The recent Black Friday tragedies at Wal-Mart in New York and Toys "R" Us in California may finally help break the spell of mindless consumerism and rampant commercialism. We're taking up that cause in today's Meet the Bloggers with Rev. Billy and Savitra D of the Church of Stop Shopping and the documentary What Would Jesus Buy?  They will join host Cenk Uygur and blogger Latoya Peterson (NewDream.org) to discuss ways of avoiding sweatshop purchases, staying out of the malls and big box stores, and how to put more meaning into the holidays without putting more stuff under the tree.

Alarmingly, 90% of what's purchased this holiday will end up in a landfill within six months.  And with Americans carrying more than $2.59 trillion in consumer debt, it's time we started celebrating a happy, cruelty-free, sustainable holiday.  Check out the material below, watch the latest episode, and join us for the live blog today on Meet the Bloggers at 1pm ET/10am PT to let the celebration begin. 

And if you miss the live blog, visit MeetTheBloggers.org any time to watch the full episode.

Instead of buying more useless stuff this holiday season, consider honoring someone who has inspired you by

making a tax-deductible donation to the Brave New Foundation in their name

.