Kristen's Written Ramblings: My Online Journal
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
They're Trying to Steal My Identity
Unknown Name/Unknown Number calls repeatedly (often once per day and even at night) and either says that they want to lower my interest rates on my credit cards, lower my auto loan rates, or extend my automobile warranty ("Just press 1 to speak to someone about.... Press 2 to not be called again...").
I used to press 2 to be removed from their lists. Of course, it didn't work. So now I always press 1 and ask for company information or to be removed from their call list, and they always just hang up on me.
Today I pressed 1 to talk to somebody about lowering my credit card interest rate, and pretended I was interested. I spoke to an operator who said her name was Whitney and that the company was Consumer Services. She said she just needed me to give her a bunch of my personal information and credit card numbers and they would lower my rates. She said they already had my information, including the information about my credit card rates and payment history, and just needed me to verify it all by telling it to her over the phone.
HA! Yeah, right.
She said they could get my credit card rates down to 12%! (Wow, what a crappy deal since my cards are already way under 12% fixed APR.)
So I acted like a flustered fool who was interested (those college acting classes come in handy for all sorts of things) and asked them for their company information.
She told me their number (800-847-2911) and said their address was Suite 300 W Peachtree, Ft Meyeres FL 23906. She said that they are affiliated with Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express and with all banks. I kept trying to get her to explain how they were affiliated (e.g. were they in a network, was she a part of the CCC, etc.). She kept giving very vague answers, but ultimately she said they were affiliated with everything I mentioned, including things I just made up right then and there. So I asked to talk to her manager.
The "card member services floor manager" said his name was Mike.
I asked him how it all worked and he spoke in a fast-paced salesmen voice telling me how they were affiliated with all the banks and asked me what the problem was I was having.
When I asked how they found out about me, he said they got my number from Visa and Mastercard because I have a very high credit score and good payment history.
I mentioned that the automated system that called us often calls us at night when their offices aren't even open. I asked why it did that. He said in an annoyed tone, "What does that have to do with getting a better interest rate?" When I asked him why his system often called us at night, he became clearly agitated.
I asked him if they used the Do Not Call list, and he became very upset, speaking to me quite rudely: "Is this what this is all about? You went through all this trouble to be asked to be taken off the list!" (Actually, I went through all that trouble to get as much information about them as possible so I could report them.) He insulted me for having "nothing better to do with my time" and tried to make me feel guilty about wasting his time. (Oh please! I have a mother. I have conquered threats of guilt far greater than any random stranger over the phone could do. You have no powers over me, little man.)
Then he hung up on me. Poor little Mike won't be scamming my family today.
So then I reported them to the FTC and went online and posted their info on sites about reporting scams. Apparently other people have had quite a few problems with them too.
I used to press 2 to be removed from their lists. Of course, it didn't work. So now I always press 1 and ask for company information or to be removed from their call list, and they always just hang up on me.
Today I pressed 1 to talk to somebody about lowering my credit card interest rate, and pretended I was interested. I spoke to an operator who said her name was Whitney and that the company was Consumer Services. She said she just needed me to give her a bunch of my personal information and credit card numbers and they would lower my rates. She said they already had my information, including the information about my credit card rates and payment history, and just needed me to verify it all by telling it to her over the phone.
HA! Yeah, right.
She said they could get my credit card rates down to 12%! (Wow, what a crappy deal since my cards are already way under 12% fixed APR.)
So I acted like a flustered fool who was interested (those college acting classes come in handy for all sorts of things) and asked them for their company information.
She told me their number (800-847-2911) and said their address was Suite 300 W Peachtree, Ft Meyeres FL 23906. She said that they are affiliated with Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express and with all banks. I kept trying to get her to explain how they were affiliated (e.g. were they in a network, was she a part of the CCC, etc.). She kept giving very vague answers, but ultimately she said they were affiliated with everything I mentioned, including things I just made up right then and there. So I asked to talk to her manager.
