Amazon.

If you're enjoying this blog, please think of it when you have some on-line shopping to do and enter Amazon through The Althouse Portal.

Thanks to all who've done this already. It's nicely encouraging as I begin the last month of the 10th year of blogging every single day.

Amazon.

You can show your support for this blog by doing your Amazon shopping through The Althouse Amazon Portal. Thanks to everyone — for using that portal and also just for reading... and commenting. It means a lot.

Amazon.

Remember the Althouse Amazon Portal... if you've got some on-line shopping to do. And thanks to all who've been using the portal.

Amazon shopping.

Thanks to all who are using The Althouse Portal to do your Christmas, Hanukkah, and other holiday and non-holiday shopping. I appreciate the gesture of support for this blog.

I see plenty of you are buying toys, which is nice, especially toys for the very young, so here's a special link for that.

Amazon delivery by unmanned octocopter.

This drone thing is nutty, isn't it?

Reminds me of this passage from Bill Bryson's great memoir "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid":

Every week brought exciting news of things becoming better, swifter, more convenient. Nothing was too preposterous to try. MAIL IS DELIVERED BY GUIDED MISSILE The Des Moines Register reported with a clear touch of excitement and pride on the morning of June 8, 1959, after the U.S. Postal Service launched a Regulus I rocket carrying three thousand first-class letters from a submarine in the Atlantic Ocean onto an airbase in Mayport, Florida, one hundred miles away. Soon, the article assured us, rockets loaded with mail would be streaking across the nation’s skies. Special delivery letters, one supposed, would be thudding nosecone-first into our backyards practically hourly.

“I believe we will see missile mail developed to a significant degree,” promised Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield at the happy celebrations that followed. In fact nothing more was ever heard of missile mail. Perhaps it occurred to someone that incoming rockets might have an unfortunate tendency to miss their targets and crash through the roofs of factories or hospitals, or that they might blow up in flight, or take out passing aircraft, or that every launch would cost tens of thousands of dollars to deliver a payload worth a maximum of $120 at prevailing postal rates.

The fact was that rocket mail was not for one moment a realistic proposition, and that every penny of the million or so dollars spent on the experiment was wasted. No matter. The important thing was knowing that we could send mail by rocket if we wanted to. This was an age for dreaming, after all.

By the way, isn't it strange that, describing something that's supposed to be exciting and beneficial, a key word is "unmanned"?

"I don't even know what 'Cyber Monday' is."

I say, aimlessly deleting about 100 emails that piled up overnight. "Is it the day when you're supposed to shop on line, like Black Friday, but for on-line shopping?" It's such a dumb and boring concept to me that I have to say that out loud in order to remember that I know what Cyber Monday is. Seems to me we're constantly shopping on line, especially when real-world shops are closed, like late at night, early in the morning, and on Sundays. So why Monday? Are we assuming people need to get to some work computer to use Amazon or whatever?

It seems perfectly silly to me, except to the extent that I'd like to remind you — if you like this blog — to do your on-line shopping through The Althouse Amazon Portal (which lets you channel a contribution to this blog without paying any extra for your items). (That link is always up there in the blog banner, and the gesture of appreciation for this blog is definitely noticed.)

IN THE COMMENTS: Kevin said:

Cyber Monday was about using work computers with high speed internet to shop. The idea was you did physical shopping over the weekend, including just noting what you wanted to buy online, and then on Monday you bought it. The concept really doesn't mean anything anymore since dialup went the way of the dodo. Now it's just another excuse for a sale.

So Cyber Monday Christmas-wraps 2 moral failings: 1. Not devoting all your work hours to doing the work you're paid to do, and 2. Treating brick-and-mortar stores as mere showrooms for products you're going to buy elsewhere.

Shopping at Amazon.

If you're shopping, please use The Althouse Portal.

It's a gesture of appreciation for this blog that costs you nothing (beyond the regular price of whatever your order). Thanks to all who've done this already in this season of good cheer.

"Scott Walker's new book 'Unintimidated' is getting destroyed in the reviews on Amazon right now. The average reviewer gives it only 2.5 stars!"

Says a AFSCME page at Facebook:

Don't waste a second reading it though - let us save you some time by sending you right to the parts where he mocks public employees as lazy, overpaid, and corrupt here...

