Black Friday Sales Must Come To An End

Black Friday sales are going to have to come to an end. The reports I have heard so far say that one has been killed by shoppers entering a Walmart and two other people were shot outside of a Toys 'R' Us.

Are you kidding me? You want something so bad that you're willing to push and shove your way into a store and trample another human being? Surely stores can come up with an organized way of allowing customers access during these sales.

The good side of Black Friday has to come to an end folks. I know stores rely on these sales to put them into the black financially, but it's not worth someone's life. How many more people need to get trampled before we figure out how to shop like civilized human beings? Why in the world would anyone want to carry a gun to go shopping at a Toys 'R' Us? A lawyer could arguably see that as a form of premeditation. What message are we sending?

Greed is making our nation fall apart on every level. It's time you took a good hard look at your life. Decide what is important. We shouldn't be hearing these stories every year. Want to be thankful for something? Be glad you stayed home and avoided these kinds of shoppers. In other countries, people stampede out of fear. Apparently in America, we trample people to buy useless crap.

We all seem to be on our own little trip of self importance.

I am publicly calling for a moratorium on the Black Friday sales.

"The Doctors" Becoming Novelty Show

The Doctors is a new television show featuring a handful of physicians spending an hour answering questions. People send in email questions and audience members ask questions of their own. The docs on the show have pop quiz segments before commercial breaks. Initially, I thought the show had promise. It looked like their goal was to inform.

Sadly, the show seems to be covering more novelty topics. Did they really discuss whether or not penis size matters? Can you have sex during a woman's period? These are the new topics? I know what is going on. The execs want ratings. You don't get ratings talking about boring problems.

Obesity is a huge problem in our country. There have been some shows discussing this epidemic. It doesn't do anyone any good to get sidetracked from the important health issues facing our nation.

Doctors...

You want to help your colleagues out? Get some repetition in there. Cover obesity every single day. Repeat key phrases to motivate people towards eating healthy and exercising.

Do you want to make it interesting? Discuss current news topics. I can think of two stories Americans recently saw on the news. The first has to do with the possible HIV cure via a bone marrow transplant. The second has to do with a cancer medication being a possible cure for Type 1 Diabetes. Explain the neat science behind those stories. Feed our patients some knowledge.

Don't be a novelty show! I feel like at any given moment, the kid from the movie Jerry Maguire is going to come out and say "Did you know the human head weighs 8 pounds?"

McCain's Concession Speech Audience

I listened to McCain's concession speech last night. Aside from the fact that he gave a very gracious speech and that it was apparent the McCain that spoke last night was the guy that should have been the one in 2000, one other thing stood out. The reactions from the crowd were troubling. There were very bitter boo's and some were shouting out things I couldn't quite hear clearly. Given the recent problems with foul things being yelled out at McCain/Palin rallies, I can only assume the shouts at the concession speech had some equally foul content.

What troubles me is the comparison between the reactions to the McCain speech and the reactions to Obama. When McCain complimented Obama, there were boo's. When Obama complimented McCain, there was applause and people cheered. That was the difference. That was the division speaking out. That is the sentiment we do not need. I am still waiting to hear any news coverage shedding light on this behavior. Not even The View this morning was willing to dive that deep.

I wish I could remember the reactions at the Gore concession speech. I know there were chants and occasional outcry when Gore said things which implied he was conceding. I do not remember any real foul remarks or reactions when Gore mentioned Bush in this concession speech. In any competition, you give credit and respect to your opponent.

There are agreeably bad eggs on either side of the fence. I will not argue with that. However, the negative attitude on the Right is not the American way. The result of the election last night sent that message. We will not stand for the politics of hate.

(EDIT)
After watching Bill Maher on Friday night, the 7th of November, I can add a little more to this post. Maher brought up this very subject and I'm glad he did. He showed footage of the Kerry concession speech. Guess what? When Kerry mentioned congratulating monkey boy (Bush), you did not hear a single boo. You didn't hear anyone applaud, but you did not hear outrage and disgust.