The "card member services floor manager" said his name was Mike.
I asked him how it all worked and he spoke in a fast-paced salesmen voice telling me how they were affiliated with all the banks and asked me what the problem was I was having.
When I asked how they found out about me, he said they got my number from Visa and Mastercard because I have a very high credit score and good payment history.
I mentioned that the automated system that called us often calls us at night when their offices aren't even open. I asked why it did that. He said in an annoyed tone, "What does that have to do with getting a better interest rate?" When I asked him why his system often called us at night, he became clearly agitated.
I asked him if they used the Do Not Call list, and he became very upset, speaking to me quite rudely: "Is this what this is all about? You went through all this trouble to be asked to be taken off the list!" (Actually, I went through all that trouble to get as much information about them as possible so I could report them.) He insulted me for having "nothing better to do with my time" and tried to make me feel guilty about wasting his time. (Oh please! I have a mother. I have conquered threats of guilt far greater than any random stranger over the phone could do. You have no powers over me, little man.)
Then he hung up on me. Poor little Mike won't be scamming my family today.
So then I reported them to the FTC and went online and posted their info on sites about reporting scams. Apparently other people have had quite a few problems with them too.
Labels: Things that Annoy Me
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Glory of an Oops
There's no shame in saying, "I was wrong before, but I know better now."
You can change your position, your platform, your goals, your identity, your affiliations, and even your founding beliefs about the very nature of your own life. Growing from your mistakes is a perfect place for pride.
Shame belongs to the stubborn people who refuse to change their minds even in the face of overwhelming evidence to support that they are wrong. Stubbornness doesn't make you look strong, and it certainly doesn't make you right. It just makes you look foolish.
You can change your position, your platform, your goals, your identity, your affiliations, and even your founding beliefs about the very nature of your own life. Growing from your mistakes is a perfect place for pride.
Shame belongs to the stubborn people who refuse to change their minds even in the face of overwhelming evidence to support that they are wrong. Stubbornness doesn't make you look strong, and it certainly doesn't make you right. It just makes you look foolish.
Labels: Deep Thoughts and Philosophy, The Quest for Happiness
Bush's "Big Government"
Republicans are always talking about "big government" and how they don't want it: "We don't need all those regulations. The market will balance out itself without regulations."
This is true. The market will balance itself out, but not like a weight scale. Instead it will balance itself like an electromagnetic force, creating two polar opposites. It will become two extremes. The people on the top get richer and stronger and the people on the bottom will become poorer and weaker. There is very little between those extremes, so anyone who is currently "middle class" will need to either claw their way to the top, crushing everyone else as they go, or give up and submit to a life of peasantry.
I can understand the fear of "big government." I don't want to live a in a country where the government controls everything. I wouldn't want to live in communist North Korea or Nazi Germany or Taliban Afghanistan. But I don't want to live in a government-free country either because ultimately a nation without regulation quickly devolves into barbaric structures based on bullying.
The United States was founded on the idea that the government was "for the people." Sometimes, we "people" must establish rules and boundaries and protect the innocent from the stupid and greedy. Children must wear bike helmets and go to school. Nobody is allowed to drive while intoxicated. Companies aren't allowed to sell products that can harm people even when those products are used properly. Regulations are good as long as they're designed to protect people and don't take away the rights of the individual to direct his/her own life.
The economy needs regulation. The social security system needs regulation. Businesses need regulation. Governments need regulation. The regulations ensure that the people at the top don't get too powerful and the people at the bottom don't get too abused.
When I talk to people who insist that all regulation is bad, they're usually talking about any regulation that keeps them from having lots of power or losing the power they have. These people are usually the ones at the top who already have power and wealth and people in the middle who want to kick and bite and claw their way to the top and knock everyone else off their mountain (and these are exactly the sort of people who shouldn't have power because they're most likely to abuse it).
