I previously blogged about the bad dogs attacking me when I ride my bicycle by the property, and so-called law enforcement refusing to cite the owner. This morning one of the dogs came after me again, which is what anyone would expect when the W. Columbia police department, W. Columbia animal control, and the Lexington County Sheriff's Department refuse to do their jobs.
Law enforcement in Amerika has become a sham. Cops are goons and thugs, not at all interested in keeping the public safe. Time for the Amerikan Police State to clean up its act.
I know better than to waste my time filing more complaints.
Update 12/3/2018 - Law enforcement has convinced the dogs' owner(s) that they are above the law, so one of the dogs is always unrestrained. It barks at me, but so far hasn't attacked.
Updates 9/14/2018 -
> Yesterday's encounter caused a couple of very minor yet bloody scratches as I tried to defend myself and scraped against part of my bicycle. Apparently, law enforcement is trying to force me to kill one or more of the dogs (they were both loose), endangering everyone in the vicinity as I discharge a firearm in self defense. That's just how STUPID the jerks are.
> Twitter blocked my tweet with a link to this post from appearing on my profile page. Thank the Amerikan Police State.
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Update 8/1/2019 - I've decided I'd rather have a nice-looking yard than play childish games with the Nettles, lest my yard become a neighborhood eyesore like theirs. Nonetheless, I am not about to be bullied into paying for the Nettles to have their pine tree removed. The Nettles' latest stunt, the results of which were witnessed by a Lexington County Sheriff's Deputy, was for the people who mow the Nettles' yard to cut the side discharge on when mowing under the pine tree in front of the Nettles' house, thereby blowing a long pile of grass onto my yard, not to mention trespassing. On 9/13/2019, the Nettles struck again. This time the guy who mowed their yard blew a mess of pine straw - their yard was loaded with it - onto my yard and trespassed. The Nettles seem determined to have the issues associated with this matter settled in court. Perhaps the Nettles' church has been teaching them how to be good neighbors.
Update 10/23/20 - Shrri Nettles latest stunt is to call the police on me - using 911 to do so - because I yelled at her dog. The Lexington County Sheriff's Department sent two marked vehicles but of course her complaint didn't amount to my being charged with anything.>Update 10/7/2020 - I hired a crew to trim a thicket of Leyland Cypress trees, parts of the trunks of which were extending onto my property because the Nettles had been trimming the trees on their side, causing the tree(s) to lean heavily in the direcrtion of my property.This is why the Nettles, in their complaint, state that the tree they allege was removed was only partially removed. That was the part that extended onto my property. No tree was removed from the Nettles' property. Only the top part of one tree was removed, that being the part that extended onto my property. The Nettles, in their complaint, state that the tree(s) are Cedar, which is mistaken. All the trees, including the tree in quesrtion, are most certainly Leland Cypress, a much less expensive tree than cedar. I have never been accused of stalking anyone, much less has such a charge ever been proven.
My next door neighbors are Mike and Sherry Nettles. Mike is an engineer with International Paper at its Eastover Mill in South Carolina.Two of the Nettles' pine trees are near the border of my property, but located solidily on the Nettles'property, one in their front yard, another in their back yard.
In 2003, I had all of the pine trees in my yard removed. Since the tree guy was already on location and had done considerable work removing my trees, he was willing to remove the humongous pine - about five stories tall - in the Nettles' back yard for $1200, which included grinding the stump. At that time, I was in the midst of being a full-time caregiver for what turned out to be nine years, for my dad, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and I simply did not have the time required to clean up the mess such a large pine tree makes. For the record, my dad died at home at age 92. I consider it an honor and a privilege that I had the opportunity to take care of my dad. The humongeous pine tree was damaging the Nettles' fence, which I initially thought was simply because the tree had increased in size. I realized however, that most of the branches had wound up on "my" side of the tree, which caused the tree to lean heavily in my direction so bsadly in fact, that that was what was causing the severe lean was what was causing the tree to damage the Nettle' fence. The tree made such a big mess in my back yard, I figured it would be well worth $600 to be rid of it, and offered to split the cost with the Nettles, emphasizing to Sherry that the tree was damaging the Nettles' fence.
But alas. My offer was refused amidst Sherry taking a deep breath and declaring, "I just love pine trees. Just smell those pines." A current estimate to remove the tree is $1800, which does not include grinding the stump. It's good that Sherry is so enamored with pine trees because the Nettles' yard is loaded with 'em.
Then there's the other pine tree - 'bout average size - in their front yard that makes yet another mess in mine.
