America In Jeopardy - Day 1/Q. 2

America In Jeopardy - Day 1/Q. 1

Internet Regulation - Part...(oh hell, I don't remember the part)....CONTINUED!!

National Platinum digital check.  They just drew it up, and poof!!  Instant money out of YOUR account!

I bring you this post America, due to the fact that something has re-reared its ugly head (is it possible to re-rear?  I suppose all is possible in the English Language...lol)

Three years ago, my wife and I were looking a little sad, money-wise.  This of course was not long before my home was stolen from me (See INTERRUPTION OF SERVICE - PART X).  We got online and checked out a few companies, and selected one, then filled out the application.  We then got another pop-up, concerning a membership with a place named National Platinum, which was, at that time, located in Charlotte S.C.  We have since discovered that these people sure get around.

There's a site on the web (well, to be honest, more like about 10-50 sites+++) that mentions this wonderful company..and some others just like it.  The BBB gives them a D.  I think they're being awfully nice, really.  Here are some of the names they've gone by, as well as some online businesses they've been affiliated with:

National Platinum (This was their name back in 2010, and I noticed complaints as late as 2012, and then they just stop...I'm not entirely sure they're still dumb enough to use that one).  At the same address, they were also called Maximum Platinum.  They have had offices in Jacksonville, N.C., as well as Reno, NV.

NSC (National Credit Services) - This one's a doozy.  I'll get back to this one.

ULSC - United Lending Services Co.

Can Capital (www.cancapital.com)

Money Start (www.mmoneystart.com)

Magic Installment Loans (magicinstallmentloans.com)

Just to name a select few.  And, just so you know...I'm not just pulling names out of thin air. Please, if you would, go to:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/specific_search/national%20platinum

...as well as the BBB, and look up the primary company (National Platinum...a name I'm guessing they no longer use).  Amazingly enough these people have been getting over on America...FOR YEARS!!  With the same M.O. all along, no less.

Oh.  Just another loan company on the take you think?  Yup.  There is that.  But there's tons more.  See, this place doesn't just do loans.  Matter of fact, I think it's rather safe to say that these people don't do loans...at all.  No, these folks are...well, they're a trip, I'll give them that.  Thank God I'm a law student, or I would have been just as bamboozled by these folks as my wife was...wait, no, is...no, let's make that "Might be for some years to come".  Here's how the whole thing went down:

See, they pop up as you fill out your info for a payday loan.  Whether personal, or business, it matters not.  It became frighteningly apparent, rather quickly, that these folks are the ones that run the show, and are actually in charge here, not the original folks that you were signing up with.  Oh, sure, you can ignore the pop-up and just close it...but once it's there, it doesn't exactly go away.  If you read any of it, it offers you a 10K line of "credit, on a card, then when you receive this card (and a catalogue of their choice of items) you're allowed to charge any of these items offered...with a small down-payment on the item, using your credit card, of course.  What they DON'T tell you is, that if they, National Platinum, after checking your credit (which I'm betting is also done by them) determines your credit to be crap (after you pay them their $20 membership fee) then the "down payment" on the product is going to be around 75-85 percent of the full price...and the rest of it is "borrowed"to you at 30% interest.  But of course, a smarter person would just shut it down.  Funny thing is, next thing you know, even though you didn't even look at it, there's a rather large sum of money being taken out of your account...somewhere around $100.  When we noticed this, they had already taken that amount twice.

They had produced and sent an electronic check to the bank, using the routing and account numbers that we had entered into the loan application, and used it to draw money out of our account...without permission.  Verbal permission that is, I'm sure, in the loan app, it probably reads that they are allowed to do this, under whatever umbrella business name they might have been using at the time.

In a panic, we rushed to close the account before any more debits were made, and called Wells Fargo, where we had the joint account.  They told us there was NOTHING they could do about it, except what we had done, close the account, then report it as fraud to the police.  Nothing was ever said about getting the charges reversed, yet another thing I just love about banks.  They won't tell you anything that might assist you, especially if it costs THEM money.  But that's been discussed in other posts, and if it hasn't, you can sure bet it will be.

It was certainly no shock to me, that, upon calling their "Customer Service" line, I received nothing.  No, no, I take that back.  I received rudeness.  I received yelling.  I received threats.  I even received a few hang ups when I asked to speak to a supervisor.

Now, granted, if this had been all that had happened, we would have written it off as another mistake made without checking into the company.  What would happen next surprised even me.

We soon began (both of us) getting calls from these people...claiming NOT to be these people, but law enforcement.  Lawyers.  The threats were evil at best, and full of things you could never imagine anyone, even those that are about scams, using.  "We're going to be serving you papers to appear in court" and "We're going to be putting out a warrant for your arrest...today!"  One day she called me to tell me that someone had talked to her boss, to tell her that someone from our police department would be down to put her in handcuffs and arrest her there on the spot, if she didn't re-open her account and pay them immediately.  At the time, I had not attended law school as yet, but I was sure that whatever they were saying was quite illegal.  I reverse looked-up the number, and found that these people were in South Carolina...but that the calls were coming from somewhere in unincorporated South Dakota somewhere.  They called themselves representatives of Wells Fargo bank, and the company name was NCS.

Knowing this was the case, I contacted the police departments in the area.  They had said that I would have to file harassment in my state, then they would contact their police departments in South Dakota.  I thought of a better idea.  I told her to have her boss take any phone calls, then her and I both got our numbers changed, and after a week or so, the calls stopped.

And so, we had gotten rid of them...or so it seemed.  Not just a week ago, three and a half years later, my now separated wife called me to tell me that I wouldn't be able to reach her anymore, that someone had called to tell her boss that an attorney in New Jersey, who worked for a company there, was serving papers to have her entire check garnished, and if she didn't make payment arrangements immediately to pay them $1200, that she would be arrested by the Polk County Sheriff's Department, here in Des Moines, Iowa.

I told her to give me the number.  I called this person, who was, indeed in (unincorporated, once again) New Jersey.  I called the man and threatened him to leave her alone, that he was harassing her at work, and that he was to cease all collection activity toot-sweet.  It didn't stop.  For the entire day, they called her...and me. I got a different person's name every time I called the place, and obviously people were on the phone a lot, because I kept getting their answering machines about every time I called...and got through to someone twice.  The first time they answered they just said "Hello".  Wow.  The 2nd time, they used my name...Bruce.  I hadn't said a single word, either time.  I could hear a sea of voices on the other end talking to people on the phone.  I finally decided to make them a scary enough threat...I threatened to come to Belle Mead, New Jersey with as many bombs as I could carry, to blow up the building they worked in.  I never heard from them again.  Neither has she.  That's what it took to make them stop.  The name of the company making the calls?  NCS.  National Credit Services.

