Don't buy anything day. GIVE ME A BREAK!!

mslacat · Post by **mslacat** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 10:59 am

All right, did any of you know it is "Don't buy anything Day" in honor of Bushes
Inauguration! Kind of a protest thing I guess. Well I did not either. Got to work to day
and my wife called from home to remind me of this little known fact. I promptly
thanked her for telling/reminding me of this obscure fact 30 minutes AFTER I left the
damn house with no lunch or Mountain Dew! I don't drink coffee, but I need my Dew
(OK Dews) . Fortunately for her (well OK me) She was willing to drop off a
couple cans on her way to work. I have though no idea what I am going to do for lunch.
I wonder if , this could be a divorce-able offense?

jagur1 · Post by **jagur1** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 11:02 am

Mslcat don't you have a kiosk or something to design today? You're awfull chatty today.

wbtfg · Post by **wbtfg** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 11:21 am

Here's a good column for you and your wife

George Bush in an age of Teflon

By Ellen Goodman - Boston Globe - 01/20/05

BOSTON — I am not one of those dyspeptic folks spending inaugural week in mourning. No black for this blue gal. I will leave it to the more ardent opponents to turn their backs, die-in in D.C., and ‘‘not spend one damn dime.'' I even passed up the chance to join the disloyal opposition that sailed to Cozumel on what they call the Denial Cruise.

Sue me, I choose to cast my lot with the congenitally and cockeyed optimists. You know who you are. The 60 percent of Americans who describe themselves as ‘‘hopeful'' as they look forward to the second Bush term. Of course, only 45 percent of Americans want the country to go in the direction the president is leading, but what the heck, count me hopeful.

My optimism begins with the cry: ‘‘TGIFB'' or Thank God It's Finally Begun. The worst part of the post-election weeks was the dazed recognition that it was still the first Bush term. Once the $40 million halftime show is over, the clock is ticking.

More than that, my brand of hope springs from the old joke about the optimist given a roomful of horse manure for his birthday. He cheerfully began shoveling on the assumption that ‘‘there's got to be a pony in here somewhere.''

The particular pony that I am grabbing onto is a little noticed warning issued last week about — ta da — Teflon. Bush's own EPA announced that even low-level exposure to a chemical in Teflon might pose a risk to human health.

Well, I figure it this way: If Teflon is losing its Teflon image, can the Teflon presidency be far behind?

Once upon a 1980s time, Ronald Reagan was dubbed the Teflon president because nothing stuck to the Gipper. Today, Bush makes Reagan look like Velcro.

The first term ended with a bang that was greeted with nary a whimper. First, the administration declared an end to the search for weapons of mass destruction. Then the CIA reported that Iraq had become a breeding ground for terrorists. The war to pre-empt WMDs and thwart terrorism found no weapons and multiplied terrorists. But not a single head rolled.

When asked by The Washington Post why not, the president said that the election was ‘‘the accountability moment.'' No recounts. And when asked why he hadn't found Osama bin Laden, the president replied, ‘‘Because he's hiding.''

From what I read, that nasty little chemical used to make Teflon is now everywhere and in everyone. ‘‘It is like fairy dust,'' says an EPA scientist. The political Teflon that runs deep in the Potomac.

What happened to CIA Director George Tenet, who said finding WMDs would be a ‘‘slam dunk''? Teflon. He got a Presidential Medal of Freedom and a $4 million book contract. What happened to Dick Cheney, who kept connecting Saddam to 9/11? Teflon. He's now connecting the Social Security problem to the privatization solution.

Charles Graner is going to jail for 10 years for prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, as well he should. But what about Alberto Gonzales, who described the Geneva Conventions as ‘‘obsolete'' and ‘‘quaint''? He's been nominated to become attorney general.

CBS took a big hit for relying on false documents in a story about the president's Air National Guard service. But who took the hit for relying on false documents about uranium that went from Niger to Iraq? Condi Rice, who said ‘‘we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud,'' is set to be the next secretary of state. Slip, sliding away.

If we've learned anything these four years, it's that being a conservative means never having to say you're sorry. Bill O'Reilly still sits in the ‘‘no spin zone'' after settling a dirty talk suit. Bill Bennett remains the resident moralist despite his habit as a big-time gambler. Rush Limbaugh hasn't lost a dittohead for being an addict. And Armstrong ‘‘I'm not a journalist, I'm a pundit'' Williams still has 240K of your tax dollars in his jeans.

There just weren't any sticky wickets on this White House lawn.

Nevertheless, in my life as the resident optimist I figure that if the EPA is worried about what the Teflon chemical is doing to the lab rats, it's only a matter of time before the alarm on what political Teflon is doing to the citizen.

