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To the best of my memory, I’ve never shopped on Black Friday before.  For all but a handful of the past twenty years I’ve spent Thanksgiving in Philadelphia, and so it didn’t make much sense to go shopping there, only to lug it back home here, and though my family is no stranger to American consumerism, they never seemed much interested in braving the crowds.  But I know a bargain when I see it, and when I found myself inexplicably awake at 6AM, I decided to head on down to Fry’s to grab a 19-inch LCD HDTV for only $178, and maybe a couple of digital picture frames.

Jesus Christ… I had no idea.

After walking a quarter mile from the nearest open parking space, I found the aisles of the giant warehouse store clogged by a daunting check out line that made the Bataan death march look like a slow day at the 7-Eleven.  A seemingly endless parade of dazed bargain hunters, their shopping carts as engorged as their turkey filled bellies, slowly snaked around empty palettes of sold-out sale items, their contents long picked clean of their advertised prizes.  It was reminiscent of the scene in Lawrence of Arabia where the Arab forces loot the Turkish train… only more chaotic and less beautifully photographed.  As I stood there inspecting the carnage, I imagined a splendidly robed figure strutting atop the overturned shelving that once housed the 52-inch screens (1080P, 120Hz, “major name brand,” only $1198) while the warehouse echoed with the thunderous roar of shoppers triumphantly chanting “Awrence!  Awrence! Awrence!”

The 19-inch HDTVs?  Gone.  The picture frames?  Gone.  The 32GB USB flash drives, which I didn’t really need, but how could I pass one up for only $29.99? Gone.  Not that it really mattered, as there was no way in hell I was going to append myself to the end of that interminable line—assuming I could even find it—all for the sake of such trifles.

“Three hours… maybe four… who knows?” a stunned store clerk estimated when I asked how long the wait might be, and that alone was more than enough to send me home empty handed, no matter how enticing the bargain.  It was only then, as I trudged back to my car, that I noticed the piles of refuse littering the sidewalk, clear evidence that the line inside had once wrapped around the building’s exterior, where eager shoppers had obviously camped out, hours before the store’s ridiculously early, 5AM opening.

So this is Black Friday.  I’d heard about it.  I’d read about it.  I’d watched it on TV.  But I never knew, until today, how black a Friday it could really be.

By 7:30AM I was back at home, a cup of hot tea in hand, browsing for bargains from the comfort of my own living room.  Oh look… a 19-inch LCD HDTV, only $199, with free shipping from Best Buy.  Sure, it’s a little more money, but it doesn’t require a four-plus hour wait in line.  And given my experience this morning, that’s what I call a bargain.

Unbelievable:

A worker died after being trampled and a woman miscarried when hundreds of shoppers smashed through the doors of a Long Island Wal-Mart Friday morning, witnesses said.

The unidentified worker, employed as an overnight stock clerk, tried to hold back the unruly crowds just after the Valley Stream store opened at 5 a.m.

Witnesses said the surging throngs of shoppers knocked the man down. He fell and was stepped on. As he gasped for air, shoppers ran over and around him.

Was just telling someone yesterday that not only do I not want to be at a retail outlet at 5 AM, I don’t want to be anywhere near a retail outlet any time today with the people who were at retail outlets at 5 AM.

This whole Black Friday thing was always asinine beyond belief. Now it’s turned deadly. Yes, people die in many horrible and needless ways, but this takes the cake. The culture of unbridled consumption, greed and criminality has become a cancer threatening to destroy all of us, as the economic collapse attests.

Like people can’t buy cheap plastic shit at normal hours under normal conditions. Lord have mercy.

Catching up on that election thing, it looks like Republicans will have a two to one majority on the Board of Clark County Commissioners. 207 votes pending an automatic machine recount. Ouch.

