You Ruined My Christmas!

I do not like Black Friday. The consumerism and -- at times -- outright greed kind of bug me. Plus, I think it's a huge waste of my time, since the deals can often be had online (with free shipping!) and I just don't like braving the hordes to save a few bucks on something I really shouldn't buy anyway. But I do like to talk about Black Friday with my brother, who has worked retail as a high school job, to get himself through college, and now seasonally as he and his wife prepare to continue their post-graduate educations.

He had stories of lines stretching across streets and one idiot who shoved a cop. But my favorite story from yesterday was the woman whose Christmas he apparently ruined. She was looking for a kid's over-the-door basketball hoop with electronic scoreboard. This toy is normally $29.99, but was being door-busted for $19.99. The woman ran up to my brother, normally a back-room guy overseeing receiving, who did his best to consult the deal cheat sheet (no luck) and page someone (also no luck), finally giving her his best with-a-caveat guess at two locations where the toy might be found.

The woman did not get the limited-quantity door buster. When she saw him again she made sure that she confronted him with his stupidity, and to let him know that not only had he ruined her Christmas, but her little boy's as well. My brother told her to go to the front and ask for the store manager, and say that he had told her she could have a raincheck. She demanded that he personally guaranty that the toy would be back in stock in time for Christmas. My brother, of course, could not guaranty such a thing, and told her so. As she stalked away to berate the store manager, she flung back, "I hope for your sake that this comes in by Christmas. How would you feel with a ruined Christmas on your conscience?"

As my brother regaled me with this tale, I, insensitive humbug that I am, began to laugh. Really? We've reached a point in society where saving $10 on a toy can make or break a Christmas? Really? This woman is teaching her child that his happiness should be wrapped up in a specific material possession? Really? Her only hope is this one store? She can't just go to Amazon (where it took my husband about three seconds to find something similar) and get it for $20? Add in a $5 DVD, and you can even get free shipping! Look, you saved Christmas -- all by yourself! You didn't have to rely on anyone else to help you find your external, material happiness!

Anyway, this woman pretty much exemplifies exactly why I don't head out on Black Friday. It turns people into screaming banshees of terror, abandoning all common sense and focusing on the materialism that they'll decry come Sunday in a fit of piety while they admonish the folks in their Sunday school classes to "remember the reason for the season." (Hint: The reason referred to is not an over-the-door basketball hoop.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you are enjoying your holiday and finding things to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

New Moon: Feminism Triumphant?

I haven't seen New Moon. I will probably watch the movie much as I watched Twilight: In fast forward off my Netflix queue. (I have read the books, which, IMO, get progressively worse.) But there was something that struck me about the movie, as I've heard it spoken of by critics and people I know who have seen it: There is a preponderance of shirtless men in this one. I even heard someone point out that the movie -- and the entire series -- is very progressive and feminist. This got me thinking: Have we really have reached a post-feminist world? After all, this is a blockbuster movie that caters to women's objectification of men, right?

The movie made nearly $141 million in its opening weekend. Only Dark Knight and Spiderman 3 did better. Apparently, a certain type of female moviegoer really is a force to be reckoned with. Could this mean more movies that might depict men as objects? If they make money, perhaps Hollywood is ready to do so. Because it's all about the all-mighty dollar, and few things sell as well as sex. And if women are ready to buy it en masse, someone will definitely sell it.

There are many different forms of feminism. The proponents of some types of feminism have a belief that part of the battle is to get movies that cater to women's sexual desires, since there are plenty of movies, filled with scantily clad women, designed to appeal to the "male gaze". In this light, equality means more movies with scantily clad Adonis-men so that women can enjoy equal time fantasizing over the unattainable. Movies like New Moon.

Personally, I think it's too bad when anyone is objectified, woman or man. But, I suppose, if you look at it in this very narrow sense, that's progress. But the overall themes and whether or not the entire Twilight saga is feminist, post-feminist or anti-feminist are the subjects of hours, which, frankly, I don't have to waste on the subject.

The Boy and His H1N1 Vaccine

Today, The Boy should be getting his H1N1 vaccine at school. I was pleased to see a permission slip come home for the swine flu vaccine, since that meant that I wouldn't have to try to take The Boy to the health care department to get a shot. I took him in for his seasonal flu vaccine at the beginning of the school year. And it turned out to be a good thing, since our area ran out shortly thereafter.

I know that not everyone is into getting these vaccines, but I had The Boy get his first seasonal flu vaccine last year, and I was amazed at the difference it made in the time he spent being sick last winter. So I decided to go for it again this year. I'm not sure that I would have taken him in for the H1N1 vaccine, but since it is being administered at the school, it's not an issue, since I signed the permission slip.

The news that schools in our area were getting an allotment was especially welcome after finding out that Goldman Sachs was one of the Wall Street big wigs that received swine flu vaccine allotments before hospitals, clinics, schools and even government officials. Clearly "We the People" need to get better connected, since the decision was made by the CDC.