Can the man who scared us into a war scare us into privatizing Social Security? Can he promote the future and run up the deficit? Four more years and we're just beginning to, um, scratch the surface.

TGIFB. I think I'll stick around. And stick is the operative word.

Ellen Goodman is a columnist for the Boston Globe.

Post by **rtb** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 11:34 am

Ok, well I guess I have already bought a coffee today, and I think I will buy groceries tonight to celebrate!

Please, I hope most people here realize that the Social Security system needs fixed! I would love to opt out of the whole program right now, they can keep all the money I have given and set me free from the program. If you are under 35 you should probably realize all the money you pay into the system will never be back in your wallet. It is amazing how many people argue that we should leave the Social Security program alone. Bush's plan may not be the right plan, but at least someone is trying to fix the problem.

velochat · Post by **velochat** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 11:36 am

Oops! I forgot. I think they're calling it "not one damn dime" day. I did a coffee and bagel. At least I confessed.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/horsey/print.asp?id=1145

jagur1 · Post by **jagur1** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 11:41 am

I'm not sure about the logic. You live in Seattle and are a blue and you skip your coffee and the coffee place is owned by a blue and your coffee is served by a blue that needs your tips to live. Aren't you just hurting the blues? Plus your bank acount is bigger which allows the red bank to get a higher overnight payoff from the feds. I guess I'll just read the link and see what it has to say..........Msla cat Pepsi owns Mountain Dew and the Mormans Own Pepsi who could be redder?

Post by **SonomaCat** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 11:43 am

rtb wrote:Ok, well I guess I have already bought a coffee today, and I think I will buy groceries tonight to celebrate!

Please, I hope most people here realize that the Social Security system needs fixed! I would love to opt out of the whole program right now, they can keep all the money I have given and set me free from the program. If you are under 35 you should probably realize all the money you pay into the system will never be back in your wallet. It is amazing how many people argue that we should leave the Social Security program alone. Bush's plan may not be the right plan, but at least someone is trying to fix the problem.

Well, it depends on what they propose to do with the program. If they try to promise to keep current benefits at their same level while promising private accounts to young people and promise to not raise taxes on anyone, then they are just going to run up more debt for all of us. I have a feeling that might be what's on the table as it is an easy sell. I just haven't seen any visionary ideas so far from this administration, and I don't think many people are expecting that trend to change.

Many people are also concerned that this is just a marketing campaign to pull a sleight-of-hand to undo the entire system.

I guess we just need to hear some specifics as to what they propose to do before we can get too excited or upset over anything. I've heard way too much talk about "fixing social security" and "fixing the tax code" without a cogent explanation from those same people as to what, specifically, is broken and how they intend to fix it. Until that happens, it's all the same old pandering routine.

I am a little confused about the whole not buying stuff protest thing. That just seems dumb... and I already bought a bagel this morning.

mslacat · Post by **mslacat** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 11:48 am

jagur1 wrote:Mslcat don't you have a kiosk or something to design today? You're awfull chatty today.

Actually, I have a presentation I am giving at 2:00, got my work done last night before I went home, and now I am just running around bugging the hell out of my staff, to finish typing this, correct the color on that, and pulling the old " If you don't start printing now...." routine. As a measure of respect their reponce is "if you don't get out of my face......."

They fear Me!

BTW: When the preasures on Mslacat turns into Mslasmartass!

Cat Grad · Post by **Cat Grad** » Thu Jan 20, 2005 12:11 pm

Hey, I just went and bought a new used Chevy Tahoe, groceries, and my wife's dryer probably should be replaced. I'm also going to swing by the local Smith's and redeem my 15 cent a gallon off coupon by filling all my vehicles, including the boat! The big rainbows should be moving into the mouths of the rivers entering some of our lakes and if the January thaw continues...BTW, it's great to be able to finally get gas for under $1.70 a gallon again.

UMfaninkazoo · Post by **UMfaninkazoo** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 7:25 am

Ahh I bought a bunch of stuff I didn't need today to celebrate four more years of great Republican leadership!!!

mslacat · Post by **mslacat** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 10:34 am

Not saying, I think spending 52 plus million for a 2nd inauguration party was a great idea
with all that is going on in the world right now, but I thought the idea of a group, of
University of Montana democrats Graduates, combining there purchasing power to make
a political comment kind of weak. How much of an impact could they make. It like a
knat trying to get the attention of an Elephant! Did you feel something!

BTW if you want to try to respect your causes, despite her not giving you enough fair
warning here are some idea to survive "Don't purchase anything day.

Vending Machines: Did you buy that yesterday or today, nobody knows!
Make a deal with a co-worker: You buy me lunch today at Hammerjacks and i will buy
tomorrow at the Iron horse.
Parking Meters: Just put a note on the meter that it is "I can not pay today but I'll catch
ya tomorrow" I'm sure they will understand.

