The Funny Farm
Where life is beautiful all the time and I'll be happy to see those nice young men in their clean white coats...
Adventures of a Basic Force For Good in Our TimeTM
Saturday, 1 Goodenuf 2008
It is nice to see that there are issues which I might be somewhat in agreement with a few of my compatriots:
A short while ago I postulated that, quite possibly, Johnathon Sidney McCain the Third might be in violation of his own campaign finance reform laws. While suggesting that the Democrats devote some effort to advancing this into the mainstream media
Sign the McCain FEC Complaint Letter
By his own admission, John McCain is breaking the law. His latest spending report has him $4 million over the limit he imposed on himself when he accepted public financing. We're not about to let this stand, so on Tuesday we filed an FEC complaint against the McCain campaign (check out the video of delivery above). Now we're set for a second larger delivery, on behalf of the thousands of Americans who won't stand by while John McCain breaks the law. |
Funny how it's only one part of the internets that wants to inject a tiny bit of bipartisanship into the presidential news coverage, and every other frelling news source available to the american consumer that wants to studiously ignore this sort of thing once again and continue with Keystone Kop sadministrations running this country into the ground. Sorry you couldn't get the writers to work on this script any sooner, guys...
They have a listing of the muckymucks of the left blogsphere who've already signed on. Quite possibly it might include Your Humble Narrator and a few of his cohorts at the American Street sometime in the near future - once they've figured out that we've signed on. Who's with me?
[Editors' Note: this entry has been cross-posted at the American Street]
Fryday, 30 Priming 2008
...I wonder what the religiously insane will make of this?
Hotel ditches nightstand Bibles
Visitors to Hotel Preston won't find the Holy Bible in their nightstand. Instead, travelers will have to call room service to order it from a "spiritual menu," which will include other literary offerings like the Book of Mormon, the Quran and books on Scientology, said Dina Nishioka, public relations director for Hotel Preston. [snip] |
Equal time for other forms of religious insanity other than teh standard white jeebus on teh cross*? That PR director sounds like she might be of russian descent! Quick, spread the word - teh commies are trying to destroy gawd worship in teh ewe ess eh?!!!!!11!! Awake christian soldiers and kill other humans for teh grater glory of gawd!
I guess somebody should bind and publish the tenets of the Flying Spaghetti Monster so that this hotel chain could consider adding them to the menu.
* - fabulous prizes await any who can tell me where the original quote that has been shamelessly maligned by Your Humble Narrator comes from...
Fryday, 23 Priming 2008
...that is the Democratic Party of The United States* in this election year:
- in between all of your falling on each others' campaigns, making each other look bad so that you can become the nominee for the Democrats in November, you should probably pay more attention to the way your message is being distorted by the supposedly liberal mainstream media, less on publicizing each others negatives, and more on overcoming them. You are all playing the game by the Republican't rule book - and that almost guarantees they'll win. Step outside the frame a little, and perhaps try to point out the distortions the Republican'ts are making of each of your positions. It might be a good opportunity to try and get the frame of both Democratic campaigns uniting against the common enemy trying to pit you against each other. Especially when the Republican'ts distort your own campaigns so that you appear to be sniping at each other more than you actually are;
- you might be aware that Johnathon Sidney McCain the Third has publicly endorsed a couple of religious leaders whose views are at least as radical, if not more so, than the religious leaders the Republican'ts have unsuccessfully tried to tie to your campaign(s). It would be nice if you could perhaps mention that (and nothing else) if the media tries to toss this topic into the limelight any more;
- you might also be aware that the Dunsel In Chief has been lying, repeatedly, in public, regarding the date that his administration began illegally wiretapping american citizens. Perhaps you could ask him if he would tell us why his bluster about this program is conveniently obscuring the fact that his cabal has been engaging in illegal surveillance of americans since well before September 11, and almost immediately after he was sworn in - instead of his lie that this illegal government activity only started taking place after September 11? It might be a good idea to mention the millions of missing emails that this government has lost and loosely tie that albatross to this one if you could manage it.