Personally, I don't get the seasonal flu vaccine, and I'm not on the list of people at high risk for the H1N1 virus. I don't usually have problems in general, and since The Boy is the person I have the most contact with, protecting him normally proves effective.

Do you get the flu vaccine? Are you interested in getting the H1N1 vaccine?

Veterans Day

Just wanted to take a moment and express my gratitude for the brave men and women of the Armed Forces today. We have a number of veterans that deserve our thanks and our support. They have given much, and I think it is not too much that we provide them with adequate health care (including mental health services), an education and other beneficial programs. After all, they have put their lives on the line for us.

I am proud of members of my family and Josh's family that have served in the military, and proud of my friends that have served. It's Veterans Day. If you see a veteran, make sure you say "Thank You."

Image via Wikipedia

House Passes Health Care Reform Bill

The House passed its version of health care reform. After adding a whole bunch of amendments that do little in terms of addressing the affordability of health care, but let Representatives stand up and tell everyone how fabulously moral they are, or some other such drivel. In the end, it ended up a lot like how the economic stimulus package went earlier this year. GOP lawmakers wanted a bunch of changes, Dems went along, and then the very people who demanded the changes to the bill refused to vote for it. Not that Democrats have been much better. The whole exercise has been partisan politics at its "finest", with pundits thrown in on both sides to muddy the waters and make things complicated.

The House health care reform bill, among other things, offers these major "highlights":

• Most Americans need to purchase health insurance or pay a fine.
• Employers with payrolls of $500,000 or more must provide health insurance.
• Insurance companies can't deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions.
• Income tax surcharge on couples making more than $1 million a year, or singles making more than $500,000.
• Public option plan by 2013.

Now, I like the idea of a public option. As long as it provides competition. Because right now, it's hard to find competition in health insurance. We pay more per person for health care than any other developed country, and our health care is only #37 in the world. It's rather telling. However, for the most part, I think that health care reform has been bogged down a great deal by partisan politics. I know that we will probably never see a single payer system here in the U.S. But I am in favor of something like what Mitt Romney did in Massachusetts, with an option including premiums based on a sliding scale according to ability to pay. And the man managed to balance the state budget as well. That's something we could use.

As it is now, though, I don't think that requiring people to get health insurance is going to do anything to limit the costs. Providing tax credits or some other something won't help rein in costs, either. On top of that, I don't like the idea of an income tax surcharge. I would, honestly, gladly pay $2,000 or $3,000 more in my own income taxes to get access to universal health care with a reasonable co-pay. Hell, I could go $4,000. That is something doable. (And, it would save me money. Since I will now be paying $500 a month with the new age-based premium that kicks in with my husband and I crossing the 30-year mark.) But I don't like the idea of hitting some people with a 4.5% surcharge. And I dislike that this plan continues to reinforce the connection between your job and your health insurance.

Overall, I think this is a mostly useless piece of legislation that will do very little, on a practical level, to actually change things. Unfortunately, though, a true overhaul of health care would be time consuming, and our leaders lack the political will. Not to mention the fact that they -- and the pundits -- have us so divided on the issue that we can't even unite to demand that our leaders stop worrying about the health insurance lobby and get something done for We the People.

Shameless Self-Promotion

I feel the need for some shameless self-promotion. Mostly because I'm contributing to a bunch of cool sites, and you should go visit them if you have a minute :)

Here's what I got:

1. Elements of a Financial Checkup at Personal Dividends.
2. Three Easy Steps to Determine Your Financial Priorities at MoneyNing.
3. Make Money Online: Cash Crate Review at Moolanomy. (Side note: If you decide to sign up for Cash Crate, please, please, please come back and use the badge in the right sidebar. Thanks.)
4. 5 Financial Rules for Women at Peak Personal Finance.
5. 3 Tricks to Limit Overdraft Fees at MainStreet.com.
6. 3 Ways to Plug Costly Energy Leaks Before Winter at AllBusiness.com
   

Deconstructing Disney Princesses

My nieces like Princess stuff. I get it, but I feel bad every time. I've never been a huge fan of Disney Princesses, and they kind of annoy me. My mom once tried to help me feel better -- or at least justify Princess stuff -- by saying that it's just like superhero stuff for boys. That's an unattainable image as well. Unfortunately, there are a couple things wrong with that logic in my mind:

1. We don't teach our children they can have super powers, but we do imply, in a lot of ways, that a fairy tale marriage is possible. Super heroes deal with clearly impossible situations. Princesses are set up with something that is expected in our society. No one expects to see some dude flying through the sky. We do expect to see people get married.
   
2. Super heroes are going out there and doing things to help other people. They are defending the world. I don't like that many of them resort to violence so quickly, but at least they're out there battling it out for other people. Disney Princesses are kind of selfish, trying to figure out how they can get what they want.

So I really liked this this deconstruction of Disney Princesses.