Snuggie - 1, My Son - 0

Advertisers are evil, and they are hijacking the brains of our children. Seriously.

A few nights ago it was cold and the family was in the living room watching a stage of the Tour of California. My now 4 year old son grabbed one of the fleece blankets we have by the couch, jumped on the chair, covered himself in the blanket, and started this unique conversation...

“Guys, do we have the Snuggie?” As Grant tucks himself under the fleece blanket.

“What?” Surely he doesn't mean that stupid infomercial blanket.

“You know. The blanket with sleeves in it. So you can sit down and not have your arms stuck under your blanket. Like this” He demonstrates how his hands are under the blanket and unable hold a book, cup, or perform other menial activities.

“No, we don't have the Snuggie.” He does mean the stupid infomercial blanket. Why does my 4 year old want a $20 blanket with sleeves?

“Why not?” - every child's favorite answer.

Andrea goes on to tell me that he also wants the Mighty Mendit so we can fix things, and the Twin Draft Guard so our “dollars won't fly out the door”. At this point I'm furious, and wouldn't mind 5 minutes in a locked room with Billy Mays, the ShamWow dude, and every other infomercial yahoo. I'm not upset that he knows about these products. After all, these commercials are very memorable on behalf of their kooky personalities, fake demonstrations with small disclaimers, and overall lameness. I'm upset that my preschool age child thinks he needs a special blanket to sit on a chair and that my dual paned, energy star front door needs a pool noodle in a pillowcase to stop drafts.

So instead of staying mad, I decided to get inventive. Grant has a new helmet that he has to wear anytime he watches TV. I'm trying to block the evil advertiser's subliminal messages. Hopefully the helmet will work after the digital TV conversion (if it ever happens). In case the helmet loses its efficacy, I have a digital prototype in the works. I'll keep you posted...

I Heart Glenn Beck.

The older I get the more I feel less like a Republican or a Democrat and more like a Libertarian.  I guess it's not bad when you consider that this country was started by a bunch of land owners and tradesmen that believed in personal liberties and didn't particularly enjoy paying taxes.  

Watch the video.  Regardless if you like MSNBC or CNN over Fox News, I guarantee that you will be challenged or convicted by the principles he brings up.  If you agree, send him an e-mail.  If not, things are already going your way...