Then there are the people who are against regulation because they believe that everybody should be allowed to fully regulate themselves. They believe in survival of the fittest, and if anyone isn't fit to survive it's their own damn fault. Worst of all, they can only see things from their perspective; they lack the ability to imagine other points of view or relate how their own actions influence others. They say things like, "Why should I pay more taxes for education? My kids are going to a private school. Why should I pay more taxes to help lazy people on welfare? They should get a job. Why can't I charge my customers $10 for a gallon of water after a hurricane? It's just the law of supply and demand." (Then they complain about how much crime there is. It's strange how they never see the connection.)
And for the past 8 years we have had a president who says he believes in less regulation. Less regulation for businesses. Less regulation for polluters. Less regulation to protect endangered species. Less regulation of social security. He even deregulated our rules concerning war and traded our regulated military for unregulated mercenaries who can rape and murder freely. And then he tried deregulating Congress with the Sunset Commission (a Bush appointed panel of people who terminate any federal programs that they deem wasteful, such as environmental and social programs). He deregulated the legal system by using "signing statements" to change the laws that Congress passed. He deregulated our civil rights policies, so he could torture people and invade the privacy of American citizens.
But Bush isn't against regulation. He loves regulations that directly benefit him and his buddies. It's all about selfishness, greed, power and money.
And now that Bush is getting ready to leave office, the economy is falling apart, the military is suffering, our veterans are abandoned, the world hates us (even our allies don't respect us anymore), and American lives are being destroyed family by family. The Bush administration has spent trillions of dollars, our money, while he swore an oath to financial conservativeness. He condemned "big government" then proceeded to create one of the biggest, dominating, dictator-like governments in the history of the U.S.
His supporters, whom he lied to, still support him. Are they really that gullible? Or are they too somehow benefiting from his tyranny while everyone else suffers? Are they trying to climb and scratch their way up that mountain of power?
Then Bush says that he's going to freely give billions in tax-payer money to this giant companies that are folding under the weight of the slumping economy, so he can save the economy. (Well that's what we get for having a president who got a D in economics and spent his college years drunk.)
So where exactly is that money going to go? What are they going to do with it? Are the millionaire directors of those companies going to keep getting their millionaire paychecks and bonuses even though they ran the companies into the ground?
I think we do need to step in to help those companies, to take over those mortgages and business loans, but let's not be stupid about it. You don't give a greedy person a billion dollar check and expect them to do the right thing with it. No, they'll just take a big cut of it for themselves and continue to let everything else around them fall apart.
It seems that what we need is a bit of regulation. Imagine that.
This is true. The market will balance itself out, but not like a weight scale. Instead it will balance itself like an electromagnetic force, creating two polar opposites. It will become two extremes. The people on the top get richer and stronger and the people on the bottom will become poorer and weaker. There is very little between those extremes, so anyone who is currently "middle class" will need to either claw their way to the top, crushing everyone else as they go, or give up and submit to a life of peasantry.
I can understand the fear of "big government." I don't want to live a in a country where the government controls everything. I wouldn't want to live in communist North Korea or Nazi Germany or Taliban Afghanistan. But I don't want to live in a government-free country either because ultimately a nation without regulation quickly devolves into barbaric structures based on bullying.
The United States was founded on the idea that the government was "for the people." Sometimes, we "people" must establish rules and boundaries and protect the innocent from the stupid and greedy. Children must wear bike helmets and go to school. Nobody is allowed to drive while intoxicated. Companies aren't allowed to sell products that can harm people even when those products are used properly. Regulations are good as long as they're designed to protect people and don't take away the rights of the individual to direct his/her own life.
The economy needs regulation. The social security system needs regulation. Businesses need regulation. Governments need regulation. The regulations ensure that the people at the top don't get too powerful and the people at the bottom don't get too abused.
When I talk to people who insist that all regulation is bad, they're usually talking about any regulation that keeps them from having lots of power or losing the power they have. These people are usually the ones at the top who already have power and wealth and people in the middle who want to kick and bite and claw their way to the top and knock everyone else off their mountain (and these are exactly the sort of people who shouldn't have power because they're most likely to abuse it).