Also: Quick Quick Note to Nancy Pelosi: Maybe we can finally find some reason to put Chimpeachment back on the table? Your form emails to me about needing more cash because of the eight times the Texas Souffle has vetoed your legislation conveniently forget to mention the dozens (if not hundreds) of times you caved to this petulant dictator-tot and rammed his legislation through your congressional process. You should be making him veto legislation daily, and loudly complaining about his lack of bipartisanship since the day he took office, from now until his miserable residency expires. If anyone sniffs at all about politics, you might start in on the record number of filibusters by the Republican'ts during this congress and take it from there. If people mention bipartisanship, remind them of the previous seven plus years of Republican't hyperpartisanship during this administration. You might even find it worth mentioning that your were elected in a massive mandate against BabyDoc Putsch and that you might actually consider using it sometime in the future.
- you might also be aware that Ralph Nader is being funded by Republican't bigwigs**. You might also notice that, whenever Nader talks about the evils of government and or the fat cat bureaucrats, he always uses Democratic examples, and rarely (if ever) Republican'ts when he talks about his presidential aspirations. Maybe you could ask him, publicly, why he enjoys keeping the real fat cats in power? Or possibly when he's going to start criticizing his Republican't donors instead of his fellow progressives - even once in a while would be a start...
- and, finally***, you might be aware that Johnathon Sidney McCain the Third has not released his tax returns - but for some strange reason all the supposedly liberal mainstream wants to talk about is your tax returns. Johnathon Sidney McCain the Third should also be releasing his campaign financial information, and is quite possibly in violation of the McCain-Feingold campaign funding laws. Maybe you could bring this to the media's attention as well - especially if, say, a corpo-weasel like Chris Wallace starts trying to get you to respond to a question with only his pre-arranged no-win answers as acceptable responses about your campaigns.
Best,
(: Tom :)
* - "I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat." - Will Rogers
** - yes, it appears that this is possibly some people employing the time-honored stategery of supporting everyone, so that, no matter what, they're backing the winner of the contest. The numbers and what little information can be gleaned at this point, however, point to quite a bit of that coming from prominent Republican'ts, so this uncorroborated report could be quite damaging to Nader if it is substantiated and publicized in the upcoming months.
*** - yes, it's a pretty long quick note. It's pretty quick for Your Humble Narrator, relatively speaking. And most definitely pretty short for the political attention span...
Saturday, 17 Priming 2008
OUR Credit Union has also recently had its' name changed from the Royal Oak Community Credit Union, and their online prescence can be found here in case you'd like to ask them yourself about their business policies and practices with regard to the events and policies discussed here.
So, credit union people: when one of your customers comes into a branch office to cash a Western Union money order, it would be best if you didn't assume that they were some sort of criminal trying to pass off some counterfeit paper, and treat them like you're going to arrest them because the money order can't be verified by Western Union's automated system. Even if they look like a somewhat more respectable version of your basic long haired DFH* coming in to the credit union during their lunch break. And you don't immediately recognize them - mainly because they do most of their business with you online, and so don't generally visit the business units much.
Funny story about this situation (and a quick note to Western Union while I'm at it):
The customer 'service' representative at the the credit union (and the manager at the time), once they looked me over, subjected the money order in question to chemical testing to make sure that my counterfeit operation was using the finest materials, humiliated me in front of the other customers there, and repeatedly called the Western Union automated 'service' to be repeatedly told by their software that the money order in question hadn't been registered by the system, they managed to be civil enough to give it back to me and not call the boys in blue to haul my a$$ off to jail.
I then made my own attempts to contact Western Union and find out what the frell was going on. My first attempt got the same software telling me that the money order I was holding in my hand didn't exist in their records. Then, the first customer 'service' representative I talked to told me the same thing, refused to look into the situation any further, and, when I asked to speak to a supervisor once they refused to help me any more, hung up on me. The second customer 'service' rep wouldn't directly pass me on to a manager unless I told him what I was calling about. As soon as I said I was trying to talk to a supervisor about the lack of professional courtesy being exhibited by Western Union's customer 'service' people, I was put through.