About a month ago, I decided to have both trees (the branches that extend over my yard) trimmed. The crew I hired trimmed the tree in back first. The tree in the Nettles" back yard was leaning so badly (toward my yard) that it sprung upright as soon as a total of eight enormous branches were removed. Over the years, the tree - and the branches that were causing it to lean - had increased in size, and to say the tree posed a safety hazard would be an understatement. The crew had completed their work when Sherry came out and started asking questions. I was shocked to learn - from the crew I hired - that under South Carolina law, if the tree had fallen into my yard, I would have been liable for any damages, injuries, or deaths. I hope that law - awareness of which seems mostly to be among people who work in tree-related industries - had nothing to do with the Nettles' nonchalance about sharing expenses to have the tree removed. Sherry now says she told Mike about my offer, but that Mike doesn't remember.
It cost me $700 just to have some of the branches that extend over my yard removed. The tree still makes a big mess, but at least it's less likely to fall into my yard.
When the crew started to trim the tree in front, Sherry came out and ordered them not to climb their tree. She directed me to "talk to Mike," adding that Mike might (emphasis mine) be willing to cut the tree down. She told the crew that they could "do what they needed to do, but they couldn't climb the tree." She had a cell phone, and seemed to be getting advice from someone. At the time, I assumed I could easily find a tree service to trim the tree using a hydraulic lift (the crew I hired didn't have one), and I was puzzled that Sherry seemed intent on delaying what I thought was inevitable.
That wasn't the first time I had been told to "talk to Mike" about the tree.
Several months ago, I noticed Hawley's Tree Service cutting down a tree across the street, and asked Mr. Hawley if he would trim the branches that extend over my yard. He said "we don't do much trimming," adding that he and the Nettles went to the same church, and said "Mike wants to cut the tree down." Mr. Hawley indicated that he would remove the tree for a bargain price, and told me to "talk to Mike."
Nuthin' like makin' the right friends at church.
It's as though Mike wouldn't be able to cut the tree down if I have the branches on my side trimmed. Actually, the tree was hit by lightning quite a few years back, and the Nettles themselves had it trimmed. If I recall correctly, Mr. Hawley did the job, which left the tree looking ridiculous. Two of the branches that extend over my property are very long, stand out like a sore thumb, dump refuse into my yard, and are way too high for me to reach. Talk about an ugly tree. The thing is misshapen, and scarred from the lightning strike. I wasn't surprised to hear that Mike wanted to get rid of it.
One of the pine trees I had removed in 2003 had branches that extended over the Nettles' yard, and up until the tree was removed, I would have welcomed any attempts to have those branches trimmed. Just for the record, I paid all the costs, and was more than glad to do so to get rid of a pine tree.
So exactly what, pray tell, am I supposed to "talk to Mike" about? The tree is clearly on his property, just as the aforementioned pine was on mine.
Since Sherry ordered the crew I hired not to climb the tree, I started trying to find a tree service to do the job with a hydraulic lift. And that's when things really got interesting. For openers, one of the guys on the crew I hired said he knew someone with a hydraulic lift, but I received no further contact. So I figured I would find someone else.
My next attempt was Top Cut Tree service, which happened to be taking trees down at another property on my street. I bicycled down and talked to one of the workers about trimming the tree, gave him my address, and explained that I didn't have a phone, but could be contacted by e-mail. He said the "boss man" would be by later, so I rode back when the "boss man" was there, and it was my understanding that he would follow me to my property. But lo and behold, when I got to my property and motioned for him to turn in, he kept right on going, and disappeared down the street. I then rode back to ask the worker what happened. He was also under the impression that the "boss man" was planning to follow me to my house. He then used his cell phone to talk to the "boss man," but there were no further efforts to contact me, even though Top Cut was at the property on my street for several days.
My third attempt (fourth if you include Mr. Hawley) was Mike's Tree Service (no relation, as far as I know, to Mike Nettles), who had a hydraulic lift, and happened to be removing trees in the West Columbia area. Mike took my e-mail address, shook hands, and promised to contact me, but lo and behold again, no further word from Mike either.
It was obvious that something strange was going on. So after I found out where Mike Nettles worked, I researched tree services and their relationship with the paper business. Talk about an eye-opener.
Did you ever wonder what tree services do with those logs and chips after they haul them away from a property? I found a website that offers a great overview. Logs are likely sold to Log Yards, chips are likely to go to the paper industry, which converts the chips to pulp. In South Carolina, if a tree service has obtained the necessary certifications, it can sell directly to a MILL, as in INTERNATIONAL PAPER'S EASTOVER MILL, WHERE MIKE NETTLES WORKS. And as the above-linked website points out (scroll down to the section titled Direct to Mill), "mills pay up to three times what a local wood yard pays for the same log."
