iPhone is my bookshop killer

I really do love having local bookshops. Keplers in Menlo Park is definitely a favorite. But I really don't like paying full price when Amazon seems to sell most books at 40% off. I have an Amazon prime account and now that I have the Amazon app for my iPhone, it's just too easy and cheap to buy books. I hate to admit this, but I've started browsing in local shops and buying from my Amazon right there in the shop. It's the best of both worlds for me but kinda shitty for the local shops that I do want to support. I'm not sure how I'm going to reconcile this one quite yet.

Buy American Clause

The inclusion of the "Buy American" clause demonstrates just how broken our political process is. Its amazing that congress leaned so little from the Great Depression. Protectionism doesn't work.

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Hourly Wage @ Walmart

According to an NY Times article, Walmart's average hourly rate for full-time employees is $10.83. Most people seem to believe that Walmart pays only minimum wage but apparently thats not true.

An Auspicious Start

Barack Obama starting his first day in office by increasing government transparency and erecting barriers to lobbyists was a great move. The more secrecy and the more lobbyists the more distorted the politics becomes. Now this could lead to real change.

Best & Worst of Obama's Inauguration Speech

Barack Obama is unquestionably a fabulous speaker and while his election night speech was much better, his inauguration speech didn't disappoint. The best line from his speech was:

"Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age."

And the worst:

"Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms."

...not only super cheesy but don't gathering clouds happen before raging storms rather than at the same time?

Obama & the Status Quo

Barack Obama's inauguration represents "change" in several important ways. However, it is equally important to recognize several key ways in which his election victory also represents the status quo:

1. The candidate that raised the most money won
   
2. Charisma was exponentially more important than policy
3. Change was a key campaign promise of non-incumbents