It was almost like dealing with a completely different company. "I'm sorry sir - yes, that was unprofessional of them. Yes, I will pass your complaint along to the management responsible for promoting an environment that causes the peons to act this way**." I could smell the bovine excrement exuding from this corpo-weasel on the other side of the world while sitting in front of my PC at home. But, in the end, this individual was actually able to shed some light on the situation.
It seems that, for the most part, when you buy a money order from a Western Union agent, that agent is supposed to report the details of the money order to Western Union, so that they can update their database and verify the details to the businesses that cash it. The agents are supposed to do that within 48 hours of selling the money order.
Well, according to this Western Union manager, this particular agent at this particular outlet holds on to their transmissions for a week and then sends the bundled transaction information to Western Union once a week. So, if I can just be a little more patient and stop expecting companies to do what they say they're going to do when they say they're going to do it, everything will work out just fine.
Funny how the manager at the credit union couldn't get past the automated messages telling him that the money order doesn't exist in the Western Union database, like I did with a few phone calls. Funny how the default position for both of these business organizations was to assume that everyone involved (except them) was engaging in criminal activity, and treat them accordingly. And funny that I had to raise a big stink just to find out that some of the businesses involved were not behaving in the businesslike manner that they had legally agreed to.
I hope the credit union is equally amused (bemused?) when a long time customer of theirs takes their business elsewhere because of their corporate policies.
Update: Amazingly (cough), the missing money order data has magically appeared in Western Union's database within 24 hours of my inquiries. why, it's almost like their might have been some legally actionable avenues I might have been able to pursue if they hadn't gotten their act together post haste!
For some strange reason, this has not restored my confidence with regards to future business dealings with these organiztions...
* - Dirty Fcuking Hippie
** - and then he promised me a pony and a winning lottery ticket - so I quit my job in anticipation of the fabulous wealth I had just been promised by a complete stranger in frelling India. Not that I'm saying that I can't trust businesses when they promise to follow their own corporate policies, or anything lilke that...
Fryday, 16 Priming 2008
Thanks to Pam over at Pandagon for posting the response of Oklahoma House Representative Sally Kerns (R [of course] - Religously Insane Hypocritical Bigot) to criticisms of her hate and lie filled eruption of theocratic bull$hit when she didn't think anyone but the Gawd Squad could hear her. I would like to respond:
To put this simply, as an atheist I believe christianity such as yours is not moral. Obviously, you have the right as an american to choose that lifestyle, but I also have the right to express my views and my fellow atheists have the right to debate these issues.
In recent years christian activists have increased aggressively promoting their agenda through the political process, often providing substantial financing to candidates who agree with their views, including many running for state legislative races. National publications such as PBS, CBS and CNN have noted that trend. That is their right, just as it is my right to voice opposition to your agenda, which I have been asked to do at several online public forums in recent months. That's what democracy is all about. It appears some christian activists believe only one group is allowed a voice in this debate. I disagree. A vigorous debate on an issue is not 'hate speech' – it's free speech. I have made clear my opposition to the agenda of christian activists, but I have never endorsed or supported any hateful action targeting individuals on the other side of this debate and never will. The fact that many religious rights activists claim anyone opposing their agenda is engaging in 'hate speech' says more about them than me. Most atheists are spiritually enlightened and believe that church and state should remain separate as enumerated in the U.S. Constitution, and that the U.S. Constitution is worth protecting and preserving. When I started writing, I promised my readers, and myself, to stand up for those values, and I do not apologize for keeping my word. |
Once again, for any fervent card carrying members of the Gawd Squad within eyeball range - my beef is with religiously insane idiots abusing religion in order to pursue their ungawdly misinterpretations of their big book of religious fairy tales, or trying to make their particular flavor of pagan occult superstition the law of the land. Those who keep their spirituality to themselves, and use it as a guideline for their own actions, instead of a hammer to bludgeon those with differing views, are more than welcome to continue their activities without complaint or issue 'round these parts.
