Do We HAVE To Be ‘Compensated?’

My sister ordered a new TV that was supposed to be delivered on Thanksgiving weekend: Sunday.  Sometime during the day a representative from the store called her to notify her that it wouldn’t be delivered.  The set that was put on the truck that morning was damaged;  there were no more in stock. They apologized profusely and agreed to set another delivery date.

She related the story to someone who asked…’”Well, how are THEY going to COMPENSATE YOU?“

Huh?

My first thought when she told me what he said was…  what is there to be compensated for?

The idea that everyone HAS to be reimbursed for even the slightest inconvenience or disappointment is part of what’s gone wrong with our society.  The “me, Me, ME, ME!… I’ve been wronged, hurt, violated, inconvenienced!” is the driving force behind many of the ridiculous lawsuits we see.  Our culture has come to righteously demand rewards for perceived slights.  Like spoiled children, we throw temper tantrums if we don’t  immediately get our way.  We threaten, demand, badger and litigate our way through situations which, most times, are just an unintentional mistake or unpreventable circumstance in which no physical harm was done.  Ah, but lest we forget the oft used ‘pain and suffering’ defense!

My sister did wait at home – on her day off, but she needed to be home catching up on chores anyway! Yes, she was disappointed that she didn’t get her new TV.  I think it would have been much worse if the damaged TV actually been delivered.  Had the set been unloaded, brought in, set up and found to be defective, then taken back to the truck, schlepped to the store:  nobody would have been happy! It also would have been a big waste of time for the delivery people, who, assuredly at this time of the year, are overwhelmed anyway.

The person who suggested the “compensation” never considered this.  To my sister, it wasn’t the end of the world,  just a delay and inconvenience. So what?

She reminded me of something I told her years ago:  think – “Is it a problem or an inconvenience?”  There’s a difference.  There’s a storm raging outside and water is gushing through the ceiling – I’d say that’s a problem.  If you’re stuck in a checkout line because of a system snafu, that’s inconvenient. Have to wait another day for your TV to be delivered; that’s probably an inconvenience.

So next time, before getting your drawers in a knot and DEMANDING compensation… slow down and think… really – how bad is it? Is it truly a problem or just an inconvenience?

White House Gate Crashers: Looking for Buyers

As quoted by the AP’s write David Bauder 2 hours ago:

“NEW YORK – The couple who crashed President Barack Obama’s first state dinner are peddling their story to broadcast networks for hundreds of thousands of dollars, a television executive says.

The executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the network does not publicly discuss bookings, told The Associated Press that representatives for Michaele and Tareq Salahi contacted networks to urge them to “get their bids in” for an interview. The executive said the Virginia couple was looking for a payment in the mid-six figures range.”

Tell me this whole thing wasn’t planned by the Salahis!  Their 15 minutes of fame has turned into an hour now.

SHE wants to get on the  Bravo reality TV show, “Real Housewives of D.C.” I would hardly call her a ‘REAL” housewife of D.C.  She’s gone beyond ‘real’.

THEY are in debt to the six figure range, involved in  16 lawsuits which could cost them another 6 figure sum.

They chickened out of a Larry King Live interview, probably knowing that Mr. King would rip them and their plot to shreds.  I guess it’s on to “Oprah” next.

 

White House Gate Crashers: Reality TV Wannabes

Here we go again!  Reality TV wannabes Richard & Mayumi Heene’s   ‘Balloon Boy’ hoax captivated the public in October.  Now we have White House gate crashers, Tareq and Michelle Salahi,  schmoozing with celebs at the Obama administration’s first White House state dinner.

With a BRAVO  TV film crew trailing behind, they managed to get admitted to the affair after passing through security.

Oops!  Someone at the gate is going to have a LOT of egg on their face!  As for the Salahis, they’re sure to be in hot water because lying to the agents at the gate is a federal crime.  OOPS again!