I have the feeling, though, that they'll be back.  After I went, once again, down to our local police department, to once again file charges (which, by the way, garnered zero results the last time we'd done it), I talked to the detective there about it, and he said "Oh, we get complaints about things like this all the time." The stories differ, but it's evidently rampant."  As for how these people get away with doing it so long, and why they don't get in trouble for impersonating law enforcement officials, or lawyers, is beyond me.  The BBB has 50+ logged complaints against the former incarnation of this company, and Ripoff Reports, who is dedicated to exposing these kinds of scams has over 128, on National Platinum alone.  For NCS (National Credit Services), the company that was supposedly hired by Wells Fargo to retrieve payments on the money that we supposedly owed National Platinum (funny, that...I'm thinkin' these are the same people), has 151 reports on the same site.  That link is here:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/specific_search/NCS

How this stuff goes on and on unchecked is beyond me.  As I studied this "Electronic Check" closer, I remember noticing the name it was made out to (besides the name of the company), Ryan Greaney.  This must be the mastermind, I'm thinking.  I looked up the name, and the closest thing I could find was a Ryan Greaney, from Jacksonville, N.C., as being the son of a lady who had her obituary online.  Sounds like the same guy to me, but it's hard to tell.  For all we know, this guy changed his name to mimic someone more famous.  There are other people with that name that own corporations.  Hard to say.  Either way you slice it, there's someone out there actually getting away with this stuff, and I'm sure a lot of it has to do with lax rules on how a business is allowed to operate on the Internet.

BS, LIES, SOFT LANGUAGE

ADULT CONTENT WARNING!!  THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS A LOT ABOUT BULLSHIT, SO MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO THE AVERAGE READER!!  IF YOU'RE NOT INTO HEARING ABOUT THE BULLSHIT, THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T READ THIS!!

It just has to be another Carlin Dedication Day today America.  I find myself missing the guy's Pearls of Wisdom.

OK OK, comin' up with something to beat the band we had playin' a couple of days ago?  Probably isn't gonna be an easy task.  Oh, but it seems like I never have a problem with it, right?  There's always more than enough going on around here, and by God, if I can't find something, well, something just comes right along and plunks itself right down in my lap and wiggles around, like a lap dancer, impossible to ignore, no matter how hard I try.

Today's lap dancer?  Well, to be honest (all BS aside), it's gonna be about BS.  But then, you guys know, as well as I know myself, that BS isn't the only problem here, and to talk about one side of this problem by itself, is a lot like just eating the whip cream off of the top of the pie, then, on another day, scooping out the filling, then later, when you get hungry again, eating the flaky crust.  Kinda stupid.  I think we'll devour the whole pie at once, and call it a day.

But let's just go with the BS for now.  Now, you all know my true, utter feelings on BS, this should be quite apparent by now.  I just don't deal with it.  It sucks, I hate it, despise it, abhor it, disagree with it, would rather burn it than invite it over for tea and crumpets, and I'd love to see it boiled in oil and hung upside down on the highest yard-arm, to be quite frank.  There's only one...small....problem.

America was founded on BS.  The first recorded BS, in our history, was when a small group of Patriots gathered together in a room, and hammered out today's Constitution, which, in it's preamble, states, in no uncertain terms that "All men are created equal."  Then they went home and ordered their slaves to bring them dinner.  Not a good start, in my opinion.

Oh, but it didn't stop there,  not by any means...

No, the BS continued on.  In made its way into our Bill of Rights (please, if you would, read my posts on The Law Itself, if you don't believe me), and rooted itself into our Government.  Then, inevitably, well, we just adopted BS as our national religion.

Now, it's everywhere.  We're taught to BS people as early as five or six years old.  Talk to a four or barely five year old lately?  No?  Try it.  One thing I love about kids this age, is that they always TELL THE TRUTH.  No matter how socially incorrect it might be, no matter how much it hurts, or damages your ego or destroys your confidence...no matter WHAT, they tell the truth.  And what's the first thing the parent does then?  Pulls them off by their arms, as you hear them scolding..."Timmy!!  You don't tell your Uncle he's an idiot!!  It's not nice!"  Immediately, you're teaching your kids to BS others!!  You're going against your natural instinct to just say it like it is!  You're immediately placed on a path of fiery coals, of fragile eggshells, and taught to dance over it by having to stop...think...analyze, then, when you get it right in your head (some five or six minutes later, in which time, you've more than likely forgotten what you really wanted to say originally), spit out a pack of lies, in order to spare the feelings of others.  I only wish we could just stop at five...and stay there.  A world full of five yr. olds...heaven.  I'm not crazy about the North Eastern states, kids, but I gotta say...a country full of New York Cities wouldn't, in my opinion, be all that bad.  Now THOSE people stopped caring about things they'd say AGES ago.  I do have a special affinity with the population of New York City.  And where do you think that Mr. George Carlin was from?  You guessed it.

Oh, but to make things worse, it doesn't stop THERE EVEN!!

No, it starts from the moment we wake up too, each and every morning.  We start BS'ing ourselves when we get up and look in the mirror.  What, YOU don't, you say?  BS!!  Tell me you don't put your clothes on, shave your face, brush your teeth, and grin insipidly, all the while thinking to yourself "Damn I look good!!"  BS, straight and simple.  Half the time, you don't, and you know it, but lying to yourself (some people call that having a positive self-image) is dangerous at times, as well as feeding yourself full of destructive BS.

Oh, but you KNOW it doesn't stop there!!

No, then, if BS'ing ourselves wasn't nearly enough, now we feel the need to go out into the world...and BS them too!!  You know what I mean...you start with the wife and the kids "Oh, honey....you look great this morning! (she's in her nightgown with a robe pulled over it, hair in curlers)... Johnny...I want you to know I really like that shirt (that one you can't STAND and hope he grows out of soon).  Then it's off to work.  On the way, you stop to complement the neighbor's dog (the one that barks interminably all night long and that you can't wait to "accidentally" run over the next time the opportunity presents itself) on how fine his coat looks today...then you arrive at work, and the whole thing starts all over again.  It then manages to stretch itself over the entire day, the rest of the week, and the months to come.

Here's my favorite though.  Women have come up with something you can't BS them on, and they use it whenever they can.  "Honey, do I look fat in this dress?"  I neither blink, or I cough, sputter, nor do I delay, not even a little.  If she does?  "Hell yeah, you look fat.  Change into that black one, I like that one."

But does it cease here?  Ohhhhh......noooooooo

When we finally get past that awful truthful part of our lives, and we've  passed our 7th birthdays, we're now taught, offiicial and experienced BS'ers.  BS continues, then, into bars, family functions, funerals, weddings, employment interviews, travel, friendships, religion/the church, the sales and auto industries, careers, corporations, advertising, etc.  I'm surprised every citizen in this country isn't bald, as well as tripping over their noses for miles!!

But are we done yet?  HELL NO!!

No, the BS has not only rooted itself here, it's become commonplace.  In politicians, politics, and in our Government.  This is the great teacher of BS.  The source, and the inventor of all BS in our country.  We live it, we breath it, we digest it, and we poop it out.  BS is now in our diets, we expect it, and we've come to terms with it.

But some of us are finally getting tired of it.  I myself?  Am on a personal mission to eliminate the BS.  White Lies, complements we don't mean, stories embellished just to entertainment others, and dishonest behavior, oh....and soft language.  This would have to be my biggest #1 hatred, America.  BS in the workforce, and on the street has gotten to currently ridiculous levels, all because we've gotten way too sensitive, and just are in dire need of new things to complain about.

I'm sorry, but if you were a cripple in 1960, chances are you're a cripple today too.  You're not disabled, nor are you differently-abled, by God, you are in the same spot you were in 1960.  Not able to walk.  Crippled.  If you're married, you're married.  You would be married today, just like you would have been if you lived in 1690, or in 1210.  You'd be married, and there'd not be a damn thing you could say to change my mind about it.  You're not COUPLED, nor, when you get DIVORCED, are you, in my book, ever going to be UNCOUPLED.  If you can't see, you're not gonna be un-sighted, nor are you going to be without sight, or partially sighted.  You're just gonna be blind, and I don't care how used to the new stuff you are, I sure don't care about your feelings, nor am I going to apologize for what I said once I think about it...because I'm not...gonna think about it.  If you look fat, fatter than I remember, I don't care if you're my best friend, I'm going to tell you.  And I hate to say it, but a lot of people really like me for it.  So I don't think I'll be changing that about myself anytime soon.  As a matter of fact, I changed...from being a BS'er to being the way I am now, why would I go through more trouble to learn by going backwards?  Hell no.