But the motherCheneying farging icehole who wrote the original 'clarification' of her position on a group that does not adhere to her buybull's standards fits that bill to a 'T' and should be drummed out of the political position being paid for by taxpayer monies where she is currently 'employed' - let her religiously insane supporters use their church tithes to pay for someone to spew this kind of filth as part of their job. This sounds eerily similar to the racial hate speech coming from the religiously insane of the previous generation(s) to my ears. Amazing how, the more things change, the more they stay the same...
[Editors' Note: this entry has been cross-posted at the American Street]
Saturday, 10 Priming 2008
I'd like to take this time to ask that, if you're interested in seeing a Democratic politician, instead of a Republican't, in the White House next year, please bite your tongue when passing along any slurs of the Democrat you don't want to get the nomination. Remember, Republican'ts will always slag any Democratic politician within range to try and distract from the crimes their people engage in when in power, and back away from discussions about the wrongdoings of Republican'ts when at all possible. They control the media, and, through it, the message, to a great extent. And, if that's how they're going to game things, then methinks it's high time Democrats responded in kind.
Somewhat earlier I asked the studio audience to consider focusing on the myriad of Republican't targets that are still sitting out there, instead of all this sniping between the top two contenders. Being that they're both head and shoulders above McClueless and the Anything-But-Straight Talk Express, or the other candidate that is being covertly supported by the Republican'ts for the third straight federal election, I see no reason to continue to try and play this game:
Guess what, campers? Those Republican't targets are still sitting there. And it looks like a few of the fat cats might actually be breaking into a sweat... The Sweaty Wrestler looks like he might leave no legacy other than another Republican't failure. The last of The Invisible Sky Fairy's Republican't candidates conceded last night. Perhaps somehow the dialogue can be shifted so that a few media spin cycles could be turned in this general direction?
So I would humbly suggest that the contest remaining is to try and be the most creative in bringing the myriad of Republican't misdeeds to the forefront from now on for Clinton and Obama. Which among you will be best able to tie the FISA scandal to the Republican'ts in the coming months? Who will best be able to make the public notice that, thirty years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, a Republican't-installed Supreme Court Chief Justice wants the courts to stop trying to get Exxon to pay the punitive damages (that have been cut in half over those years) that they've refused to pay for all this time? Who can point to the Republican't congressional obstructionism that's been going on since 2006 better? I think the nation's interests would best be served by trying to, you know, actually point out that we should actually prosecute actual criminal behavior by actual current administrations who are actually still actively engaging in it. I'd like to see the next president focus on that a bit in the upcoming campaign.
Update: Great minds think alike! And publish at almost the same time, too...
Fryday, 9 Priming 2008
I am happy to inform both of my readers that, sometimes, companies that have previously been somewhat lax with their professional duties during their interactions with the Funny Farm redeem themselves later on. Let me tell you a little story...
About a year ago, I wrote a quick note to Randazzo Heating and Cooling about their service when they fixed my furnace and installed a humidifier. I thought I was going to be getting a deal from the company - maintenance and humidifier install for free if I got the humidifier and prepaid for two additional service calls right now - but later found out that the deal from the company was a slight discount on one additional service call if I bought the humidifier (and got it installed) from the service rep on the day of the service. After burning some vacation time to sit around waiting for the service rep to get to my place after it had expired, while I was having dinner. Because his office had seriously overbooked him (and all of their service reps, seemingly, most every day as a matter of course - funny how that's become the industry standard...), and nobody canceled that day. And then watching a $90 five minute service call: the rep pulling a furnace part, sanding the carbon off, and replacing it in the furnace.
Anyways,... long story short: I received some email from a customer service rep, which led to phone conversations (where I mis-stated the situation quite badly, I'm afraid. Sorry, Mike - I have put it together as best as I can now, and I'm sorry I was inaccurate in my recollections during some of our conversations), which have led to the customer service rep apologizing on behalf of the company, and some replacement maintenance parts for the humdifier (just received today!). I have updated my post from last year (the unprecedented part - rarely, if ever, are any updates done to posts, much less to posts a year old) with an account of recent activities.
My thanks to all involved on Randazzo's end for following up on this.