Okay. I can understand why tree services - especially those large enough to invest in chippers and hydraulic lifts - might take special precautions to avoid offending an upper-echelon employee who works for the largest pulp and paper company in the world. By comparison, the crew I hired didn't even have a chipper, and hauled branches away in a couple of pickups, probably to a nearby dump or landfill. I'm convinced that none of them knew anything at all about International Paper. They had sufficient expertise, and were very careful not to use climbing-spikes or any other equipment which would damage the Nettles' trees.
I've answered - at least to my satisfaction - a number of questions I've had about this situation. As for the rest, I think it's time for International Paper - assuming they're not a willing participant in whatever it is that's going on - to get some straight answers out of Mr. Nettles, not the least of which is exactly what I'm supposed to talk to him about.
Meanwhile, my enthusiasm for cleaning up yard trash from the Nettles' pine tree has waned (See 8/1/2019 update at the top of this post). Hopefully, this post will help spread the word about what happened.
Update 8/29/2018 - Tweeted a link to this post to International Paper.
Update 9/4/2018 - Published a link to this post on Facebook on 8/29, and for about a week now I've been blocked from making standard posts on Facebook. I've had similar "coincidences" before with Facebook. Paul Craig Roberts' has a fantastic 9/1 article titled "Facebook Is An Intolerant Authoritarian Organization That Suppresses Free Speech".
Update 9/7/2018: Dr. Roberts offers more comments about Facebook.
Update 10/23/20 - Shrri Nettles latest stunt is to call the police on me - using 911 to do so - because I yelled at her dog. The Lexington County Sheriff's Department sent two marked vehicles but of course her complaint didn't amount to my being charged with anything.
My next door neighbors are Mike and Sherry Nettles. Mike is an engineer with International Paper at its Eastover Mill in South Carolina.Two of the Nettles' pine trees are near the border of my property, but located solidily on the Nettles'property, one in their front yard, another in their back yard.
In 2003, I had all of the pine trees in my yard removed. Since the tree guy was already on location and had done considerable work removing my trees, he was willing to remove the humongous pine - about five stories tall - in the Nettles' back yard for $1200, which included grinding the stump. At that time, I was in the midst of being a full-time caregiver for what turned out to be nine years, for my dad, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and I simply did not have the time required to clean up the mess such a large pine tree makes. For the record, my dad died at home at age 92. I consider it an honor and a privilege that I had the opportunity to take care of my dad. The humongeous pine tree was damaging the Nettles' fence, which I initially thought was simply because the tree had increased in size. I realized however, that most of the branches had wound up on "my" side of the tree, which caused the tree to lean heavily in my direction so bsadly in fact, that that was what was causing the severe lean was what was causing the tree to damage the Nettle' fence. The tree made such a big mess in my back yard, I figured it would be well worth $600 to be rid of it, and offered to split the cost with the Nettles, emphasizing to Sherry that the tree was damaging the Nettles' fence.
But alas. My offer was refused amidst Sherry taking a deep breath and declaring, "I just love pine trees. Just smell those pines." A current estimate to remove the tree is $1800, which does not include grinding the stump. It's good that Sherry is so enamored with pine trees because the Nettles' yard is loaded with 'em.
Then there's the other pine tree - 'bout average size - in their front yard that makes yet another mess in mine.
About a month ago, I decided to have both trees (the branches that extend over my yard) trimmed. The crew I hired trimmed the tree in back first. The tree in the Nettles" back yard was leaning so badly (toward my yard) that it sprung upright as soon as a total of eight enormous branches were removed. Over the years, the tree - and the branches that were causing it to lean - had increased in size, and to say the tree posed a safety hazard would be an understatement. The crew had completed their work when Sherry came out and started asking questions. I was shocked to learn - from the crew I hired - that under South Carolina law, if the tree had fallen into my yard, I would have been liable for any damages, injuries, or deaths. I hope that law - awareness of which seems mostly to be among people who work in tree-related industries - had nothing to do with the Nettles' nonchalance about sharing expenses to have the tree removed. Sherry now says she told Mike about my offer, but that Mike doesn't remember.
It cost me $700 just to have some of the branches that extend over my yard removed. The tree still makes a big mess, but at least it's less likely to fall into my yard.
