The Rant Place

Policeman in Dire Need of a Career Change...IMMEDIATELY!

2012-01-16T16:01:00.002-05:00

Wishing Everyone a Safe & Happy New Year

2011-12-29T12:25:00.000-05:00

2011 in review...courtesy of JibJab.

A Great Sing-Along. :-)

2011-11-03T17:48:00.002-04:00

On Being Koch-Blocked

2011-11-03T17:45:00.002-04:00

Reality Finally Comes To The Surface

2011-10-21T11:48:00.001-04:00

Chris Hedges Dismantles the "Tea Party"
- Watch more Politics Videos at Vodpod.

Keith Olbermann Reads The Statement Released By The Wall Street Protesters - 2011-10-05

2011-10-06T23:52:00.000-04:00

OCCUPY!!

2011-10-06T00:17:00.000-04:00

America's Elite Excerting Their Control

2011-09-21T15:28:00.000-04:00

So, the lesson here is that once America's Elite decide to steal your money and buy your politicians, you are not suppose to do anything to stand up for yourself. There is one adage that everyone needs to memorize and remember -

Never, EVER stand in the way of Banks and Corporations and their profits.

Lockheed Martin's CEO Is After Your Social Security Check!

2011-09-21T13:53:00.001-04:00

The members of the congressional deficit committee represent more than 16 million people who rely on Social Security and Medicare. But war profiteers who donate millions to these politicians want them to slash Social Security and Medicare to protect their profits.

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
And the best of President Eisenhower's quotes, one that should still be heeded today -

We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Bill Maher's Thoughts on Teabaggers

2011-09-21T11:34:00.000-04:00

The Spin & Lies of the GOP

2011-09-19T21:12:00.000-04:00

Below is the video of Rep John Flemming crying and whining abouyt why the middle-class, seniors, and poor should be thrilled about paying more taxes so that he doesn't have to. This man disgusts me thoroughly. He states he has numerous sandwich shops, yet I will bet that he wouldn't know how to run any of them nor make any products he sells. He has to rely completely on his employees to work much harder then hom so that he can acquire the $6 million dollars. It would be interesting to kow if any of his sandwich shops have been cited for any health violations. But if they were, I'm sure that Rep Flemming would put ALL the blame squarely on his employees that are expected to run the business with little funding and devote their lives to HIS well being.

Or, more then likely, he probably had those citations "buried".

He is a prime example of of the Modern Day Robber Baron.

Their whole attitude is that they are too good to be associated with the common people and deserve special treatment. They will lie and cajole to justify this attitude of theirs.

The GOP is focused on destroying any and all Labor Laws in America, all for their own benefit (such as Rep Flemming) or for those that have bought and paid for them (such as the Koch Brothers and others).

Walmart

2011-09-19T20:41:00.001-04:00

America is Being Threatened From Within

2011-09-19T12:18:00.000-04:00

At no time has America's progress been more threatened than it is now from within its own borders. Single-minded proponents of a dangerous and extremist agenda are working feverishly to roll back every gain we’ve ever made in this country.

The Tea Partiers now calling the shots in the Republican Party won’t back away from their radical agenda. And they are also exceedingly well funded by corporate backers, thanks to the Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizens United decision.

It is going to take commitment from grassroots Americans like us to insure our progress remains intact and to continue to move America forward.

Their Agenda is Crystal Clear

2011-09-19T12:00:00.001-04:00

The GOP's extreme agenda is clear: Protect tax breaks for billionaires, dismantle environmental protections and, to top it off, keep people from voting.

This kind of agenda isn't going to get them many votes, so they're relying on Karl Rove and his crew to funnel millions of dollars to campaigns nationwide.
They have five statehouses to protect, while we're defending nine, which makes our job that much tougher. Not only that, but Republicans are working double time trying to rig election laws in their favor.

The GOP's radical plan might be clear to many of us, but it's not clear to the entire American public. We need to inform people about what the extreme Tea Party fringe is up to. And we need to let them know that Democratic governors are making economic recovery, job creation and protecting the middle class their top priorities.

Why Hasn't This Gotten More Coverage?

2011-09-18T11:59:00.001-04:00

There Is A Special Place In Hell For These People

2011-09-13T00:18:00.001-04:00

They call themselves Christians! What joke. I've always said that there is a very special place in Hell for the Teabaggers...and I wish them a very safe and swift trip there. The sooner the better for humanity.

And during the debate on 09/07, they cheered and applauded the 234 executions in Texas.

Maybe they should have hired strippers

2011-09-06T16:30:00.000-04:00

Video showing the overwhelming and excited crowd at a recent Tea Party Rally in New Hampshire that Palin attended.

Robert Reich Explains the US Economy - In Under 2 Minutes

2011-09-06T00:22:00.001-04:00

This is so simple that even a Teabagger can understand it.

A Message for Eric Cantor

2011-09-05T23:19:00.002-04:00

I Respect Senator Sanders Very Much

2011-09-02T13:57:00.002-04:00

Koch Brothers Trying To Return To The Past

2011-09-02T13:54:00.002-04:00

Meet The New American Sweatshop

2011-09-02T13:50:00.001-04:00

Right-Wing Koch Brothers Caught Telling Thousands of Employees How to Vote

2011-08-23T01:09:00.002-04:00

"State's Rights" Is No longer An Issue

2011-08-22T16:54:00.000-04:00

I have seen a few comments and postings from the Conservatives and Teabaggers that one of their issues are "State's Rights". That individual states have the right to over-ride the federal government.

Hellloooo. Conservatives and Teabaggers, come back into the 21st Century. It's no longer the 1850's. That question was settled long ago back in 1865. Remember the Civil War? That started over "State's Rights". The whole issue was that there was a belief that each state had the right to nullify any laws or regulations created at the federal level. Essentially, picking and choosing what would be the law of the land. The biggest proponent of this political concept was John Calhoun. But the issue of "State's Rights" was settled back in 1865 at the end of the Civil War when the Southern States lost. Calhoun was the inspiration of the Sessionists of 1860 and contantly spoke of it, just like Rick Perry has.

So, it seems that the Conservatives and Teabaggers want to take us back to the pre-1860's and relive the Civil War. Bringing up the "State's Rights" is such a non-issue that for anyone to bring it up, such as Rick Perry and Ron Paul, shows how weak their other points really are. That they have to fall back on this resolved political issue.

Lastly, I would be extremely careful in beating this "State's Rights" drum too much. "State's Rights" has always been used by those who were defending slavery in America and opposing desegregation & civil rights laws. And the final reason that "State's Rights" is a non-issue? Because the 10th Amenedment to the Constitution (part of the original Bill of Rights) protects states' prerogatives. The Teabaggers, who are so fond of The US Constitution must know this. After all, aren't they smarter then the rest of us?

Koch Brothers Buy Politicians

2011-08-21T03:12:00.001-04:00

Do the Koch Brothers Really Care About You?

2011-08-21T02:46:00.001-04:00

Short answer? No.

I always thought that the Koch Brothers, Charles and David, were only trying to destroy any social programs that are currently inplace in the US. This presumption is probably true, but there is a more devious and alterior motive for their views. They are very heavy financiers to ultra-conservative groups and causes such as Americans For Propserity. Intersting to note that the only thing that Americans For Prosperity are for is the prosperity of the Koch Brothers.

After reading Peter Finocchiaro's article in Salon.com called "Our Patriotic Billionaire Challenge!", I decided to do a small bit of research about them. What really got me interested in finding out more about the Koch Brothers and Koch Industries was their answer to the Patriotic Billionaire Challenge.

As a quick recap the issue, Warren Buffitt wrote an op-ed in the NY Times where he stated his feelings that America's Super-rich are in a much better position to help with the economic recovery and that he and the other Super-rich should be taxed more fairly. Buffett wrote:

"I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. [...] Most wouldn't mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering."

Salon.com then decided to contact the Top 19 wealthiest Americans, from the Forbes 400 list, and ask them if they would support paying higher federal income taxes. They heard back from 8 of the 19 and only George Soros said that he'd pay more and 6 of the 8 replied with "No comment". But what interested me the most was the answer that Salon.com received back from Charles Koch. Besides saying No (not a big surprise there), he stated

"Much of what the government spends money on does more harm than good; this is particularly true over the past several years with the massive uncontrolled increase in government spending."

Hmm, really? How? He goes on to say

"I believe my business and non-profit investments are much more beneficial to societal well-being than sending more money to Washington."

Wow!! What an altruistic guy. Maybe I'm reading them wrong. Maybe they are working for the benfit of society and the greater good. Unfortunately, there is no details as to what government spending they are opposed to. I don't want to assume that they are against all social programs, because maybe they aren't.

So, I did a bit of research and found some very interesting information. I found that the best source was Wikipedia because you can verify the information by the numerous ciations that are referenced. If I look up information there about something and notice that the citations referenced are extemely limited or not really verifiable, then I treat that information as suspect. But be that as it may, here is some striking information I located:

Koch Industries was fined $35 million for 300 alleged pipeline spills across six states from 1990 to 1997, adding up to 3 million gallons of oil. The US Government had originally proposed fining Koch $71 million to $214 million in penalties for violations of the Clean Water Act by those spills.[Oil pipeline operator to pay fee. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press. January 14, 2000.]
Koch's Sterling butane pipeline had a leak in Lively, Texas, on August 24, 1996. Two teenagers on the way to report the leak drove into the unseen butane cloud, and were killed when the gas exploded and burned. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that severe external pipeline corrosion was the cause of the failure, and recommended to Koch to improve corrosion evaluation procedures. Although Koch distributed pamphlets about safety around the pipelines, they failed to maintain an up-to-date mailing list. Only 5 out of 45 residences in the area of the accident had received pamphlets. The families of the dead had not.["Austin news, sports, weather, Longhorns, business". Statesman.com. Retrieved 2011-07-23]
In March 1999, Koch Petroleum Group, a Koch Industries subsidiary, pled guilty to charges that it had negligently dumped hundreds of thousands of gallons of aviation fuel into wetlands near the Mississippi River from its refinery in Rosemount, Minnesota, and that it had also illegally dumped a million gallons of high-ammonia wastewater onto the ground and into the Mississippi River. Koch Petroleum paid the Dakota County Park System a $6 million fine and $2 million in remediation costs, and was ordered to serve three years of probation.[Environmental Protection Agency (9 March 2000). "Koch Petroleum Group Sentenced for Minnesota Pollution". Press release. Retrieved 2010-06-14]
In 1999, a federal jury found that Koch Industries had stolen oil from government and American Indian lands, had lied about its purchases more than 24,000 times, and was fined $553,504.[CBS News, Blood and Oil, Nov 27 2000]
In January 2000, a Koch Industries subsidiary, Koch Pipeline, agreed to a $35 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department and the State of Texas. This settlement, including a $30 million civil fine, was incurred for the firm's three hundred oil spills in Texas and five other states going back to 1990.[33][34][35] The spills resulted in more than three million gallons of crude oil leaking into ponds, lakes, streams and coastal waters.[Environmental Protection Agency (13 January 2000). "Koch Industries to Pay Record Fine for Oil Spills in Six States". Press release. Retrieved 2010-06-14]
In 2001, the company reached two settlements with the government. In April, the company reached a $20 million settlement in exchange for admitting to covering up environmental violations at its refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas.["Koch Pleads Guilty to Covering up Environmental Violations at Texas Oil Refinery". justice.gov. U.S. Department of Justice. 9 April 2001. http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2001/April/153enrd.htm. Retrieved 30 May 2010.][Don Richards (22 January 2001). "DOJ Reduces Indictments Against Koch Industries". ICIS. http://www.icis.com/Articles/2001/01/22/130888/doj-reduces-indictments-against-koch-industries.html.] That May, Koch Industries paid $25 million to the federal government to settle a federal lawsuit that found the company had improperly taken more oil than it had paid for from federal and Indian land.[CBS (27 November 2000). "Blood and Oil". 60 Minutes. ][Russell Ray (20 June 2001). "Tribe Likely to Get Piece of Settlement in Osage County, Okla., Oil Squabble". Tulsa World.]
In June 2003, the US Commerce Department fined Koch Industries subsidiary Flint Hill Resources a $200,000 civil penalty. The fine settled charges that the company exported crude petroleum from the US to Canada without proper US government authorization. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said from July 1997 to March 1999, Koch Petroleum (later called Flint Hill Resources) committed 40 violations of Export Administration Regulations.[US Dept of Commerce, Commerce Dept Fines Kansas Firm, June 3, 2003 press release, http://www.bis.doc.gov/news/2003/kansasfirmfined.htm]]
In 2006, Koch Industries’ subsidiary Flint Hill Resources was fined nearly $16,000 by the EPA for 10 separate violations of the Clean Air Act at its Alaska oil refinery facilities, and required to spend another $60,000 on safety equipment needed to help prevent future violations.[EPA Press Release, EPA Fines Flint Hill Resources Alaska, Dec 13 2006, accessed Aug 25 2010, http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/b0789fb70f8ff03285257029006e3880/6b191200b3ce87e2852572430062f987!OpenDocument]]
In 2007, Koch Nitrogen's plant in Enid, Oklahoma, was listed as the third highest company releasing toxic chemicals in Oklahoma, according to the EPA, ranking behind Perma-Fix Environmental Services in Tulsa and Weyerhaeuser Co. in Valliant.[43] The facility produces about 10% of the US national production of anhydrous ammonia, as well as urea and UAN.[Dan Voorhis (2010-12-16). "Fertilizer Helps Koch Grow". Wichita Eagle.]
In 2010, Koch Industries was ranked 10th on the list of top US corporate air polluters, the “Toxic 100 Air Polluters,” by the Political Economic Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[Toxic 100 Air Polluters Press reelase, March 31, 2010, http://www.peri.umass.edu/toxic_press/]

This is very interesting. Seems that the spending that the Koch Brothers are referring to is the spending the government does on environmental protection. But I did read where Koch Industries did receive some awards, one of which Flint Hills Resources (Koch Indsutry owned) refinery was recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Awards program for reducing air emissions by 50 percent while expanding operations. They've been fined numerous times for environmental violations, yet received an award. Draw your own conclusions.

Koch funds and supports libertarian and free-market policy and advocacy organizations such as the Cato Institute and Americans For Prosperity (the Koch Brothers prosperity) and David Koch was a Vice-Presidential candidate running on the Libertarian Party in 1980. Looking at the way they may perceive the government keeps getting them for numerous violations listed above, I can understand why they are Libertarians. They want to do anything and everything for the sale of their profits without regard for others or the environment. After all, if the area they live in becomes uninhabitable (remember Love Canal), they have enough wealth to move anywhere else.

I also don't believe that they are great believers of social issues. Yes, we have read where they have donated millions to hospitals and research institutes. But then, they didn't donate the funds in order for the average American to get use of it. They probably did it so that it would be available for themselves. If they are the major donar to a faciltity or institution then they have priority in being served. Regardless if anyone else's need is greater or not. Making donations to research faciltites also gives them the leverage to dictate what research is pursued. Of course, they'd prefer research where THEY can make a profit and preferably without any kind of oversight, regulation, or control. Wanting less government involvement would probably include the FDA and other government regulators.

What I haven't been able to find is any kind of social program that either of them support or contribute to. But then, why should they? They have to completely destroy any government sponsored programs and organized labor. Why? Because the Koch Brothers then can't step in and fill the void with their version of social programs (can you say Feudal System). I can pretty much draw a conclusion that the Koch Brothers would prefer to go back to the days prior to organized labor when there were company towns, company stores, company everything. This would allow them to control the people for their sole purpose of increasing the Koch Brother's wealth. Emasciate the governement and there will be no one with the power to stop them.

The best thing that ever happened to the Koch Brothers was that Barack Obama was elected President. This so enraged some of the population that certain elements in the Republican Party were able to encourage the formation of the Tea Party. This in turn gave the Koch Brothers an inroad into the Republican Party. They are able to transition from a fringe party, The Libertarian Party, to one of the main stream ones, The Republican Party. They now have an opportunity to manipulate a major political party to reformat the American society into something they can make serve them better. Follow the news and see which states are trying to dismantle the major social gains from the last century - unioin, child labor laws, fair labor laws and you will more then likely find a major company in that state that is owned by the Koch Brothers and controlled by the Republican Party.

According to Forbes, the Koch brothers have seen their wealth rise $11 billion in recent years, making the Koch brother among the richest in the country by being worth around $22.5 billion each. Much of those profits, however, are due to soaring gas prices and the fact Koch Industries has avoided compensating the public for hundred million tons of carbon pollution the company produces each year. Other Koch companies also receive significant taxpayer subsidies, despite Koch’s supposed opposition to government spending. This company is among the country’s top sources of carcinogenic chemicals and air pollutants.

In conclusion, the Koch Brothers only support things that benefit the Koch Brothers and not the greater good. The only thing that the Koch Brothers are opposed to govenment give-aways is when the give-aways aren't to THEM. They spend millions of dollars to make you believe that their interests are your interests. That their wealth is for your benefit.

Where was the Tea Party?

2011-08-19T02:09:00.000-04:00

I have had many an e-mails, comment, and other type of messages sent to me accussing me of using the "race card" when referring to the Tea Party. Many from avid Tea Party members & supports. OK, so I don't have to keep repeating the same thing over and over again, let me start out my answer with the following:

When you lay with pigs you get muddy. What this means that even if you don't beleive that you are a racist, the fact that you associate yourself with one and you support it pretty much can cause people to believe that you are.

Ah, now we come the key question...how do I know that the Tea Party is racist. Because I am a student of history and remember a couple of decades back when the old KKK was around. I remember news footage of their speeches and their statements. They wrapped themselves with the American flag, called themselves partiotic, called into question the patrotism of those that criticized it, and were obsessively religious. So much so, that they use to burn a cross as a form of celebration and devotion. That seems like a pretty solid connection to me.

Not enough? OK, try this on for size. Let's look at the George W Bush administration. During Bush's term he started 2 wars whose cost he didn't even put on the books, thus not allowing the American people (and especially the Tea Party crowd) the opportunity to weigh in on, if they wanted to incur the costs of the wars, and thereby passing the costs onto their grandchildren. You remember the Tea Party supporter's grandchildren. Those that the Obama administration will bury in debt but the Bush spending wouldn't. Did we hear from the Tea Party crowd? We heard some isolated voices that were quickly shouted down or silenced with cries of "UNAMERICANS!!", "UNPATRIOTIC!!". But where were the Tea Partiers. Nowhere to be found? Why?

It was during the Bush Adminstration that the full financial system was on the verge of collapse. This is contrary to what many of the supporters of the Tea Party are now saying. These people are repeating constantly that the finaicial crisis came into existence during Obama's administration and that Bush inherited an bad economy and that he turned around (when in fact Bush's administration inherited a budget surplus). Why do they say this? Because Bush was white and he was wealthy.

Where were the Tea Parties when Sec of the Treasury Hank Paulson, who was appointed by George W Bush, came to the American people with a bailout plan that inlcuded trillion of dollars in handouts to the financial industry all written out on a few pages, with no details or oversight. I remember that Paulson wanted the American taxpayers to just hand him the money with no questions asked. Otherwise we were going to go through a financial Armegeddon. Where was the Tea Party Supprters then? Nowhere. It was the Democrats that stood up and said that IF there was a real crisis and IF the financial industry needed to be bailed out that there would have to be guidelines and oversight. No one knew what the end result would have been without it. We now see, with the global debt situation and the markets' activity that the fraud that Wall Street was a party to and the Bush Administration tried to cover up has had more drastic and far-reaching impact then anyone thought.

So, now we move forward to the presidential elections of 2008. Barack Obama wins the presidency. A black man. The FIRST black man to occupy the White House as something other then a servant. It WAS historic. Other countries viewed us again as an enlightened society, no longer the country rubes of the Bush Administration. However, almost immediately there sprang into existence a loose confederation of groupos calling themselves The Tea Party. Complete with the tea bags hanging everwhere. Is it coincidence that as soon as a black man is elected to the highest office in the country, this Tea Party group comes out of nowhere and what do they protect? Did they protect the record bedget deficit that George Bush saddled the country with? Nope. They protected Barack Obama. The man wasn't even in office that long before the signs were up protecting HIM. The man that was willing to negotiate and discuss the continuation and long-term viability of social security and medicare was being accused of destroying it by the Tea Party group INSTEAD OF the Republican Party that had put forth an actual plan to dismanlte it and replace it with a completely inadequate voucher plan. The Tea Party supporters are even going to be pushing for Paul Ryan's Medicare Plan while villifying The President for the destruction of it. Let's see...Paul Ryan is WHITE and The President is BLACK.

If you don't believe that the Tea Party groups isn't a racist group, then explain to me where they were when the deficit was being impacted as depicted below. Where were they during the Bush Administration. Where were they when George Bush and Dick Cheney were shredding the US Constitution, that the Tea Party supporters hold so dearly and wrap themselves in, when the Bush Administration lied and manipulated in order to send troops on an unwarranted war. Why weren't the Tea Party supporters screaming for the impeachment of Bush & Cheney when they violated, ignored, and essentially broke their oath to uphold and protect the US Constitution? Why weren't they as vocal and inflamed then? Because there was no black man occupying the highest elected office in the country, that's why.

If you're not a racist and don't wish to be labelled as one, then disassociate yourself from the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party. Allow the Republican Party to go back to being a decent group that cared about ALL Americans, albeit from a different perspective then the Democratic Party. Work within the Republican Party to throw off the shackles of corporate enslavement. You do this, THEN you'll be thought of as a decent person again.

We need to act to make things better.

2011-08-18T21:13:00.000-04:00

Can Michele Bachmann get ANYTHING Right?

2011-08-18T21:07:00.002-04:00

Justice Thomas Should Be Investiagted - Then Removed.

2011-08-16T22:19:00.002-04:00

The GOP & Tea Party does NOT represent me!

2011-08-16T00:52:00.000-04:00

I am a business owner.

I keep hearing from the Republicans and the Tea Party faction of that party that business owners need a tax cut. That in order to improve the economy, to create jobs that no tax increases are needed. Well, let me say as a business owner that they couldn't be any more incorrect. As a business owner I need customers. What good does it do me to decrease my taxes or even increase my taxes, without customers I don't have any revenue to pay taxes on. So, lower my taxes...raise my taxes, it's meaingless to me without paying customers.