With the country’s fascination of reality TV – is THIS what we’ve become?  Is this how to get your 15 minutes of fame? Pull a stunt…, any stunt and for the moment – get away with it.  Then you’re on the front page of every newspaper and gossip rag. You find yourself on the most wanted list of talk shows, late night TV and radio.  Gee, if you’re lucky, you might even get a book deal or a movie offer! Ah…, but WILL you get that coveted reality show?  Looks like the two most recent attempts backfired.

The Heene’s have already been to court;  Myumi, not an American citizen, came close to getting deported.  Richard has admitted his guilt and both will go to court next month. The Salahis probably will be investigated by the Secret Service and will find themselves in more trouble than they bargained for.

In an article from CNN, it seems that the Salahis are bumbling their way through the court system in Virginia with several lawsuits pending.  Bankruptcy rears it’s ugly head, too.  They’ve been sued by customers of the winery who allege that after reserving the Oasis Winery, which the Salahis own, for a wedding, thousands of dollars were charged to the client’s charge card.  It got messy; the Salahis threatened to cancel the wedding. The customer paid up so that the wedding would go ahead but later sued them for the unapproved charges.

They’re in debt for tons of money, too.  It’s obvious that these two are living a running scam.  Their Facebook pages list events they were at, probably uninvited, like the White House state dinner. If they’d kept their mouths shut, they might have gotten away with it, but of COURSE, the allure to say “LOOK WHAT WE DID!” is too much.

So that’s it, folks.  Wanna get famous?  Get caught doing something you shouldn’t involving high profile people and you’re sure to have your 15 minutes.  This is a sad testament to our society.

Is this what we want to teach our children?

Abortion: It’s NOBODY’S BUSINESS!

AH…, my latest fodder came from a ridiculous ruling by the Catholic church against one of the Kennedy family, D-R.I., from receiving communion because of his stand on abortion.

Kennedy, it seems, made some comments regarding the health care bill and  abortion back in October.  Now the church has – get this -  banned him from receiving communion IN Providence,  Rhode Island but – as the article says: ” Church law permits Tobin to ban Kennedy from receiving Communion within the Diocese of Providence, which covers Rhode Island, but he cannot stop Kennedy from receiving Communion elsewhere. It was unclear whether bishops overseeing Washington and Massachusetts, where Kennedy’s family has a seaside compound, would issue similar bans.” not necessarily in other areas.

Here we go back to the jist of many posts – why are religious views imposed unilaterally on the entire population? Again I ask —  WHATEVER HAPPENED TO SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE?

Conservative Christians, the loudest facet of the pro-life campaign – have long harassed women entering doctor’s offices and clinics such as Planned Parenthood.  Doctors and their staff have been killed and injured by bomb blasts perpetuated by the extreme conservatives.  These people feel it is their right to maim and kill, taunt and harass, ‘in the name of God’…, saying that it’s ‘God’s will’ that they do this work!  Where IS IT  written that  this IS ‘God’s work’ ?

I have one line on abortion — it’s three words which in all reality should temper any discussion on this subject:

IT’S          NOBODY’S          BUSINESS.

It is not the concern of ANYBODY ELSE other than the MOTHER.

It is her conscious that will have to deal with the decision. PERIOD!

It is not your business, my business,  nor should the government have to mandate it either way.  The conservative ‘you’re gonna go to HELL for this…’  Pro-lifers,   or anybody else! PERIOD!  End of discussion!  That should be it!

I’ve been on the receiving end of taunts when I used a Planned Parenthood years ago for my health care.  Protesters standing along the sidewalk   a s s u m e d,  that every woman entering the facility was going in for an abortion!  Coming dangerously close to assaulting me,  I held my tongue.  Thankfully, shortly after that the law went into effect signed by President Clinton (FACES Act).

I have friends who have chosen to have many children.  That’s fine.  I, and other friends, have chosen to have no children.  That’s  fine, too!  It’s OUR DECISIONS.