When the crew started to trim the tree in front, Sherry came out and ordered them not to climb their tree. She directed me to "talk to Mike," adding that Mike might (emphasis mine) be willing to cut the tree down. She told the crew that they could "do what they needed to do, but they couldn't climb the tree." She had a cell phone, and seemed to be getting advice from someone. At the time, I assumed I could easily find a tree service to trim the tree using a hydraulic lift (the crew I hired didn't have one), and I was puzzled that Sherry seemed intent on delaying what I thought was inevitable.
That wasn't the first time I had been told to "talk to Mike" about the tree.
Several months ago, I noticed Hawley's Tree Service cutting down a tree across the street, and asked Mr. Hawley if he would trim the branches that extend over my yard. He said "we don't do much trimming," adding that he and the Nettles went to the same church, and said "Mike wants to cut the tree down." Mr. Hawley indicated that he would remove the tree for a bargain price, and told me to "talk to Mike."
Nuthin' like makin' the right friends at church.
It's as though Mike wouldn't be able to cut the tree down if I have the branches on my side trimmed. Actually, the tree was hit by lightning quite a few years back, and the Nettles themselves had it trimmed. If I recall correctly, Mr. Hawley did the job, which left the tree looking ridiculous. Two of the branches that extend over my property are very long, stand out like a sore thumb, dump refuse into my yard, and are way too high for me to reach. Talk about an ugly tree. The thing is misshapen, and scarred from the lightning strike. I wasn't surprised to hear that Mike wanted to get rid of it.
One of the pine trees I had removed in 2003 had branches that extended over the Nettles' yard, and up until the tree was removed, I would have welcomed any attempts to have those branches trimmed. Just for the record, I paid all the costs, and was more than glad to do so to get rid of a pine tree.
So exactly what, pray tell, am I supposed to "talk to Mike" about? The tree is clearly on his property, just as the aforementioned pine was on mine.
Since Sherry ordered the crew I hired not to climb the tree, I started trying to find a tree service to do the job with a hydraulic lift. And that's when things really got interesting. For openers, one of the guys on the crew I hired said he knew someone with a hydraulic lift, but I received no further contact. So I figured I would find someone else.
My next attempt was Top Cut Tree service, which happened to be taking trees down at another property on my street. I bicycled down and talked to one of the workers about trimming the tree, gave him my address, and explained that I didn't have a phone, but could be contacted by e-mail. He said the "boss man" would be by later, so I rode back when the "boss man" was there, and it was my understanding that he would follow me to my property. But lo and behold, when I got to my property and motioned for him to turn in, he kept right on going, and disappeared down the street. I then rode back to ask the worker what happened. He was also under the impression that the "boss man" was planning to follow me to my house. He then used his cell phone to talk to the "boss man," but there were no further efforts to contact me, even though Top Cut was at the property on my street for several days.
My third attempt (fourth if you include Mr. Hawley) was Mike's Tree Service (no relation, as far as I know, to Mike Nettles), who had a hydraulic lift, and happened to be removing trees in the West Columbia area. Mike took my e-mail address, shook hands, and promised to contact me, but lo and behold again, no further word from Mike either.
It was obvious that something strange was going on. So after I found out where Mike Nettles worked, I researched tree services and their relationship with the paper business. Talk about an eye-opener.
Did you ever wonder what tree services do with those logs and chips after they haul them away from a property? I found a website that offers a great overview. Logs are likely sold to Log Yards, chips are likely to go to the paper industry, which converts the chips to pulp. In South Carolina, if a tree service has obtained the necessary certifications, it can sell directly to a MILL, as in INTERNATIONAL PAPER'S EASTOVER MILL, WHERE MIKE NETTLES WORKS. And as the above-linked website points out (scroll down to the section titled Direct to Mill), "mills pay up to three times what a local wood yard pays for the same log."
Okay. I can understand why tree services - especially those large enough to invest in chippers and hydraulic lifts - might take special precautions to avoid offending an upper-echelon employee who works for the largest pulp and paper company in the world. By comparison, the crew I hired didn't even have a chipper, and hauled branches away in a couple of pickups, probably to a nearby dump or landfill. I'm convinced that none of them knew anything at all about International Paper. They had sufficient expertise, and were very careful not to use climbing-spikes or any other equipment which would damage the Nettles' trees.
I've answered - at least to my satisfaction - a number of questions I've had about this situation. As for the rest, I think it's time for International Paper - assuming they're not a willing participant in whatever it is that's going on - to get some straight answers out of Mr. Nettles, not the least of which is exactly what I'm supposed to talk to him about.
Meanwhile, my enthusiasm for cleaning up yard trash from the Nettles' pine tree has waned (See 8/1/2019 update at the top of this post). Hopefully, this post will help spread the word about what happened.