Then there are the people who are against regulation because they believe that everybody should be allowed to fully regulate themselves. They believe in survival of the fittest, and if anyone isn't fit to survive it's their own damn fault. Worst of all, they can only see things from their perspective; they lack the ability to imagine other points of view or relate how their own actions influence others. They say things like, "Why should I pay more taxes for education? My kids are going to a private school. Why should I pay more taxes to help lazy people on welfare? They should get a job. Why can't I charge my customers $10 for a gallon of water after a hurricane? It's just the law of supply and demand." (Then they complain about how much crime there is. It's strange how they never see the connection.)
And for the past 8 years we have had a president who says he believes in less regulation. Less regulation for businesses. Less regulation for polluters. Less regulation to protect endangered species. Less regulation of social security. He even deregulated our rules concerning war and traded our regulated military for unregulated mercenaries who can rape and murder freely. And then he tried deregulating Congress with the Sunset Commission (a Bush appointed panel of people who terminate any federal programs that they deem wasteful, such as environmental and social programs). He deregulated the legal system by using "signing statements" to change the laws that Congress passed. He deregulated our civil rights policies, so he could torture people and invade the privacy of American citizens.
But Bush isn't against regulation. He loves regulations that directly benefit him and his buddies. It's all about selfishness, greed, power and money.
And now that Bush is getting ready to leave office, the economy is falling apart, the military is suffering, our veterans are abandoned, the world hates us (even our allies don't respect us anymore), and American lives are being destroyed family by family. The Bush administration has spent trillions of dollars, our money, while he swore an oath to financial conservativeness. He condemned "big government" then proceeded to create one of the biggest, dominating, dictator-like governments in the history of the U.S.
His supporters, whom he lied to, still support him. Are they really that gullible? Or are they too somehow benefiting from his tyranny while everyone else suffers? Are they trying to climb and scratch their way up that mountain of power?
Then Bush says that he's going to freely give billions in tax-payer money to this giant companies that are folding under the weight of the slumping economy, so he can save the economy. (Well that's what we get for having a president who got a D in economics and spent his college years drunk.)
So where exactly is that money going to go? What are they going to do with it? Are the millionaire directors of those companies going to keep getting their millionaire paychecks and bonuses even though they ran the companies into the ground?
I think we do need to step in to help those companies, to take over those mortgages and business loans, but let's not be stupid about it. You don't give a greedy person a billion dollar check and expect them to do the right thing with it. No, they'll just take a big cut of it for themselves and continue to let everything else around them fall apart.
It seems that what we need is a bit of regulation. Imagine that.
Labels: Activism
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Save the World While Your Computer Is Idle
Remember Seti@Home, a screensaver that analyzed data from space in search of alien life? Now you can focus your idle computer time on helping the creatures that live on this planet.
Go to
http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org
and download the program and select the projects you want to support. Then, just use your computer as you normally do. Meanwhile, your computer will be processing data that can help fight cancer, AIDS, and hunger. It's a way to give charity and not have to do any work for it. You can even adjust it so it only runs when your system is idle.
Go to
http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org
and download the program and select the projects you want to support. Then, just use your computer as you normally do. Meanwhile, your computer will be processing data that can help fight cancer, AIDS, and hunger. It's a way to give charity and not have to do any work for it. You can even adjust it so it only runs when your system is idle.
Labels: Activism
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The Perfect Job
Things I Never Want to Do Again
I don't want to sell junk, more stuff for people to shove into drawers and pile onto shelves then throw out into the landfill. I don't want to convince people to buy things they don't need. I don't want to add clutter to the world.
I don't want to sell things that kill people, or at least make them very sick. I don't want to give cookies and convenience foods filled with hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup to children, sickly adults, and people who are obviously obese already. I don't want to sell tobacco or diet aids to anyone.
