Greed is Killing "Black Friday" Golden Goose

Image from source, Huffington Post

I saw this coming, and have commented upon it before, probably in this space: Greed is killing the golden goose. "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday"--both greed created quasi-events--are becoming so diluted by greed, they will likely either have to be overhauled or transmogrified into something new.

Presently, stocks are having a bit of a sour tummy after gotten the news that Black Friday is in decline. But it's no surprise. Black Friday itself--originally a "doorbuster" event that started before dawn the day after Thanksgiving--has crept backward to the point where many businesses were open Thursday evening, and some even early Thursday morning. Beyond that, many businesses had offers all week, which renders the day-specific name rather pointless. In addition, the brand has been attached to month-long or even season-long campaigns, not to mention scads of spam emails.

The same has happened to Cyber Monday--a day-specific online sale event, originally--even worse, if that is possible. Amazon and other retail outlets push special deals all season-long, right up to moments before Christmas (and likely after). Neither day is "special" anymore. There is no reason to plan to plunk down the bulk of your shopping wad on either day, when other deals are being dangled for days and weeks. What's the point?

So, I hereby predict: there will be changes to this whole concept. We'll have a special "this is really it" new mega-deals day one year. Black Friday and Cyber Monday will still be a thing. Sort of. But there'll be something new. Or the on-going, every-day specials will have a new name. Trust me on this. But greed will wreck that too.

[Excerpt]

Black Friday Weekend Slows Down As Allure Fades
 
Black Friday fatigue is setting in. Early discounting, more online shopping and a mixed economy meant fewer people shopped over Thanksgiving weekend, the National Retail Federation said Sunday. Overall, 133.7 million people shopped in stores and online over the four-day weekend, down 5.2 percent from last year, according to a survey of 4,631 people conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics for the trade group. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Sarah Palin Once Again FOX "News" Paid Contributor

Moving from "hot librarian" to foxy granny? Maybe?
Image from source, LA Times.

I said in a recent post (regarding a kerfuffle between Sarah Palin and Bill Maher) that Palin's status as a right-wing hero is a mystery to me. She's not well spoken, at least not if you're a fan of grammar, diction and sentence structure. She hasn't shown herself to be particularly informed, or terrifically adept at deductive reasoning. Her accomplishments are fairly few, all things considered. She quit her job, which she was elected to do, in order to cash in on her sudden fame. Her family is like a cross between the Kardashians and Honey Boo Boo. All I can figure is that she's kind of pretty, gives a rootin' tootin' (prepared) speech, and knows how to rile up a conservative crowd with red meat.

Which, of course, makes her perfect for FOX "News." They are not re-hiring this woman for her smarts, nor her accomplishments, nor her wealth and breadth of knowlege. They're re-hiring her for her cult of personality, and that's pretty much all there is to it. The proof of that, is that she's also going to have a presence on the low-rated FOX "Business" Channel. What in the world does Palin have to do with business news?

[Excerpt]

Sarah Palin returns to Fox News Channel as a commentator

Sarah Palin and Roger Ailes have evidently made up. Sarah Palin returns to Fox News Channel as a commentator The former Alaska governor will return as an on-air commentator on Ailes' Fox News Channel next week, the network announced Thursday. She'll also nab a role on its sister network, Fox Business Network. The move comes as a surprise after Palin's abrupt exit from Fox News early this year. The onetime GOP vice presidential pick disappeared from Fox after reports of tension between her and network boss Ailes, who according to a magazine article had privately dismissed her to associates as "stupid. . ."

Read more at: Los Angeles Times

UPDATED: Gingrich's "King of Bain" When Mitt Romney Came to Town

Okay, first I will admit that I haven't watched all of this yet, but I will. Second, I'd like to know why Newt Gingrich's SuperPAC--an organization that is allowed to be for him, but that he's supposed to have no affiliation with--is very clearly in cahoots with him, and vice versa. Everybody wink, wink, nudge, nudges, and lets it go. Why? I'm seriously hoping there's some sort of watchdog group that cleans up after the mess of this election, and holds a few people accountable.

Also, why is the video not embeddable? Was Gingrich Gingrich's PAC unaware that this is 2012, and we can do that now? Instead, here's a link. I'll post an update if the video turns up in usable form on another service.

And one more thing: keep in mind, this is a battle between men named MITT and NEWT. It's as though Sarah Palin named them.

UPDATED: Here's the video, finally in YouTube.

The United States Seven Deadly Sins of America

After the liberal talk radio network Air America Radio expired, my usual routine of listening to The Ron Reagan Show at the end of the day was over. So, while seeking out something else to provide background noise, I stumbled upon The Karel Show, on Green960 out of San Francisco (I have to do this on the computer, as there are only conservative talk radio stations in Las Vegas). I recognized Karel by his picture, but I'd no real idea who he was.

It turns out he's a long-time California radio personality, and a writer, and has something of a tumultuous employment history. His program is at turns entertaining, off-putting, funny, irritating. . .I'm really not sure what to make of it yet. The production values seem kind of low, like they're still working the kinks out, and Karel himself--an out gay man who makes no bones about it--is rather mercurial. But when he has a point, he really has a point.

[Excerpt]

A Sinful Nation

. . .on a recent Saturday afternoon [I] found the Brad Pitt/Morgan Freeman movie Se7en on IFC. I've seen the film a few times, but it's so well acted and directed that out of the 546 channels it seemed the best option.

Well, that was a bad idea. Because as I watched the film and watched Kevin Spacey's killer kill his way through these medieval constructs I realized that these seven "deadly" sins are not only no longer "sins," but have replaced the very fabric of our nation. America is "Guilty!" as charged of almost every one. . .

Read on at: Huffington Post

Puzzling FCC Consolidation Changes

Photo of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, from source, Raw Story

I remember social studies classes back in elementary and junior high schools, learning about the early 1900s. Much attention was paid to trust busting, regulation of industry, eliminating worker abuses, things like that. The picture painted for us, was of corporations gone wild, but reigned in just in time. While I was learning all of that, Jimmy Carter led the charge to break up AT&T into the "Baby Bells."

In short, this kid of the 70s learned that monopolies are bad, and that corporations had to be overseen with a watchful eye, because greed always leads to bad things. A kid from the 80s, 90s and 2000s might not see that at all. Virtually every corporate category has experienced virtually unfettered consolidation and mergers. Here in Las Vegas for example, almost all of the major resorts on the strip are owned by one of two companies, Harrah's Entertainment and MGM/Mirage.

Curiously, the Bush Administration, and the regulating agencies it heads seem to want to return to the corporate climate of over 100 years ago. Do they forget that it was Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican icon, who was championed as a "Trust Buster?"

[Excerpt]

PBS' Moyers on planned media consolidation rule change: FCC/industry 'revolving door' moves to further give away your airwaves

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin was heavily criticized by members of the public, along with his colleagues, at the sixth and final public hearing, held on November 9, 2007, on his planned changes to rules on media consolidation.

Input from the public, leading up to the vote, is being accepted until December 11, 2007.
Attendees were heavily suspicious of the short notice given, five business days, as a tactic to prevent more of the public from learning about the hearings, as well as being able to attend and provide input in an already short time window before the commission's vote takes place. . .

Read more at: Raw Story