Update 8/29/2018 - Tweeted a link to this post to International Paper.
Update 9/4/2018 - Published a link to this post on Facebook on 8/29, and for about a week now I've been blocked from making standard posts on Facebook. I've had similar "coincidences" before with Facebook. Paul Craig Roberts' has a fantastic 9/1 article titled "Facebook Is An Intolerant Authoritarian Organization That Suppresses Free Speech".
Update 9/7/2018: Dr. Roberts offers more comments about Facebook.
Saturday, June 23, 2018
AT&T illegally disconnects my 911 access, lies to the FCC
Amerika (sic) is probably the biggest lie in the history of mankind. The corrupt little rat-hole is too cowardly to admit - and most Americans are too brainwashed to realize - that it's a dictatorship ruled by crooked corporations.
South Carolina law is very clear in prohibiting phone companies from disconnecting access to 911 regardless of the reason they decide to terminate someone's service. AT&T - livid because I refused to pay their fabricated bill - violated that law.
Recently, I thought it would be kinda fun to file a complaint with the FCC, just to see what excuse AT&T and the corrupt FCC would come up with to keep from re-connecting my access to 911. And wouldn't ya know it? AT&T told the FCC a blatant lie, claiming I asked them to terminate my phone service.
Actually, for over three years, I've done fine without having 911 access, and I was prepared to lose such access when I took on a goon thug corporation like AT&T. But that's another story.
Of course, it would be risky for a phone company to lie to the FCC if the FCC weren't owned by the corporations it claims to regulate. For example, the FCC has done a remarkable job of making sure robocalls continue while pretending it wants to stop 'em. Toss in Consumers Union's deceitful "Campaign to End Robocalls" and you have an orchestrated effort to keep consumers bankrolling crooked businesses like AT&T. .
The FCC - intent on upholding a corporate crook - took AT&T's blatant lie at face value, and ruled that AT&T had "responded" to my concern, case closed. Here's a copy of my reply to the FCC:
AT&T - the kind of bullying corporate THUG the FCC loves to represent - made 'a response' to my concern. Never mind that their response was ridiculous.
SO glad I haven't had a phone for over 3 years, and use a computer at the library. I continue to save tons of money - just wish I had taken such action sooner. Ah, the peace and quiet of not being harassed by robocalls, much less PAYING for such harassment.
Never expected the FCC to take any action on my behalf - just wanted to cause AT&T the trouble of making a reply. The FCC is a typical government agency, always looking out for thugs like AT&T instead of consumers.
It's not surprising that the FCC is campaigning to limit free speech on the Internet. Here's a link to one of my blog posts about AT&T: Beaten at its own game, AT&T discounts the bill I DON'T owe 'em
I loved it when Dr. Paul Craig Roberts ran a guest article about the FCC's efforts to do away with Internet neutrality and headlined his reference "The Internet, the Last Bastion of Free Speech in America, is Under FCC Attack." Sending the FCC the link to my blog post was right on target.
When I got the letter AT&T was required to mail me about my complaint, I wasn't surprised that the sex-obsessed, LGBTQQIAAP-supportin' thug evidenced some gender confusion. Remember to thank AT&T for contributing to America's never-ending epidemic of STDs.
I just love it when corporate scum and their government cohorts start believing that high-tech gadgetry is one of life's basic necessities. It must be a shocker to a greedy thug like AT&T that somebody has managed to get along so well for over three years without having a phone, 911 access, or home Internet.
You see, boys and girls, Amerika's corrupt power structure has a vested interest in making sure everyone has a phone, preferably a cell phone. It makes consumers vulnerable to robocalls from corporate bill collectors even if charges are unwarranted. But that's only part of the picture. Dr. Roberts gets to the crux of the matter in his recent article, "I Remember When America Was A Free Country," stating, "Their cell phones, social media, and the Internet give them the illusion of freedom (emphasis mine)."
It's always a pleasure to expose AT&T for lying, but to expose 'em for lying to the much-ballyhooed FCC has been a real bonus. Made my day.
Update 6/29/2018 - My pleasure to send a link to this post to AT&T's president's office and the FCC. Talk about a goon thug corporation being above the law...
South Carolina law is very clear in prohibiting phone companies from disconnecting access to 911 regardless of the reason they decide to terminate someone's service. AT&T - livid because I refused to pay their fabricated bill - violated that law.
Recently, I thought it would be kinda fun to file a complaint with the FCC, just to see what excuse AT&T and the corrupt FCC would come up with to keep from re-connecting my access to 911. And wouldn't ya know it? AT&T told the FCC a blatant lie, claiming I asked them to terminate my phone service.