I don't want to do anything that hurts animals, like sell meat, or sell dairy or eggs from animals that are treated inhumanely and are ultimately going to be slaughtered.
I don't want to do a job that can easily be done by a robot or a computer, especially if the reason why I'm doing it is that I cost less than the computer.
I don't want to make things more complicated than they need to be.
I don't want to be around people who seem to hate their lives and want me to suffer with them.
Things I Enjoyed Doing
I love working with kids.
I love teaching people new things.
I love helping people through difficult times in their lives.
I love helping people to help themselves.
I love making people smile or laugh, even if I have to make a fool of myself to do it.
I love doing something that other people find inspiring.
I love being around people who love life and have a passion for what they're doing.
I like doing jobs that earn lots of money (as long as I don't feel guilty about what I have to do to get it).
I love doing things that help the environment and, thus, all humanity, animals, and other forms of life.
I don't want to sell junk, more stuff for people to shove into drawers and pile onto shelves then throw out into the landfill. I don't want to convince people to buy things they don't need. I don't want to add clutter to the world.
I don't want to sell things that kill people, or at least make them very sick. I don't want to give cookies and convenience foods filled with hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup to children, sickly adults, and people who are obviously obese already. I don't want to sell tobacco or diet aids to anyone.
I don't want to do anything that hurts animals, like sell meat, or sell dairy or eggs from animals that are treated inhumanely and are ultimately going to be slaughtered.
I don't want to do a job that can easily be done by a robot or a computer, especially if the reason why I'm doing it is that I cost less than the computer.
I don't want to make things more complicated than they need to be.
I don't want to be around people who seem to hate their lives and want me to suffer with them.
Things I Enjoyed Doing
I love working with kids.
I love teaching people new things.
I love helping people through difficult times in their lives.
I love helping people to help themselves.
I love making people smile or laugh, even if I have to make a fool of myself to do it.
I love doing something that other people find inspiring.
I love being around people who love life and have a passion for what they're doing.
I like doing jobs that earn lots of money (as long as I don't feel guilty about what I have to do to get it).
I love doing things that help the environment and, thus, all humanity, animals, and other forms of life.
Labels: My Life
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Successful Suffering
I've been listening a lot to The Secret, A New Earth, and a bunch of other mainstream "revolutionary" ideas for happiness (most of which are recycled from ancient philosophies, but I digress). I figured that I should at least give them the respect of knowing what they're all about. Mostly what I have found is that so many people who have discovered "the way to be happy" fail to discuss the importance of suffering.
If we were blissfully happy all the time, we would never feel motivated to progress. We'd be so happy just where we are that we wouldn't want to be anywhere else. We would never venture to discover new things, explore new places, or create anything.
We need dissatisfaction. We need it to push us forward. We need boredom to motivate us to do something. We need to use that criticizing left side of our brain (not the right sided bliss) to think about the world, to solve problems, to know the limits we must put on ourselves, and to generate new ideas. Dissatisfaction and suffering is the reason why our species has evolved to where we are today and why you're even able to read this at all.
I don't want to be like a flower, just sitting there and blissfully waiting for the sun and the rain to nourish it, unaware of the cow that's about to eat it. I want to worry.
I want to know my problems, so I can figure out ways to avoid them. I want to be prepared for natural disasters and household accidents. I want to do everything I can to protect my children and help them grow, to increase my lifespan, to share my life with my husband, and to crawl out of my suffering even stronger and wiser than before.
And then, and only then, can I truly appreciate my moments of bliss, the moments when I get to meditate or embrace the present or laugh. It is the fear of suffering that pushes us to stand up and work and compels us to appreciate the rewards for our efforts.
Every person who has done something amazing has done it by fearing suffering and longing for pleasure, not by sitting blissfully like a flower all the time. Suffering leads us to success.