No, the BULLSHIT STOPS RIGHT HERE FOLKS.

No more will I ever use the acronym BS.  We've been swearing long enough, if I wanna make a point, and SHIT has to enter into it, in order to make my point, I'm gonna just come out and say it.  It's been around a long time now, and the sensors have been slowly allowing more and more in our movies, but even though it's perfectly OK in theatres, and on TV as well, it's NOT OK in the streets, at your grandmother's house, or at the funeral for your sister.  Nor is it OK, where you live OR where you work.  FOR REALLIES??

And someday, when I've used those words enough, and taught others to quit BULLSHITTING each other, then maybe Google will give in and allow it.  Today, I might just get enough complaints to make me throw in a disclaimer, pre-warning you of the danger you might face when you read it.  I did that on my own, by the way.  God knows I wouldn't wanna offend you, as you go to the R movie, talk about my sinfully profane article, as you watch Julie Andrews spout profanity over and over in "S.O.B.", just a mere 16 years after she cleanly and beautifully sang to her children in the "Sound of Music".

Here's the danger in softening up everything folks.  Insults, truths...whatever you want to call them, coming right out and saying what we meant to say (and meaning what we say, as well) is what helps us get our ya-ya's out.  If you take away our stress balls, by taking away our balls, well, we're gonna store it up.  And what happens when you store things up?  You blow up.  Funny, seems like there's been an awful lot of that of late (see Columbine, Postal workers and Mr. Elliot).  Give folks no mental outlets, and you have more mental people.  You think maybe THIS is the reason for an increased amount of diagnosed mental illness in this country, and why it's at an all-time high?...hmmmmCOULDBE~~!!

If I have anything to say about it, all soft language, lies, bull, phoniness... is going in the garbage, immediately, a.s.a.p., AS SOON AS I take office.  If it kills me, we're gonna tell that guy how crappy his dog is for barking all night, and, if you don't do something about him...well, I may just have to kick his little teeth in.  Then maybe, tomorrow, when the thought crosses your mind to pick up a gun and shoot up a high school because they've been mean to you, you might just have second thoughts and put the gun down again.  It's all about stress release folks.  If you don't release it on the little things, it'll build up to one of those big things we hate so much.

And if you want to find out just how ridiculous we've become, or if you're not convinced about the level of ridiculousness we've achieved in this, our new century; then Google Carlin, watch him on YouTube, and get a clue.

Solemn Moment of Silence - The Death of the Dishonest Politician

Wow, what a ride, right?  For those of you who have absolutely NO friggin' clue what just happened there?  See, anyone you see on TV, in the papers, on the Internet, well, there's no transparency, period.  These people that come along, you know what they want you to know.  You know what they allow others to tell you.  Who am I speaking of?  Presidents.  Vice Presidents for that matter.  Your Senators, Representatives, Supreme Court Judges, etc., etc., etc.  Who are these people and where do they come from?  What have they done in their lives that we little people really know about?  When do we usually find out what their secret demons are?  When they get to office, 9 times out of 10.  Is this right?  HELL no.

I'm beginning to think that, someplace, they must have a politician genetics farm, where they hand-raise these people, and, when they mess up in office...(like when Bill goes for Monica, Richard M. forgets to tell people he's spying on others, or when G.W. says something that doesn't make any sense), well, it's back to the genetics lab, and we try for something a little more acceptable.  This is probably how we arrived at Barry, we were getting sick of the demand for a black President, so we threw in some African-American DNA this time, just to see how acceptable he'd be.  "Not too much...just a sprinkle.  We don't wanna piss off the white voters COMPLETELY, ya know...And when he's gone, well, back to the ol' drawin' board.  And we WERE gonna try Hilary in 2016...Because of all the screaming about a female President...but I think we'll back it off some...maybe bring out a new star right after the election....We really screwed it up with this Benghazi crap, didn't we?  Oh well....maybe...Chelsea, for 2020!!"  Who knows.  It seems like there are some really strange people that pop up for this crap at the last second...and does anybody know them, or know where they came from exactly?  I never do.

I just think, really, more than anything, that it's bizarre that almost no one who runs for office, as corrupt and greedy and...HUMAN we Americans have become, that nobody we elect ever seems to have any kind of a record, or hasn't ever done a damn thing wrong in their entire lives...but as soon as they're in, they're messing up, and with record-breaking fervor, no less.  You can't tell me, unless our Government is actually a secret corruption factory (which I refuse to rule out entirely), that all of these people are corrupted by their offices alone.  Which, of course, leads me right back to that politician genetics testing farm theory. "Oh damn.  We forgot to weed out that addiction gene...no WONDER he bought crack and got caught smoking it!  Ohhh.....that's right, we threw in a little African-American to appease the Washington D.C. voters that time, didn't we?  Jim, you really gotta make sure that 'love of crack' strain is sifted out entirely when you make the next mayor, OK?...sheesh. And no more high blood pressure either...I don't know HOW many times I gotta say that!!  Oh well. Back to the drawing board!!  Try again people, and this time, let's get it right!!  And I don't think that Barry thing is working out anymore, no more politicians named Barry, first OR last name.  The people are beginning to make the connection!"

I guess what I'm trying to say here, America, is that it's about time you knew who in the hell you were dealing with next time.  If it's not too late, I have big plans to run for the office of President next time around.  For those of you just picking me up for the first time, I plan to run in 2020.  There's going to be some big differences here though.

1. The most important difference here between me and the rest of the usual rabble we'll have cropping up to run for office that year will be the fact that I'll be the most open book you're ever going to see run for this or any office.  Dig all you like, but you guys all know...well, everything.  If you're new here, and you know NOTHING, well, please read, start to finish, the entire INTERRUPTION OF SERVICE series.  I've left out as little as possible.  Everything's there.  I dare you to find ANYTHING you don't already know.  Every card is out there, and my heart, bearing a tattoo of the American Flag, carried by an Eagle, is on my sleeve in neon.  I love this country (in general), and want to see the days we were happy, respected and prosperous RETURNED!!  I'll warrant, when taking a poll that this country's pride is suffering at record levels, that a lot of people, at this time, would say they aren't as proud of US anymore as they used to be.  When the sun comes up, the first words out of my mouth are usually "God, I hate this place."  Yeah, I'm usually referring to Des Moines, Iowa, when I say that...but I think, deep down, that the U.S. is also on my list of intended targets as well.  I feel the need to reiterate this statement, I'M NOT GOING TO BE THE PERFECT CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT.  I don't think anyone in this country can say they are.  I won't be either, but you're going to know that, as well as why.  That's the IMPORTANT difference.

2.  I won't be full of it.  This, the 2nd of the most important things we should make sure of before ANYONE runs for the highest office, goes hand in hand with #1.  No more BS, no more hiding, no more lying, and NO MORE DISHONESTY, ANYWHERE.  No more promises I have no intention of fulfilling once I get what I want, no more hidden crap, no more secret agendas, no more NOTHING.  We're all tired of it.