This is why I have absolutely no use for the Republican Party or the faction within it called the Tea Party. They don't speak for me. They don't understand my issues. Basically, they are ignorant or completely immoral. Maybe both. It's obvious to a blind person that all the Republicans care about and cater to are the extremely wealthy. Those that have spent immense amounts of money to purchase politicians and a political party. They've done this to insure that they will be allowed to steal from THEIR customers and clients with impunity and have ready made lackeys to provide them a smooth road to taxpayers money, to implement laws to allow them to steal, and to have the tax payers pay the consequences (and to keep repeating how the victims are trhe culprits). They purchased a whole political party to insure that they would put a quick stop to any investigations into their practices, to dismantle any consumer safe-guards and regulations. They got their money's worth with the Republican Party. Listening to them would make you believe that the victims of the mortgage fraud put over by the lending institutions was the sole fault of the borrowers and the lenders were the victims. They paid the Republicans to keep drumming the same tune...that regulations created the financial crisis of 2008.

But as a business owner, what do I see needs to be done to help the economy? Jobs! People need jobs. Corporations that use jobs as punitive action against the society that wants to hold them accountable must be dealt with swiftly and firmly. As an example, the financial industry and the National Association of REALTORS® would have you believe that the Qualified Mortgage Rule (QMR) within the Dodd-Franks Act was directed at consumers. They want everyone to believe that the law would require the anyone buying a home to put down 20% in order to get a mortgage loan to buy a house. The truth is that the provision is directed at LENDERS and not consumers. It will require mortgage lenders trying to put together mortgage-backed security (you remember, those instruments that that got us into the financial crisis) could only sell them as "low-risk" if the mortgages in the package had 20% downpayments. Otherwise, the lending institutions couldn't sell them as "low-risk" and they had to retain a certain percentage ownership of them. Both of which is unacceptable to the financial industry. They want to be able to lie, do and say whatever they needed to to make a profit. And the other factor that was totally unacceptable was that they had to retain a percentage ownership fo the instruments. They don't want to own any portion of the junk they sell. They want to get rid of it as quickly and compeltely as possible. So, they convince the National Association of REALTORS® to carry their water and convince their members that the Dodd-Franks Act targets their customers, or the financial industry will destroy whatever is left of the real estate market by requiring ALL loan applicants to come up with 20% downpayment. Blackmail has worked for them in the past...remember TARP?

Now, why is there no buyer confidence? Because there are no jobs; in that the financial industry is sitting on the money until they get what they want. Ability to lie and steal with impunity. They are not going to lend money out to anyone unitl they have what they want. No jobs...no prospect of jobs...the consumer doesn't want to get into a situation where they could end up on the street. Additonally, and less spoken about, is that consumers have seen the consequences of the last outcome from the financial industry's fraud...the lending institutions weren't prosecuted, they walked away with tons of tax payer money (they got TARP money and paid out record bonues), and the borrower ended up paying the consequences and being labelled as the perpetrator of the fraud instead of the being the victim. The Republicans and Tea Party faction want you believe this just like they want you to believe that people who are conned out of their money by unscrupulous home-improvement con-artists were the cause of the crime and not the victim.

Yes, to have the economy recover we needs jobs, lots of jobs. Jobs that pay decently and are secure. Not any that still puts stress on the employees that they may end up without one in a week, a month, or a year. The corproations need to be put under control. The other issue that consumers need to see is that the proper people pay for the consequences of their actions. The financial industry still needs to pay for their crimes and sins. Until this happens, consumers are not going to be that trusting of the marketplace. With jobs they may end up venturing cautiously out into the market...but there needs to be some safe-guards in place for them. And the financial industry and corporations will have none of that.

How is the eceonomy to recover? JOBS! Let's start there. Get people back to work. Redirect the money for the good of the public and not the good of the obscenely wealthy.

Why would anyone vote for them?

2011-08-11T20:26:00.000-04:00

OK, so Rick Perry declared that he's running for President. A little while back Michele Backmann declared her candidacy for President. Now, why would anyone vote for them?

Rick Perry has been documented as saying that he wanted Texas to secede from the Union. This is a man that does not BELIEVE in the UNITED States of America. And now he's running for the highest elected office in the country. Why? He doesn't believe in it. What's the purpose? Was he lying then? Or is he lying now? If he gets elected, what does he plan
to do? Rip up the Constitution and dissolve the United States of America? Each State will then fend for itself? Each State would then create laws and regulations that would suit themselves and not the greater good. States that don't care about their citizens (would Texas fall into this category?) would be able to attract more businesses because of the lack of laws and regulations that protect the citizens. But then these same states would end up with critical labor shortgages because those citizens that could, would move to States that were more in-line with protecting their citizens. But where would the jobs be? What would Rick Perry's America look like? Would we end up with a theocratic nutcase running the country like the character representing the President in the movie "Escape from LA"? Why would anyone vote for someone who doesn't believe in democracy or in America?

Then there's Michele Bachmann. This is the candidate who is totally against a centralised government. This is the candidate who advocates against any kind of government program, except those that she and her family wish to take advantage of. We know what her standards are...everything for her and nothing for anyone else. What kind of America would we have under her? One where SHE decides who is worthy of getting a government program and who isn't? Remember, the Tea Party is
solidly based on hyprocracy. Just think back to the photos of the Tea Party demonstrators carrying signs that said "Keep Your Government Hands Off of My Medicare". OK, so maybe the Tea Party is solidly based on hypocracy AND stupidity. And Michele Bachmann is the leader of the Tea Party Caucus in the House. Hmmm. She's another one that doesn't believe in democracy, freedom, and liberty. Wasn't she the one that stated on national TV that Democrats were un-American and should be investigated because certain elected officials didn't agree with her ideas? Can you say...McCarthyism? She's against centralised government and the programs that go with it...except when it comes to her. She has collected more money from these programs then the normal US citizen, but she justifies it by saying that she deserves it.

Yes, Backmann's version of democracy...everything for her and nothing for anyone else, escept those that SHE decides are worthy.

So, again, why are they running for President? They don't beleive in democracy, in America. Liberty is just a word they use in their sound bites but really they don't understand what it actually means. I happen to agree with John Dean in his assessment of the current Republican Party. He wrote in his book, Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches, that the GOP views public office as a stepping stone to personal wealth. That's all it is. The fact that they have to deal with and cater a little to the public is just a small inconvenience. The Presidency to them is a position where they can help themselves by helping those who will increase their wealth. Be this the wealthiest 1% or the Top 1% of the corporations. These candidates want to sell off America to those that will benefit them most. Does anyone remember, during Baby Bush's administration, the outsourcing of America's and official's security to Blackwater? If not, then maybe they should read Jeremy Scahill's book, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army.

I think that they're running for President in order to acquire more wealth at the cost of the public good.

A case is never made - McCain just repeats GOP talking points.

2011-08-10T19:47:00.001-04:00

The American Dream According to George Carlin

2011-08-06T00:49:00.000-04:00

The late George Carlin tried to shake people up...to get them to take action. He's gone now, but his message still remains. What the GOP and the Tea Party cohorts did this past week was unconscionable and these video clips from some past Carlin dialogues explain why.

Chris Matthews shows how stupid the Tea Party really is.

2011-08-02T02:24:00.002-04:00

Chris Matthews does an excellent job of demonstrating the limitations of the Tea Party.

Was It A Good Deal?

2011-08-02T01:42:00.000-04:00

I don't know if the current deal in Congress that allowed the Debt Ceiling to be raised was a good deal or not. I don't feel that it was, but everyone is applauding it. But I do know that it was NOT a compromise. During the weeks leading to this vote in the House, all I heard about was all of the concessions that the President was giving. Nothing from the opposing side.
What I saw was members of the House of Representatives that are loyal to the Tea Party but members of the GOP basically held our economy hostage. This may seem a bit harsh but I can't think of another way of putting it. How is acting what would be considered a temper tantrum and threatening to destroy our countries credibility and economy anything but a hostage situation? Another point I want to make....YOU DO NOT REPRESENT ME, MY VIEWS, MY BELIEFS, OR MY CONCERNS. PERIOD. I do not know of any DECENT people that share your views or beliefs.

In this last round of "negotiations" (I use the term loosely because what it really was was a Tea Party temper tantrum) the Tea Party affiliated GOP members threatened to stop any legislation that would raise the debt ceiling. They held our credit rating hostage. The Democrats paid the ranson. But what consequences do you think the Tea Partyu has paid? They got what they wanted. They control the GOP. I'm pissed because no one is standing up to them. Basically what happened was that we tanked the economy in order to save it. Does that make sense? I can't put my head around the whole situation about what happened. If the Tea Party wouldn't compromise on this...what makes anyone beleive that they will compromise in the future?

This is why I was concerned about the "negotiations" that resulted in the current "compromises". They feel empowered and they will repeat there actions as long as it gets them what they want. I raised 2 children and found that children will only use temper tantrums as long as they think they will work. Bullies will bully you as long as they know they can get away with it and there are no consequences.

So, my question is this. Are you one of those that elected a Tea Party affiliated representative? Are you satisfied with your decision? Did you want them to completely disregard democracy and become spoiled brats on your behalf? If so, then don't be surprised when your neighbors start to reciprocate you with the same type of behavior towards you. Uncompromising can work both ways.

Just Get Mad

2011-08-02T00:59:00.001-04:00

I was deeply impressed and moved by the Special Comment broadcast on Monday, August 1st by Keith Olbermann on his nightly show, Countdown. I have embedded the code to the video that was placed on his Countdown web site.

I was mad BEFORE I saw the Special Comment. I was mad when I first heard about the proposed deal forced on us by the Tea Party members of the GOP. I was mad when I followed the developments over the supposed negotiations. I was mad when I heard that this was a compromise. But I will let you watch Keith Olbermann as he delivers his Special Comments. If the video doesn't load below, you can view it here.

Lautenberg Urges Colleagues to Vote Down Republican Budget

2011-07-22T02:01:00.000-04:00

How Wall Street reform is working for you

2011-07-22T01:55:00.002-04:00

Will you help Senator Sanders expose the Koch Echo Chamber?

2011-06-22T13:27:00.002-04:00

Where do you live?

2011-05-09T23:47:00.000-04:00

Watch this video and see how true evil lives

Is the GOP Really America’s Domestic Enemy?

2011-04-28T14:51:00.002-04:00

If anyone's been reading any of my posts on here, you'd have noticed a couple where I have compared the old National Socialist Party of German in the 1930's to the current Republikan Party (intentional spelling). I have always loved history and consider myself a student of history. Not as much the politicis because that is all BS and nothing more then an exercise in popularity contests and manipulation of the masses. But the impact of actions and the different courses society takes.

Well, if you click on the link in the title of this post, you will be able to read an article by Eric L. Wattree regarding this very same comparison. And he does a much better job then I ever could. The interesting thing is that I know what he is referring to when he makes comments about what the Nazi's did. It is actually documented in their archives and written up in the history books. Read this article by Eric L. Wattree and then tell me if you don't agree with it...but make sure that you have supporting facts to back up your argument and not just the standard Republikan cliches and mantras.

The One-Percenters

2011-04-20T16:14:00.001-04:00

This is a fabulous article by Roger Ebert. I would never have thought that this kind of commentary would come from him. After all, I always thought of him as just a movie critic. Click on the link in this blog title and read his commentary completely. He brings up the same points that I have in this blog...except that he does it better. He keeps asking the same questions that I have raised -

1. Why wasn't anyone charged with any crime for the financial crisis that we are going through?
2. Why aren't the Teabaggers angry and indignant toward those that actually caused the problems we are experiencing, instead of the victim?

