Daily Kos: ANTI-AMERICAN ASSHAT MOWS DOWN CROSSES AT CAMP CASEY:

Late Monday night, a man, now confirmed by the media as Larry Northern, age 46, decided to run over the over crosses at Camp Casey that serve as a memorial to the soldiers who have died in the war in Iraq.

... so they fight truth with more lies and hate”


So says Cindy Sheehan, the Gold Star Mom staked out in front of George Bush’s Crawford, Texas ranch. Sheehan would like an audience with the President so that she might ask why her son had to die in Iraq. By extension, she is asking the question that all of us should be asking journalists, congressmen, and each other: why have we consigned so many to die in this war? For what purpose? Sheehan has been asking for an accounting from her president for her dead son’s life, and by extension for the lives of all the soldiers who have died in this tragic pursuit. For her troubles, she has been attacked and smeared by the right wing media.


Read Sheehan’s full entry at The Huffington Post. As short as it is, it is thoughtful, honest, touching, and hopeful.

So I left a brief comment at Lloyd’s coffee blog pleading with him to never buy anything from Best Buy. He asked, of course, the obvious follow-up: “Why not?” Since “Because” just didn’t seem to quite capture the nuances of my objections to that foul retailer, I thought I’d take a moment to explain my position.

Now, I’m well aware that one can Google the word “hate” AND [any store or service provider] and find blog posts, forum rants, and even whole websites full of venom. But Best Buy seems to work diligently at finding new and ever-stupider ways to lower the bar of customer service.

Take the guy who got arrested when he tried to pay an installation charge in $2 bills (see here, too). And did you know that the company is being sued by the Ohio State Attorney General’s office for hundreds of reports of “unfair and deceptive acts,” such as repackaging used goods as new, and failing to honor rebates and extended service contracts?

Mistakes happen, right? Well, actually, Best Buy has openly declared their desire to weed out unprofitable customers (whom they call “devils”—how charming!) from profitable customers, or “angels.” Best Buy seems to think that customers who take advantage of specials, rebates, and loss-leaders are stealing from the company. Moreover, to weed out the riff-raff, Best Buy secretly collects data on customer shopping habits and uses that data to discourage repeat visits. Best Buy wants to identify their best consumers and treat the rest of us as second-class citizens. Fine. Please yourselves. But don’t expect your attitude to make me want to do business with you.

My frustration with Best Buy goes way back. They opened their first store in Orlando in the mid-90s, and from the beginning I had trouble just finding prices on the things I wanted to buy. There were no prices on the boxes, and the shelf labels were maintained haphazardly. The seemingly perpetual problem with maintaining appropriate staffing levels meant that I wasted gobs of time just trying to determine whether I was going to buy something from them or not. When I could get someone’s attention, they were rude or abrupt. From the high-decibel noise assault to the disorganized shelves to the surly staff, the whole place exuded an air of cynicism and disdain for the customers that was beyond the pale, and I have seen the same pattern repeated consistently in each Best Buy I’ve entered. My reaction was no doubt due in part to working 50-60 hours a week in the hospitality industry at companies who set the standard for good customer service. I’m well aware that there’s a better way to behave as a retailer and it isn’t hard. It just takes determination and effort. Pissing off your consumers is simply not acceptable.

Look, nobody deserves to get ripped off—Best Buy included. But most retailers take the approach that customers are basically honest. Those are the companies I want to deal with. I don’t want to give my money to any company that doesn’t even seem willing to pretend to make their customers—not their profits—the most important element of their business. My money and my time are valuable, and if Best Buy doesn’t want to treat me with respect, they don’t get to have me as a customer.

If you need more reasons to hate Best Buy, head over to BestBuySux.org. They’ve kept an archive of comments – both pro and con – about the retailer since 1999.

Technorati Tags: customerservice, rants

Louise and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the Seattle Podcasters Meetup tonight. We chatted about podcasting (natch), beer, blogging, technology, accessibility issues, and more. It was a small gathering, but a good group and I’m sure we’ll grow in time. If you have a chance, check out the blogs/podcasts for Travis, Matt, Ken (and Gayle, by proxy), and Robert.

If you’re a Seattle podcaster, or want to be, come out and join us for the next meetup, Tuesday, September 6th.

Technorati Tags: Podcasting, Seattle

John F. Kennedy:

“We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.”

Technorati Tags: Art, Quotes

Short review: Must love bombs.

Extended review: Must love sitting in the movie theatre gnawing your fingers off. This movie was so bad… by end of the opening credits I wanted to leave. By the half-way mark, I was hoping that Sam Peckinpah would make a guest appearance as director so that everyone of the characters—including the extras… and the dogs—would die in a slow-motion ballet of gunfire. Then I hoped that Sadaam Hussein would make a guest directing appearance and that he would actually gas the cast.

We left the movie theatre about an hour ago, but the cinema staff can’t leave yet because they have to wait for the movie to stop sucking.

If you think about going to see this movie, consider disemboweling yourself with a dull spoon instead. It’ll be less painful and more rewarding.

Technorati Tags: moviesthatsuck

No links in ages. I’ve been holding out on you. I’m so ashamed.

• John McGowan post on the rhetorics of violence. (Michael Bérubé)


• What Catherine Ingram said: “I am so tired of hearing Karl Rove referred to as a genius. It’s like saying the mob boss, known for getting his way by kneecapping people and stuffing bodies into car trunks, is a genius.” These guys are playground bullies with drivers licenses, nothing more. It’s like the whole Republican party decided that it was going to be Opposite Decade. The big mistake is to take them seriously, or to expect that they will behave like adults. Not going to happen.


• To wit: Also what Driftglass said.


• I’ve been following the Valerie Wilson (née Plame) case with interest. Larry Johnson, a former classmate of Wilson’s at the CIA, has the most airtight and compelling answer to those who question the former Ms. Plame’s status and importance as an operative. And this Washington Post article from 2003 details the actual damage caused by the leak.


• From the Applied Improv Network, here’s a post called “When in Doubt, Accelerate.” Pretend for a minute that living life is like riding a motorcycle. Now click the link.

Technorati Tags: Politics

Oh, Microsoft. Your feeble attempts at control are so cute. (Boing Boing)

Technorati Tags: Humor, Windows

I’m in LOVE!!! with this new blog from Tom Cruise.

Here’s a sample from the blog, I’m Tom Cruise, and I’m in LOVE!!!:

Last night, I asked Katie what she was thinking when she posed for this picture. I mean, I didn’t see anything wrong with it, but when we got off a plane in New York yesterday, a bunch of people started asking me if putting a fiancee on mind-altering drugs violated principles of Scientology. I didn’t know what they meant until my sister gave me a copy of the magazine. When I showed it to Katie, she just opened and closed her mouth like a fish, but no words came out. So Jessica spoke for her:

“You love him,” she said, “and he completes you.”

Katie nodded, and I helped wipe away the drool from the side of her mouth. I really think we connected