3.  Nothing...and I mean nothing will be done without the acceptance of the people.  Our offices will be there to serve the people.  The doors will open, and all "Cabinets" laid bare.  The open door policy will indeed be in place, unlike Obama's play scene.  Letters will be answered by ME, not some pre-fab letter writing program.  I remember writing four letters to the current President, 4 to different senators, and 3 to various Judges in Washington.  I got nothing but pre-fab back.  I couldn't believe it.  Did anything I discuss get any sort of notice, come up before anyone...ANYTHING AT ALL??  Nope.  Nada.  All valid, nothing crazy.  Simple stuff, really.  Not a peep back or action taken.  Just dead air.  This has got to stop.  This is the greatest and biggest indicator that the government is out for the government, SCREW the people.  Who gives a crap, RIGHT?  We're already here, what are they gonna do, huh?

4.  I will NOT...I repeat, NOT take a single...thin...dime for my campaign.  I will not be seen flying over America, nor will you pass my Limo on the road.  No, keep your eyes pealed America, because the fanciest thing you might see me in will be the Lincoln Town Car that picked me up on the side of the road, as I walk across America to get the way that you really feel about things.  Look for that, and do it soon, my plan, ultimately, will be to be on the road by Nov. 5, 2016.  I'll be looking for shoe donations, that's for sure.  It'll be of the "Man in the Wilderness" philosophy.  I want to be amongst you, show you I"m just like the rest of America...Tired, Angry...you get the picture.  What I will take, however, will be your support, your input, and your hospitality.  I want you to take care of me while I'm out there America, I'll take a ride, and we can talk about your concerns and your issues.  If you'd like to put me up at the motel you run on the side of Highway 69, come on by, let's play some spades, and we'll talk about what you'd like to see happen from 2020 til 2024.  "Hey, there's a restaurant my Uncle Tim runs, just over there, you want some dinner?"  I'm good with that.  I want no money though, America.  I want you to know that your President's soul is as clean and bare as it can be when I get to office.  There will be no corporate sponsors, no buy-offs, no bribery.  I won't make a single promise, I won't guarantee anything, I won't smile and say "It's gonna be all good, don't worry."  It's not gonna be easy, all good or any of this.  It's gonna be a hell of a battle, if I manage to make it through the front doors.  Washington isn't going to want me there, of that you can be sure.  But then, I won't be there to make Washington happy, either, so the hell with it.  Bring it on, I say.

5.  We will, without question, right any wrongs, with haste.

6.  I will not be a party affiliate.  I won't be left, right, radical, liberal, conservative, archaic, independent...none of it.  I will be human, I will be fallible and I will be an American...and most of all, I will be a Patriot. That's all you need know, right?

7.  If I die along the way, or I get assassinated for running, then you'll know what's what, and I have no problem with it.  I WANT to be a martyr for America folks.  If it comes to that...and you know that it's likely, that if I'm that popular, knowing my views, It may just indeed come to that...and it's important for you to know that I'm ready for that.  And, when it does happen, if it's unavoidable, I'd like you to completely ignore the Parties' attempt to shrug it off and continue on....and try again, with someone else you want.  See, they don't want me in office, you know it, and I do too.  They'll do everything they can to stop me.  I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't open my door today to an assassination drone sent by Barry himself.  The important thing you have to do though, is TO NOT ROLL OVER.  DON'T YOU DARE.  Blow off the caucuses...raise your voices, and put your next candidate for President on your shoulders, and carry on.  I WILL BE A MARTYR TO HELP BRING BACK THE AMERICA WE ALL KNEW...AND STILL LOVE TO THIS DAY!!

Whatever it takes.  You know what we all need.  Let's bring it back, and take it back.

Corruption, Part III - Non-Profit Organizations

http://www.thedailysheeple.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/corrution-a.jpg

Not too long ago, about a year ago to be exact, CNN and the Times teamed up together to tell us about non-profit organizations, primarily charities, that raise money, often times under names that closely resemble good reliable charities, then either pay for-profit companies to solicit donations for them, or pocket the money for themselves.  Here's the story, you of course are going to absolutely love it:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/13/us/worst-charities/

Now, we've covered corruption in business.  Non-profits, I don't care how much you say it, are, regardless, businesses in and of themselves.  I could never really understand how you can call yourself non-profit, when you have to be in it to make some money.  No one starts a non-profit for the purpose of helping others, they do it because they need to be gainfully employed for themselves.  It's not possible to run a non-profit organization for no personal gain, you have to pay bills, pay employees, your own rent and feed your family.  So, therefore, a non-profit organization by its very definition is, no matter how you slice it, for profit...for SOMEONE - whether it be yourself or for the people that work for you.  About the only exception to that rule would probably be the already rich guy who starts a charity, a guy who already has everything he could ever want.  Of course, he'll be a generous soul.  This isn't to say, by the way, that there aren't tons of people out there, that, if they had the money, they'd do exactly what this guy's doing.  The difference, of course, is that they'd do it for the right and selfless reasons.

I just thought that, just for kicks....that maybe I should do this post just a little bit different.  Anyone can rattle the facts off to you.  But, just for fun, I think I'll turn this around a little...be unique.  So here's what we're gonna do kids...let's play role play.

I'll be the big bad non-profit idea, and you can be my partner that I'll sell on the idea.

"Hey, how are ya?  Name's Chris, and you just popped in on a very unique opportunity my friend.  You see, I was just sitting around the house...you know, moping around, bitching about the bills...thinkin' about how I never have enough money, you know?

Then it hit me...oh my God, why didn't I think of it before?  You know how you're always hearing about non-profs drummin' up millions...for cancer, for the eco-system, for AIDS, for trans-sexual rights, whatever, right?  I hear this stuff's EASY to get into my friend...I mean, I hate all that stuff...really sick, the way people treat animals, maybe we should start something that deals with that, I'm thinkin'...and there isn't anybody on earth that would turn us away, would they?  Nothing like a starving horse with his ribs showing or a picture of a dog with a chain mark around his neck and sad eyes to bring that money in...I know I'd give after I see that stuff.  Play 'em on the heartstrings, and the wallet is on auto-open.  I know mine would be, were places reversed.

So, here's the easy way of it...we get a hold of one of those grant writers...you know, the guy who gets the money from the government for these things, and we pay the guy to start writing..we ask for the money to buy a building of course, but if they can't get that, it's no biggie, we'll have him write to get us the lease money instead, and we can use that money to pay our rent and bills instead.  You and me, we can just work the phones ourselves for a while; you know, to save us the money on leasing a building and paying employees.  Then when we pay ourselves; we can collect double, since we're not really leasing that building.  Then we get us an accountant, you know, the kind that wouldn't mind bending the rules a little, maybe for a few extra bucks in his pockets here and there.

But here's the real beauty of it pal, the long and the short.  We find ourselves a name...one that sounds an awful lot like one that's a lot more reputable one...like...The Canine Rescue League...or the Wildlife Conservation Organization...make sure too, that when you're talking to your donors, use the acronym a lot, you know, like you've been in business for years, and it sounds like you've been doing this a while.  Hell, if you say it fast enough it almost sounds like the ARL.  You know, skip past the C as fast as you can.

Anyways, so people give up their money for charity...we start by getting a pretty nice salary anyway.  We're already gonna get double what we would normal, thanks to saving on the leasing of a building.  Hell, we might as well just pay ourselves an employee salary to boot, since we'll be doing most the work ourselves.