Yes, we in this country enjoy free speech, and it is the right of a person to have a different opinion, belief or view.  I object, however, to the fact that THE views of Pro Life advocates should be – by any law – imposed on everybody.

Again – I reiterate —  IT’S NOBODY’S BUSINESS!

Wanna Get RICH? Smoke Cigarettes

This morning on the news blips it was announced that a Florida woman was awarded 300 MILLION by a jury in Miami.

TRUE:  Philip Morris intentionally hid the dangers of smoking from the American public.  This was inherently wrong and deceitful.  They should be punished for these actions.

However, I have one problem with this:  smoking is an individual choice.  People choose to continue smoking after their first cigarette…., dizziness and puking aside.  Even though their body is trying to tell them that what they are doing IS poison, they do it anyway.

Some people have an easier time quitting than others.  I was lucky;  I stopped and never picked up another one.  Of course, I had some help too – I couldn’t breathe and was suffering from what the doctor termed as ‘reactive asthma’.  I had to make a choice between smoking or breathing.  I chose the latter.

Ms. Naugle unfortunately was not like me.  Despite several attempts, she finally quit after over 25 years.  Sadly, today she is crippled by emphysema, unable to walk but a few steps before getting out of breath.  Her plight is a testament to the millions of ex-smokers, myself included, who have suffered permanent damage from smoking.

Yes, I firmly believe that Ms. Naugle should be compensated, but $300 million – which I am sure she will not get after legal fees and other encumbrances to the amount -  is a bit out of line.  True – she suffers daily and probably will have a much shorter life had she not smoked for so many years.  As Richard Daynard, professor of law at Northwestern University said, “Large verdicts encourage other large verdicts.”

This goes back to another rant that I posted on lawsuits.  “Stupidity Clause in Lawsuits” and the page on “Why The Responsibility Rant?”

It breaks my heart that there are millions like Ms. Naugle, but it also goes back to responsibility;  I do not negate her condition, and Philip Morris needs to be punished.

Now someone needs to take on the food companies because they are equally responsible for poisoning the American public!

Nuff said!

Conservative Christians STILL Believe Obama Is A Muslim

Following is a sad and scary testament.  I received this message from my conservative Christian relatives.  It was sent to them by their equally biased friends.

Check out this latest picture from yesterday, Veterans Day 11/11/09  at the Ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery. I don’t know whether the National Anthem is being played, or the Flag is going by, or WHAT, but EVERYBODY in the picture is either saluting or has his hand over the HEART.  All except ONE…….Guess who.?

The previous sender wrote:

I guess a Muslim’s sign of respect is folded hands over your crotch.  How in the hell did the American people elect this guy to the highest office after only 150 days in the Senate, never having run anything except maybe a rally and having lived so many years overseas.  Are we really that stupid?  This had better be a one term deal and the Senate and the House damn well better turn Republican or at least Conservative in 2010.

To which I replied:

True, you don’t know what’s going on in the picture and seeing at the President isn’t a Muslim and knowing what I know about them, I highly doubt that ‘the Muslim sign of respect is hands folded over your crotch.’  Politics in this country has no place for the radical conservative Christians who want to force their limited, bigoted,  racially stereotyped views on the rest of the country. Unfortunately for them, Christianity is NOT the only religion so get over it!

Never underestimate the narrow-mindedness of the human race

These sad little people are just an example of a dangerous aspect of American life:  Christian conservatives.  They actually BELIEVE that President Obama is a Muslim!  DUH!  Mr. Obama was BORN in the UNITED STATES of AMERICA and HE IS A CHRISTIAN! His father may have been from another country and Mr. Obama could never have run for this nation’s highest office if he were not an American citizen. Even if he was a Muslim by faith – what would that matter? Ooohhhh noooo…, to THESE people, that would have meant he was a terrorist!