The attitudes of the One-Percenters is not new. That attitude has shown itself throughout history with previous One-Percenters. And I have to say...it didn't work out so well for the historic One-Percenters - the Aristocracy of France and the last Tsar and his family in Russia.

The Danger of American Fascism

2011-04-16T17:57:00.001-04:00

Click on the link in the title of this blog and read the article completely. After reading it, then tell me that it does not describe the current crop of Republikans, their Conservative supporters, and the Teabagger to a T.
I have stated before that the tactics used by the Republikans since Baby Bush was elected as President was right out of Hitler's Germany playbook. In the 1930's it was the Communists that were out to destroy the German way of life. Today, according it is the gays and minorities.
One must always remember -

Those Who Forget History Are Doomed to Repeat It

And we are now repeating history. But there are other aspects of history that the "aristocrats" of American should pay heed to. Specifically, The French Revolution. Although the similarlities are not exact, there is an overwhelming connection between the aristocrats of that period in France and many of the politcal and industrial individual and classes today.

What's the worst thing the Koch brothers have done?

2011-04-01T01:20:00.002-04:00

GOPers Demand Sean Duffy Salary Tape Be Pulled From The Internet

2011-03-31T17:03:00.000-04:00

Click on the article title to read the details about how out of touch these Republikans are. Duffy can't live on $174,000???!?! So, I guess he's just as bad as those "welfare mothers" that he is so against helping because they have children that they can't support. Why did HE have so many children?

Jon Stewart Expalins the Republikan Candidates

2011-03-31T16:54:00.000-04:00

There is nothing more I can add.

The Daily Show
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Recall Momentum!

2011-03-29T21:59:00.000-04:00

$117 million in tax breaks given to the corporations. And the Republicans expect the middle-class to pay for it. The Republicans should bone up on their history, especially the French Revolution.

More great news! They should be sued until they bleed.

2011-03-28T12:14:00.001-04:00

And now they're crying how this will cause them financial hardship. Like I care. How about the financial hardship they caused others? How about the people and institutions that bought their garbage investments? They didn't care about the financial hardships they were causing, they just laughed uncontrollably while raking in the money.
They can use the billions and billions of dollars they made in profits. If they already distributed the profits...go and get it back. If it was spent, then have them sell off their possessions to come up with the money. That's what ordinary, normal people would be expected to do. Normal, ordinary people aren't allowed to get a "free ride". Only and rich and affluent seem to feel they are entitled to not have to pay consequences for their actions.
They should be sued until they bleed. Because they won't be prosecuted for their illegal actions. Click on this article's title to read the details on this action.

This is great news for shareholders

2011-03-28T12:06:00.000-04:00

I am so happy to see that the SEC has upheld the shareholder request for these audits. It's about time that the corporations started to be held accountable to their shareholders and not just run by a very few elite corporate executives.

The True Conservative Agenda Revealed

2011-03-28T12:00:00.000-04:00

This is an excellent article by Harvey Kaye that was posted on Newdeal20.org about how the governor of Maine has revealed the true agenda of the Republikan Party.

GASLAND Trailer 2010

2011-03-25T00:28:00.000-04:00

Do you really believe that our elected officials and corporations are looking out for our best interest? They will NEVER put us ahead of their interests. They just lie to us to justify their actions.

GASLAND - (2010) Directed by Josh Fox. Winner of Special Jury Prize - Best US Documentary Feature - Sundance 2010. Screening at Cannes 2010.

It is happening all across America and now in Europe and Africa as well - rural landowners wake up one day to find a lucrative offer from a multinational energy conglomerate wanting to lease their property. The Reason? In America, the company hopes to tap into a huge natural gas reservoir dubbed the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. Halliburton developed a way to get the gas out of the ground—a hydraulic drilling process called fracking—and suddenly America finds itself on the precipice of becoming an energy superpower.

But what comes out of the ground with that natural gas? How does it affect our air and drinking water? GASLAND is a powerful personal documentary that confronts these questions with spirit, strength, and a sense of humor. When filmmaker Josh Fox receives his cash offer in the mail, he travels across 32 states to meet other rural residents on the front lines of fracking. He discovers toxic streams, ruined aquifers, dying livestock, brutal illnesses, and kitchen sinks that burst into flame. He learns that all water is connected and perhaps some things are more valuable than money.

America's Sacred Cow - The Rich and Affluent

2011-03-24T15:02:00.000-04:00

I'd be interested to know why it is permissible to attack, deprive, and otherwise demonize the middle-class worker but we cannot question, criticize, or indict the wealthy and affluent. On Wednesday, March 23 Ann Marie Buerkle, the Republican Congresswoman from New York stated that any criticism or attack on the wealthy is class warfare. “Why do we have class warfare?” she added. “Why do we want to punish the rich? They worked hard for their money.” What the middle-class doesn't work hard for their money? Is that why Republicans are in league with the big corporations to bust unions and repeal any worker's rights? Because they don't work hard for their money?

Chris Christie, The Fat Man from New Jersey, says that the problem in New Jersey is the benefits that the unionized state and municipal employees get. Not the fact that political favorites get more then their fair share of anything, at the cost of the taxpayers.

So, I want an answer. Why is it class warfare when the wealthy are criticized but not when the middle-class is? Why is it more important to deprive a worker a few pennies increase per hour then a few billion dollars to someone who already has multi-billions of dollars? Unions have to fight hard to get whatever concessions they win, no matter how measly they may be. Yet, the wealthy only sit on corporate boards and award themselves millions and billions of dollars in bonuses with just a stroke of a pen. But then they need the lowly worker to work that much harder to make up for the money that these "executives" pillage from the company. And the unions are an obstacle to get the workers to work under slave-labor conditions. The wealthy can't have that...so they want to get rid of the unions.

Chris Christie's Class War on AFSCME Pensioners

2011-03-24T14:43:00.000-04:00

A Voice that is Sorely Missed

2011-03-24T14:03:00.002-04:00

The real attitude of the Republican Party.

2011-03-24T13:58:00.001-04:00

I just finished reading an article in the Syracuse online newspaper where representative Ann Marie Buerkle held a town hall meeting in Syracuse on Wednesday, March 23. The full article can be found here, but I want to summarize my take on what I read. One of the key questions asked Representative Buerkle was if she would consider raising taxes on the wealthy. She stated that she did not agree that raising taxes on the wealthy was the answer.

Her exact quote was “The middle class is being screwed,” she said. “But they’re not being hurt by the wealthy. They are being hurt by the federal government.” She went on to say “Why do we have class warfare?” she added. “Why do we want to punish the rich? They worked hard for their money.”

I find this very interesting that the Republicans are so out of touch today with anyone other than their Masters, the rich and affluent. Note her comment was that it's not the wealthy that have hurt the middle class but the federal government. I don't remember where the federal government was selling garbage investments to countries and bankrupting them, I don't remember that the federal government was going to people and fraudulently trying to sell them mortgages that were not in the borrower's best interest but they were in the mortgage company's best interest initially. So the Republicans make the federal government, which they are an integral part of, as being the "bad guy" when we know that the real bad guy in this financial meltdown are those same top 1% of the wealthy who have bought and paid for the politicians to enable them to steal from the middle class with impunity and with no fear of any consequences.

They have bought and paid for politicians like Anne-Marie Buerkle to go in front of people and spread misinformation so as to ensure that the normal average American focuses their attention in the wrong place. I have heard and I have seen and I have read were wealthy individuals like Warren Buffett state that the current tax is unfair. And he doesn't believe that it's unfair to his income level he believes that it's unfair to everybody else.

So what do we have here? We have a bought and paid for politician, Anne Marie Buerkle, the Republican representative from Onondaga County in New York State, who tells people that they should be worshiping and thanking the wealthy not condemning them for what they've done to bring us to the current financial situation. That is the federal government, who was basically stripped of all its regulatory and enforcement powers during the Reagan years, that allowed Wall Street, investment bankers, and the financial crooks to bring us to the point that were at right now.

The one thing that I do to ensure that I make decisions that are in my best interest is that I put very little weight on anything any politician tells me, I take the time to read for myself, to find out the facts for myself, and decide for myself what is in my best interest. As little weight as I put on what politicians say, I give what Republicans say absolutely no credence. They continuously demonstrate that their support and their interests lie with those that have bought and paid for them. They have absolutely no interest or feel no obligation toward the common American.

I wouldn't vote for a Republican if they were the only candidate on the ballot, which is what the GOP is striving for (to be the ONLY political party in America). To really understand how the Conservative Republicans work and their methodology one only has to look to recent history. Just a few decades back in Germany when the National Socialist Party kept spinning history and the news to misdirect the citizens to wrongfully blame all their problems on Communists, Jews, the mentally handicapped. They wanted the citizens' attention anywhere other then looking at the activity of the Nationalist Socialist Party. They didn't want their activity closely scrutinized. They wanted the citizens' attention diverted elsewhere. In this way, they could keep doing what they wanted to without anyone noticing. And if they did get questioned or asked for an accounting, what did they do? They attacked the accuser, the person or group questioning them.

Any of this sound familiar? Any of this looks like the methods used by another political party in America? The National Socialist Party use to tightly control who was allowed into their rallies and political functions. Do you know of another political party in America that did, and still does, this?

The National Socialist Party use to send out agitators to their opponent's political functions and rallies in order to disrupt the event. Any of this sound familiar? The National Socialist Party would forge and falsify documents and facts in order to put their opponents and the opponents' supporters in bad light with the German citizens. Does any of this sound even remotely familiar with what is happening in a political party in America?

The National Socialist Party in Germany spearheaded the burning of books and shutting down intelligent discourse. In America, the key figures in the Republican Party have made being stupid, uneducated, and ignorant mainstream. The National Socialist Party found that an ignorant and uneducated citizenry is more easily controlled. Unfortunately, during the 1930's, many of the intelligent and educated Germans left the country. We need to be on the look out for this kind of exodus in America.

If you don't see this alarming parallel between the National Socialist Party of Germany of the 1930's and the present day Conservative Republican Party then you are either blind, dead, or exactly the type of person they want as a supporter of their Party -- essentially, terminally stupid.

Koch Brothers Exposed.

2011-03-10T13:48:00.000-05:00

The Rich & Affluent Keep Pillaging the Rest of Us.

2011-02-25T16:52:00.000-05:00

It is now proved that Gov Walker has sold out the people of Wisconsin. The Koch Brothers want theirs and everyone else be damned.

We wish you fond farewell, Keith. You will be missed.

2011-01-22T16:10:00.002-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Keith Olbermann's Special Commentary on the Tucson Shootings

2011-01-11T15:43:00.000-05:00

I don't care what anyone says, I firmly believe that all of the Ring-Wing Conservatives, Teabaggers, and silent GOP ploticians have contributed to this tragedy. But mostly, I lay the full blame for adding to the mind-warping propaganda on Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, Glenn Beck, and Bill O'Reilly. Here is Keith Olbermann's special commentary about the shooting that took place in Tucson AZ this past weekend.

Wasserman Schultz and Weiner Destroy Michele Bachmann

2011-01-02T16:38:00.000-05:00

Who buys a Lexus as a Christmas present?