Linking to the Uppity Wisconsin post that I explained in my post about the Amazon reviews.

and here....

Linking to a Cap Times article attacking the book.

Now, here's your chance to tell Scott Walker how you feel about him -- and his latest attacks on public employees. Submit your own review here on Amazon and then copy it into the comments below as well.

That last "here" goes to Walker's book — I'll substitute an Althouse portal to it — where the top "most helpful" comment says:

I haven't read it, but think you should know that most of these reviews are written by people who have not yet read the book (negative and positive reviews). A union Facebook page is calling on its members to negatively review the book in hopes of lowering the overall rating - even cheering that it went from 2.5 stars to 2 stars (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151792216468061&set=np.420257149.603840067&type=1&theater¬if_t=notify_me). That's pretty sickening. Review the book on its content, not your political affiliation.

Look for reviews that cite page numbers or specifics, not the content that has been taken out of context and linked on the union's Facebook page.

That's what took me to the first link, above. Sample comments at the Facebook page:

You'd think the Kochs could afford to pay for a few more positive reviews. They're slipping.

Maybe I will buy one and make a youtube video burning it! Walker= Bad for Wisconsin!

I'm betting this will be on the remainder tables by next week -- along with Caribou Barbie's opus. Week after next they'll both be headed for the landfill.

Sample 1-star review at Amazon:

My pet varren refuses to relieve himself on this. His bowels seem to be like the contents of the book, unintimidated. No matter how much fiber I feed my varren, or how many facts you present Mr Walker, they both seem to be unable to digest them.

I picked that one because I had to look up "varren."



That union Facebook page is revealing. Herding people over to fake-review a book on Amazon is reminiscent of busing people in from Chicago and elsewhere to take over the protest here in Wisconsin, which is something Walker writes about in his book:

When the protests began, the folks in the capitol were teachers and public employees who were scared and concerned about the changes we had proposed. They brought their families out, and behaved civilly. These were decent citizens, respected in their communities.

But as the protests went on, the ranks of those marching against our reform became more and more radical with each passing day. Instead of regular citizens camping out waiting to testify against our bill, people from outside Wisconsin began to take over. Soon, national union organizers were bringing in groups with insignia from Chicago, Washington, New York, and plenty of other locations across the country.

The signs at the capitol became more radical too, comparing us to Nazis, rapists, and terrorists. Some of the protesters wore Che Guevara T-shirts, bearing the visage of the murderous communist revolutionary (an odd choice of clothing when you’re chanting “This is what democracy looks like!”).

I recommend reading Chapter 24 of "Unintimidated" ("We're Still Here") in which Walker analyzes how the protests backfired. He cites nasty tactics, which were not responded to in kind. ("Over time, I think people in our state saw the difference in the way we conducted ourselves and the way the union bosses conducted themselves.") And now we see the 1-star reviews mounting up, and no one is drumming up 4-star reviews to fight back (even with the taunting, see above, about how the Kochs could be paying for good reviews).

I predict more backfiring: the union is making itself look dishonest and bullying. The book is called "Unintimidated" because they tried to intimidate Walker. Further dishonesty and bullying reinforces Walker's message, making the title more apt.

As one against-the-grain comment over at the AFSCME Facebook page says, from one Lectric Boogaloo:

Go ahead and break the rules of Amazon. You cant write a review without having read the book, its right in the Amazon Terms of Service. Go ahead and get banned, I'm flagging all of these responses and already forwarded this post to Amazon for investigation. Go for it, douchebags.

Thanks...

... for reading. And thanks to all who have used (and will use) the Althouse Amazon portal.

When you use that link to enter Amazon and complete a purchase before clicking away, you pay nothing extra for what you buy, but you automatically make a contribution to this blog. I greatly appreciate this gesture from readers.

The link is always in the blog banner... in case you're looking for it.

A rash of 1-star reviews for Scott Walker's book "Unintimidated."

At Amazon. Samples:

1. "Wow, this is not a book. it is a 'selfie' by Scott Walker. He has tanked Wisconsin with his corrupt leadership and this book is so poorly written, I'd give it a zero if I could. Don't waist [sic] your money on this advertisement."