These people are horrifically narrow-minded, biased, brainwashed and terribly uninformed.  From what I’ve heard, thousands of people still believe in that old rumor started during the campaign that Obama is a Muslim….. that he has a secret agenda to allow the terrorists to come in and take over the government and kill all the conservative Christians.

These same people voted for John McCain probably because of Sarah Palin’s conservative Christian blubberings, figuring she she, as VP, would liberate this country and establish a Christian-based conservative government.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO SEPARATION OF CHURCH and STATE?

Why do some factions of our population believe that their limited, racially biased,  dangerous fundamentalist views  should be imposed on this entire country?  Are we not a nation of many cultures?  Are not some of these cultures non-Christian?

These people follow a religion based on a game of Biblical “Post Office”,  read their Bibles, quote scripture,  and blindly take    e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g     literally as if God said it in the New York Times yesterday.

They are dangerous.  Their limiting agenda is dangerous to the freedom of all the citizens in this country.  Their supposed ‘values’ which embrace religious persecution and racism,  threaten the entire democracy on which this nation stands.

They are as dangerous as any other fundamentalist group bent on forcing their will on anybody else who does not agree with them or share their religious beliefs.

Texting for Jesus

As if spam on our e-mails isn’t bad enough, or telemarketers, now I’ve got the JESUS FREAKS sending me text messages!

Why don’t these people leave everybody alone?  Why do they think that it IS God’s will that they convert every last human to believe in something that supposedly happened two thousand years ago.  I say ’supposedly’ not because I don’t doubt that Jesus did exist, rather I question what has been written about him for it’s accuracy.  As explained in my previous post, “WHAT’S IN YOUR BIBLE?” it’s all hearsay!  How do we know something actually occurred?

Well, it pissed me off to the extent that I called my cell carrier.  I am not a text person – see no reason in it…,  and don’t do it.  I put a block on all text msgs to my phone.  I have told all my friends not to text me, so they don’t.  Why should I have to PAY for text messages from someone else;  someone I don’t even know?

Yeah…, Jesus died for MY sins?  Oh, ‘cmon!  He didn’t die for anybody’s sins, you fools!  That’s just the guilt trip the church has cooked up to scare everybody and keep them in line.  That goes with the ‘devil’ stuff, too.  The ‘devil’ is only the ‘darkness’ in man; lower tendencies.  No, you blithering brainwashed idiots – Jesus did not DIE for ‘YOUR’ sins or those of anybody  else.  He was an example, just like other teachers:  Buddha, Mohammad and on down the line. He wanted to show the possibilities of man, not his own superiority!

Don’t try to show this stuff down my throat.  Believe what you want to believe but keep it to yourself.  I have no use nor patience for those who think it’s their job to ’save’ others.

I don’t need saving from anything, thank you!

Let’s Take Back OUR FOOD!

If you think that environmental issues don’t concern you or there’s nothing you can do about them, you’re wrong! It is YOU, the AMERICAN CONSUMER who MUST SPEAK OUT, ACT UP and TAKE CONTROL.  The government, big corporations and agribusinesses are NOT acting in your best interests!  It’s their wallet that is the main concern, not yours!  So, get off your lazy, complacent butts and DO SOMETHING!

There are numerous sites detailing environmental disregard -and- total disregard for human life on this planet BY food companies and agricultural chemical companies.  You and I and this planet are being POISONED by thousands of chemicals a day because the likes of Monsanto and Bayer… those kindly aspirin people.

We do not know the long-term results of eating GMO (genetically modified organisms).  Nobody does!  GMO food have been made resistant to herbicides and GM food is so prevalent in today’s food.  This is frightening!  LEARN MORE!

DO THE RESEARCH.  Do it for your kids, your friends, your family, your friends and if you care enough – our planet.

GET INVOLVED!

This government is supposed to be FOR the PEOPLE and BY THE PEOPLE.

It isn’t.

It’s  FOR CORPORATE AMERICA  by CORPORATE AMERICA!

