The PayPal thing turned out about how I expected...which wasn't good for me. The automated response I received did nothing to help my concerns and had little to do with the problem. I was "assured" that PayPal was safe and secure (because if you can't trust the emailed words of a stranger, who can you trust). There was no mention to why my bank account was removed; no reason given to why my purchases are being denied. We'll see how they respond to my next letter. If this fails, I guarantee the third email will contain far more profanity (and perhaps a few comments about the sexual liberation of their mothers).

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This is gold. A few months ago there was an officer-involved shooting in Anaheim--I remember the story when it happened. The police were called out to a neighborhood in the middle of the night because someone reported a robbery. Meanwhile, 20-year old Julian Alexander was sleeping in his house when he thought he heard someone outside. He went outside to confront the prowler; the police were looking for a suspect. It was dark and...well, the wrong place at the wrong time. I feel bad for the family; I feel bad for the cop who shot him. It's just a sad story all the way around.

Of course the family is suing--but that's not what makes this story gold. In addition to their lawsuit against the city of Anaheim, Alexander's family is requesting that a statue of him be placed in--drum roll please--DISNEYLAND! More specifically, Main Street--to honor "a man who didn't deserve to die."

Disney had absolutely nothing to do with Alexander's murder. Being an Anaheim resident, he might've gone to Disneyland a couple times--but that's purely speculation on my part. Nevertheless, the mourning family believes the only just honor for Alexander is a statue in one of the most prominent, visible places in the world (that and an undisclosed amount of money).

That's right: let's replace the statute of Walt Disney--one of the most beloved public individuals of the 20th century--with a memorial of a 20-year old nobody who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm not trying to downplay Alexander's death but people die all the time--many are innocent and tragic. Nobody has suggested replacing the Statue of Liberty with a tribute for Dead Don Doe (I'd place a real name here but I can't think of anyone anonymous who died--which I guess sorta proves my point).

This infuriates me. I understand the family is grieving, but where do they have the audacity to make such a request (while we're in the business of making undeserving requests, I'd like for Kevin Costner to pay off my student loans because I saw "Waterworld" on TV a few years ago)? Alexander has no ties to Disneyland. Maybe I could see where they were coming from if he had worked there for 40 years (still wouldn't justify the request--but at least there'd be a connection). Demanding a Disney statue is that type of entitlement that just pisses me off--it's people thinking they deserve more than what they got. I'm not saying the family is wrong to sue the police...but I think lobby for a statue at Disneyland is going way too far.

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