Actually, for over three years, I've done fine without having 911 access, and I was prepared to lose such access when I took on a goon thug corporation like AT&T. But that's another story.
Of course, it would be risky for a phone company to lie to the FCC if the FCC weren't owned by the corporations it claims to regulate. For example, the FCC has done a remarkable job of making sure robocalls continue while pretending it wants to stop 'em. Toss in Consumers Union's deceitful "Campaign to End Robocalls" and you have an orchestrated effort to keep consumers bankrolling crooked businesses like AT&T. .
The FCC - intent on upholding a corporate crook - took AT&T's blatant lie at face value, and ruled that AT&T had "responded" to my concern, case closed. Here's a copy of my reply to the FCC:
AT&T - the kind of bullying corporate THUG the FCC loves to represent - made 'a response' to my concern. Never mind that their response was ridiculous.
SO glad I haven't had a phone for over 3 years, and use a computer at the library. I continue to save tons of money - just wish I had taken such action sooner. Ah, the peace and quiet of not being harassed by robocalls, much less PAYING for such harassment.
Never expected the FCC to take any action on my behalf - just wanted to cause AT&T the trouble of making a reply. The FCC is a typical government agency, always looking out for thugs like AT&T instead of consumers.
It's not surprising that the FCC is campaigning to limit free speech on the Internet. Here's a link to one of my blog posts about AT&T: Beaten at its own game, AT&T discounts the bill I DON'T owe 'em
I loved it when Dr. Paul Craig Roberts ran a guest article about the FCC's efforts to do away with Internet neutrality and headlined his reference "The Internet, the Last Bastion of Free Speech in America, is Under FCC Attack." Sending the FCC the link to my blog post was right on target.
When I got the letter AT&T was required to mail me about my complaint, I wasn't surprised that the sex-obsessed, LGBTQQIAAP-supportin' thug evidenced some gender confusion. Remember to thank AT&T for contributing to America's never-ending epidemic of STDs.
I just love it when corporate scum and their government cohorts start believing that high-tech gadgetry is one of life's basic necessities. It must be a shocker to a greedy thug like AT&T that somebody has managed to get along so well for over three years without having a phone, 911 access, or home Internet.
You see, boys and girls, Amerika's corrupt power structure has a vested interest in making sure everyone has a phone, preferably a cell phone. It makes consumers vulnerable to robocalls from corporate bill collectors even if charges are unwarranted. But that's only part of the picture. Dr. Roberts gets to the crux of the matter in his recent article, "I Remember When America Was A Free Country," stating, "Their cell phones, social media, and the Internet give them the illusion of freedom (emphasis mine)."
It's always a pleasure to expose AT&T for lying, but to expose 'em for lying to the much-ballyhooed FCC has been a real bonus. Made my day.
Update 6/29/2018 - My pleasure to send a link to this post to AT&T's president's office and the FCC. Talk about a goon thug corporation being above the law...
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
LOUSY service via Craig Friedrich and Ski Country Sports in Asheville, North Carolina
Update 10/9/2018 - the merchandise I received was problematic from a safety standpoint, and on 10/8/2018, my credit card company credited my account for the entire charge.
I just love it when people act dumb. People who act that way are without exception dumb enough as it is without acting the part. I encountered just that sort of performance when I recently ordered some bicycling accessories from Craig Friedrich at Ski Country Sports, masquerading on Twitter as @AshevilleBike
If you want ridiculous delays, vague responses, misquotes on shipping charges, and eventual delivery of items that aren't quite what you had in mind but the difference isn't worth correcting, try ordering online from the jerks at Ski Country Sports. Don't waste time, money, and effort trying to purchase anything from these jerks, in-store or online.
It was kinda fun playing along with Craig's foolishness on a pocket-change order, just to see what he would come up with next. Wouldn't wanna try that with a big ticket item.
I'm not surprised. Asheville is where Earth Fare - one of the sleaziest food operations imaginable - started their business and now has their headquarters.
Maybe I've been blacklisted,
Update 6/13/2018 - For a minute there, I thought I'd gotten the wrong part, and complained to my credit card company. In the process, I temporarily removed this post while I reviewed the entire matter. Fortunately, the part I received was correct, apparently just a different color from the color it used to be. I extended apologies to all concerned. Overall, my experience with Ski Country Sports has been a nightmare.