You CAN DO something….. only if you want to.  If you’re the   l e a s t    bit concerned about our food supply, if you care at all about what you’re kids are eating from ’supposedly’ natural sources (much of  it lies…) ===  then DO SOMETHING!

What the food companies and the government are telling you isn’t always the truth!  We, the American people, have to stand up for our rights and make the FDA listen to us, not the corporate lobbyists!

HR2749 – call your congressmen/women and other legislators and TELL THEM TO VOTE NO on this bill.

It will hurt YOU, anybody who owns a few chickens, one cow,  some goats and every small farmer in this country.  It will force many of them out of business, JUST what the big agri-businesses want!

NAIS is NOT NICE

HR2749: Don’t Let the USDA & Agri-Business WIN

KEEP UP the PRESSURE ON YOUR LEGISLATORS and CONGRESSPEOPLE!

DON’T LET BIG FOOD and the USDA WIN !!!!!

It will hurt ALL OF US!

If you calledyour government officials on HR2749 to say to VOTE NO – CALL AGAIN! Send this to your neighbors, friends, co-workers, church members, health care professionals…. ANYBODY who is CONCERNED about OUR RIGHTS for GOOD, HEALTHY, CLEAN FOOD and also the RIGHTS OF SMALL FARMERS! The government has WAY TOO MUCH POWER over what’s IN OUR FOOD and how it’s made. If this bill passes….. YOU and I will suffer.  The “Food Police” will effectively shut down many, many small farmers because of the cost and bureaucracy OF NAIS and governmental regulation!

An informed consumer is a POWERFUL consumer!

HR2749 missed passing only by a few votes today, but it could come back tomorrow, Thursday.

No committee report, three different bill versions presented, last minute closed-door negotiations – complete mayhem.  Congress had no idea what they were voting on.

It could come up Thursday if the Rules Committee permits another vote – which we see as a complete abuse of power – under a closed rule that prohibits amendments and requires only a simple majority vote, highly unusual for this type of legislation.  We are unsure what the Rules Committee will do or allow.

PLEASE continue calling – call your representative AGAIN to voice your opposition over this bill and to attempts to rush it through without debate.

Contact your Representative: htt://www.House.gov

The bill still includes:

1) unprecedented and sweeping authority granted to FDA – access to records without cause, the authority to regulate all farming practices, and ability to impose substantial criminal and civil fines without a showing of harm;

2) lack of protection for small, organic and diversified farms – regulations created for large industrial facilities will financially ruin smaller operations;

3) a $500 annual registration fee whether making jam in your kitchen to sell within your community or if General Mills selling worldwide.

There is no amendment that will “fix” this bill.  We want to stop this bill.

The “Octo-Mom Show”

We knew it would happen sooner or later, right?  This woman and her artificial and unnatural birth of eight babies at once will be a reality show.

Says a lot about society, doesn’t it?

This woman is clearly unbalanced.  She didn’t want to stop at 6 children, which she was unable to care for mentally, financially and physically.   For whatever reason and however,  (you all know the story) she deemed to have even MORE children.

In the real world outside of fertility clinics, this smacks of women who are ‘addicted’ to babies or infants.  They give birth and when the child reaches a certain age, they have another child, just to have a baby around the house!

The human body was not designed to carry 8 fetuses.  Humans are not dogs or pigs;  they’re a ’single serving’ entity. Maybe twins or triplets in rare cases…, but for the most part one at a time!  Octomom didn’t want to do the ‘one-at-a-time’ routine.  She wanted to get the biggest bang for her buck – an ‘Insta-Family.’

Now we have this woman, who has already become a phenomenon, and her children – who are just infants -  being  paid to be filmed.  Yes, I realize there are child labor laws…. but for God’s sake…, these kids aren’t ‘working’.  They’re shitting in their diapers, crying, crawling, drooling, eating and doing what babies DO!  Hopefully people will get bored with being voyeurs of  this absurdity quickly.

I bet this will give her money to go back for another round of multiple births!