So anyway, we keep this on the up and up.  We find good places to send at least half our money donated to a few reputable places that deal with animals.  We pick some big names too, some that would give us some GOLDEN references.  Yeah, so we keep this up on the right for about a year...file taxes, make nice.  Then next year, we hire us oh, sayyy...20 or so people.  Have them man the phones.  Train 'em real well like we've learned to be.  We get them raising us a couple million this year.  We pay our employees well, we'll be able to keep 'em on board...by year two?  We should be able to find all kinds of places to hide the extra money.  Oh, sure, we'll keep sending the same amounts of money to the same places we have been, but since we only brought in $39,000 last year, and filed that, should be pretty easy to convince them we only brought about 20 or 25 thousand the next.  The folks we got last year, we're sure to be calling them again, since they've already heard our name.  We pay our accountant well to make sure he stays all loyal and stuff.  Round the end of the year?  We make sure and give our employees a  nice severance, then tell 'em we had to close this branch to help out the headquarters...you know the expenses a non-profit incurs, we're very sorry..oh, and whats that, relocation?  I'm really sorry, but the next nearest CRL is in St. Louis...you're more than welcome to apply on the website though...", then we close up shop, pat the girlies on the rump as they walk out that door with a nice severance and a small token thank you $20 bill.  We net a cool mil or two, then we move on to, say, Minneapolis and do the same thing, maybe a different charity type, different name...you feel where I'm going pal?  I don't really see how we can lose...long as we don't stay anywhere too long, and don't get greedy."

Not too hard a sell is it?  Oh sure, there are states and cities that have sufficient scrutiny in place to see this coming.  But there still way too many scammy charities out there who pay little...or nothing of what they bring in to the very thing they're raising that money for.  Worse yet, local and federal government does little to nothing to stop them.  Some have been warned to cease ops over and over and over again, and are still running...if not under that name, under a new one in a better and safer locations.

And you know, it's really pretty funny, I think about how much more paranoid you get about things like this as you get older; but you know, you can't really even trust websites anymore either.  Worse, you may be reading something that rates the top charities and the worst...and, after you've given up your money, you read another articles that rates the same charities in the opposite order, and, upon further investigation, you find out that the top ten rated charities are all owned by the same people.  And they're all rotten to the core, and you just donated to them getting that Maserati they've had their eye on for some time, that's for sure!

My suggestion to you, America?  Never take phone calls for charity.  And for God's sake, don't donate online all crazy either!  Don't take anybody's word for it, check things out for yourself.  Stick with names you know already (by heart), and check into anybody who comes close to a name, but it doesn't sound QUITE RIGHT.  Make sure and write up the ones that sound scammy, and report them immediately to your local Attorney General's office.    :D

Corruption, Part II: Business

http://business-fundas.com/2010/corruption-is-business-part-1/

Corruption in business is almost a standard in America, which, in and of itself, is one of the most massive harbingers of our eventual downfall.  Money flows through, into and out of our system so fast, it's impossible to tell where it comes from and where it goes anymore.  It's borrowed, lent, laundered, printed and destroyed so much, that the value of it is becoming anything but intrinsic.

What gets me, is that the dollar, which has been essentially non-backed by anything since 1913, is still portrayed as worth something in today's market.  It hasn't been...nor will it be worth, diddly...ever again.  For those of you that are unfamiliar with economics, when it was backed by visible gold and silver, then, and only then was it worth the paper it was printed on.  The appearance of the Federal Reserve Note signaled the eventual end of the dollars worth.  Oh, I've read things that say the dollar is just worth that...one dollar, to the rest of the world.  Bah!  If it's worth two cents (which I heard it was 20 years ago), I'll be shocked.  No, today's dollar, in case you're not sure, is worth the same as $20 was 50 years ago.  Wouldn't that put its current worth pretty much in the red?  Every federal reserve note you see is another bill of our debt that is supposed to represent what backs it up...which, if you believe the rest of the world (and myself - Please see America's ORIGINAL 26 Deadly sins, Day #6), Ft. Knox and the Fed are both empty of one single ounce in Gold.  The more we print up, the less it's worth, and it would seem that there's an awful lot of new money out there.

You're hearing, more and more these days, about an economic collapse, due to hit this year.  While a great deal of this is just others trying to make some cash off of gullible American Sheeple, utilizing "free" information they're selling (which is really very very funny...why ask for people to send you $39.99 for the reports proving this...if the dollar is gonna crash in a few months anyway??  Y'all are KILLING ME.  What, you're doing this in hopes you can live the good life for 3 months before it all goes south??  Gimme a break!), it truly wouldn't surprise me even a little if it did.  It'll happen for sure at some point...it has to.  You can't even see the numbers on the debt clock go up anymore they go by so fast now.  There's other stories out there that Obama plans to bring in another Golden Age too; that he's holding back on the reports that show just how much oil we've uncovered in Texas these days with vertical drilling, more than we've ever had, and more than any other oil producing nation to date; so that, when the time comes, he can raise us from the dead, in order to become so wildly popular that we'll beg him to serve more terms (hence the 3rd term rumor).  Whatever the case, we're either gonna be saved...or we're going to be doomed.  Hard to imagine either one at this point, but whatever goes, it won't be pretty, I'm certain.

I think the thing that bugs me the most is that, in our gross naivete, Americans fall for pretty much the same things over...and over...and over again.  But the lack of futures, of nest eggs, or anything to leave to our descendants brings us back around again, to try and trust, just so some scammer can take all our money away again.  I mean really, if we don't know how to recognize a Ponzi scheme by now, come on!!  And to all of you who dream up these little schemes, you may get away with your life this time, but for truly, someday, you're gonna screw the wrong American and...well, I wouldn't wanna be you, that's for sure.

It amazes me, the grand scale that some of these businesses and their scams get away with...as well as, regardless of years in jail, that these folks are accountable for after they get done spending millions of dollars of other people's money.  What's more, the lack of laws that should be in place to protect us, just in case.  But you see, we smaller people don't really matter, either to big business, or the judicial branch, either one.  The corruption is so rampant now, it's almost so commonplace as to be legal.  Sodom nor Gomorrah had nothing on our cities and their corporations, America.  We cater to them through our Government.  Bribery, Lobbying, its all there, and like anything else bad in the world, if you see it enough, you come to be OK with it.  Well, I'm sorry, but it's NOT OK, and you will be stood up to, believe that.  Someday, this little guy's voice WILL be heard, and the days of good business practice will be revived, of that you can bet.

They say business is corrupt...I say, in America, corruption is a business.  So the next time you're in a meeting, and someone says "OK, let's get down to business, shall we?"  Put your hand on your wallet and hold on tight, because chances are, you're fixin' to lose it.  :D

Corruption - Part I: The Police/Police State

http://brooklynpersonalinjurylawyers.co/police-brutality

Hey America!!  Guess what?  Everybody liked the last series so much, I thought maybe another one might be a good thing.  Let's do this one, hmmmm?  CORRUPTION.

And, where does corruption start and why?  Well, here's the funny thing about that.  Corruption starts with power, generally.

