I'd say it starts out funny, then gets horrifying. I was astonished to learn from this piece about 9/11 widow "Lisa Beamer ... registering 'Let's Roll!™' on the trinkets she sold on the Internet."
WTF?! I hadn't been following the 9/11 widows' saga, and I had no idea of Lisa Beamer's merchandising efforts. However, a quick Google yielded this:
"Lisa Beamer has been subject to some controversy in the years since her husband's death. She has been accused of trying to profit from her husband's death after it was learned that on December 4, 2001, she applied for a trademark on the phrase 'Let's Roll' and apparently attempted a civil action against Neil Young for his use of the phrase in his song. The Todd M. Beamer Foundation has since licensed the use of the phrase to Wal-Mart, the Florida State football team, and others.
"In addition to the controversy surrounding the trademark registration, the public financial records of the non-profit Todd M. Beamer Foundation (now known as Heroic Choices) have come under scrutiny for taking in far more money than were delivered in services. According to Heroic Choices, from 2001 through 2004 the foundation used only 53% of its proceeds to fund its programs, falling short of the Better Business Bureau's Standards for Charity Accountibility, which state that program activity should account for at least 65% of charity expenses."
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Beamer>
Is there any goddamned thing in this goddamned country that does not have some goddamned marketing tie-in?
Carl