“We believe in a generous America, in a compassionate America, in a tolerant America…We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and forever will be, the United States of America.” —President Obama, in his election-night acceptance speech

Meanwhile, in Rochester Hills, Michigan:

Rob says this anonymous note was attached to a canned good collected his son’s Boy Scout Troop. “I’m not sure what type of ‘adult’ deems a canned food drive for the less fortunate as a worthy platform for spewing political vitriol to the Boy Scouts who collected the food, but one can only hope that the next four years brings prosperity for everyone except this self-righteous idiot.”

related post: ¡Bienvenido! Mi casa no es su casa.

extra credit: The 20 Biggest Sore Losers of Election Night [salon.com]

Intel, UPS halt funding to Boy Scouts Over Anti-Gay Discrimination [AP]

“How low do you have to go to steal flowers from someone’s grave?” wonders Ash in East Lansing, Michigan.

At the very least, I suppose, you’ve have to be someone untroubled by the prospect of being publicly chided or privately haunted. In Providence, Rhode Island, Moira noticed that the flowers at this memorial had very recently been dug up again.

related: Rolling over in his grave

extra credit: “Man arrested for stealing flowers off graves to give to girlfriend”

“To be fair,” says Loren in Ypsilanti, Michigan,“the owner does live on a popular dog-walking street. The trees are also gigantic, so I’m sure they have a ton of leaves to rake in the fall. Still, this seems a little harsh.”

related: House for rent — we have mold and roaches!

Writes Karin in Michigan: “I found this note taped on the window above the sink after I left a cup on the counter rather than putting it in the dishwasher. I guess my dad thought this approach would be easier than yelling.”

related: The Wrath of the Ancients

extra credit: This is how my son does the dishes [youtube.com]

Sarah in Grand Rapids, Michigan says there are actually more words on this “replacement” lawn sign than there were on the original. Good thing the writer is putting those extra words to work for a good cause, huh?

related: This flamingo has flown

Ashley and her husband were visiting her in-laws in a small town in Michigan when she spotted this old-school wall of public humiliation in the local pizzeria/video store.

Says Ashley: “What amazes me is that a town with a population under 1600 has this many people who owe significant amounts of money to a video store.” (Also amazing? That this video store is actually still in business.)

related: Roadside intervention

Putting decaf in the regular coffee pot? Now that’s just evil taken a step too far.

The decaf’s response:

recent: The British version of the above note

Emily in Michigan happens to go to the university with the largest residence hall system in the U.S., and the Sunday-night scene in the dorm laundry room can be, well, a bit of a shit show.

This is the scene Emily came across one such Sunday:

And underneath…

(Adds Emily: “The laundry room is very clean, but I guess some people need a little extra.”)

The saga continues when an innocent bystander jumps in to make nice…

Meanwhile, the instigator of all this is not the smiley face type.

(just click the image above to enlarge it)

related: To whoever violated my laundry…

Savanna in Michigan says her landlord left this note on the kitchen floor “next to a tiny pile of tiny scraps of trash on the floor from dinner I had made.” Her excuse? “I don’t think we even have a broom, and if we do I have no idea where he keeps it.”

Um, Savanna, honey? No. Just…no.

related: That rug really tied the room together, did it not?

As part of a lesson about civic responsibility, many teachers encourage their students to participate in letter-writing campaigns to Congress, the school board, the Mayor, or other public figures. (Thanks to the efforts of second-graders in Mission, Texas, for example, Texans can now proudly refer to tortilla chips and salsa as their official “state snack.”)

Meanwhile, this teacher in Ypsilanti, Michigan enlisted her 18 middle-school students in a cause even closer to home — her home, that is — by getting them each to write a persuasive letter asking her noisy neighbor to curb his all-night partying.

related: An indignant middle-schooler speaks up