Corruption can also start with good honest people, generally after power is handed over to them or given to them freely. Let's say you're a bit of a submissive, and I told you that you have absolute power over everything I do.  The first thing you'd say is "Oh, don't be silly...I could never exercise that over you..."  Then when I keep insisting, well, you might re-think it.  See there, what I did?  I simultaneously planted doubt in your mind as to the power I offered you, as well as made you wonder if maybe this might be a good thing.  Then, let's say maybe I do something you don't like, and, remembering the power I offered you, you decide to test the waters...see what happens.  You then say "Hey!!  Don't do that, I don't really like that!!"  You will, more than likely, shrink back a bit, awaiting my usual fight in return...and it doesn't come.  I now say "Hey, it's OK.  You have that power now you know", as I give you an acknowledging nod and apologize, then refrain from my action.  Next thing you know, you're interjecting over what I say and do every time you see or hear something you don't like.  Once I stop standing up to you, you realize the power I offered you is real and true, and, once you figure that out, you might just abuse that privilege a little.  You then start balking me about petty things that really DON'T bother you, you just start enjoying your power more.  After that, I start noticing you trying what you do to me on others, thinking maybe they might back off a little too.  Hand the reigns over to a normally passive person, it isn't long before they're in the driver's seat, breaking the laws (of control) left and right.  Why?  You know why.  Absolute power?  Corrupts absolutely.

The same thing tends to happen with other people as well.  The accountant you put in charge of all of your finances, and you have a LOT of finances!  The thoughts going through this person's head after a while start to read like this:  "Hey, nobody else checks his books, not even the wife!  What would be the harm of taking a dollar or two out of the black column, say once a day?"  Or there's that new manager at the fast food restaurant you work for, who, just a year ago was flipping burgers right alongside of you and laughing at your jokes; and who is now tearing you a new orifice.  And let's not forget those sweet wonderful women who marry successful husbands. and who are now waited on hand and foot by them.  They were awful nice at first, what happened?  Now spoiled rotten by said husbands, you find yourself standing next to them at TJ Maxx, listening to them tongue-lash the store clerk because there was a small stitch malfunction in her new dress; all the while wondering how you ever considered this woman as a good possible friend of yours; and then turning 20 shades of red, as she draws attention to you that you never wanted to be a part of.

Probably a more notable and obvious example of corruptible-type people are our government officials - city, state, federal, it matters not.  They're candidates for the people while they try for the position, but just as soon as they get where they want to be, they begin suffering from a special strain of amnesia, indigenous to politicians, that causes them to forget about the people who put them there, whom they serve, who they really are and where they came from.  Now, instead, they choose to concentrate on more important matters.  Like how much their cut of the action might be if they help get this new law or that new law passed, how to help in covering up whatever trouble the higher-ups got themselves into, and, of course, how they can get re-elected when their term end nears.

Of course, the most terrifying and infuriating example isn't our government, our friends, or our mates.  There's really only one group on the face of this planet that makes me so angry I want to hang each and every one of them upside down and burn holes in their clothing with cigarette cherries -  and daily at that.  Yes, of course, I'm speaking of our boys in Blue.  Or Black.  Grey.  Olive Drab.  Whatever the color of their uniforms, I'm talking about the police.  Our "Protect(ors) and Serv(ant)e" persons.  Government officials make me angry too, for sure, but these guys....these people are in my neighborhood every...single...day.  They're asposed to be looking out for me and mine.  Oh, I'm sure their intentions are grand when they go in.  Heck, I'm even sure the better majority of them really want to bust real criminals and uphold the law, on their way in.  I'd even have to say, that when they come out of police training, they feel the same.  But as the badge on their shirt gets less shiny, month after month, something happens to these people.  Sure, they know the law, they've rattled it off more than they care to admit...but pretty soon, some of the more brazen of these keepers of the peace begin to make up their own laws, or at the very least, their own personal version of them.  Just like any job on earth (with the possible exception being the severity of this job on the human brain), after you work it for a while, and become more sure of your footing, you begin to imagine things you have little or no right to think.

Your job is tougher...you risk your life daily, you deserve more for doing it.  Things like this we've all imagined from time to time on our own jobs.  The options for the rest of us, not in a position of power, are rather limited.  It's either figure out a way to convince your boss you deserve more for the job you do (something that nearly never works out for you...ever); or figure out a scheme involving your job that could possibly make more money for you.  Then you conceive a way to rip the company off, get nailed by the accounting department, then get jailed.  Promptly.

Police-persons, on the other hand, (I think I just thought of the subject of my next post series - SOFT LANGUAGE) have oodles of options.  And they abuse these options on  a regular basis too.  Not only can you rip your "company" off, you can do it...without worry, consequence or accountability, as long as you don't get greedy about it...if that's possible for us Americans anyway.  It's like eating a Lay's Potato Chip...no one can eat just one!  Or opening an Oreo cookie package and reaching for a cookie...and you look again, and you've finished off half the package.  Corruption happens just like that.  One minute you're dipping out of the drug bust you made for an ounce, then before you know it, you're grabbing entire bricks, as you think "they didn't miss that ounce, I'm betting they won't miss a half a pound", and the corrupt officer is born.

Oh, but you know it's not just stealing we're talking about.  No, badge abuse never stops with theft, it can sift over to other things as well...like law-breaking.  "This guy's a real puke, he raped that girl last week.  Surely people would see me as a real hero if maybe I broke his jaw "accidentally" before he got to the police station." If it stopped there, and only happened in situations like this, every once a year or so, I'd say that officer might just get away with that. No, but it can't stop there, mostly because corruption is all-consuming, and only gets worse and worse.  That same officer then starts doing this sort of thing to people he might believe did what was said, before they're tried for their guilt.  The cuffs go on ridiculously tight, he sorta "bangs" the perp's head into the side of the police car as he's putting them in the back seat.  Not long after that, every one's fair game, innocent and guilty alike, male or female, adult or child.  They get away with more and more, and soon enough, their badge is their shield.  Nothing can touch them.  If you do something wrong, it's not a big deal, they just get suspended with pay anyway, right? Just until this blows over...

You might even wonder what it was that set me off on this path today.  Oh, trust me kids, this article's been a while in coming, let alone a whole series, I didn't even see that one coming.  It wasn't even considered then.  What set me off was a slew of Facebook posts, which aptly included a girl with special needs, 18, who wheeled herself out of her apartment with a knife in her hand because she was afraid of the outdoors, and was brutally murdered by police.  I suppose it's only fair of me to say, on the side of police, that she was the reason that 911 was called.  I suppose it would be equally fair to the victim to say that, they had dialed to get EMT's, not the police; and that they had done this before, and EMT's had come the rest of the times they'd had problems dealing with her.

The officer who shot her?  You got it, suspended with pay...til things blow over.  That website, including video of the newscast?  One of several that have been cropping up everywhere lately, and that I've referred to over and over again.  Here's the link for that video, as well as several like it:

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/family-dials-9-1-1-medical-family-member-cops-show-instead-kill/

Please also see:

www.copblock.org

And, of course, you've heard me refer to "Sheeple", over and over again...these folks are the coiners of the term.

http://www.thedailysheeple.com/

Visit their website, and support their freedom of speech rights at all costs.  Please, if you have a few minutes, check out this story and this video as well, it brought real salty-like tears to my cheek:

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/no-knock-raid-lindy-american-police-state/

Or, if your favorites bar is overloaded, and you just don't really feel like adding any new sites?  There's always the search box of good ol' Google...filled with only two words:  Police and Brutality.  You'll be filled immediately with YouTube video a-plenty.  It's because of folks such as these that the bell tolls and the truth is revealed, my dear readers.  If it weren't for them exposing the truth without consequence (yet...) that I'm able to blog to you with this many sins (thus far anyway).  Fight for your rights America, fight to preserve them, or the hammer may fall on us...hard, and fast.  :D

*********************************************************************************

UPDATE:  OMG AMERICA!!  There has been U.S. Supreme Court decisions about being able to film the police in order to keep them from abusing their privelege...they say it's ok!!  And now APPLE, and the iPhone, are banding together with big brother to say NO!!  It's not NOT ok.  Apple has a patent on a technology that will give the police a way to disable all phones in an area where there is police activity taking place.  BAN THE iPhone!!  Write your congressmen!!  NOW, before your rights are GONE!!

http://www.mybrotherzkeeper.com/man-sues-st-paul-alleging-police-brutality/

Homelessness

Photo: Rachel Monroe/Monroe's Dragonfly

Oh my Lord America.  I gotta say this, this is the most sickening thing about this, our beautiful country.  If I could just put my finger on something, press hard, push your face into it, anything...ANYTHING to make you ill, this is it.  There is no....excuse....for this...in this country.  NONE.