I know I’m supposed to be angry and offended and all that, but I kinda agree with Paul Krugman:

A thought I’ve had: there have been some complaints from movement progressives about the centrism/orthodoxy of Obama’s economics appointments. To some extent this was unavoidable, I think: someone like the Treasury secretary has to be an experienced hand who can deal with Wall Street, and I haven’t heard anyone proposing particular individuals with clearer progressive credentials to hold that position.

And couple thoughts of my own.  First, for all the wailing and gnashing of teeth about the Obama administration looking like a retread of the Clinton administration, with the very notable exception of the growth in economic disparity, the Clinton administration did a pretty good job managing the economy, transforming record deficits into record surpluses, and presiding over one of the strongest economic expansions in recent history.

But it’s also important to note that these are smart people, and it would be a mistake to expect Obama’s economic appointees to attempt to duplicate the policies of 1992.  A lot has changed over the past 16 years, a lot of mistakes were made (in both administrations), and a lot of lessons have been learned.

While the Clintonistas, under the direction of Robert Rubin, focused on balancing the budget, Obama’s appointees, many of whom are Rubin protegees, have made it clear that economic stimulus will be the top priority, even at the cost of massive deficit spending.  Indeed, even Rubin has publicly stated his support of job creation now, and balanced budgets later.

So no, I’m not all too concerned with the centrist bent of Obama’s Rubinesque economic team.  Smart, accomplished, well intentioned people… that’s always a good start.

Bad football or a parade broadcast that features Broadway musical numbers instead of giant balloons? Maybe putting up the War on Christmas lights would be better use of time…

India suffers horrible terrorist attack.

Indian security forces have been exchanging fire with gunmen holding dozens of hostages in two luxury hotels in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay).

Troops surrounded the premises shortly after armed men carried out a series of co-ordinated attacks across the city, killing 101 people and injuring 287.

The hotels were among at least seven sites in the main tourist and business district targeted late on Wednesday.

Not totally clear who is behind the attack, but Islamic extremists seem to top everyone’s list. The coordination of the attacks with multiple targets would seem to suggest a high degree of organization and financing. Whatever the case, it certainly qualifies as a “Madrid” or “London” or in some ways even a “New York City,” given Mumbai’s importance in India’s economic life.

A sad day for India and the world.

This special hits the air on December 2 at 10PM.

Seattle School Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson has proposed closing seven school buildings, completely eliminating five programs, relocating all or part of nine, and creating one new Northend school in a plan that is sure to be at least as disruptive and unpopular as the previous round of closures, but politically, far more likely to proceed unchanged.

Buildings Closed
Genesee Hill Elementary
Lowell Elementary (APP)
Mann (NOVA Alternative High School)
Old Hay (Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center)
Pinehurst – (Alternative School #1)
TT Minor Elementary
Van Asselt Elementary

Programs Eliminated
African American Academy
Alternative School #1
Arbor Heights Elementary
Meany Middle School
TT Minor Elementary

Programs Created
Decatur K-5 (formerly Thornton Creek)

Programs Relocated
Lowell APP to Hawthorne and Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall EBOC to Bailey Gatzert
NOVA from Mann to Meany
SBOC from Old Hay to Meany
Pathfinder K-8 from Genesee to Arbor Heights
Summit K-12 from Jane Addams to Rainier Beach
Thornton Creek to Jane Addams (expands to K-8)
TT Minor K-3 Montessori to Leshi
Van Asselt to African American Academy

I’m not sure how many students will have their education disrupted by these closures and relocations, but the numbers are obviously huge.  Still, I wonder if these closures will generate the kind of effective opposition on the part of parents that I was a part of in 2006?  Goodloe-Johnson is simply a stronger and more forceful administrator than her predecessor Raj Manhas, as evidenced by her decision to personally lead the closure process rather than hiding behind a citizens committee, and she’s yet to burn through her political capital with school board or her public good will.  Furthermore, the relatively condensed nature of the process leaves affected school communities much less time to organize amongst and between themselves.

