Retail therapy saves America, By Mark Morford

[madokie]

It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel ... like buying a new iPod and a boat

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/02/15/notes021508.DTL&nl=fix

I have perhaps greatly misunderestimated the Bush administration.

It's true. I have, lo these past 7.3 miserable and karmically bitch-slapped years, perhaps not clearly appreciated their ruthless and demeaning but perhaps rather insanely effective (well, sort of) economic plan for America. Or rather, 'Murka.

Because it's clearly an stroke of nefarious genius, a wickedly underhanded economic strategy to induce such levels of pain and depression and misery across the nation, to load us up on war and bogus fear and divisive hate and overlay it all with the sad, phlegmy truism that our own callous and cretinous government doesn't give a rat's tail about you, your children, the planet or humanity's place in the grand scheme of the universe, to such a degree that a gross malaise kicks in and you feel as though your heart is being slowly ripped through your throat by a pair of rusty fireplace tongs, and you finally throw up your hands and say f- it and amble right out and willingly pay too much for a new couch and a car and some beer.

And lo, the economy flourishes. At least, a little. Until the nasty recession kicks in. But hey, then you're out of office and it's someone else's problem, right? ...

[marions ghost]

1. ...and then after Retail Therapy ---there's purge therapy

From the article:

"But then again, maybe shopping can help after all. Because if you're lucky, if you're at all mindful of what you're going through, once you realize the overall futility of buying more external crap to fill what's essentially an internal void, you can move through shopping's hollow pleasures and perhaps come out the other end, where you discover something even easier and more delightful and powerfully liberating than retail therapy could ever be.

In short, you discover the joys of retail therapy's exact opposite: purge therapy."

--thanks for posting...