I embrace suffering with gratitude. I don't say, "Why me?" I say, "Wow, this sucks! This is horrendous. I need to figure out a way to keep this from ever happening to me again. I need to help other people avoid this. Lucky me that I learned from this and survived, so I can do something about it."
How lucky I am to have suffered. How lucky I am to be wiser because of my suffering. How lucky I am to appreciate everything more because I have suffered in its absence (real or imaginary).
Suffering is a gift.
If we were blissfully happy all the time, we would never feel motivated to progress. We'd be so happy just where we are that we wouldn't want to be anywhere else. We would never venture to discover new things, explore new places, or create anything.
We need dissatisfaction. We need it to push us forward. We need boredom to motivate us to do something. We need to use that criticizing left side of our brain (not the right sided bliss) to think about the world, to solve problems, to know the limits we must put on ourselves, and to generate new ideas. Dissatisfaction and suffering is the reason why our species has evolved to where we are today and why you're even able to read this at all.
I don't want to be like a flower, just sitting there and blissfully waiting for the sun and the rain to nourish it, unaware of the cow that's about to eat it. I want to worry.
I want to know my problems, so I can figure out ways to avoid them. I want to be prepared for natural disasters and household accidents. I want to do everything I can to protect my children and help them grow, to increase my lifespan, to share my life with my husband, and to crawl out of my suffering even stronger and wiser than before.
And then, and only then, can I truly appreciate my moments of bliss, the moments when I get to meditate or embrace the present or laugh. It is the fear of suffering that pushes us to stand up and work and compels us to appreciate the rewards for our efforts.
Every person who has done something amazing has done it by fearing suffering and longing for pleasure, not by sitting blissfully like a flower all the time. Suffering leads us to success.
I embrace suffering with gratitude. I don't say, "Why me?" I say, "Wow, this sucks! This is horrendous. I need to figure out a way to keep this from ever happening to me again. I need to help other people avoid this. Lucky me that I learned from this and survived, so I can do something about it."
How lucky I am to have suffered. How lucky I am to be wiser because of my suffering. How lucky I am to appreciate everything more because I have suffered in its absence (real or imaginary).
Suffering is a gift.
Labels: Deep Thoughts and Philosophy, The Quest for Happiness
Friday, September 12, 2008
McCain tries to steal election by mailing out bad absentee ballots to Obama supporters
It's pathetic when you have to cheat to win.
The McCain / Palin campaign sent a bunch of absentee ballots to Obama supporters. How nice of them. Except they weren't actually being nice at all. They were being sneaky and malicious.
Problem 1:
The ballots contain an unnecessary checkbox which the voter must check to indicate that he/she is qualified to vote. Legally, there is suppose to be a statement indicating that the voter is qualified to vote (i.e. "By submitting this ballot I certify that I am qualified to vote."), not a question (i.e. "Are you qualified to vote?"). If that box isn't checked, their ballot is invalid, and their vote isn't counted.
To fix the problem, everyone who has already voted must vote again. This means that they must be notified, issued a corrected ballot, fill it out, mail it off, and hope that it gets to the correct destination. It sounds simple, but every extra step is an extra opportunity for a screw up, and repeating the task twice adds lots of extra steps. And some voters may have filled out their absentee ballot because they were going to be absent (e.g. out of the country, busy fighting a war, traveling on business trips, going out of state on vacation), so they won't even be home to get the replacement ballot. All of this means that it's probable that some of those voters won't get their vote counted or won't get to re-vote at all.
Problem 2:
There are reports that return envelopes for the absentee ballots had the wrong mailing address on them.
This means the citizen votes on the absentee ballot, seals it in the envelope, puts the envelope into the mailbox, and falsely believe that he/she has done her patriotic duty as a citizen. Meanwhile, their vote is sent on a journey to a place where their vote isn't supposed to go, a place where their vote never gets counted.
