Red Friday 2007

The Friday after Thanksgiving is referred to as Black Friday, as the retaillers usually see a profit that day. I refer to it as RED Friday, as most americans will only add to their debt on that day, and the money spent will find it's way into the coffers of the communist Chinese government. I started this last year in this other post, and I will continue to do an annual jeremiad about it until people listen, or our economy crashes. Yes, it's looking like the former possibility is more likely.

So, what's changed since last year? Well, the value of the American Dollar is down 30% versus the Euro, and also down against the British Pound and Japanese Yen. Ahh, but the dollar hasn't fallen in relation to the Chinese Yuan right? The Chinese currency is pegged to the US Dollar, so that as our dollar gets weaker, chinese imports to this country won't spike in value. Which means that americans can continue to buy chinese goods until the Dollar is 1:1 with the old Italian Lira, and the destruction of our economy is complete.

Oil, on the other hand, is not pegged to the Dollar, as any observer will note that the cost of a barrel of oil is up 60% from this time last year. Yes, it hurts, and will continue to hurt, until we both reduce consumer consumption and get our currency under control.

So, what does this have to do with shopping on RED Friday? Here are some suggestions:

1. Don't buy so much stuff!
2. If you just have to but stuff, don't buy stuff made in China.
3. Instead of buying a plasma TV, buy a copy of 'The Wealth of Nations' by Adam Smith.
4. Instead of buying a new Playstation, buy a copy of 'The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' by Edward Gibbon.
5. Some of you are talented folks, so craft something instead. We used to make stuff in this country, so revive the tradition.

Before you shop..

Please think of these two men, Chinese Catholic priests, Fathers Shao Zhoumin and Jiang Sunian. Why think of them? No one knows where they are right now, since being arrested by Chinese police in late September.

Why does this abduction, a routine event for Catholics in China, have anything to do with shopping? While you're out shopping, look at the things you're about to purchase, and observe where they are made. Do you notice something? Any eerie similarities? Most of the stuff is likely made in China. Christmas cards, holiday light strands, Christmas ornaments, and the lot. By buying stuff made in China, we incrementally validate China's right to dispose of Catholic priests as the Maoist government sees fit. And it seems that China is into disposing of their "problems" piece by piece, organ by organ:

Some experts estimate that well over 90 percent of all organs transplanted in China come from executed prisoners, given the limited supply of other organs. China has no system of voluntary donor cards. Furthermore, experts say, because China defines death as a cessation in heart rather than brain-stem activity, there's little opportunity to recover organs from other sources.

So, more to think about this holiday season, eh? Or you can NOT think about it. It's your choice.