Congress that pushed the plan. Yes President George Bush liked and pushed the plan as well. But the President has no ability to spend money. It is the Congress that must make that final decision.

Presidential Choices

As mentioned many a time on this blog I try to relate topics to Scottishness somehow, since I am a Adam Smith Capitalist most anything economic relates. For those of you that just don’t like Republicans, I don’t blame you. If you are only exposed to the standard news media they are constantly demonizing those nasty Republicans. For those of us that are a true conservative ” President George Bush” was not our first choice. As a matter of fact the second term of this president was a complete disaster for everybody, left and right. President Bush is doing what he thinks is best, and is not the evil man he is often made out to be. However he is wrong, very wrong on most things. The reason for this is lack of clear philosophy. President Bush is not a conservative in any way I can think of. Most of us that were Republicans that are philosophically conservative are now independents or Libertarians. I see a similar breakup in the Democratic ranks, with progressives, liberals, and now hard Socialists. But given the two choices we face in the presidential race most on the right are voting for Senator John McCain because we can not allow Barack Obama into the White House. For those of you on the left I clearly see why you think you can not vote for McCain. However McCain for those of you that think you are just regular Democrats, So is John McCain. For all the comparisons of Barack Obama and JFK, being young and good looking is the only thing they have in common. John McCain and JFK are much closer to political allies. Most of us on the conservative side know and realize Senator John McCain’s shortcomings. But I am sure that if we really had an independent and unbiased press in this country Barack Obama could not have even passed the first round. I may not agree with liberal views , but the facts are that Hilary Clinton would have been a superior choice in her ability to govern and as you will find out , after it is too late, much more like a mainstream Democrat that Barack Obama.