Real Thought

It is time for the almost daily updates on consumer habits leading up to Christmas. According to Reuters, sales have been down to start the holiday spending season. Perhaps there is a reason for this. I am old enough to remember when the Christmas shopping season started the day after Thanksgiving. That was the purpose of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, to let people know that the Christmas season had begun. Most stores didn’t decorate for Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving, close to the traditional start of Advent.

Now, of course, stores start Christmas shopping season in October, sometimes skipping Thanksgiving all together. Much like professional sports in which the “season” for a sport has been extended to absurdity, stores have extend the traditional shopping seasons the same way. “Back To School” sales often start before the end of the previous school year. “Spring Sales” often begin in the dead of winter and “Summer” sales often begin during the first few days of spring. Anyone for a bikini in March?

I realize that all of this has been done in order to lure consumers into parting with the fruits of their labor, a practice which I hardly condemn, but the negative is that traditional “shopping days” have lost almost all use and an indicator of sales. Add internet shopping sites and the traditional start of shopping season dates are about as quaint as Grandma’s flat iron, now used as a doorstop; they are still recognized but are hardly useful.

As for me, well I have some shopping to do, mostly on the net and through local merchants.

May you and yours have a very happy Thanksgiving!  Personally, I am going to take some time to give thanks for just how lucky and blessed I am.

“Environmental activist” Laurie David is going on tour with Sheryl Crow to change the way “middle America” thinks about global warming and environmental issues according to a report from Reuters. According to Mrs. David, wife of Larry David, we middle Americans are simply not doing enough to halt global warming. She and Ms Crow are going to head across country in a bio-diesel tour bus to convince average Americans that they need to do more to save the planet.

In case you didn’t know, Mrs. David is the producer of “An Inconvenient Truth”, the Al Gore scare film about global warming. Her husband was the creator of “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and is a Hollywood heavy hitter. These seem to be her only qualifications as an “environmental activist”.

According to Mrs. David, “The rest of the world is so much more engaged on this issue than the United States…We’re the biggest cause of global warming pollution now and we are doing the least about it and that is not acceptable.” Now, I take exception to that statement. I would argue that the United States has been a leader in curbing pollution and certainly does a better job of it than say India, China, Russia, Brazil or even Mexico. Obviously, Mrs. David has not heard of the massive pollution problems those countries face or simply doesn’t care about them.

Yes, the United States does consume a huge portion of the world’s energy and yes we do create a great deal of pollution but this is because the United States produces more than any other country and has a higher standard of living for a greater number of people than any other country. All of this comes at a cost and that cost is the consumption of energy and some pollution. Perhaps Mrs. David should start closer to home, after all the film industry is one of the top polluters in the Los Angeles area.

What really bothers me is not Mrs. David’s ignorance of true environmental matters, however, it is that a group of the wealthy, living detached from the everyday world of the middle and lower classes, should deem it their mission to try to change the lifestyle of the classes beneath them. Does Mrs. David really believe that the average American is not concerned about environmental issues? As fuel and water and consumer prices go ever higher, does she not believe that the market will cause the “average” person to use less resources or seek less costly alternatives? Does she really believe that we are all that stupid? Is this any less of an insult than Marie Antoinette’s alleged statement that the French peasants should eat cake? I don’t think so.

Here again, we have someone with a huge amount of money, which she did not earn and too much time on her hands. Mrs. David can afford to buy “environmentally friendly” products, many of which are in reality no more environmentally friendly that standard products, because her husband has had the luck and talent to make huge sums of money in the entertainment industry. Ms Crow has huge sums of money because she has had luck and talent also; but money, luck and talent do not experts make. In reality, most people in this country are too busy working for a living to worry if the toilet paper that they use is made of post consumer waste as Mrs. David does. They have children to provide for, food to buy, bills, mortgages and tuitions to pay. Perhaps they can be forgiven for not wondering if using organic and recycled products will really help conserve resources.

As for Ms Crow and Mrs David, I have a few final suggestions: first, the American public is not as environmentally unaware as you think. Second, give up the bus. Even a bus running on bio-diesel creates waste heat which contributes to global warming and spews particulates into the air. Third, if you really want to make a statement, give up your lavish lifestyles. Perhaps Mrs. David can sell the house in Malibu, overlooking the Pacific, and buy a nice, snug four bedroom place in Iowa. I am sure that the heating and cooling costs will be less. Perhaps Ms Crow could do the same. If the Hollywood types would tend to their own wasteful lifestyles first and then talk to the rest of us, maybe we would then listen. Right now, Mrs. David and her ilk sound similar to the French aristocrats on the eve of the Revolution to my ears.

I realize that I left off with a relatively short list and some incomplete information, so here are a few other things I like and and some further information.

First, Zippo lighters. I forgot to mention that I have one that my father in law gave me that was manufactured in 1960 and still works every time. Also, should your lighter ever need repair, Zippo will fix it for free. Period. Not bad for something that can be purchased for under $20.