2010-12-26T17:45:00.001-05:00

Whenever I watch the Lexus commercial and I wonder who are the people that buy a Lexus as a Christmas present. If there are people who actually buy one as a Christmas present, do they buy it for themselves or do they buy it for someone else? Lastly, if they buy it as a present for someone else, do they just pay for the initial down payment and let the other person pay the monthly payments? Or do they also make the monthly payments? Or is this one of those spousal things? You know, where your spouse was going to get another car anyway and you wait until Christmas so it can be bought as a "present"?
And I also wonder, with the current economy as it is, what does the Lexus buyer do for a living and how secure do they feel in their job?

My social network card: http://rlty.me/terryi

The extortionists win.

2010-12-26T17:45:00.000-05:00

Obama announces a tentative deal to extend the Bush tax cuts.

Those were the headlines alert I received today. I got interested and read the full article to find out what GOP was going to hold hostage to get what their masters wanted. The American people have to pay another very high price so that those that already paid for the Top 2% of the wealthiest in America undeserved initial tax cuts can get even a small amount of benefits compared to the Top 2%. Read the full article at http://usat.ly/hKJpBg

My social network card: http://rlty.me/terryi

Are the Oil Companies good?

2010-12-06T17:22:00.000-05:00

Wow, I saw that the price of mid-grade gas for my car is now over $3 per gallon. And no one is screaming and yelling. No one is asking for any kind of investigation into price-gouging of price fixing. By God, the oil companies learned their lesson well, didn't they?

Instead of bumping the price of gasoline by dollars and risking the ire of the general public they just raised the prices by pennies...continuously. And no one complains.

As I posted before, they learned from the classic story of the frog. The frog analogy that I used previously. I predict that this time next year the price of gasoline will be over $4 a gallon and the profits the oil companies will post will be record-breakers...again. They will accumulate more money and wealth in order to purchase more politicians (such as Barton, who feels compelled to apologize to his master in public).

The oil companies need lots of money to bribe their political lackeys.

Bill Maher on Glenn Beck

2010-12-06T17:03:00.002-05:00

Hold Obama to his promise

2010-12-02T00:24:00.001-05:00

Remember when President Obama made his promise not to extend the Bush Tax Cuts for the wealthiest 2%? Well, write to The President and hold him to his promise.

98% IS a Majority

2010-12-02T00:11:00.002-05:00

Open Letter To My Congressmen

2010-12-02T00:07:00.000-05:00

The following is a letter that I just sent to my US Congressmen regarding the Bush Tax Cuts.
==========================
In this economy, extending the Bush Tax Cut to the Top 2% of the richest Americans at the cost of the average American borders on criminal negligence.
It has become obvious that the Republicans do not care for anyone else's interests except for those Top 2% of the richest Americans. What I want to know is on what side of the issue do YOU stand on? Are you on the side of decency or will you side with those that will destroy and enslave the average American?
What do you plan on doing to insure that the US Congress is not the paid lackey of the rich and powerful? Or will you be more concerned about the ability to raise political funds?

Decent people want to know.
==========================

I had sent the above letter using www.congress.org. It seemed to be an easy and quick way for me to send my thoughts about certain issues to my elected officials.

John Shadegg is profoundly STUPID and the Republicans are CRIMINALLY NEGLIGENT

2010-12-01T23:18:00.000-05:00

I have yet to hear from anyone regarding my last challenge of how extending the Bush Tax Cuts to the Top 2% of the richest Americans and not extending unemployment benefits will help the economy. Rep. John Shadegg gives his version on Morning Joe.

It has become OBVIOUS to anyone with a signle working brain cell that the Republicans no longer are interested in representing the citizens of the United States of America unless they are the richest 2%. If you are not in this group, then you do not exist in their eyes and you may as well die. But for not too many of you should die because you are what their rich master need steal money from.

This is Why I Pay Very Little Attention To What I Hear From Corporations

2010-11-24T23:39:00.000-05:00

Never, EVER Get In The Way of Corporations and Their Ill-Gotten Profits.

2010-11-24T23:31:00.001-05:00

Never, EVER Get In The Way of Corporations and Their Ill-Gotten Profits. They will go to any lengths to protect their profits...even at the cost of YOUR life.

Gas prices on an increase?

2010-11-21T14:39:00.001-05:00

I just finished reading an article on the CourierOnline.com site about gas prices have been increasing. Even though the average price for a gallon of gas in New Jersey is less then the national average, it's still a $0.30+ per gallon increase from a year ago.
But you have to give the oil companies credit. They do learn from the past. How many people remember the gas shortages of the 70's? In those days the shortage was for gas under $1.00 per gallon. When the price of gas was allowed to stay above that price, by some miracle that gas shortage disappeared.
Now, we fast forward 30 years. The oil companies try the same ploy again by shoving the gas prices up near $4.00 per gallon. In some places in the US the price IS over $4.00. But the public didn't sheepishly accept the price increases. There were accusations of price fixing and price gouging. There were calls for state and federal government investigations (even by those hypocritical Teabaggers who want no government regulation of any industry). The oil companies have to back off with their price increases. Interesting how the price of gas dropped under the threat of government investigations. Hmm. Anyone remember how much in profits they posted every year? All I remember that they were obscene profits all the while they were crying poor-mouth.
So, what are they doing now? Now the oil companies increase prices slowly over a period of time. They use the frog analogy as their price increasing strategy. What's the frog analogy?
It goes something like this. If you drop a frog in a beaker of hot water, the frog will immediately react by jumping out. However, if you drop a frog into a beaker of room temperature water and slowly raise the water temp, the frog will sit contently until it is boiled to death. This latter example is what the oil companies' pricing strategy is based on. This is the method they will use to increasing take more money out of the consumers' pocket and put even more into their own.
What's the future have in store?
The oil companies will stay with this strategy because this keeps government investigations off their "backs" and allows the politicians, that the oil companies bought, to deflect the consumers' complaints. They will maintain the gas prices artificially high so that when the oil companies release alternative means of powering our cars and industry (which will validate the rumors that the oil companies have bought up, procured those patents and locked up), they can price them just below the current gas prices but still extremely artificially high. All to insure the obscene profits for the oil companies. Want an example of how the oil companies think? Just look at how they acted during the Gulf Oil Spill.

How accurate is Jim Cramer?

2010-11-21T14:31:00.000-05:00

I've watched his TV show periodically. And I can tell you that I come away with the idea that Jim Cramer is load and very over-opinionated. All that aside, I've never been able to determine how accurate his "analysis" actually are. Is he able to sway the market with his comments and suggestions? I'd be curious to know. Because if I became an avid viewer of his show or a purchaser of his book, what would I actually learn?

Will Someone Please Get Those Companies Under Control

2010-11-21T01:54:00.000-05:00

Saturday night we had a situation with our cable service. Along with the cable TV, we have our phone service with the cable company and our Internet access. Talk about putting all your eggs in one basket. Fortunately, we don't have our cell phone service with the cable company. So, our cable service is off and I use my cell phone to call the cable company to find out what is going on, if they are aware of the outage, if they are what kind of response time can we expect, etc. Of course, I get an automated response. Now, this is where things get annoying. First of all, the automated voice message tells me that I can access support via their web site. Well, I'm not going to be able to do so...everything is out. So I wait for the message to finish. Once it is done, what do I end up hearing? I hear an advertisement for their new movie rental service they are offering and if I am interested I should press 1 otherwise keep waiting. I keep waiting. What do I hear next? I hear another ANOTHER advertisement about ordering their sports package. GEEEZZZ!!! I'm told to press 1 if I am interested in ordering it or to keep waiting. I keep waiting. Over 4 minutes have gone by at this time and I have hey to hear any options that would be of direct help to me. Finally, I start hearing the options about the type of problems I may be having. Press 1 if I am having trouble with the cable TV, press 2 if I am having trouble with my phone, press 3 if I am having trouble with my Internet. What?? No option if I am having trouble with all 3?!? So, I have to pick one. I chose 1.

NOW I get a whole new set of options. Press 1 if you have a blank screen, press 2 if you have a snowy screen, etc. I'm brain has already gone on vacation. So, I press 1. Now the automated voice starts to tell me steps on troubleshooting my problem (i.e. make sure the cable box is plugged in, make sure the cables are connected properly, etc.). We're now over 6 minutes into the call. After the lengthy dissertation on telling me how I should trouble shoot my problem I get to hear another set of options...press 1 to repeat the instructions again or keep waiting to speak to a customer rep. Wow!! I MAY be able to speak to a real person and only after 6+ minutes. Hey, we don't want to disturb any customer service reps or inconvenience them with a phone call. After all, the amount of money we pay for our cable service (basic + premium + digital + High Def + Voice + Internet; remember, you can't get Hi-Def without getting every level below it) we have to put up with automated responses. Now I finally get to talk to a rep and I tell her that all of my cable services are out and I wanted to know what the problem was and how long before it is resolved. What kind of response do I get from the rep? She asks me if my cable TV is on. I tell her that everything is out. She asks me about Voice. Now I'm getting slightly annoyed. I tell her in no uncertain terms and in a very calm voice that when I say all of my cable services are out, that's what they are...out, not working, nothing is displayed, no dial tone, no access to the Internet.

After all of this she finally babbles a whole bunch of stuff at me that I can barely comprehend (i.e. ticket will be generated, etc.). I repeatedly ask "What is the problem and when will it be fixed?" FINALLY, she tells me that they are experiencing low signal strengths in my area and the engineers (engineers?? Real engineers?? People with real engineering degrees??) are working to correct the problem. Once again (or is it for the third time) I ask how long before it is corrected. She tells that it should be corrected in 30 to 45 minutes. And that as soon as the problem is resolved I would be getting a call notifying me of that.

Really? Well, that was over 4 hours ago that the problem was resolved and I never received a call or notification. What a surprise. My neighbor and I took a walk around the neighborhood and ran into the "engineer" who turned out to be a repair/installation technician.

So, the whole point? That customer service sucks in this country IF you can ever talk to a real person. Corporations are so greedy for that almighty buck (trust me when I tell you that our cable bill is NOT in the double digits, it is in the triple digits) that they will put your though their automated response system in hopes that a) you buy more of their crap, or 2) you just go away and not inconvenience them by forcing them to spend any more money then they absolutely have to. And if you are that much of a masochist as to hang on in hopes of connecting with a real person, you will more then likely end up talking to a dolt who gets paid minimum wage (after all, the high wages are reserved for the executives and managers that don't add any value to the operation) and just read scripted lines out of binder they are given.

This is why I don't like calling any company about any problems. This is their way of keeping those annoying calls to a minimum.

That's why I prefer to use PlanetFeedback.

The Hypocrisy of the Republicans

2010-11-20T21:21:00.000-05:00

Did you about the one incoming House Republican freshman that is already complaining that the affordable health care coverage he gets FOR FREE as a Member of Congress doesn't start soon enough for him?! This is the candidate that the Teabaggers elected to congress. This is the same Republican that defeated a moderate Democrat in large part over the health care law debate. Republican Rep.-elect Andy Harris denies the stories that he threw a hissy-fit over a question about his new congressional health care coverage, that he'd have to wait a month for his federal health care coverage to kick in. Awww, poor baby. There other families in America that have no health insurance today, tomorrow, or in one month. But he has to throw a tantrum over the fact that he has to wait a month. Politico and other outlets described Republican Rep.-elect Andy Harris as throwing a bit of a hissy-fit earlier this week over this issue. They received their information from multiple, independant sources who were at that same meeting as Andy Harris was.

