BloggingThat

I do not like it in a box. I do not like it with a fox. I do not like it, that’s for shista. I do not like it Windows Vista.

I took a look at the latest stimulus package to see if it could help my family. What I found inspired my rant and a few suggestions for the future.

As it turns out, I have been fiscally responsible, unlike the banks, the government and people who bought homes they could never afford. So, I’m good. There is nothing for me here. Kinda like when I paid my way through college, unable to get a grant, though I was broke, underfed and without insurance. Oh well. <insert the tiniest violin here>

My heart goes out to those who have lost their jobs, have suffered health issues during times of relentless medical cost increases or are trying to retire. These folk truly need the help to get back on their feet or have a comfortable life. I should know as I am one of them (failed job) and currently work 2200 miles away from my family so that we can survive without a handout. Humans require food, clothing and shelter. Plasma screen TVs are not on the list people. Ya heard?

The banks and the automobile industry do not deserve a dime. Giving Federal money, which comes from our taxes, to the fiscally irresponsible (and/or corrupt) is not the way to stimulate the economy. Let them fail; then support fiscally responsible people who should take their place. Never in history has there been a time where so many CEO’s have screwed their employees out of their retirements while landing softly on the ground of their estate under the luft of their golden parachute. America hasn’t failed, it is merely weeding out the riffraff.

We do not need this much government assistance. We can do this ourselves. The more help we require from government, the more helpless we become. It has helped for me to stop watching the news. It is biased and mostly crap. Use the internet to find out whats really going on. The economy has seized because we think it is. If you weren’t told, you would just be spending like normal. Read the Constitution and get back to life. Do not let our freedom be diluted by the guise of terrorism. God bless you.

In this debate; I think that McCain highlighted that he has the same narrow thinking as President Bush. McCain seems to be looking for answers to correct past problems while Obama recognizes the mistakes of this administration and is prepared to correct them or at least not go down the same road again while looking forward to prevent such irresponsible mistakes.

The Bush administration has become so encapsulated in terror and war that they have left everything else by the wayside. We see this in the present state of the economy. McCain defends the bad decisions that have been made, because he was there making them, and even tried pulling heart strings to make a point. Look, we all appreciate the soldiers. They do their job. Nobody wants to see them used unnecessarily. It seems McCain will plow forward with backward thinking. McCain is focused on the same policies that encourage terrorism. When we invade other countries, they hate us. Put yourself in their shoes. McCain is prepared to ignore country leaders who are developing nukes, and generally put Americans in “survival mode” when we could be freaking happy.

Obama seems to have a broader scope of the situation, realizing there is more than one front for the American people to be concerned with.  Though we need to deal with Iraq and terrorism, the suffering economy and natural disasters as they unfold, there are other things that concern the American people that are currently being ignored. I think Obama said it best when he described how children from other countries perceive  the United States of America. It should be the great place in which everyone has a chance to be great. Obamas words encourage me as I think about the future for my children and me. I have never been encouraged by the mumbling, bumbling Bush.

So, if you are a hard core republican, just look back at the past eight years and ask yourself if you are better off today than you were when you were bitching about Clinton. Because, I’d rather have a president that’s getting a little on the side than a war monger. We have been at war the entire time Bush has been president and the cost of that dwarfs the economic mortgage bank crisis we are in now. Wake up People!

It sounds so neat and clean. Like it comes in a pretty little shrink wrapped package.

Where the hell is my bail out package? When ever I screw up; I bail myself out or suffer until I can crawl back up to the surface. My business fails, it just fails. I lose my job, i’m broke.

Banks suckered stupid people in to outrageous home loan terms that they could never afford or pay off, then the banks whine that they are losing money on TOXIC loans and the market crashes, oh my @#&&* hurts.

Fortunately Hopefully, this is the last thing BurscK can screw up before he’s out of office.

Oh, but while America can only react to one thing at a time, people can’t get gas in the South and Texas is kinda messed up. More government oversight, I think not. Not even going to touch on the things that matter like education and starving people. That wouldn’t look good in the face of seven years of war. Damn it.

ps. The only thing that should have EVER been bailed out is my brothers boat. That WAS necessary.

I know that is a terrible way to begin a post, but i’m pissed (PG-13 in effect). This is Santa Montica Beach in California. The crosses in the sand are made to look like Arlington, VA cemetery.

To walk through this is just a disgrace. Or a statement… Either way, to me, despicable.

Edit: But doesn’t that grey tube look like a weapon from a first person player game like Duke Nuk’m poised to hurl a ball of fire at them? Okay, whatever.

Have you ever walked in to a convenience store to buy a drink, gum or other low cost item and use a credit card to pay for it? Have you ever been fed a ration of crap regarding a minimum purchase? A sob story of how expensive it is to process, blah, blah, blah. If you are saying my money is no good here, then i’ll take my business elsewhere. No, not only for gum…gas too. Why?, because it’s wrong.

Many stores display signs of their required minimum purchase, others charge an extra fee to process payment. According to an article from msnbc stores cannot set credit card minimum. “Merchants accepting Visa or MasterCard credit or debit cards are not allowed to set a minimum amount for using the card; that is a violation of the merchant agreement.”

Here it is from the faq straight from Visa. ”

Can merchants set a minimum purchase or charge a fee for using my Visa card?
Visa has certain regulations that all merchants that accept Visa cards must follow. One of those rules is that Visa merchants are not permitted to establish minimum transaction amounts, even on sale items.

If you run into a problem like this with a merchant, please notify your Visa card-issuing bank. Visa member banks have access to the appropriate Visa rules and regulations as well as to the Notification of Customer Complaint forms which should be used by the bank to document and file merchant complaints.”

Still not convinced? Let look at the MasterCard policy. Can a merchant charge me a fee to use my MasterCard card? Can a merchant require a minimum purchase amount to use my MasterCard card? The answer to the first question is almost never; the answer to the second question is not ever.

I think I have made my case here. So, start a fist fight! No, just kidding, perhaps this is a more humane way to deal with this injustice. My personal choice is to mention it and let them know you won’t be back. The workers don’t care, but the owners will. Or, if you’d rather complain with less hoorah, write to Visa at askvisacorporate@visa.com. MasterCard complaints will be accepted at 1-800-300-3069.

[Photo CC by Brett L.]