Problem 3:
Why is it legal for a candidate to issue absentee ballots anyhow? Isn't this something that a neutral third party, like... oh... maybe the State Board of Elections should handle? If a candidate really does want to increase voter turn out, he/she can just donate money to the State Board of Election to aid in the voting efforts, but they don't do that. They want to send out their own ballots. Why? It gives them to opportunity to screw things up for their own benefit. Plus, it gives them yet another opportunity to campaign at the very last moment. Just check out the McCain ballot at http://forums.therandirhodesshow.com/index.php?showtopic=9064.
McCain for President? Palin for VP? Country First?
Country first is right. Lie to the country first. Then cheat your way to the top. After that, you can manipulate the system for your own selfish, greedy benefit. It's the Republican way.
For more about these stories, check out...
http://zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080912/UPDATES01/80912006/1002/NEWS01
http://current.com/items/89293206_misleading_absentee_ballots_being_sent_to_citizens_by_john_mccain
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/09/11/McCain_forms_confuse_Ohio_absentees/UPI-87691221180496/
http://current.com/items/89293206_misleading_absentee_ballots_being_sent_to_citizens_by_john_mccain
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/NEWS0108/309110032
The McCain / Palin campaign sent a bunch of absentee ballots to Obama supporters. How nice of them. Except they weren't actually being nice at all. They were being sneaky and malicious.
Problem 1:
The ballots contain an unnecessary checkbox which the voter must check to indicate that he/she is qualified to vote. Legally, there is suppose to be a statement indicating that the voter is qualified to vote (i.e. "By submitting this ballot I certify that I am qualified to vote."), not a question (i.e. "Are you qualified to vote?"). If that box isn't checked, their ballot is invalid, and their vote isn't counted.
To fix the problem, everyone who has already voted must vote again. This means that they must be notified, issued a corrected ballot, fill it out, mail it off, and hope that it gets to the correct destination. It sounds simple, but every extra step is an extra opportunity for a screw up, and repeating the task twice adds lots of extra steps. And some voters may have filled out their absentee ballot because they were going to be absent (e.g. out of the country, busy fighting a war, traveling on business trips, going out of state on vacation), so they won't even be home to get the replacement ballot. All of this means that it's probable that some of those voters won't get their vote counted or won't get to re-vote at all.
Problem 2:
There are reports that return envelopes for the absentee ballots had the wrong mailing address on them.
This means the citizen votes on the absentee ballot, seals it in the envelope, puts the envelope into the mailbox, and falsely believe that he/she has done her patriotic duty as a citizen. Meanwhile, their vote is sent on a journey to a place where their vote isn't supposed to go, a place where their vote never gets counted.
Problem 3:
Why is it legal for a candidate to issue absentee ballots anyhow? Isn't this something that a neutral third party, like... oh... maybe the State Board of Elections should handle? If a candidate really does want to increase voter turn out, he/she can just donate money to the State Board of Election to aid in the voting efforts, but they don't do that. They want to send out their own ballots. Why? It gives them to opportunity to screw things up for their own benefit. Plus, it gives them yet another opportunity to campaign at the very last moment. Just check out the McCain ballot at http://forums.therandirhodesshow.com/index.php?showtopic=9064.
McCain for President? Palin for VP? Country First?
Country first is right. Lie to the country first. Then cheat your way to the top. After that, you can manipulate the system for your own selfish, greedy benefit. It's the Republican way.
For more about these stories, check out...
http://zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080912/UPDATES01/80912006/1002/NEWS01
http://current.com/items/89293206_misleading_absentee_ballots_being_sent_to_citizens_by_john_mccain
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/09/11/McCain_forms_confuse_Ohio_absentees/UPI-87691221180496/
http://current.com/items/89293206_misleading_absentee_ballots_being_sent_to_citizens_by_john_mccain
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/NEWS0108/309110032
Labels: Activism, Things that Annoy Me
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Secrets of Successful Artists
You can't create creativity. You have to just open up your soul and let it all spill out, then clean up anything you don't like. And whatever is left over, frame it. It's now art.