2. "This book is a piece of crap written by the most self-serving narcissist to ever come down the pike. This book should be filed under fiction on the shelves....."

3. "Gah. What a terrible person. There should be a zero stars option. Good god. The man is a narcissist....."

4. "Dear dear Scooter's sad attempt to make himself feel important. Scott walkers lies and unabashed disrespect for the state of Wisconsin and the union workers is a waste of your time and money. Shouldn't he be writing a book on 'How to snake your way into Politics'?"

5. "Written by a 10th grader doing their first 'paper.' that sums up the writing style and lack of references. The introduction should have had at least 50-60 references. Non-fiction requires extensive referencing for credibility. Therefore, this book lacks credibility because it is not properly referenced. As I was reading it, I kept waiting for the hallelujah choruses to break out through my Kindle. via the writing it is abundantly clear that the author hates blue collar workers and would like to open sweat shops."

6. "Governor Walker is completely off the deep end! He wrote: 'In other words, if you're a teacher, police officer, fire fighter, snow plow driver or any other kind public servant, you're not only lazy, overpaid and corrupt, but you're also not a church goer... in fact, you're probably a damn Muslim!'--There is so much wrong with this statement I don't even know where to begin...."

Well, you might begin by Googling that quote to find out if Governor Walker really did write that. I found that quote at Uppity Wisconsin/Progressive News from the Cheddarsphere, which was humorously paraphrasing a list of "Top Ten Ways to tell if you Might be a Member of a public sector union." The list of "Top Ten Ways" really does appear in the book. It was a David-Letterman-style comic list that had appeared in The Daily Caller, and Walker tells of reading it to his "nervous" staff to "lighten the mood" during the 2011 protests.  He doesn't restate the list with a punchline — that's Uppity Wisconsin's doing. He just says: "It did the trick, putting them at ease again."

The list does include the item "4. You know by having a copy of the Holy Koran on your desk your job is 100% safe." Why is that supposed to be funny? Why does it belong with things like "2. You have a Democratic congressman’s lips permanently attached to your butt"? I mean, I see how it would belong on a list with the title "Top Ten 'Jokes' that Prove The Daily Caller Should Not Attempt Humor." But other than that.... We can see that Walker thought it was funny enough to use to cheer up the staff and to tell us about in the book, but let's not substitute the Walker-hater's paraphrase!

ADDED: There are 5-star reviews too, but more than twice as many 1-star reviews. Guess how many 4-, 3-, and 2-star reviews? Right: almost none. The current tally:

5 star: 48
4 star: 3
3 star: 1
2 star: 2
1 star: 133

I'd like to see the numbers on how many of these people actually read the book, but then, in some ways a book like this isn't designed to be read. It's designed to be an occasion for interviews about the book and articles that cherry pick excerpts from the book. I'm actually reading the book myself... in large part because I'm a writer who is looking for things to pick and excerpt.

AND: By the way, Uppity Wisconsin's post title — "Walker 'Joke': Teachers, Public Servants are Lazy, Overpaid Heathens" — inadvertently insults Muslims. Neither The Daily Caller nor Scott Walker referred to Muslims as "Heathens." That's Uppity Wisconsin's term, and it is an insult.

ALSO: The (unlinkable) OED gives as the first definition of the noun "heathen": "One who holds a religious belief which is neither Christian, Jewish, nor Muslim; a pagan." And for the adjective: "Of an individual or people: holding religious beliefs of a sort that are considered unenlightened, now esp. ones of a primitive or polytheistic nature; spec. not of the Christian, Jewish, or Muslim faiths."

From the historical quotes, my favorites:

1726 Swift Gulliver II. iii. i. 6, I was sorry to find more Mercy in a Heathen, than in a Brother Christian.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin II. xxviii. 139 It would certainly be a greater self-denial to receive heathen among us, than to send missionaries to them.

"We are machines, we are robots, we plug our scanner in, we're holding it, but we might as well be plugging it into ourselves."

"We don't think for ourselves, maybe they don't trust us to think for ourselves as human beings, I don't know."

Amazon gets the Postal Service to do Sunday deliveries.

And WaPo calls it "Amazon’s brilliant plan to rescue the Postal Service and disrupt the shipping industry."