I think there are many other Republican health care hypocrites out there. Don't you? So, I signed a petition that asks whether House Republicans will stand by their words by refusing the tax-payer funded health care benefits they get before trying to repeal health care reform and make it harder for all Americans to get affordable coverage. I want to hold the Republicans' feet to the fire by exposing all of the health care hypocrites in their ranks. So sign the petition, too. Let's see how strong the Republican's principles really are.

The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell

2010-11-18T22:18:00.002-05:00

I watched and listened to Congressman Mica and now I know why I hate Republicans.

A great quote that is applicable today...especially after last Tuesday's elections.

2010-11-18T10:33:00.002-05:00

Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.-- Mark Twain

Camden NJ's Treasure House of History

2010-11-18T01:53:00.002-05:00

A little Camden County NJ history.

Gov Christie takes on the school administrators. Is this for real?

2010-11-18T01:41:00.002-05:00

OMG!! I think I agree with Christie. And he's NOT going after the teachers. Good thing I was sitting down when I saw this video.

New Jersey Legislators Take on the TSA

2010-11-18T01:26:00.001-05:00

I tend to agree with this. Where is the line that shouldn't be crossed? What do you think?

GOP to jobless: Drop dead

2010-11-18T00:24:00.001-05:00

Great article by Steven Pearlstein of the Washington Post.

Mitch McConnell is an asshole.

2010-11-18T00:07:00.000-05:00

Extend The Tax Cuts For The Super-Rich? What the f*&$ for??

2010-11-17T23:55:00.000-05:00

I need some clarification here. I keep hearing the Republicans pushing for the extension of the Bush tax cuts for the Top 2% in the US.
Now, they keep saying that these tax cuts are needed for these people because they are then ones that create the jobs. Now, I hear this and I wonder…if they’ve gotten this tax cut since the Bush administration, why haven’t they created those jobs since THEN? What are they waiting for? Let me see if I understand this.

1. The Bush Tax Cuts were enacted in 2001 and 2003. At the least, they’ve been in affect for 7 years.
2. During that period of time more jobs were moved overseas then were created.

So, someone explain to me again why the Bush Tax Cuts should be extended. Is it because they worked so well in the past? Is it because of the million of jobs that were created in the past 7 years? Is it because those tax cuts facilitated an incredible increase to the standard of living to the rest of the population. Is it because they facilitated better health care coverage for everyone or even the less fortunate?

I really need to know that actual, real reason for extending these tax cuts.

On the other hand, don’t those same recipients of the Bush Tax Cuts the same ones that use and expect more of the country’s resources that they don’t want to pay for? And isn’t it true that these top earners don't spend as much of their income as lower earners?

Can someone explain to me how letting the tax cuts expire for those in the highest tax brackets would hurt small businesses? The tax cuts were in affect from at least 2003 and it didn’t seem to help small businesses. Again, can someone tell me how many private sector jobs were created compared to how many moved overseas? Someone explain to me why the tax cuts shouldn’t be allowed to expire that affect less than 2 percent of tax returns reporting small-business income that are filed by taxpayers in the top two income brackets (individuals earning more than about $170,000 a year and families earning more than about $210,000 a year). Explain to me how extending the tax cut helps the other 98%.

Can someone explain to me how making the Bush Tax Cuts permanent would lead to long-term growth? I’m trying to understand how this can be when making the tax cuts permanent would raise government debt? And wouldn’t higher government debt lead to higher interest rates? And we’ve had the Bush Tax Cuts since 2003 and weren’t the economic growth during that time an illusion as demonstrated by the financial collapse during the last couple of months of the Bush Administration? Now I remember being alive during that time and I don’t remember it the way the Republican Revisionists do. I remember Bush’s Treasury Secretary saying that the financial institutions were going to collapse unless the US government bailed them out. I also remember him presenting Congress with a 1 page proposal and stating that he could avert the financial disaster if they game him the $780 billion with no oversight and no questions asked.
So, again, why do the Bush Tax Cuts need to be extended for the Top 2% of the income household?

The only thing that makes ANY sense for extending the Bush Tax Cut for the Top 2% of the income household in America is that these are the same people who bought and paid for the Republican Party. I don’t understand why the Republican Party leadership just doesn’t stand up for their principles. Those principles being that they have an obligation to those that have paid them, given them money, promised them cushy, do-nothing jobs after they leave office. That they don’t care about the people that elected them to represent them in Congress.

The Republicans are being obstructionists...still.

2010-11-17T22:47:00.003-05:00

Have you heard that the Republican leadership has pretty much shown their usually disrepect of The President. This aired on the Ed Show today. It's completely offensive that then Republicans will go to any length to not do their jobs and help the people that they are PAID to represent.

The Number Of Uninsured Has Risen

2010-11-16T11:47:00.005-05:00

I just finished reading an article in the NY Times where they stated that according to a report put out by the CDC, that the number of people who do not have health insurance has risen. The same study showed that the increase was among those under 65 and who had an income that was 3 times the poverty level.

So, what does this mean? It means that the Teabaggers and Conservatives who opposed any health industry reform are basically ignorant of any facts and that they lied during their "discussion" about this issue.

One lie that this report dispels is that only the poor are uninsured. Half of the uninsured are over the poverty level.

The other lie from the Teabaggers and the Conservatives is that only healthy people are uninsured, that young people are healthy and make a choice not to be insured.

But in reality, the report showed that two of every of five people without insurance during the previous year had at least one chronic condition, like diabetes, hypertension or asthma, and were far more likely than insured people to go without care they needed.

So, Teabaggers, Conservatives, and Republicans what have you to say for yourselves? Some more of your lies have been exposed. How can you call yourselves Christians while actively working to deprive others of their basic needs? How do you expect us to tolerate you living among us decent and caring people? And how will you answer St Peter at the Pearly Gates when you are asked about how devote were you in helping your fellow man?

I live by the Golden Rule, Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You. What rule do you live by?

Jon Stewart Kept The Voters Away From The Polls

2010-11-15T17:43:00.007-05:00

Recently I watched Rachel Maddow interview Jon Stewart. Just the previous week Bill Maher mentioned Jon Stewart and his recent rally in Washington DC where Jon Stewart drew comparisons between the Progressives and the Conservatives. Essentially, Stewart said that both sides were equally guilty of lying and using "Fear tactics", etc. This is what Bill Maher criticized Stewart for...saying that the Progressives were as bad as the Conservatives. This angered me as much as it angered Bill Maher that he commented on in his New Rules.

During the Rachel Maddow interview Stewart defended his statement and tried to justify it by citing comments made by Progressives about George W Bush. But what Stewart doesn't seem to realize or even take into account is that what Progressives say is essentially true. What the Conservatives have been saying are lies. Death Panels? Obama being a Muslim? Come on! Enough of this ass-kissing the Conservatives. Yes, I know that they are like the spoiled bully-boy on the block. If you don't do things their way, they are just as dangerous as that bully.

So, what was the whole purpose of Stewart's rally and subsequent interview? I think that Stewart wanted a "Chip in the Game". He repeatedly said that he wasn't a commentator but a satirist. OK. So, what was the point of your statement comparing the Progressives and the Conservatives? Were you meaning to be satirical? Because as far as I am concerned they are not equally to blame for the current situation. But then I am not Stewart's target viewers. You know who are? The 18-29 year olds. And do you know which voter age range stayed away from the polls this past election? Yep, the 18-29 year olds.

Now, could it be that they stayed away because they believed what Stewart said that both sides are mirror images of each other and there is no difference between them? That there's no point in voting because it wouldn't make a difference? I think that it's interesting that the post-election survey's show that Stewart's viewer demographic make-up seemed to be the same ones that stayed away from the polls.

You decide. But I also think that Stewart wanted to "play" in the game and maybe wanted to show that he has as much sway with his viewers as Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck have with theirs.

Well, Teabaggers...You Got Your Wish

2010-11-15T03:00:00.003-05:00

So, with a tremendous amount of glee and cheering, the Conservatives/Teabaggers got their wish. They wanted the people that enabled them to focus on their own wants at the cost of others, those that sold out the country for the personal gain of a very select number of people in the US, and the continuation of the social and moral principles of the United States to gain back control of the House of Representative. Well, whoopi for you.

Here's a news flash for you. You were conned! Well, I hope you all get everything you deserve and that the rest of us decent people in the country don't end up paying for it....AGAIN.

And finally, 2 things I want you Conservative/Teabaggers to remember -

When you actually see the truth of what you did...don't belly ache about it. Suck it up and take it for all of us. After all, you'll be to blame.

As that great American Forrest Gump once said, and this applies directly to the Conservative/Teabaggers, "Stupid is as stupid does".

I know deep down in my heart that because of the amount of social and moral principles you all have that there is a special place in Hell for you....and I wish all of you a very safe and swift trip there. :-)

One of the BEST Commentaries

2010-11-03T18:20:00.000-04:00

I wanted to showcase this commentary made by Keith Olbermann on his show, Countdown. He aired this commentary on October 27th. Too bad that people didn't heed his warning. We now are going to have to wait and see what happens. I pray and hope that he is wrong, but I fear that he is not. This commentary is well worth the time to view in it's entirety.

Don't Let The Conservative Republicans Back In Control

2010-01-24T02:56:00.003-05:00

I have an on-going nightmare...that the current crop of conservative Republicans got back in control of Congress. You remember them. Those are the ones that supported shredding the United States Constitution through fear and threats so that they could hold onto power and help their rich corporate masters gouge more money from the poor, uninformed, and less privileged then them. These are the same ones that are projecting their own agenda as being the Democrat's agenda. They're the ones telling everyone that the Democrats are ruining America and destroying the Constitution...when it has been the Republicans and their Corporate Master that have been doing that all along. The Democrats didn't create Gitmo, the Republicans did. Now we can't really shut it down because the Republicans use fear-mongering of the uncertainty of the future to keep it. Do you think that if the Democrats tried to pass a bill in Congress shutting down Gitmo that the Republicans wouldn't start trying to scare us into allowing them to keep shredding the Constitution? Below is something written by Pastor Martin Niemöller during the Nazi oppression of Germany, this is more applicable to Bush/Cheney and the Republicans then of any other person or party -

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out.

If the Republicans gain power again, they WILL complete what they started during the Bush/Cheney years and it will be too late for us decent people to stop it.

Don't like the Democrats? Fine. Don't vote for them. But for God's sake...DON'T VOTE FOR A REPUBLICAN! They represent an oppressive government that allows for stealing from its citizens.

Open Letter to the United States Congress

2009-11-06T14:00:00.000-05:00

What do you say to the dead? As you ponder your threat to stop the vote in the Senate on the proposed health care bill, I want you to think about what you are going to say to the dead. Yes, the 144 people who died today because they could not get medical care.

What do you say to the woman who died today because she could not afford a mammogram and her breast cancer was not detected soon enough to save her life?

What do you say to he man who lost his job and could not afford the horrendously expensive heart medication he needed to stay alive as he lay dead in the emergency room table?

What do you say to the child who will never run and play again because his parents could not afford to take him to the doctors in time? What do you say to the dead?

Do you tell them you were more concerned with keeping your job than doing what is right? Do you tell them you were more concerned with keeping the campaign contributions you receive from big insurance companies than about whether they lived or died? Do you tell them you think big insurance company profits are more important than human life; their life.