For those who think that it is uncool to talk behind wife’s back, and her "causes" on the
board this relax , there is nothing here that I have not said to her. The only thing more
fun than talking behind someone back is to say it to their face.

Post by **SonomaCat** » Fri Jan 21, 2005 10:39 am

UMfaninkazoo wrote:Ahh I bought a bunch of stuff I didn't need today to celebrate four more years of great Republican leadership!!!

The downside of message boards -- we can't read expressions. Are you saying that with a straight face? If so, the term "great" just ain't what it used to be.

Unless, of course, anything Republican is automatically considered "great." On the spectrum of leadership peformance, I would have a hard time accepting the assertion that anyone truly believes we have seen "greatness" from our administration over the previous four years.

Here's to hoping for a much better four years this time around. People can learn from their mistakes and become better for it.

UMfaninkazoo · Post by **UMfaninkazoo** » Sat Jan 22, 2005 9:17 pm

As a Republican and working to get the President re-elected this past year I say it with sincerity......not that Presidenty Bush ids the greatest president ever but I believe he will try to unite the country in his last four years.....it is up to the people to accept the fact.....the DNC is still spouting off using name calling and so forth still even after some Democrat think tanks say they need to stop being so liberal and be more moderate....anything too far to the right or left will lead to fascism or communism......Bill Clinton was more conservative than liberal and President Bush is more moderate than right wing conservative....and as far as everybody making a fuss about how much was spent on the inaguration all that money was through private donors....it was not at taxpayer expense.....

BWahlberg · Post by **BWahlberg** » Sun Jan 23, 2005 11:31 am

Yeah I went out and bought a lot of stuff too;

- Jerseys and shoes for high school athletes whose budgets are being cut.

- Musical Instruments for schools that fear they will be forced to buy items like these on thier own.

- I paid a few teachers some extra money for doing a good job, since our government doesn't seem to care much.

- I bought some armor for a few Humvees & Bradleys that badly needed it in Iraq

- I also sent some money to the rapidly growing population in America that is slipping into (or already in) poverty, while Bush just spent a record amount of money on his inauguration.

--- Sorry someone had to make a smartass shot from the "other side"

UMfaninKazoo, I don't know how well Bush is going to succeed in uniting America, almost half of this country voted against him. It will be an interesting 4 years, without a doubt, I just hope the Dems can land on their feet again, regain an identity, and get control of something soon...ugh...

Post by **SonomaCat** » Sun Jan 23, 2005 1:09 pm

UMfaninkazoo wrote:As a Republican and working to get the President re-elected this past year I say it with sincerity......not that Presidenty Bush ids the greatest president ever but I believe he will try to unite the country in his last four years.....it is up to the people to accept the fact.....the DNC is still spouting off using name calling and so forth still even after some Democrat think tanks say they need to stop being so liberal and be more moderate....anything too far to the right or left will lead to fascism or communism......Bill Clinton was more conservative than liberal and President Bush is more moderate than right wing conservative....and as far as everybody making a fuss about how much was spent on the inaguration all that money was through private donors....it was not at taxpayer expense.....

I hope you're right about his intentions to unite the country during the next four years. And when you say that, I hope you are suggesting that he is going to reverse course on his polarizing actions of the previous four years. No more proactively discriminatory constitutional amendment campaigns, no more overtures towards selecting judges that will overturn Roe v. Wade. No more talk about the judicial branch being "activist" or "trying to make law" when it is in fact just doing its constitutional duty to provide a separation of powers (which is necessary to maintain our Republic). No more use of the word "terrorist" to justify wars that have nothing to do with terrorism (well, he already did that extensively during the inaguration, but hopefully we're done with that). You can fool some people some of the time... but it appears that roughly half of the people see through that one every time.

In other words, if he truly comes to the middle and leads our country with complete intellectual honestly and doesn't try to impose any limitations on our freedoms or turn back the clock on the progress we've made as a country (from the time of slaves and subservient powerless women to the present), then I will see him as a uniter. If he expects to be a uniter while leading from the far right (which he has done for the last four years, except on the spending side), then any talk of being a uniter will just be hollow words.

A good start would be for him to tell James Dobson and Jerry Falwell that he owes them nothing and to go away. This country is too good for them and their periodic odes to the Salem Witch Trials.

As to the inaguration itself... most wartime inagurations do tend to take a more low-key and solemn tone, and the celebratory nature of this one does certainly give the impression that the war isn't that big of a deal to the administration. A cynic could say that it was merely a prop for the re-election (I won't go that far, but the circumstances do suggest that). But, like you noted, it was financed privately, so as taxpayers it is really not our concern. It only speaks to the character of the administration.

