 I’ve ranted about the bastards of the Westboro fanatical extremists (sounds like terrorists, themselves, don’t they?), but lets look at a group at the opposite end of the spectrum – The Patriot Guard.
These are the guys that take time out of their personal lives to stand up for what our troops will, are and have fought for. They show up for send-offs, and they protect the dignity of those who have fallen in the line of combat. When I stop to think about what matters and what doesn’t, I realize that that which doesn’t matter will fade away. The people at Patriot Guard, and what they represent, matters a lot. Their beliefs will never fade. Send Westboro the hate mail. Send the Patriot Guard your respect. |
Author Archive
The Patriot Guard – Heroes at Home
Ebay – the Front for Paypal
In one of my recent posts I talked about how I sold an item on Ebay, was paid with Paypal and shipped it. A couple of months later the (l)user posted a chargeback on his/her credit card while Paypal stood by and did very little, or nothing.
Interesting enough, no? Well, it seems that when Ebay billed my Paypal account (not even twelve dollars), Paypal tried pulling the entire amount that they think I owe them (that would be about $2,000) out of my bank account, which I had already closed because I anticipated such a move.
Talk about an unauthorized transaction! I did not give them permission, but apparently that must be assumed? I don’t think so…
Now had they actually worked on resolving the problem, this wouldn’t be an issue. But therein lies the problem – they don’t resolve problems. This is what makes Paypal a haven for so many crooks.
Let them push the issue. In the meantime I will turn the case over to the FTC and DoJ.
Unprecedented Stupidity
 Our political powerhouse has handed the war-mongering president more powers?! Are they out of their minds?
Okay, I hear the arguments: The guys that are fighting us wouldn’t think twice about what they would do to us – put our people on tape, torture and kill. But it is time we wake up and realize that we should be holding ourselves to a higher standard. How do we want our people to be treated? We will only be treated as well as we treat others. It’s the catch-22. The terrorist suspects we hold in prisons have rights, whether we like it or not. If the fighting is over then they should be released, if there is nothing to prosecute them with, based on international law. Torture of any kind should not be an option. Prisoners of war should be treated the way we would expect our own to be treated, and no less. |
Lottery Losers
What is the deal with the people who buy lottery scratch-off tickets, only to stand there, holding up the line of people behind them while they scratch their tickets to see if they won anything? If they do win something they have to turn that damned thing in right away (perhaps the next one or two is a winner?)! And they keep doing that until they lose all of their money…
If you’re one of the losers, consider taking your tickets elsewhere while you scratch them, then get back in line, like everyone else. In other words – Stop being so damned rude! You’re not making any friends that way.
The Power of Words
 The religious battle continues, with some prophetic words from the Pope, himself.
It is increasingly difficult to understand why the extremist religious fanatics want to make such an erroneous statement, a quote from the middle ages, turn out to be so correct. Wouldn’t one want to prove this wrong? Obviously some people do, and those who don’t care are the ones who stand out in the media. Never-the-less, the idea of creating a useless religious blood bath is insane. I am not a very religious person, but I am strongly opposed to the extremist denominations, no matter what banner they fly. They are no better than gangs or organized crime. They are no better than dogs that fight for the right to mark territory with piss. |
Paypal Doesn’t Stand Up For Its Customers!
I recently made a sale through Paypal, and I’m regretting every bit of it! I made the sale and shipped the merchandise. Two months later I get a chargeback!!
Normally I don’t keep much money in my Paypal account, maybe 100 dollars or less. I thought it was a nice place to store my personal funds that I could chunk out here or there. Then I sold an item for about $2,000… Well the money evaporated pretty quickly, so when the chargeback was issued my account hit -$2,000.
Now, I thought – since I had legitimately sold and shipped a product – that all would be fine. To date: it’s not. It would seem that little has been done about this matter, on Paypal’s part. And as I research it, it would seem many have lost money or been sent to collections due to the very same type of scam. Think I’m full of it? Look here.
So a word of warning – be careful what you sell and who you to with Paypal. Don’t sell items of significant value outside your native country, and make sure you sell valuable items only to verified Paypal customers, and only to their addresses, with tracking.
Sometimes even that won’t help you. To be updated, pending changes…
Liberty, Security and Responsibility
 Five years ago the world watched and held its breath as four planes became weapons to be used against its own citizens. That day the world garnished the U.S. in good faith, which was used promptly and then squandered.
We hear about the need to protect our civil liberties, but they are taken away in the process. At the same time more extremists are born by alienation, hate and fear. Not just muslims… No nation or state should tolerate terrorism, but there is a line to be drawn – the line that defines a terrorist can become blurred. |
Is the United Nations Necessary?
 When the U.N. was first conceived at the end of WWII, it is evident that the world needed something to bind it. But what about now?
For those who have been paying attention, they see all of the politics invloved. The Secretary General has little weight, other than to condemn a country for its acts, and that depends entirely on the country. The Security Council is a biased entity – each country serving its own interests, whether or not it is good for the rest of the world. Of which Europe seems to be the least biased, while the super powers, former super powers and rising stars are the most self-serving. If a baseline cannot be set that all countries can adhere to, than the U.N. serves no purpose, other than to give global politicians a place to argue amonst themselves, all while one country or another is exploited. Get the problem fixed, or be done with it. |
Four Day Work Week?
Think about it… A worker spends two hours a day more at work (on average) in order to have a three day weekend. This leaves more time for relaxation, or another day for ovetime while still having a weekend.
Not only that, but with todays fuel prices, it’s also a savings in fuel. If all organizations adopted such an act, it would drop bills nationwide. Schools and many other government facilities would save one day worth of gas per week, as well as the cost of heating/cooling and electricity.
A longer time to relax, while keeping money in your pocket. It’s not such a bad idea, is it? 
Prison – Doing Time or Free Ride?
Why do people go to prison? Is it to pay their dues to society, or so society can make their wishlist a reality?
Maybe it’s time the general public made themselves aware of what is going on. When someone goes to jail they are provided meals, a place to sleep, excercise, medical treatment and, often, cable TV. Inmates get better treatment than many americans that have comitted no crimes.
These prisoners – many of them – are also demanding (read: using our tax dollars in their court cases) for other things, such as a sex change. I pay enough money for them to live. There is no reason that I, as a taxpayer, should have to pay for them to get tied up in legal issues that are unrelated to the reasons why they are serving their sentence, let alone for ‘extra benifits.’ If they can’t pay for it on their own, they don’t need it.
Any doctor who states that such an unnecessary procedure is required for the mental health of the patient is a quack, and not worth my taxpayer dollars any more than the inmate.