What do you say to the millions of Americans waiting for you to do the right thing?

When you turn off the lights tonight and lay in the darkness waiting for sleep to take you, think about what you are going to say to the dead when you block the vote on health care reform. What are you going to say to the dead?

Linda

President Rainman's speech

2007-09-14T17:22:00.000-04:00

For those of us that viewed the President's speech last night, you have to wonder how we can make the days go by faster so that this idiot is out of office that much quicker. As I listened to his speech I know (and expected) him to baffle us with BS...I wasn't disappointed. I know that other Presidents have tried to put a spin on facts in their speeches (can any of us forget President Clinton's speech about the new jobs that were created under his administration? That every time the speech was referenced/repeated, the number of jobs created miraculously INCREASED.) But President Rainman's B S is going to cost American lives. He has never answered how many American lives it is going to take to satisfy his personal agenda and the wealth of his cronies.

And the one key question that needs to be answered is -

Have anything that President Rainman or anyone in his administration been right about anything they say?

News Media Bias

2007-07-20T15:27:00.000-04:00

I just wonder how much Redfin paid 60 Minutes to put on the segment about the current real estate industry. I saw the segment and thought that it was some type of infommercial instead of the regular segment.

Enjoy the following spoof of that segment.

The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

2007-07-20T15:14:00.000-04:00

Who is Valdis Kuwis??

2006-11-06T21:22:00.000-05:00

And why does he keep spamming my webrings with irrelevent site submittals?

This is a question that I have been pndering for a couple of months now. Valdis Kuwis is the person that shows up on the domain registry records as the owner of the sites that have been submitted to my webring and the sites being submitted have nothing to do with the theme of the webring. But more basic then that is that I have concluded that Valdis Kuwis is a scammer, in addition to being a spammer. How do I come to this conclusion? Because Valdis Kuwis uses a bogus e-mail address with his submittals. If Valdis Kuwis is running a legitimate business in selling pharmaceutal products online, why the bogus e-mail address? In using the bogus e-mail addresses (yes, he has used multiple bogus e-mail addresses) how is he going to get the webring navigation code that is required to be put on the site that he is submitting? In that the service that the webring is using requires the ring manager to manually approve submissions to be moved into the webring...who does Valdis Kuwis think is going to see his site submittals if they are never moved into the webring community? His submissions only show in the webring queue, which is only viewed by myself. And I immediately delete all of them. Does Valdis Kuwis think that submitting 20-30 spam submissions is going to force me to approve his sites?

In that I cannot communicate with Valdis Kuwis via the e-mail addresses he uses to submit his scam sites to my webring, I tried contacting him via the e-mail address he used when he registered the hundreds of domains he uses to scam people and all I got for my trouble was for Valdis Kuwis to increase the number of spam submission from 7-12 per day to the current level of 20-30 per day, I atempted to contact the businesses he lists on his scam site to ask them if they could contact him and ask him to stop spamming my webring. I have never gotten a response. I guess they don't care that their business is associated with someone who conducts himself in the manner that Valdis Kuwis does. Who are these companies?

Oneownway
Pillturbo
Rxlane
Rxfleet
Pillplaza
Overnightmeds
Rx-ed
Tabsu
emediline
Allpills
Pillspharm

Makes one wonder about the legitimacy of those businesses, doesn't it? I did receive positive responses from the different blog and messageboard administrators of the ones that Valdis Kuwis used to enter redirect code so that people, thinking that they are accessing a posted message or blog comment, but instead were being redirected to his scam pages. I don't think I would do business with Valdis Kuwis or any other business that is associated with him.

Finally, put Valdis Kuwis in your favorite search engine and see what you come up with.

Annoyance with eBay

2006-07-16T21:26:00.000-04:00

I know. You’ve heard about the bitches pertaining to eBay. I have, too. But I was still doing business on there because it seemed to be other people’s problems, not mine. Well, today it became my problem. I use eBay to sell my items. I use Turbo Lister to upload them. I also upload them specifically only 1 day a week for 7 days. I’ve been doing this for a couple of years. I pay my fees religiously (and sometimes I pay early). So, today I get home and log onto my e-mail account and find 99 items have been listed under my account that are not mine. Well, panic sets in because these 99 items translate, with my other items’ insertion fees, into $127!!

The first thing I do is try to find an e-mail address to report this to eBay. Have you ever tried to find an actual eBay address to send something to them? Good luck. So, I used the links that I could find in the HELP section of eBay to report this error. After I sent it I did get a reply. As I read it I got the impression that the response was a canned one. One that they send out based on the subject field. I got the response and followed the instructions; I changed my password and I spent the next hour ending the auctions for the items that weren’t mine. Again, per their instructions. I didn’t want to have to expose myself to negative feedback because I couldn’t provide the items that were listed under my account. Now, one of the interesting things about the reply from eBay is that they state that I shouldn’t reply to the e-mail because they won’t receive it. Then how the hell am I suppose to get this issue resolved?!?!? I guess it’s not eBay’s problem. They just want their money. Anything else is YOUR problem. Just like the phishing e-mails that seem to be so prolific over the Internet. I get an average of about 6 per day, which I then forward (with full headers) to spoof@ebay.com. What a total waste of effort that is. eBay’s answer to people is that the burden is on the user not on eBay. The user has to do the detective work to determine if the e-mail is legitimate or not. There are quite a few people out there that are impersonating eBay, yet eBay takes no responsibility to protect themselves?? How can I be sure of this? Because those phishing e-mails have not lessened, they’ve increased.

But back to my issue. I have a response from eBay, a canned response, with instructions on what I should do next. I follow these instructions, inconvenience myself, and I still don’t have a clear answer as to my eBay fees and when will I be credited. Below is the response I received from eBay when I reported this issue –

“Thank you for contacting eBay about items being sold on your account that you did not list. As we investigate your report, we ask that you review the information provided in this message to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.

Please attempt to sign in to your eBay account by clicking on the "sign in" button located at the top of the eBay home page. If you are able to sign in to your account, take the steps outlined on the "Securing Your Account and Reporting Account Theft." To access this page, return to the eBay home page, click the "help" link at the top of the page, and select the following topics when the Help Center window appears:

Safe Trading > If Something Goes Wrong... > Account Theft > Securing Your Account and Reporting Account Theft

From the "Securing Your Account and Reporting Account Theft" page, follow the instructions provided to:

1. Change the password on your personal email account.

2. Request a new password for your eBay account.

3. Change the Secret Question and Answer on your eBay account.

4. Verify the contact information on your eBay account and make any necessary changes.

5. Search for and cancel any active bids or listings that may be unauthorized.

These steps will prevent an unauthorized party from accessing your account. After you have secured your account, we will investigate and we will contact you by email as soon as possible, usually within 72 hours.

*** IMPORTANT ***

If you are unable to sign in to your eBay account, please contact us using our Live Help feature. You can contact us through Live Help by accessing the "Securing Your Account and Reporting Account Theft" help page and clicking on the "Live Help" button located at the bottom of the page. After clicking the Live Help button, you will be prompted to enter your name and your eBay User ID. Once you have entered this information, the next available representative will assist you.

In the event that you are unable to locate the Live Help button or you are otherwise unable to contact eBay through Live Help, please note the

following:

- Live Help is only available from www.ebay.com. If you attempted to access Live Help from one of the international eBay sites, please copy and paste www.ebay.com into the address/location window or your web browser and repeat the instructions provided.

- You may need to update your web browser in order to access Live Help.

- Some firewalls will not allow the Live Help program to operate.

If you cannot access Live Help, please await our response by email. As your report is investigated, note that eBay may end listings and restrict access to your account. This will ensure that your account is not tampered with. If we restrict access temporarily, please be patient and await communication from us.

As a part of the investigation, eBay will review any fees charged to your account and credits will be issued, as it is appropriate. Please be aware that billing information, including credit card and bank account numbers, is stored on a secure server and cannot be obtained through access to your eBay account. If you are concerned that this information may have been obtained through other means, refer to the "Protecting Your Identity" page for information on additional steps you can take.

Clicking on the "Help" button located at the top of most eBay pages and selecting the following topics from the Help window can access the "Protecting Your Identity" page:

Safe Trading > If Something Goes Wrong... > Identity Theft

We appreciate the time you took to write to us.

*** Please do not respond to this email, as your reply will not be received.

Best regards,

eBay SafeHarbor Team”

The question I have pertaining to crediting my account is….when??? My fees are due in the next couple of days. Does eBay REALLY think that they can grab the money and then, sometime in the future, give me credit? I don’t think so. Although, they do have the power and arrogance to suspend/cancel my account BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T GET THEIR MONEY (which I am NOT going to pay….BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE $127!!). I am SO sick and tired of all of these institutions and big businesses just helping themselves to my money and then taking their time in returning it when I can show that they were in error. If any other business is in dire need to being investigated in more detail, it’s eBay. Why haven’t they been more proactive in protecting THEIR identity? Why haven’t they instituted safeguards for the users? Specifically, if I’ve been uploading my items for the last 2 years through a specific ISP, and I just got through uploading the last batch a few days ago, WHY would I upload items from the United Kingdom and in British Sterling??? What did I do, jump on the Concord and fly there? I guess it may be reasonable with the money I’m making after paying eBay’s fees! Now, one thing that was brought to my attention was that I received what seemed to be a canned response. If eBay has a canned response to this issue, does this mean that the problem that they aren’t addressing properly is much more larger then they will admit? Does this give them the ability to grab actual funds and then give credit against future listings? What I mean is that they grab $127 in actual funds from me, of which say $80 is due to the false listings. Now they grab my $127 and decide that I am right (after a few weeks, maybe). Now they give me credit, not in any actual funds, but against my future listing fees. My fees average about $20 per upload. That means that I don’t have to pay any fees for 4 weeks. Great!!! But THEY have use of MY MONEY and I don’t for the next 4 weeks. How’s that for getting an interest free loan? Imagine doing that for 100 people? That’s potentially $8000 a pop!

Now what happens if I decide not to list weekly? What happens if I decide to list every 2 weeks? Then they have use of my money for 8 weeks?? Does anyone remember AOL and the scams they pulled before the Attorney Generals from quite a few states got together and investigate their business practices? Do they need to do the same with eBay? I don’t know, but I’m willing to contact my State’s Attorney General and let him know. Maybe there’s a pattern here that I’m not aware of that maybe only that level of authority can investigate. Maybe eBay’s business practices should be scrutinized in more detail. If you’ve had any kind of experience with eBay where you feel you haven’t been dealt with fairly, then maybe you should contact YOUR State’s Attorney General’s Office and let them look into it.

Lastly, one question that you may ask is….did I try to contact anyone directly? Yes, I used Live Help and just got the runaround. It was always that I need to get a hold of someone else. Reminds me of the stories you hear about people calling a company to get an issue resolved and they keep getting passed to someone else. Well, THAT’S EBAY!

eBay should be required to credit funds as quickly as they grab them and they should return them in the same form that they originally took them, or at least give the user the option of how they are returned.

The True Meaning of "Freedom"

2006-07-04T11:24:00.000-04:00

By: Daniel Friedman

We stand today in celebration of the 230th year of American Independence.
Jaded by the freedoms our Constitution provides us, we often take our
liberties for granted. Today, too many Americans are ready to throw away the
quilt of American freedom for an imaginary security blanket that is likely
to be as successful as the Peanuts character Linus's was. Blinded by
insecurity, America has been led like sheep to the slaughterhouse with
promises of security in exchange for freedom.