I just love it when people act dumb. People who act that way are without exception dumb enough as it is without acting the part. I encountered just that sort of performance when I recently ordered some bicycling accessories from Craig Friedrich at Ski Country Sports, masquerading on Twitter as @AshevilleBike
If you want ridiculous delays, vague responses, misquotes on shipping charges, and eventual delivery of items that aren't quite what you had in mind but the difference isn't worth correcting, try ordering online from the jerks at Ski Country Sports. Don't waste time, money, and effort trying to purchase anything from these jerks, in-store or online.
It was kinda fun playing along with Craig's foolishness on a pocket-change order, just to see what he would come up with next. Wouldn't wanna try that with a big ticket item.
I'm not surprised. Asheville is where Earth Fare - one of the sleaziest food operations imaginable - started their business and now has their headquarters.
Maybe I've been blacklisted,
Update 6/13/2018 - For a minute there, I thought I'd gotten the wrong part, and complained to my credit card company. In the process, I temporarily removed this post while I reviewed the entire matter. Fortunately, the part I received was correct, apparently just a different color from the color it used to be. I extended apologies to all concerned. Overall, my experience with Ski Country Sports has been a nightmare.
Saturday, May 19, 2018
THANK YOU, Firestone, for offering online chat
Update 6/1/2018 - After using the chat service on Firestone's website, I got e-mail info for the financial department, and my refund arrived pronto. This is GREAT news for me 'cause I've been VERY favorably impressed with Firestone's service, and will be DELIGHTED to continue being their devoted customer. I especially want to thank Firestone for offering the opportunity to chat online, which indicates their awareness that everyone doesn't have a phone. I haven't had one - landline or cell (never wanted or had a cell phone) for over four years, and I LOVE it. I decided to let AT&T disconnect my home phone and Internet instead of paying the crooks a $118 bill I didn't owe 'em, and I've saved a TON of money. I REFUSE TO PAY TO BE HARASSED BY ROBOCALLS.
Updates 12/15/2019 -
> I'm now convinced that this entire matter was due to a fake website I contacted on 4/13/18 - the lady I chatted with later at Firestone's authentic website was unable to verify my claim number and said it didn't appear to be one of Firestone's. I'm TOTALLY SATISFIED with Firestone's service as well as their response to this matter, and I extend my apologies to Firestone for being a bit too hasty to write the original post, titled "Beware of Firestone Complete Auto Care," which I have now removed. Much pressure - far more than I realized at the time I wrote the original post - is being exerted on businesses by the telephone industry to refuse to communicate online, thereby attempting to force consumers to use phones. The telephoned industry is intimidating businesses from communicating online for fear their e-mails will be blocked. The three instances I have blogged about (click the links) have now become business as usual. Nonetheless, one of the quickest ways to lose my business is for any business to refuse to communicate online, preferably like Firestone does, by offering both live chat and e-mail. Edward Snowden has exposed the government's and businesses' interest in everyone having a phone, preferably a cell phone. Read the article, then tell me if you really wanna hold a cell phone next to your brain. No wonder Amazon offered a $50 discount on a pair of shoes provided you entered a mobile phone number to get their "Prime" credit card. Got news for telephone-industry-kissin' Amazon: I make WAY more than $50 by not having a phone and by using a computer at the library.
> SUDDENLY, I'M BLOCKED FROM PUBLISHING ANYTHING AT ALL ON TWITTER. WONDER HOW MUCH TWITTER CHARGES TELEPHONE INDUSTRY GOONS, ALSO KNOWN AS REPUTATION MANAGEMENT COMPANIES, TO ACCESS SOMEONE'S ACCOUNT, AND WONDER HOW MUCH THE TELEPHONE INDUSTRY PAYS THEIR GOON SQUADS TO PLAY EVERY DIRTY TRICK IMAGINABLE - INCLUDING FAKE WEBSITES - TO HARASS CONSUMER-ORIENTED BUSINESSES LIKE FIRESTONE WHO DARE TO OFFER ONLINE COMMUNICATION. MEANWHILE, A PAID-OFF CONGRESS (DUE TO AMERIKA'S CORRUPT ELECTORAL SYSTEM) LOOKS THE OTHER WAY AS LIFE IN AMERIKA BECOMES A NIGHTMARE.
Update 2/2/2020 - ANOTHER GREAT EXPERIENCE with Firestone today. NO CHARGE for diagnosing my problem and referring me to a muffler shop. Seems businesses that offer to communicate online are the best bet for great service otherwise.