Next, Craftsman tools. How can you argue with a wrench or socket or screwdriver that will be replaced for free if it ever breaks?

Third, Rival crock pots. There is nothing better for stews, chili, corned beef or pot roast. I am using one that was made in the 70’s and it still works great.

Fourth, Swiss Army knives. I have always traveled with one and I own at least three now. They simply are the best “multi tool” out there. One word of caution, do not succumb to the temptation of buying the model which has everything on it. It is too large and unwieldy. Get several smaller ones instead, you will be happier.

Finally, Waring Blendors. In a day and age where small appliances are seen as “throw away” items, Waring still makes the best. Forget about having 37 million cycles and speeds, how can you go wrong with “On, Off, Pulse” and a motor that causes the lights to dim when you turn it on? Give me an appliance with no more than two buttons any day of the week.

Remember when things used to be made well? You could buy a certain brand of object and know that it would function well, be reliable and hardly ever wear out? Well, here is a list of items I still think are some of the best in their respective areas:

1. Zippo lighters. They are a classic American icon and last forever. They rarely, if ever fail to work and there is that unique sound they make when you flip them open. There is nothing like them in the world.

2. Dell Computers. Whatever Michael Dell does to run his company, it should be taught in every business school in America. Yes, I know that a lot of the assembly and tech support has been outsourced, but, I have NEVER, EVER had a problem with a Dell.

3. Lodge Cast Iron Pots and Pans. You can inherit them from your great grandparents. ‘Nuff said?

4. Kitchenaid stand mixers. Power tools for the cook. Get one, NOW!

5. Stihl Chainsaws. Always dependable and built like a tank. Forget the others, get a Stihl.

6. Ticonderoga pencils. I do a lot of work with pencils in my profession and without a doubt Ticonderogas are the best.

7. Garmin GPS. Sure Trimble and Magellan are good, but if you want a reliable, easy to use GPS with excellent customer support, get a Garmin.

8. Maglite flashlights. I have dropped them, run over them, submerged them and they still work like a champ.

9. Henckels knives. Well made, well balanced and last forever. I use these more than any other kitchen tool.

10. Coleman camping stoves. I have a Coleman 2 burner white gas stove that is pushing 25 years old and it has yet to fail me even though I give it minimal maintenance.

11. Cross pens. I own several and find them to be the smoothest writing, most comfortable, stylish pens you can get for the money.

Yes, Virginia, there are still items out there which perform their intended function, day in, day out. All you have to do is look.

Orenthal James is at it again. He has entered a book deal for a book which will tell how he “would have ” murdered his ex-wife. Furthermore, he has gone on to describe how he would have committed the murders of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman in an interview. Does anyone doubt that he is guilty? Mr. Simpson ought to turn himself in and face the consequences of his actions.

The Democratic Party is in control of both the Senate and the House. The President has accepted Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation as Secretary of Defense and both Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are trying to sound less like the left wing lunatics which they really are. Even Charlie Rangel from New York is sounding moderate and Chuckie Schumer is sounding down right conservative. What does this all mean? Perhaps, just perhaps, the day after the mid-term elections, the leadership of the Democratic party woke up and realized that, rather than just oppose every thing the administration tried to do, now they will actually have to govern and govern with a sizable bloc of newly elected “moderate” Democrats who would like to stay in Washington for more than two years.

Of course, I won’t hold my breath. I believe that when the new Congress is seated in January that the very left leadership of the party will assert itself and we will simply have two years of government gridlock. This could be very good for the Republican Party if they have the right strategy to exploit the fact that most of the leaders in the Democratic party are far to the left of the average American voter. The Republicans could set themselves up as the defender of liberty and freedom against leftward government encroachment. That would be a set up for a huge win in 2008. In order for that to happen, this idiot would have to go:

I am watching the election returns and I have come to the conclusion that Karl Rove is an idiot.  It appears that the Democrats may gain control of both the House and Senate.  Hell, I could have come up with a mid-term election strategy which causes my political party to lose control of BOTH houses of the legislative branch dead drunk, while getting a lap dance from a Playboy Playmate, snorting cocaine of of the President’s desk and taking nude pictures of underage Congressional pages.

Real life reared it’s ugly head and I took some time away to beat it back into the dark, dank hole where it belongs.

On the political front, here in the People’s Republic of California we have a slew of issues to vote upon tomorrow. My voter information guide is about as thick as a New York phone book. I can tell you that I am voting “No” on most of the ballot propositions with the exception of two. One will place strict conditions on the use of eminent domain and the other makes it very hard for the state legislature to use gasoline sales tax for anything other than road repairs.

Other than that, in my Congressional District, the Republican party hasn’t even placed a candidate on the ballot, Arnold Schwarzenegger will be re-elected governor and there will be ever increasing taxes and more government restrictions on my freedom.

Just remember to go out and vote. If you don’t, you have no right to bitch.