It's important to ask ourselves one question this 4th of July, and that is
"What is freedom?" "Freedom" has become commercialized these days; it is
used by almost anyone seeking to rationalize an unjust action, by citing
"freedom" as the force that necessitates it. Actions taken by a private
citizen or an elected official, whether they are immoral or illegal, if they
are taken in the name of freedom, we ought to question their true motives.
The term "Freedom" cannot be thrown around for the benefit of a sound bite,
or a bumper sticker punch line. That demeans the true meaning of the term,
and what we as a nation did to fight for it for 230 years.

True freedom, at its very core, is the essence of who we are as Americans.
It is a defining term, one whose true meaning and limitations should be
debated and decided in the highest Courts; but it is also something that all
Americans should fight and die for. There are those around the world, in
nations far and wide, who are fighting for that very freedom we enjoy today.
Studying their examples should be a task we all take on this 4th of July, so
that we can better understand what true freedom really is.

There was a time, in this very nation, when "Freedom" was spoken in hushed
tones, in awe and with reverence. Those times have passed, and as we have
grown accustomed to the gift of freedom, we do not understand what it means
to not enjoy those same liberties. We see today the desecration of our
freedom in the perpetuation of a war in its name that is fighting for
everything but freedom. We see it in the faces of those in other nations who
smile gleefully while holding a torch to our beloved flag. We see it today
in our own homeland, where untold hundreds track every phone call and e-mail
we make in our homes. The worst way we see it is when our own people are so
eager to give away their freedoms for the promise of a safety that cannot
possibly be achieved by others. In a sense, the greatest threat to freedom,
now and in the future, may be those who live in our own nation. Their
ignorance may be the cause of our own downfall.

This 4th of July, when you are enjoying the day off, barbecuing in your
backyard, and enjoying the food and drinks with family and friends, remember
those who came before us in their fight for true freedom. Remember those who
fight today to be free. And ask yourselves, "What is true freedom to me?"

US Taking 1 Step Closer to a Totalitarian State?

2006-03-18T11:31:00.000-05:00

The following is a copy of a notice that I received this week about the reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act. What good does it do to write to ones elected representatives when all you get is a "Thanks you for writing" reply and the following is still allowed to happen.

President Signs PATRIOT Act Reauthorization Bill Lacking Civil Liberties Protections

On March 9, 2006, the day before sixteen provisions of the PATRIOT Act were to expire, President Bush signed a PATRIOT Act reauthorization bill and a group of minor amendments, making most of the Act permanent without the modest but meaningful civil liberties protections that had enjoyed bipartisan support in the House and Senate.

Last summer, the House and Senate passed different bills to reauthorize the PATRIOT Act. The Senate version was significantly better for civil liberties than the House version. However, when Congressional negotiators met to iron out their differences, they produced a weak combined bill that failed to contain the reforms in the Senate version.

That House-Senate "conference report" passed in the House but was blocked in the Senate last December when four Republican Senators (John Sununu (NH), Chuck Hagel (NE), Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Larry Craig (ID)) joined all but two Democratic Senators in a filibuster.

Last month, under tremendous pressure from the White House, the four Republican Senators agreed to support renewal of the PATRIOT Act with only minor changes to the conference report. Among the provisions in the PATRIOT Act as renewed:

- It still allows the government to obtain business records under Section 215 without showing that the target of the request is connected to terrorism.

- The recipient of a business records order under Section 215 can challenge the order in court and, after a year, can challenge the prohibition (the "gag") against disclosing the order. (Recipients probably already had the right to challenge both without waiting.)

- A judge can overturn the gag order upon finding there is no reason to believe that disclosure of the existence of the underlying records disclosure order may endanger national security or interfere with an investigation or diplomatic relations or endanger the life or physical
safety of any person, but the government's certification that disclosure would endanger national security or interfere with diplomatic relations will be treated as conclusive unless made in bad
faith.

- The Attorney General must adopt minimization procedures governing the retention and dissemination of information obtained under Section 215 business records orders, but it does not require minimization procedures for NSLs. It merely requires the Attorney General and Director of National Intelligence to submit a report on the feasibility of applying minimization procedures to NSLs after the Inspector General of the Department of Justice conducts a study of how the government uses them.

- It clarifies that libraries are not subject to NSLs except to the extent they provide email access. Libraries are still subject to Section 215 business records orders, but the FBI Director must personally approve applications for disclosure of library records that identify a person.

- The FBI Director's personal approval is also required for disclosure of other records that would identify a person, namely bookstore records, records of firearms sales, and medical, tax and educational records.

- It specifies that notice of "sneak and peek" searches can be delayed for 30 days, a clear expansion of the limits that federal courts had deemed reasonable.

- It eliminates the catch-all provision ("unduly delay a trial") from the list of circumstances under which the government can conduct "sneak and peek" searches, but still allow these searches when notice to the target would "seriously jeopardize" an ongoing investigation.

- Three provisions are subject to a new four-year sunset--Section 215 business records orders, roving wiretaps, and the "lone wolf" provision, which applies the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to non-US citizens who are not connected to foreign powers or terrorist groups.

- It allows roving wiretaps without requiring the government to identify the target of surveillance (the government instead can describe the specific target) and without requiring the government to ascertain that the target is using the equipment or facility before it begins monitoring.

- The government is required to provide after-the-fact notice to the court whenever a roving wiretap is directed at a new facility or place.

- It increases the duration of FISA surveillance orders and FISA pen register and trap and trace orders for non-US persons from 90 days to up to one year.

- It requires disclosure to the government of additional information under FISA pen register and trap and trace orders, including information about anyone communicating with the target of the order.

- It requires additional reporting to Congress on the use of certain PATRIOT Act powers.

The reauthorization also contains additional provisions relating to terrorism, such as an expansion of the offenses that constitute terrorist attacks, criminal penalties for those acts and additional predicates for criminal wiretaps.

Unfortunately, the reauthorization did not address major concerns with the PATRIOT Act, which still authorizes the government to obtain orders for the disclosure of records without showing a connection to a suspected terrorist, to issue National Security Letters without prior judicial approval, and to conduct "sneak and peek" searches of citizens' homes and businesses in
ordinary criminal cases.

USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005
http://www.cdt.org/legislation/109/4#H.R.3199

USA PATRIOT Act Amendments Package (S. 2271)
http://www.cdt.org/legislation/109/4#S.2271

More information on the PATRIOT Act:
http://www.cdt.org/security/010911response.php

Stop the Wal-Mart Health Care Crisis.

2006-03-02T22:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we launched an unprecedented national campaign with 17 courageous Wal-Mart employees in 14 states calling on Wal-Mart to "Stop the Wal-Mart Health Care Crisis."

Their stories are powerful reminders why Wal-Mart needs to change. For example, A.G. White, who works at a Wal-Mart store in Pennsylvania, takes home about $500 every two weeks and has no health benefits through Wal-Mart because it would cost him approximately $200 per pay period, or 40% of his paycheck.

Unfortunately, A.G. is not alone. In fact, based on our new report, we estimate Wal-Mart has over 296,000 employees and dependents on public health care at a cost to taxpayers of $1.37 billion in 2005.

We cannot stay silent while Wal-Mart makes obscene profits at the expense of its employees and American taxpayers. And, while we may not be able to change all of corporate America at once, we do have the power to make corporations put people first, and it starts by making the largest employer in America, Wal-Mart, a responsible corporation.

Here's what you can do:

1) Download flyers you can hand-out to Wal-Mart workers
You can help us recruit Wal-Mart workers to speak out publicly about their conditions. We recognize some of these employees may be scared, but the real stories, told by workers, are incredibly powerful in helping the American people understand why Wal-Mart needs to change. Feel free to email or call Wal-Mart workers you may know with the information on this flyer.

Download the flyer by clicking here:

http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/downloads/cards.pdf

For examples of Wal-Mart worker stories click here:

http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/workers/

2) Sign-up supporters to WakeUpWalMart.com
The only way to stand up to the abuses of billion dollar corporations is by building a movement of Americans. In 10 short months, we have grown to 183,000 supporters, but there are millions of Americans who want to change Wal-Mart. We need to sign them up to our campaign immediately. As we grow larger, we become an even more powerful force for change.

Send an email asking all of your friends to join by clicking here:

http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/feature/healthcrisis/send.html

3) Co-sponsor grassroots legislation to Stop the Wal-Mart Health Care Crisis
We are actively working to introduce Fair Share for Health Care legislation in all 50 states. Fair Share requires large, profitable companies like Wal-Mart to pay a minimum percentage of health benefits to their workers.

http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/feature/health-legislative.html

Please take action today.

What you do matters. You are the only one who has the power to change Wal-Mart, and by joining together we are already forcing a $300 billion dollar corporation to respond. This is only the beginning!

Thank you for all that you do,

Paul Blank
WakeUpWalMart.com

P.S. Click here to see our new television commercial highlighting the
Wal-Mart Health Care Crisis, and please send it to a friend!

Growing opposition to AOL email tax: Keep the momentum up

2006-03-02T22:02:00.000-05:00

AOL says it will start charging senders for incoming
mails to AOL users. Read the letter and sign on if you want to save free
email! http://www.www2.dearaol.com

A couple of interesting sites

2006-02-05T21:31:00.000-05:00

I'd like to share a couple of interesting web sites with the visitors of The Rant Place.

The first is called Wake Up Wal-Mart. Seems like the arrogance and indifference of Wal-Mart is coming back to bite them. As a former employee (I left because I couldn't afford to work there) I can relate to many of the stories that I read there. The url for this site is http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/ and be sure to read the blog at http://blog.wakeupwalmart.com/.

The other site is called Wal-Mart Watch. The url for this site is http://www.walmartwatch.com and this site has quite a bit of interesting information.

As I stated before, I can relate to the first site because of being a former employee. As one, I especially loved those commercials that showcased a long time employee who became a store manager after years of faithful service and tells us how great it is to work for Wal-Mart and how the potential for promotion cannot be found anywhere else but at Wal-Mart.
Another one, which I haven't seen in quite a while but it still sticks in my mind, where a college graduate (I believe a law graduate) states how the best decision they made was to work at Wal-Mart and how they were promoted within the organization. Well, all I can say to the first person - you must have been the biggest back-stabber, butt-kissing employee in their history.
My tenure at Wal-Mart saw almost all of the good employees leave because of being over-worked, underpaid, and underappreciated. However, I saw the majority of those staying were the incompetents because no one else would want them. Promotions were based on how eager you were to stab your fellow employees in the back and how many management butts you were willing to kiss.

Now for the second person, I can believe your advancement. I can also believe that you didn't have any type of life or responsibility outside of Wal-Mart. Why? Because Wal-Mart wouldn't allow it. I've seen where people who put their personal life and responsibilities ahead of Wal-Mart were pretty much "discarded". Maybe not discarded physically, but if they were looking for advancement it was taken out of their reach.

There is nothing more important to Wal-Mart then their own accumulation of wealth. Period. Their employees personal lives should NOT come into consideration in anyone's perspective , including the employee's. To really understand Wal-Mart's philosophy, just search and read all of the different lawsuits and criminal charges brought against them or their executives. And
check out both sites that I mentioned above and draw your own conclusion.