Everybody makes art of some sort. Music. Collage. Paintings. Writings. Sculptures. Knitted scarves. Giant balls of lint and aluminum foil. It's all art, and we all make it.
So what's the difference between the kid who secretly keeps all of his art in a box under his bead and a millionaire artist who has her face all over TV, magazine covers, the Internet, and sells their work for thousands of dollars?
The "nobody" artist keeps their art a secret, and the successful artist manifests enough bravery to show off the secrets of their soul, their art, publicly until somebody eventually walks by and says, "I'll buy that."
Of course, there's always the art critics to contend with, but remember, they're just lashing out because they're too cowardly to show off their own secrets, their own art. Ask them to draw a doodle or write a poem on a napkin. That should shut them up.
Everybody makes art of some sort. Music. Collage. Paintings. Writings. Sculptures. Knitted scarves. Giant balls of lint and aluminum foil. It's all art, and we all make it.
So what's the difference between the kid who secretly keeps all of his art in a box under his bead and a millionaire artist who has her face all over TV, magazine covers, the Internet, and sells their work for thousands of dollars?
The "nobody" artist keeps their art a secret, and the successful artist manifests enough bravery to show off the secrets of their soul, their art, publicly until somebody eventually walks by and says, "I'll buy that."
Of course, there's always the art critics to contend with, but remember, they're just lashing out because they're too cowardly to show off their own secrets, their own art. Ask them to draw a doodle or write a poem on a napkin. That should shut them up.
Labels: The Quest for Happiness
Monday, September 1, 2008
Driving in a Lesson about Life
Being the driver is great because you get to steer. You get to be in control of a huge piece of machinery, a beast that can efficiently drive you to your destination or run over your dog. You get to decide what it does, where it goes, and how fast it gets there.
But if you're always looking in the rear view mirror at the things you ran over and the places you've been, you'll drive straight into a wall (or into a tree, over a group of school children, or off a cliff...). Glance in your mirror once in awhile because it reminds you of where you came from and helps you figure out if you've missed anything, like the entrance to the parking lot, but but just glance. Only glance! Don't stare at the mirror or the reflections in it.
Always focus on what's ahead of you so you'll know what you're about to run into or when the road is going to turn in a new direction. And get off of the damn phone, put down your text messenger, and pay attention while you're at it.
But mostly importantly, don't forget to plan out where you're going. Use a map, a compass, or a navigator, or ask for directions if you have to. Don't be afraid to drive around the block a second or third time or to make a u-turn if needed. Otherwise you'll end up lost in a bad part of town where some guy wearing shoes made out of chain mail and a t-shirt that reads "I hate Mondays" will steal your car and leave you for dead.
Now excuse me while I draw my map. I'm driving as far away as I can from the "I hate Mondays" guy and planning a trip for Happy Land.
But if you're always looking in the rear view mirror at the things you ran over and the places you've been, you'll drive straight into a wall (or into a tree, over a group of school children, or off a cliff...). Glance in your mirror once in awhile because it reminds you of where you came from and helps you figure out if you've missed anything, like the entrance to the parking lot, but but just glance. Only glance! Don't stare at the mirror or the reflections in it.
Always focus on what's ahead of you so you'll know what you're about to run into or when the road is going to turn in a new direction. And get off of the damn phone, put down your text messenger, and pay attention while you're at it.
But mostly importantly, don't forget to plan out where you're going. Use a map, a compass, or a navigator, or ask for directions if you have to. Don't be afraid to drive around the block a second or third time or to make a u-turn if needed. Otherwise you'll end up lost in a bad part of town where some guy wearing shoes made out of chain mail and a t-shirt that reads "I hate Mondays" will steal your car and leave you for dead.
Now excuse me while I draw my map. I'm driving as far away as I can from the "I hate Mondays" guy and planning a trip for Happy Land.
Labels: The Quest for Happiness
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