Police are now reviewing videotapes from Friday's tragic incident where a 34-year old Wal-Mart worker was trampled by stampeding shoppers in Long Island. Jdimytai Damour of Queens was knocked to the ground as he opened the doors, for more than 2,000 impatient shoppers, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion. Damour was caught underneath and trampled by the crowd. Other employees were also trampled as they tried to come to his aid. Damour came from a temporary agency and was doing maintenance work at the store, Wal-Mart said.
To make matters worse, the crowd got angry when the store announced it was closing because of the death. Kimberly Cribbs, who witnessed the stampede, said shoppers were acting like "savages."
"When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling, 'I've been on line since yesterday morning,"' she said. "They kept shopping."
Police are now reviewing security video to see if they can identify the people who trampled him.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,459068,00.html
When a person's life becomes less important than that Black Friday sale item, we have a definite problem. Let's hope and pray that they find the self-centered people who caused this.
Let's also hope that the stores that fan the fires of the Black Friday frenzy learn a lesson from this. Encouraging shoppers to line up hours before a store opening to get a TV for $10 or a microwave for a dollar is irresponsible. When a person dies, its not fun anymore, nor is it worth it.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Over-correct school administrators robbings kids of holiday traditions
Wow! Some overly-correct school administrators just need to get a grip. Two stories in recent days illustrate how over-protective, overly politically correct parents are keeping their kids from enjoying some simple holiday traditions.
The first involves parents who are trying to keep candy and homemade treats out of the classroom for holiday parties in the Wake County North Carolina schools.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/health_science/story/1309923.html
It seems an advisory committee of school and community members, under the guise of wanting to fight obesity in kids, want to stop allowing "unhealthy foods" in the classroom. No pumpkin pies, no cupcakes, no candy. Oh, they can have "good food" as one member of the council is quoted as saying. "They can have pizzas and hamburgers," said Kathy Olevsky, a member of the advisory group. Wait a minute! Isn't that fast food? Isn't that what many are blaming childhood obsesity on?
It gets even more involved. In the Durham, NC schools, they are supposed to check with child nutrition specialist before holding classroom parties. Oh, among the foods that are forbidden: soda, jelly beans, candy corn, Skittles and Cracker Jacks.
The other issue involves the traditional Pilgrims/Indians Thanksgiving feast. Kindergartners at one California school have been banned from wearing the traditional costumes for their annual Thanksgiving feast.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=6525441
The school board decided to continue holding the feast, but they are not allowing the students to dress up. The board is concerned the Indian costumes may have negative connotations.
Some parents ignored the ban and let their kids dress up anyway. That resulted in the little 5 and 6 year olds being confronted by protesters from a Native American group. Wow! Political correctness gone amuck for sure!
Here is my take: let kids be kids. Let them eat candy, dress like Pilgrims and Indians. For those of you who don't like it: Get a life!
The first involves parents who are trying to keep candy and homemade treats out of the classroom for holiday parties in the Wake County North Carolina schools.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/health_science/story/1309923.html
It seems an advisory committee of school and community members, under the guise of wanting to fight obesity in kids, want to stop allowing "unhealthy foods" in the classroom. No pumpkin pies, no cupcakes, no candy. Oh, they can have "good food" as one member of the council is quoted as saying. "They can have pizzas and hamburgers," said Kathy Olevsky, a member of the advisory group. Wait a minute! Isn't that fast food? Isn't that what many are blaming childhood obsesity on?
It gets even more involved. In the Durham, NC schools, they are supposed to check with child nutrition specialist before holding classroom parties. Oh, among the foods that are forbidden: soda, jelly beans, candy corn, Skittles and Cracker Jacks.
The other issue involves the traditional Pilgrims/Indians Thanksgiving feast. Kindergartners at one California school have been banned from wearing the traditional costumes for their annual Thanksgiving feast.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=6525441
The school board decided to continue holding the feast, but they are not allowing the students to dress up. The board is concerned the Indian costumes may have negative connotations.
Some parents ignored the ban and let their kids dress up anyway. That resulted in the little 5 and 6 year olds being confronted by protesters from a Native American group. Wow! Political correctness gone amuck for sure!
