‘Tis The Season For Debt Without Reason

Surely I am not the only one sick of the way Christmas has become so commercial, even as the stores distance themselves from the religion behind it and refuse to say the word “Christmas.” Meaning I have to shop for “Xmas gifts” or “holiday gifts.” I am not a religious person, but c’mon. I know what they’re up to… they don’t want to offend anyone. It isn’t about anything but SALES.

The key to a successful Christmas… I mean, a successful holiday is buying stuff. Not celebrating the birth of that Jesus guy, or spending time with your family. It’s not about baking cookies or even decorating the house, unless you sell cookie dough or tinsel. It is also tradition to send pretty cards to people you don’t see the rest of the year, and even people you don’t particularly like. Especially if you do one of those obnoxious, self-absorbed family “newsletters” that only you care about. If you buy enough cards, sometimes Hallmark will give you a little bear or snowman that bellows some annoying tune. FUN!

The holidays, or Christmas if you must, are about buying lots and lots of stuff. And don’t forget Hanukkah, and Kwanza… Every religion needs more candles at the very least! You know your decorations are outdated, you don’t have enough clear lights for the deck, and your neighbors are going to have a bigger tree than you. Your family needs more stuff. You need more stuff. You won’t impress anyone with cheap gifts wrapped in cheap paper with store-bought tags on them!

Even though there is nothing on worth watching, hubby needs a Plasma TV he’ll still be paying on next winter. Worse yet, the woman of the house is either expecting another diamond necklace she really doesn’t want, or a car. Neither of which will get hubby laid more than usual.

Now don’t you feel warm and fuzzy inside?

And let’s not forget the kids. It’s my fault that the most my son knew about Christmas was a short explanation of our nativity scene, and two attempts to read him a book. I put more emphasis on Santa than anything else, and like my peers, I paid for it. Pokemon cards, at least a million crayons, matchbox cars, video games and $13,000 worth of Legos. Now that he’s older, it’s a guitar here, a computer there… I would let him down if I didn’t reward him annually for being so, well, spoiled. The best thing I could do for him would be to let him spend a few hours serving food to the homeless, so he could appreciate how much we have.

Maybe we should all find alternatives to being so superficial; being mindless consumers and spending money we don’t have. I challenge everyone to check into it. Right after you get back from Circuit City and Target.

Where Are The American Women?

If the men of this country want to be Saudi Arabia’s bitch, that is a really big problem. But as a woman, they don’t speak for me. Lately though I wonder if I am the only one. Am I the only one bothered by the Saudi’s backward thinking, sexist laws and tendency toward violence? Am I the only one who is bothered with the sentence handed out to a victim of rape: 200 lashes and 6 months in jail for being outside her home without a male relative escort?

Excuse me, what year is this?

I don’t expect better from the Saudi government or questionable justice system. I expect cries of outrage from our government. From our women’s organizations. From anyone that cares about human rights. I can’t believe this issue is being met with such a disgusting silence. In a country where we have an opinion on everything, why can’t our leaders say to their Saudi counterparts, “hey, dude, that lashing and stuff is soooo uncool”? Are we really the greatest nation in the world if we don’t speak up on this subject? Or are we too intimidated?

I never heard so little from American women. What’s up, girls? Is it ok to rape and violate the rights of a woman if she isn’t from here? If she can’t read or must cover herself, are we just going to look the other way? This woman appealed to the courts. This woman appealed to the media, and her sentence was doubled. We know the whole story here, why doesn’t someone scream out in protest?

Are we as weak as our government appears to be in the eyes of the world? If we let them speak, or NOT speak, for us, then we are.

Put Down That Taser, Johnny Law!

With around 150 deaths from tazer use this year, two more in the last three days, you’d think the police would hesitate or implement other measures before using these human cattle prods. Instead, they seem all too ready to subdue now and ask questions later. 

I am reminded of an episode of Cops where the officer on camera said his job was “fun.” What is the mindset of a person like that, carrying a badge, a taser and a gun? It made me pause. Breaking up marital disputes, saving the elderly from crackheads, busting prostitutes and going through the pockets of junkies IS fun. Especially if you get a chance to taser one of them.

Here are some recent examples of the MANY incidents one can find just by doing a GOOGLE search on “tasers”:

In September, police used a taser on a mentally ill woman in a wheelchair who had called 911, clearly delusional, believing she was in danger. When they arrived, they found her armed with a hammer and two knives. They could have stunned the woman and disarmed her. But they tasered her at least 10 times, and soon after she died. Her autopsy found a heart problem and her death was ruled a homicide. The woman’s family stated that she suffered from schizophrenia, and they plan to sue.

In a more publicized case, a poor man in a Canadian airport, was exhausted and frustrated after 10 hours of waiting, not even speaking the language. Somehow, due to a breakdown in airport “communication” he and his mother missed each other. The footage from a security camera showed a man clearly overwhelmed by stress, throwing a chair. Why the airport staff let him get to that point is a good question. Have they no sense of compassion… or screw that, what about plain old customer service? Someone with a calm voice, or even better, someone who spoke his language may have been able to intervene and help him. But security descended on him and used a taser. He died later.

Now there is another video circulating on YouTube, which is forcing the police department to investigate its own. The tape shows a young man clearly walking away from an officer during a verbal exchange (I wouldn’t even call it a confrontation) over a traffic ticket. In reading the policeman’s body language, he looks pretty eager to use his ’stun gun’… and doesn’t appear threatened in any way when he finally does so.

Maybe threats are not visible. As in the case of the young man who simply got a little excited asking questions of Sen. John Kerry. I am not a security expert, but I believe he got the idea when surrounded by law enforcement. His bewildered plea, “Don’t tase me, bro!” has been heard around the world. Let’s hope someone listens.

The use of the taser is clearly something that should be re-examined. I don’t believe that ALL police are sitting on ready to abuse their authority, but in the hands of those who are not properly trained or have anger management issues, it can be deadly.