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

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Keith Olbermann's Special Commentary on the Tucson Shootings

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

Who buys a Lexus as a Christmas present?

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.

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?

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

Hold Obama to his promise

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

Open Letter To My Congressmen

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

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.

The Stella Awards

It's time again for the annual "Stella Awards."  For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's in New Mexico , where she purchased coffee.  You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving.  Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right?  That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S.   You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head and say WTF.  So keep your head scratcher handy.
 

Here are the Stellas for the past year: 

  

*   SEVENTH PLACE   *  

Kathleen Robertson of Austin , Texas , was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store.  The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son.

Start scratching!
 

* SIXTH PLACE   *  

Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles , California , won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.

Scratch some more...
 

* FIFTH PLACE *  

Terrence Dickson, of Bristol , Pennsylvania , who was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage.  Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open.  Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut.  Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, EIGHT days and survive on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance company claiming undue mental anguish.  Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish.  We should all have this kind of anguish.  Keep scratching .. There are more......

Double hand scratching after this one.....
 

* FOURTH PLACE *  

Jerry Williams, of Little Rock, Arkansas, garnered 4th Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor's beagle - even though the beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard.  Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun.

Pick a new spot to scratch, you're getting a bald spot..
 

* THIRD PLACE *  

Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, because a jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone.  The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.

Only two more so ease up on the scratching....
 

*SECOND PLACE*  

Kara Walton, of Claymont , Delaware , sued the owner of a night club in a  nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth.  Even though Ms.Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000 ..... oh, yeah, plus dental expenses.    

OK.  Here we go!!
 

* FIRST PLACE *  

This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was:  Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City , Oklahoma , who purchased new 32-foot Winnebago motor home.  On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich.  Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned.  Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set.  The Oklahoma jury awarded her -- are you sitting down? --- $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home.  Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home. 

Are we, as a society, getting more stupid ....

or are more members of Congress

serving on juries these days?

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

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

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?

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?

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

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

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

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.

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

A little Camden County NJ history.

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

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

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

GOP to jobless: Drop dead

Great article by Steven Pearlstein of the Washington Post.

Mitch McConnell is an asshole.

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

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.

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

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

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

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 -

1. 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.


2. 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

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

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

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

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

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

Who is Valdis Kuwis??

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

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"

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?

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.

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.

Sign up to be a citizen co-sponsor of Fair Share for Health Care by clicking here:

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

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

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.

Scammers still alive and well on the Net

It seems that the Internet scammer is still out there as strong as ever.
I just got a call from the oldest grandson all worried about something that happened on the Net tonight. Well, the first thing I thought of was that he encountered some pedifile or other low-life while on the Net or through e-mail. Lots of things went through my mind. But it was another type mof low-life that preys on the unsuspecting and unsophisticated on the Net. What happened was that my grandson got a portable MP3 player for Christmas and was searching
the Net for MP3 songs that he was interested in. Inevitably he came across a site that promised him over 100 FREE MP3 downloads. Well, that's all a 13 year od needs to see. He went to the site, all excited becuase he was going to be able to get some MP3's for his player.

Not so fast! Not going to be that easy or legitimate. Unfortunatley, with his father at work and his mother trying to deal with the other 3 kids, my grandson was pretty much left to his own devices. When I asked why he didn't wait for his Mom to sit with him, he said that he wanted to get a couple to load on his player and take on the school bus. And that when his Mom finished with his brothers and sister it would be his turn to get ready for bed and his Mom doesn't like to delay his bedtime, especially on a school night. So, there he was looking to get a few MP3's and not have to bother asking his parents for money. So, after we spoke for a few minutes I got the information I needed from him. He accessed that particular site for about a half hour (read on
and you'll see why he was on it for so long) and that he just filled out his own information where requested. His Mom got on the phone and I explained what the concern was. I told her to make sure that they deleted his old e-mail address that they created for him and create a new one. He does have some school friends and others that he exchnages e-mail with. The reason that his parents created an e-mail account on their ISP account was for the purpose that they
can monitor what their children are doing online. But enough of that.

I got the URL that my grandson accessed and I asked him how he knew how long he was on that site. He told me he got on just a little aftger his Mom went to start getting the getting the other kids ready for bed and he got off when the show that was on TV (about a half hour in length) and he was worried that he got tricked on the web site, thinking he may have done wrong. I told him that he dind't do anything wrong because he told someone what happened.
I got on the site myself to check things out (the youngest son, who still lives at home, is our network administrator and has security shells/firewalls on top of other security shells/firewalls. So I wasn't worried too much about picking up any malicious applets or anything) and immediately saw why my grandson got stuck on the site for a half hour. I "allowed" myself to get stuck for only about 10-15 minutes. Once you get on that site, you are presented with a
"special offer" page that you have to complete before you can proceed to the next page. My grandson kept filling out the requested information because he was given the impression that the MP3's were just on the next page. He was presented with messages like "Almost Done!" and "You're almost to the end" type messages just to keep him filling out forms and reviewing offers, that he had ot decide if he wanted or not. In many cases he couldn't go to the next page
UNLESS he answered YES to at least one of the offers. So, he looked them over and if he found one that HE was interested in, he answered YES to it. If there was nothing he was interested in, then he tried to figure out if any of them would be of interest to his parents. Now, where required he did put in his actual birthday, but none had any disclaimer about 13 year olds not being qualified to complete the forms or answer YES to the offers.

So, what's the bottom line? Did my grandson ever get to view the list of MP3's that were being offered? Nope. This site was a scam. How can you tell? Because it adverttised something that they never intended to deliver on. In the time I was on the site, I saw the same offers being presented multiple times. This means that the site's only intention was to keep you "interested" in the offers becaus they mislead you to believe that you will get to what they originally offered. As I navigated the site only one word kept coming to my mind....FRAUD. How about Truth-In-Advertising? Thank Gid I have a friend who works locally for the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). I know I will make a point of giving him all of the information that I have. :-)