Here is my take: let kids be kids. Let them eat candy, dress like Pilgrims and Indians. For those of you who don't like it: Get a life!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
eHarmony's decision to buckle under pressure is a threat to America's free enterprise system
Online dating service eHarmony's recent decision to cave under pressure and create a new website "Compatible Partners" bothers me. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,454904,00.html
It is not an issue of gay rights, but an issue of the rights of the American business communty to freely choose what services and products it offers. In this case, a gay man sued eHarmony because he was not given the option to search for male partners on the site. eHarmony settled the case by agreeing to set up the new site and by paying the man, Eric McKinley, $5,000 and giving him a complimentary free one-year subscription to the new site.
The issue here is that businesses should not feel pressured to offer specific services if they choose not to. Will Chick fil A be forced to sell hamburger because a beef lover feels discriminated against? What about stores that only sell clothes for men? Will they be forced to offer women's clothing? What if I want to buy a Ford at a Chevrolet dealer?
A business owner knows that if he or she doesn't offer a service or product and the competition does, there is a risk of losing business to the competition. That's how it works.There are already several sites that offer same-sex matches. Their gain, eHarmony's loss! That's a business decision pure and simple.
If Mr. McKinley felt there was a need for another site to cater to same-sex couples, the smart business decision would be to start a new site. "See a need and fill it" has been one of the basic rules of entrepreneurialism.
The courts and the government do not belong in the free enterprise system, pure and simple.
It is not an issue of gay rights, but an issue of the rights of the American business communty to freely choose what services and products it offers. In this case, a gay man sued eHarmony because he was not given the option to search for male partners on the site. eHarmony settled the case by agreeing to set up the new site and by paying the man, Eric McKinley, $5,000 and giving him a complimentary free one-year subscription to the new site.
The issue here is that businesses should not feel pressured to offer specific services if they choose not to. Will Chick fil A be forced to sell hamburger because a beef lover feels discriminated against? What about stores that only sell clothes for men? Will they be forced to offer women's clothing? What if I want to buy a Ford at a Chevrolet dealer?
A business owner knows that if he or she doesn't offer a service or product and the competition does, there is a risk of losing business to the competition. That's how it works.There are already several sites that offer same-sex matches. Their gain, eHarmony's loss! That's a business decision pure and simple.
If Mr. McKinley felt there was a need for another site to cater to same-sex couples, the smart business decision would be to start a new site. "See a need and fill it" has been one of the basic rules of entrepreneurialism.
The courts and the government do not belong in the free enterprise system, pure and simple.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Would you be upset if your mail carrier didn't deliver junk mail?
What if your mail carrier decided to spare you the trouble and simply didn't deliver your junk mail? Well that is exactly what happened in Apex, North Carolina. Mailman Steve Padgett was discovered hoarding the junk mail addressed to homes on his route. He received a probationary sentence from a judge today for failing to deliver years of junk mail. The thing is, some of the people on his route weren't angry at all. The News & Observer (Raleigh) quoted one resident, Shelly Cole, as saying "We got all the mail that we needed to get."
In Padgett's case, it wasn't a personal stand against junk mail; he apparently just got overwhelmed and was battling some health problems. But no one reported missing mail, and the only way it was discovered was when a utility worker came to his home and noticed the buildup of mail at "Mailman Steve's" house. Postal inspectors found junk mail dating back to 1999 stacked up and buried in Padgett's yard.
So here is the question: would you be upset if your mail carrier took it upon himself to decide whether you get junk mail or not?
Here is the link to the full story: http://www.newsobserver.com/front/story/1301068.html
In Padgett's case, it wasn't a personal stand against junk mail; he apparently just got overwhelmed and was battling some health problems. But no one reported missing mail, and the only way it was discovered was when a utility worker came to his home and noticed the buildup of mail at "Mailman Steve's" house. Postal inspectors found junk mail dating back to 1999 stacked up and buried in Padgett's yard.
So here is the question: would you be upset if your mail carrier took it upon himself to decide whether you get junk mail or not?
Here is the link to the full story: http://www.newsobserver.com/front/story/1301068.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