But I also think a sense of resignation has settled in over many Seattle schools families, or at the very least, a profound sense of fatigue, that should work to Goodloe-Johnson’s advantage.  Most of the programs on the list have been targeted before, and so last night’s announcement was more a confirmation of the inevitable than a shock.  At some point, it’s just no longer worth the fight.

I know from personal experience.  In 2006, I fought hard to save my daughter’s school, Graham Hill Elementary, and although we succeeded, and have since been vindicated with academic awards and bulging enrollment, I couldn’t help but come away more than little soured from what was an unnecessarily bitter and divisive battle.

As I predicted at the start of the previous closure process, many families responded by moving their children outside the district, and that’s exactly what we did.  My daughter now attends middle school on Mercer Island, where her mother moved in the wake of the closure fight.  I’m not proud of the move, and I would have prefered my daughter remain in city, but given the choice between Aki Kurose, my neighborhood middle school, and Islander Middle School, it wasn’t a hard decision.

Still, it’ll be interesting to see how this round of closures turns out.  In moving and splitting Lowell, Goodloe-Johnson has picked a fight with some of the district’s most affluent and connected parents, so there’s little chance these families will simply roll over.  And while closing the chronically under-enrolled African American Academy makes a ton of sense on paper (its large facility accounts for the bulk of the excess capacity in the the Southeast quadrant), this alternative program has many passionate proponents, and a dedicated, if small, community of families.

I’ve never been convinced that large numbers of school closings either improves education or saves all that much money in the operating budget, especially when you factor in the number of students who end up leaving the district and taking their state and federal subsidies with them… students who are often the least expensive to educate.  But in these tough economic times, there is little doubt that we will continue on this downward spiral for the forseeable future.

We’re in “horrifying economic statistic of the day” territory now. From the AP:

Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods plunged in October by the largest amount in two years as manufacturing was battered by the overall economic weakness.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that orders for durable goods dropped by 6.2 percent last month, more than double the 3 percent decline economists expected.

As the economic crisis has unfolded, there’s been a fair amount of discussion about how our economy doesn’t make stuff any more. This isn’t entirely true, of course, but it does reflect concern over manufacturing being moved to low wage countries.

One risk, I think, is that the crisis will further hollow out our remaining industrial capacity to the point where we’re left with not much more than financial services. We’ll be kind of a giant United Kingdom with better food. (I kid, UK folks. You know I love you. And I hear your food is much better these days.)

When the conflict between Georgia and Russia erupted this summer, it was initially presented to us as a fragile beacon of liberty (Georgia) being attacked by a big anti-freedom bully (Russia). Since then, that narrative has been shattered by continued revelations about Georgia’s role in starting the conflict. This conflict, as are many conflicts around the world, was one where the governments on both sides didn’t feel accountable for their actions – or to their own citizens – and no one was willing or able to hold them accountable.

For more evidence of how that’s true in Georgia as much as it is in Russia, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union released this video on the alarming human rights violations going on in Georgia under the premise of fighting drugs:

Looking for an Alternative – The Drug Policy Situation in Georgia from HCLU 3 on Vimeo.

In a country of 5 million people, police in Georgia are arresting 60,000 people a year for drug crimes. But that’s only the beginning of the problem. Police don’t need any evidence to arrest someone, so when people are arrested, they must take a drug test to prove their innocence. 70% of those arrested last year tested negative. In the video, one official spoke of a man who was repeatedly arrested outside his house and forced to take drug tests as a form of harassment.

You know, it’s so surprising that one of our close allies is as willing as we are to give the police too much power to wage the drug war.

Talking Points Memo is gearing up for the second annual “Golden Duke” awards, named for incarcerated former Congress-critter Randy “Duke” Cunningham.

I was reminded of this because my prize for nominating former state Rep. Richard Curtis in the 2007 category “Best Scandal- Sex and Generalized Carnality” arrived via UPS today. It’s an authentic TPM media t-shirt emblazoned with their logo and the Golden Duke statuette.