Oh, we have reasons.  We have excuses a-plenty.  We know about this, yet we shut our eyes, turn our heads and some of us, with their very souls at risk, ignore it completely, like it doesn't even exist.  Don't think I haven't seen that one America, and a lot of it.

I remember walking through the streets of Chicago one morning, and there on the corner was, not only a homeless man, but his dog as well, complete with ribs you could play your favorite tune on.  A group of say 3-4 business men, all in their 30's or so, hurried along Monroe Street, talking shop.  A quick glance to the side as they came closer, and wow.  All of a sudden, it was like death in the group.  A couple yanked out their phones, checking for non-existent messages...one started to point the opposite direction, like there was anything to look at save more tall buildings.  Makes you want to run up to at least one, punch them in the face, grab them by the scruff of their necks and crane their heads back in the direction they should be looking.

You want to know why you look away America?  You can't look, and you know why.  That guy and his dog, they remind you of someone.  Funny, he almost looks like your father, doesn't he?  Wait no, your brother.  Your KID brother.  He had a dog just like him, didn't he?  Wait...oh yeah....your best friend.  Your Uncle.  Oh my God, your SON!!

That's right.  Your brothers, people.  Your American brothers are homeless...jobless...on the street.  You know who takes care of these people?  Us poorer people do.  We, the lower class are forever shoving dollars in their cups, knowing we can barely take care of ourselves...but a majority of us know what being homeless is all about.  Either we've been there, or we've known people who have.

Yeah, that's one reason.  Here's another.  You put those people on that corner.  You, right along with corporate America put Joe Smith on that corner, and you know it.  You're the VP at the corporate giant who put Mr. Small Business....out of business.  You're the Manager of Operations at the plant that dumped waste into that lake that, every summer, drew a slew of vacationers to it.  Jane Doe, the local owner of a bait and boat shop rental had to close her doors this year because of it.  The bank reclaimed her home, and now Jane and her family are out on that corner today.  Oh, it might not be EXACTLY who you see...but it could be, just as well.  In your eyes, America, every homeless person you see looks JUST like that person you wronged, inadvertently, or not.  Guilt.  Thank God SOME of us still have consciences.  Not that we pay attention or do anything about it, mind you...but we can still have one.

Here's my favorite though.  You really, truly, are completely naive about it.  You just don't know.  I can understand this, no one wants to talk about it, and that means that there are really and truly people out there who have no clue whatsoever what the numbers really are.

This is where I come in.  You'll have those numbers America.  If it kills me, you'll have them, as big as I can make them too.  Maybe if we lived in the Congo.  Quite possibly, had we been born in Venezuala.

But, as we are the 6th most prosperous country in the world, and leading the world in power, we have run out of excuses.

Did you know that we have five times as many empty houses as we have homeless people?  The reason we have homeless people again???

The number one reason for homelessness?  Lack of AFFORDABLE housing.  Do you think maybe this means we should possibly...LOWER THE COST?  PAY PEOPLE MORE?  Gee, I dunno.  MAAAAAAAAYBE.

More reasons?  Mental Illness/Substance Abuse, and the lack of services available to both.  Low paying jobs.  Yeah, DUH!!  Damaged foster children, when released at 18.  Job training for vets after Vietnam (we dropped the ball on this one, kids.  No Sense in trying to fix that one NOW).  The mentally challenged, currently or at some time in their past drug addicts, the current and past imprisoned population, and most assuredly FORMER criminals, who, because of technology, can't be employed; at some companies, FOREVER - because of computer background checks.  Natural Disasters:  a rather alarming and growing number of people are homeless due to this.   People who are evading law enforcement.  Adults and children who evade domestic violence.  Children who are thrown out of homes (or who run away from them because of) over the disapproval of their gender identity (LGBTQ), Overly complex building codes, foreclosures, evictions, lack of support network (friends, family), lack of resources in a community before homelessness becomes a problem, and Gutter Punks (people who choose to be homeless for political reasons or who are homeless to fight the system).

And, to round off the list, we, as a nation, have diverted 42%....that number again, forty-two percent of our focus, away from our own poverty and homeless population, and are helping other countries out with their problems (as of 2005 anyway...that number is probably a lot bigger by now).

Please, PLEASE don't get me wrong.  Philanthropy is my LIFE!!  I myself have nothing to very little, mostly thanks to my nature of helping others regardless of their reasons for being this way, believe that. Someday?  I might relate some of those stories.  Today, I'm more worried about what all of these numbers add up to.

The total?  That we know of anyway?  Well, the numbers are all over the board; and yet, no matter how high it is in actuality, there's STILL...NO....REASON for it that you can convince me of.  The reasons that are obvious are these:  Greed (See America's "26" original deadly sins, Day #7), Capitalism (Day #3)...oh hell, just see 'em all, ok?  Approximately though?  If we go with currently documented numbers, we're looking at somewhere around...

635, 682 at any one time.  Between 2.5 to 3.5 million will experience at least a few days of homelessness during the course of any given year.

Now, to give the government some credit, these numbers, as well as others related to utter homelessness, have been on the decline of late.  But I'll say it again, America, THESE NUMBERS ARE WAAAAAY TOO BIG...for us.

What to do, what to do.  Give to charity?  This one's pretty tricky.  With the advent of the WWW, the possibilities of giving to someone who isn't going to use it for its intended purpose is pretty grand.  Even the ones you KNOW are good, aren't...as much.  A lot of the biggies use a lot of what you give to paying employees, and expenses for having a base of operations, as well as having offices in just about every major city.

Make donations to local charities?  Same issues.  Give to food banks?  Use one sometime.  Make it a city/county/state driven one.  If you get more than 7 items per person, and are able to eat more than one meal, let me know will you?  I'd like to know where those places are.  Throw money into your church?  You never know where a lot of that goes, even worse, a lot of churches are very much of the "Looking out for US" philosophy.

Oh wait!!  HERE'S a thought.  Nooooooooo..........might be too intense, too radical, too stupid!!  Never mind...

OKOK, you talked me into it....the secret ingredient IS:

Give.  No, don't donate, don't support, don't fall for the BS...just plain ol' give.  Not stupidly, mind you.  Oh, there are players a plenty, usually occupying the same areas as the ones who really need you.  No, I'm talking about this:  Look across the street.  Look to your left and right.  If you see a problem, and you have extra?  GIVE.  Clean out your pantry, give an extra sack of that food you never wanted to buy in the first place to the neighbors with 6 kids, whose parents you've never met, because they work 25/8 of their time. Instead of throwing out the baby clothes, deliver them over to the mother that asked if you had a dollar she could borrow 'til Friday.  Instead of throwing out that tube TV, because you finally bought that 42" LG flat panel, stick a sign on it that says FREE and put it out, or call around to your friends and relatives and see if they know of anyone that could be interested in one.  Take a few extra minutes out of your crazy day and dedicate them to trying to find someone to help out.

