I got an overnight message from my friend, Russel, who knows my interest in Safeway.

Did you know that Safeway doesn’t have cheap turkeys this year. You have to buy $50 in order to qualify for a cheap turkey. However, look at what the $50 purchase has to be. The exclusions require you have a lawyer read a contract to you to qualify for a cheap turkey.

See you later Safeway, I got my Time coupon for a Norbest turkey for $2.99!

Hmmmm. We already picked up one free turkey at Foodland, and will probably add one of the Times birds to go in the freezer for a while.

Back to Safeway. I didn’t believe Russel’s message. I saw the sale signs by the Safeway frozen turkeys yesterday, advertising birds from $3.99 and up, as I recall. I guess I didn’t notice the fine print about saying the prices were only good “with $50 purchase”. That’s a major bit of fine print without even getting to the various exclusions and other rules. Good thing I didn’t pick one up. That would have been a scene at check-out.

According to another overnight email, former Honolulu Weekly editor, Chris Haire, has a piece in the November issue of Harper’s Magazine. It’s an interview with South Carolina Senate candidate Alvin Greene. The Harper’s piece is available to subscribers only, but it might be drawn from this pre-election interview that appeared in the Charleston City Paper.

Here’s one worth looking through to put the search for spending controls in perspective–a Congressional Research Service report, “History of the Joint Committee on Reduction of Non-Essential Federal Expenditures (1941- 1974), with Observations on Oversight Today.”

If you’re interested in Rep. Rangel’s ethics trial, the proceedings can be viewed online. I’m using the Sunlight Foundation links.

And just for laughs–Why did you buy me that?