Who says blogging doesn’t pay? So be thinking about possible nominees for 2008. I’m thinking AIG executives are a cinch in some category. Hopefully not that same one.

Join us for a pre-holiday evening of politics under the influence at the Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally. We start at 8:00 pm at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Some of us show up earlier for dinner.

If you’re not in the Seattle area, no worries. check out the Drinking Liberally web site for dates and times of a chapter near you.

In the previous post, Goldy speculates about federal money flowing to the states as part of a broader spending package, and specifically about whether Gov. Chris Gregoire is headed to D.C. to advocate for such spending. The answer surely is: maybe!

At Political Buzz, Joe Turner wonders if we will see a return to revenue sharing, where the feds don’t put strings on things.

When I started covering Pierce County government in 1981, cities and counties were still getting no-strings-attached money from Uncle Sam. According to Wikipedia, revenue sharing existed from 1972 (the last bad recession) until 1987. It lost favor under President Reagan.

But it appears to be making a comeback, and Washington state workers no doubt will rejoice if it does. Basically, the federal government gives cities, counties and states money to pretty much what they please. That means Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Legislature could head off some of those layoffs that probably are in their future.

I watched Obama’s press conference this morning; there are not a lot of details yet. Basically the message seems to be “if it works, great, if it doesn’t work, it’s gone.” Another point seemed to be that spending at the state level is fine, but it has to be part of a national economic game plan.

So I’m expecting Obama’s team to come up with plans to get money out to the states, but not necessarily without strings. I’m just guessing, but increasing block grants might be another way to go. A short term aid package for states to cover existing shortfalls would make sense, however. There’s really no sense in heightening unemployment misery by ignoring what’s happening at the state and local level.

There’s a little bit of a clue about what might happen in this article from Stateline:

Obama didn’t specifically mention states or a dollar-figure in his remarks over the weekend or during his Nov. 24 press conference in which he unveiled his economic team, including New York Federal Reserve President Tim Geithner as treasury secretary. But before he was elected, Obama called for at least $25 billion in nonspecific state relief and another $25 billion to help states build and fix highways, roads, bridges, airports and rail systems.

Honestly, this is why we want smart, qualified people running the government, instead of anti-intellectual stink tank cretins and talk show hosts. It actually does matter, a lot, what happens next. A good plan might get us through the next few years with a lot of economic pain, but with recovery on the horizon. A bad plan, well, you know. It would be very bad.

We’re all free to raise questions and kick things around, as we should in a democracy, but we need as many good ideas we can get right now. There are still a few conservative voices out there warning about over-spending, and at least that’s a legitimate concern to raise if it’s done in a sincere fashion.

The consensus seems to be we simply must have a large stimulus package, though, and we’ll have to sort out how to pay for it both as we go and in the future.

One thing Obama seemed to be getting at this morning was that wasteful pork will really have to be axed this time. No more cheap talk. You can count on the noise machine to wail mightily if anyone starts pointing out the horrendous inefficiencies in the Defense Department, for example, but as Obama said this morning, every part of the federal budget must be examined.

If the Obama team can focus like a laser beam on getting the most “bang for their stimulus buck,” as they say they are doing, it should help. At this point I could care less if the good ideas come from progressives, moderates, conservatives or little green men from Mars.

Word is they were burning the midnight oil last night at the state Office of Financial Management, before Gov. Gregoire headed out early this morning for a meeting in the other Washington.  Don’t know if the two are related, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Democratic Governors Association appealing for a bailout package of their own.  Hmm…

UPDATE:
The Pearse Edwards from the Governor’s office tells me Gregoire is in Olympia today, not DC.  Oops, my bad.  And…

“As for an ask of President-elect and the Congress, that would be an economic stimulus package that puts people to work and fixes our aging infrastructure. And that meeting is on Monday with her fellow governors from across the nation.”