And no, I don't mean you blue collar underpaid types.  Uh-uh.  No, I'm pointing at all you others.  White collars.  Business entrepreneurs.  You, the one who made a million last year from that new budding website. Bill Gates....YEAH YOU!!  It ISN'T the lower class's responsibility to take care of its own, it's YOURS!! You have more than you could feasibly spend in two lifetimes, GIVE BACK TO AMERICA.  America made you, and America can break you just as easily.  Give it up, and there might be something there for us to consider when we think of using a different operating system, buy another product you manufactured, or walk through your franchise's doors.  Give to your community, and for God's sake, if you see a homeless guy on the street, give him a gift card, or, better yet, ask him what he wants and go get it for him!!

Last but not least, here's one for all the real estate owners and companies in our greedy nation:  Come off of your sky-high horses.  Take care of our homeless, or suffer the inevitable consequences:  Squatters.  Home invaders.  Campers.  If you don't know what those words mean?  LOOK 'EM UP.  Look....there, on your cell-phone...Google it!!  Lower your rent prices, and for cryin' out loud, speak out against being in, supporting, or creating a rental group.  These groups, that exist for no other reason than get an occasional eviction or late rental payment, tend to make rental rules that shut out those of perceived "lesser value".

I hate to tell you people this, but pretty soon, there won't be a middle class.  There's only going to be those who have and those who don't.  And if you insist on inventing stupid rules like "Show me you make a minimum of 3x the money you need to pay the rent, in income", you're going to shut out, eventually, the very people that made you what you are today.  Next thing you know, your neighborhood will be empty, and all your properties will be for rent, and you'll wonder what the heck happened to your dreams of being a rental property mogul.  After that, your only option will be to give it all back up to the bank, or sell it at a massive loss to that extended stay hotel chain, who wouldn't mind putting up a building here...on your property.  In your neighborhood.  Right over the park and playground that used to be there, that at one time was filled to the brim with middle-classed kids.

If you have it, often-times more than you could possibly spend in your life-time, you had best look to your neighbors if you want to see them survive paying colossal interest rates on their home-loans, or pretty soon you'll see lights where there shouldn't be any, from fires homeless people tend to set to light up the empty house they invaded because it's been empty for a year, when it didn't look to be rented or bought anytime soon.  Pretty soon, these people tend to notice that you have more than you can handle, then decide that they'd like to relieve you of some of it.  :D

Freedom to Fascism - Part the Tenth (Finale!)

https://goodmorninggloucester.wordpress.com/2013/02/02/happy-john-lennon/

America *nods, so as to acknowledge your presence*...

Here we are, eh?  Finally.  The last of the month-long ten-parter that really only lasted 10 actual days, and that with 2 intermissions.  But I think we accomplished what we were after, did we not?

If you feel we have NOT as yet, well then:  For your consideration.  The last and final check marks.

Check Mark #25.  The Transfer of Power From the Legislative to the Executive branch.

Well, of course, we have to have a common understanding of the difference in the two branches, right?  So here we are then:  The Legislative Branch consists of Senators and Representatives, and all are our law-makers.  The Executive Branch is the President, and his cabinet.  Pretty simple right?  That is, until the lines get blurry...then I wonder.

Is there a shift of power?  Well, let's go back to that bit I wrote on Executive Orders, shall we?  Where was that again???  Oh yeah...This series, Part I, remember?  Considering that Executive Orders seem to just breeze by what we and Congress as a whole want without a second thought, then I'd say "When does our Legislature get its vote on this", or "When do we American Joes and Janes get OUR say?"

And really, if the President wants it that way, he can do whatever he wants to, as long as he stays on that line....the one between Democratic and UN-Democratic, between Constitutional and nnnnnot so much, and doesn't cross it.

Bills that go before our Legislature are signed into law (or vetoed) once the debate on whether they're a good thing or not is over.  I have to seriously believe too, after reading the wording on these bills, that most the time, the President probably only half-way looks at them anyway.  He probably just reads the title and the first couple of paragraphs to get the gist of them, then signs them into law or vetoes them depending on how he feels about that particular subject.  I don't think I'd get past the first couple pages after so many hundreds would have crossed over my desk.  I definitely can't say I envy his job, where that's concerned.

The Legislative Branch of our Government represents "We the People"...or at least it's supposed to.  If we bypass that part of the process on anything, we Americans will have less and less say in any matter.  It'll be up to the Executive Branch to decide.  That's when we'll lose our country, kids.  Moving right along...

Check Mark #26 - Assassinations of Popular Public Figures

There seems to be a fine line between being Popular, after a fashion, and being TOO popular in this country.  With the exception of our current President, it would seem that certain key figures, when their voices get too loud or too angry, tend to magically attract some lunatic, then get shot by him/her.  Funny how that works.  If we like them too much, or if they want too much reform, they just disappear.  John F.  Martin L. King.  John Lennon (I'm STILL trying to figure this one out...I'm thinking maybe he just wanted too much peace or something).  I'm certain if I attract too many people with my way of thinking, well, I just might mysteriously get bombed in my own home, or something similar.  Oh, you'll notice for a minute...then you'll just shake your heads and say "He was a good man...it's really too bad, isn't it?  Then within a year or two, you'll forget all about me.  How convenient.

It's OK though.  I figure, enough people get how I think, and then go..."Ooooooooooooh...He'd best be careful sayin' that!!"  Then I go missing?  I'm OK with the possibilities of Martyrdom.  If it gets others to question things, I'm OK with that, really.  I'm not afraid of it, not at this point.  I've had a nice full life.  No problemmo muchacho/muchacha.

Check Mark #28 - The President Claims the Right to Make War Whenever He Wants.

This is one of those that just drives me batty.  I wish I could remember where I saw this, but there was an article I read not too long ago that said "Obama believes that, as long as he doesn't use the word "War", then Congress won't have any say on the matter." (Congress must agree when it comes to war, whether we do or we don't participate).  I think that's what others have done with some of our wars as well.  Vietnam was a "Police Action"..See?  It's not a war, so it's OK!!  Huh???

So, therefore, we no longer seem to need the Legislative Branch in deciding whether we go to war or not, at least not in this administration.  Now I can't rightly lash out and give you a good example...but who needs one?  Once is more than enough.  By the time we realize we're at war with someone, and we never heard the word to let us know it is one, then it won't matter at that point anymore.

*****************************************************************************

So America?  Whaddya think?  Pretty scary huh?  Lots and lots of check marks...I truly with there were more empty boxes, believe that.  Maybe this is too much of a list, I've seen others that only sport 7-10 lines, but I'll admit that it needs to be ripped apart and discussed on every level, not just a few.  Just pay attention, this isn't a lot to ask here.  Keep your eyes and ears open kids, and let's not let this get too far away from us, OK?  We love America and all it has to offer...in particular, it's freedoms.  Don't roll over when they start disappearing.  Keep our country..our democratic people ridden, freedoms of this and that...safe from Fascism, communism, socialism.  We've seen these at work, and they aren't fun.  Till tomorrow, when we're back doing random things.  I'm glad to have this one over with!!