Amazon could have offered to pay the Postal Service for carrying more of its packages generally, and USPS would have gotten a much-needed injection of cash....

By launching Sunday deliveries, the Postal Service has moved to where its longtime competitors aren't. Hardly anybody in any industry delivers on Sunday, with the exception of newspapers. As a business idea....

The other reason it's disruptive? This is one of the few cases we've seen of what we'll call reverse contracting — when the private sector hires a government agency to fill its need rather than the other way around. 

This might be a good place to remind you of the brilliance of the Amazon Associates Program, which lets you make a cost-free contribution to writers like me. (The "shop Amazon" link is always at the top of this blog in the banner.)

"All the states are competitive on this stuff, but I think Amazon realized that Wisconsin is not only open for business, Wisconsin is good for business."

Said Phil Jennings, president of Next/Partners, Inc. (and Wisconsin Law grad), explaining Amazon's selection of Kenosha for a $250-million distribution facility that brings "1,100 new jobs, including hundreds of high-paying technical and management jobs."

Jennings says he’s never met [Gov. Scott] Walker and didn’t contribute to his campaign, but he says the Republican deserves credit for trying to improve the state business climate. He contrasts that approach with former Gov. Jim Doyle and current Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, both Democrats.

“Unlike Doyle and Quinn, Gov. Walker has worked hard to create the platform where Wisconsin can be attractive to Fortune 50 companies like Amazon,” he says....

Amazon has been criticized for running sweatshop-like operations, but Jennings says the Kenosha development will be a state-of-the art, air-conditioned facility that will include sophisticated package handling equipment.

The quote in the post title refers to the Scott Walker slogan: "Wisconsin is open for business."

ADDED: Meanwhile, in Milwaukee: "Special Prosecutor Named In Investigation Of Possible Criminal Activity Surrounding Scott Walker Recall Election." More jobs... for lawyers.

"Amazon workers shipping goods from inside P&G."

"Amazon (AMZN) has ensconced its workers in seven Procter & Gamble (PG) warehouses, where they ship consumer staples such as Pampers diapers and Bounty paper towels directly to consumers."

Hmm. Seems fine to me, as an Amazon Associate, who wishes that any time you need to buy diapers or paper towels you enter through the Althouse Amazon Portal, which is a way to support this blog without paying any extra... and without worrying about where Amazon really is. It's not nefarious (is it?). It's just diapers and paper towels.

Indo Board/Yonanas.

Things we bought recently:

1. Indo Board Balance Trainer.
2. Dutch oven.
3. Yonanas.
4. Nano.

All links go to Amazon, where, by using those links, you can (without paying more) make a contribution to this blog. We like all those things, and here's the all-purpose portal to Amazon that supports this blog.

Amazon.

Do you enjoy the Althouse blog? Consider expressing your opinion by doing your shopping through The Althouse Amazon Portal. (If you start there and click around and don't leave before completing any purchase(s), you will be making a cost-free contribution to this blog, and I will notice and appreciate your gesture. Thanks in advance.)

ADDED: Consider this:

With Kevo, your Smartphone is now your key. No more fumbling for your keys. Keep your phone in your pocket or purse and just touch the lock to open.

I was locked out of my house yesterday!

Amazon.

If you've got some shopping to do and want to show some appreciation for this blog, please consider going into Amazon through the Althouse portal.

Here's something we just bought: a kettle that's especially good for making "pour over" coffee. And a Chemex pot, though I'm still devoted to the old AeroPress.

Thanks for buying those headphones...

... through the Althouse Amazon portal. And by "those headphones," I mean these headphones. Those must be some amazing headphones!

And thanks for all the little things bought through the portal too, like "Walt Whitman's Civil War" and black currant lozenges.

The gesture of going into your shopping through my portal is noticed and much appreciated.

Thanks...

... to everyone who's been using the Althouse Amazon Portal to do their shopping. It's a nice way to show your appreciation for this blog. It's encouraging!

If you're enjoying this blog...

... please consider shopping at Amazon through this link — which is always in the second line of the banner above. You pay no more for your selected items, and you make a cost-free contribution to this blog. I notice, and I read it as an expression of appreciation. Thanks to all who use the Althouse Amazon portal.