To give equal bashing time, I think the protests of the inaguration were completely tasteless. It just reeks of being a poor loser to me. Protesting virtually anything in my mind is okay and even necessary on some level (unless it involves messing things up for your fellow citizens, as the SF protesters like to do when they block streets and FU traffic for people who are trying to get to work), but in our system of government, the elections seem to be the one thing that you don't protest. That's how we make decisions, and once that decision is made, we have to move forward. To protest what seems to be merely the results of a fair election makes no sense to me. They need to bite their lip, respect the process, and then go protest the decisions he makes and opposed to his election victory.

UMfaninkazoo · Post by **UMfaninkazoo** » Sun Jan 23, 2005 8:51 pm

Those last two posts were great views......I am Republican and you two are Democrat but you have a great view on what you see is wrong in your eyes. While I may not agree with all you say I really respect your opinions.....the one thing that bothered me the most in working on Bush's re-election was that I dealt with a ton of people who would just say, "I'm not voting for Bush because he sucks." I would ask why he sucks and a good portion of the people would say, "Well he just does." People not looking at the world we live in and not being able to make a informed decision really bothers me.....As a poll challenger on Election Day I was put into a minority neighborhood....I saw some people vote a straight ticket for the Democratic party but below it they had penciled in Bush for president......Until more people read, learn and truly understand how government is supposed to work, how they want it to work, and whats wrong with it now we will be going down a long dark road......Bush or Kerry, either one is going to have a tough time these next four years......and even though I have never voted Democrat, I really am liking Barak Obama from Illinois......he has a bright future ahead of him.

Post by **SonomaCat** » Sun Jan 23, 2005 9:09 pm

UMfaninkazoo wrote:Those last two posts were great views......I am Republican and you two are Democrat but you have a great view on what you see is wrong in your eyes. While I may not agree with all you say I really respect your opinions.....the one thing that bothered me the most in working on Bush's re-election was that I dealt with a ton of people who would just say, "I'm not voting for Bush because he sucks." I would ask why he sucks and a good portion of the people would say, "Well he just does." People not looking at the world we live in and not being able to make a informed decision really bothers me.....As a poll challenger on Election Day I was put into a minority neighborhood....I saw some people vote a straight ticket for the Democratic party but below it they had penciled in Bush for president......Until more people read, learn and truly understand how government is supposed to work, how they want it to work, and whats wrong with it now we will be going down a long dark road......Bush or Kerry, either one is going to have a tough time these next four years......and even though I have never voted Democrat, I really am liking Barak Obama from Illinois......he has a bright future ahead of him.

I definitely agree that we would be a lot better off if everybody that voted truly understood what they were voting for. I am of the mind that if anyone votes a straight party ticket, it is likely they don't know what they are doing. I'm also not a huge fan of the initiative process -- it is too easy to give something a pretty title ("The bill to make the grass greener and children happier") and have people vote on it who have no clue as to the full implication of it.

I'm incidently not really a Democrat. Until this most recent election, I had never voted for a Democrat for President. I am more a socially liberal Republican or a Libertarian. I voted for GWB the first time around, but I've just been really disappointed with what happened after that.

I know exactly what you are talking about in terms of people just knowing that Bush "sucks," but nothing more. We have a few of those in SF. In fact, saying you voted for Bush can seriously get you kicked out of many social events. Sadly, not everyone can articulate exactly why. Although people here do tend to be pretty well educated on the issues, there are still many who are just fashionably left or green.

As I mentioned earlier, I wasn't thrilled that Bush won this time around, but I will still be optimistic for the next four years. The whole self-proclaimed "mandate" things kind of scares me (as it doesn't suggest a pull to the center), but I'm hoping that I will be pleasantly surprised.

velochat · Post by **velochat** » Mon Jan 24, 2005 9:27 am

A true american will go out and buy lots of stuff, but not pay for it. Paying the monthly minimum is what we're all about. Why have kids if not to pay our debts when we're gone?

WYCAT · Post by **WYCAT** » Mon Jan 24, 2005 9:48 am

Bay Area Cat wrote:I know exactly what you are talking about in terms of people just knowing that Bush "sucks," but nothing more. We have a few of those in SF.

A few, don't you mean a few million?

Post by **SonomaCat** » Mon Jan 24, 2005 11:31 am

WYCAT wrote:
Bay Area Cat wrote:I know exactly what you are talking about in terms of people just knowing that Bush "sucks," but nothing more. We have a few of those in SF.
A few, don't you mean a few million?

Well, technically, there are only about 700,000 people in SF. It's a deceptively small city.