Updates 12/15/2019 -
> I'm now convinced that this entire matter was due to a fake website I contacted on 4/13/18 - the lady I chatted with later at Firestone's authentic website was unable to verify my claim number and said it didn't appear to be one of Firestone's. I'm TOTALLY SATISFIED with Firestone's service as well as their response to this matter, and I extend my apologies to Firestone for being a bit too hasty to write the original post, titled "Beware of Firestone Complete Auto Care," which I have now removed. Much pressure - far more than I realized at the time I wrote the original post - is being exerted on businesses by the telephone industry to refuse to communicate online, thereby attempting to force consumers to use phones. The telephoned industry is intimidating businesses from communicating online for fear their e-mails will be blocked. The three instances I have blogged about (click the links) have now become business as usual. Nonetheless, one of the quickest ways to lose my business is for any business to refuse to communicate online, preferably like Firestone does, by offering both live chat and e-mail. Edward Snowden has exposed the government's and businesses' interest in everyone having a phone, preferably a cell phone. Read the article, then tell me if you really wanna hold a cell phone next to your brain. No wonder Amazon offered a $50 discount on a pair of shoes provided you entered a mobile phone number to get their "Prime" credit card. Got news for telephone-industry-kissin' Amazon: I make WAY more than $50 by not having a phone and by using a computer at the library.
> SUDDENLY, I'M BLOCKED FROM PUBLISHING ANYTHING AT ALL ON TWITTER. WONDER HOW MUCH TWITTER CHARGES TELEPHONE INDUSTRY GOONS, ALSO KNOWN AS REPUTATION MANAGEMENT COMPANIES, TO ACCESS SOMEONE'S ACCOUNT, AND WONDER HOW MUCH THE TELEPHONE INDUSTRY PAYS THEIR GOON SQUADS TO PLAY EVERY DIRTY TRICK IMAGINABLE - INCLUDING FAKE WEBSITES - TO HARASS CONSUMER-ORIENTED BUSINESSES LIKE FIRESTONE WHO DARE TO OFFER ONLINE COMMUNICATION. MEANWHILE, A PAID-OFF CONGRESS (DUE TO AMERIKA'S CORRUPT ELECTORAL SYSTEM) LOOKS THE OTHER WAY AS LIFE IN AMERIKA BECOMES A NIGHTMARE.
Update 2/2/2020 - ANOTHER GREAT EXPERIENCE with Firestone today. NO CHARGE for diagnosing my problem and referring me to a muffler shop. Seems businesses that offer to communicate online are the best bet for great service otherwise.
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
BEWARE of Consumers Union's campaign to end robocalls
Update 5/17/2019 - This post has now been vindicated. The number of robocalls has surged in recent years. Consumers Union's efforts (they've now changed their name to Consumer Reports Advocacy), along with those of the U.S. (Unlimited Stupidity) government's, to end these calls have failed because they were never intended to succeed. Consumers Reports Advocacy and corrupt regulators are obviously opposed to empowering consumers. IS ANYONE SURPRISED THAT BRINGING BACK PAY PHONES NEVER MAKES THE NEWS? Meanwhile, I've saved about $4,000 since allowing thug goon AT&T to disconnect my home phone and Internet rather than pay a bill I didn't owe 'em. Consumer Reports Advocacy has apparently blocked me from posting comments on articles they publish about ending robocalls. Doncha just LOVE their devotion to free speech.
"You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." - anonymous
I got a bad first impression of the Consumers Union gang when I asked them to investigate engine failures in MR2 Spyders. They expressed an interest, then clammed up, never advising consumers of the risk involved in purchasing one. That was long ago.
So it was with cautious optimism that I got involved with their so-called Campaign to End Robocalls. Started promoting their campaign on my blog posts as I wrote about my decision to not have a landline or cell phone as an alternative to paying to be harassed by robocalls. I didn't see what participating in their campaign could hurt, and hoped to learn more about Consumers Union along the way.
I learned a great deal about 'em.
Ending robocalls is no problem - it'll soon be three years since AT&T terminated my "service" (including home Internet). I sure wish the thug had taken such action long ago. The peace n quiet that comes with an assurance that my phone ain't gonna ring remains absolutely glorious, and my bank account continues to grow. Factor in the IMMENSE satisfaction of not enriching the coffers of an out-of-control telephone industry, and it's wunna the best deals ya could ask for.
Along the way, I became acutely aware of the crooked telephone industry's campaign to eliminate coin-operated pay phones, and posted about it more than once on Consumers Union's Facebook page. Those comments were ignored, whereas my comments promoting CU's "Campaign to End Robocalls" were met with enthusiastic responses from CU, even to the point of hosting live links to my blog posts about not having a landline, cell phone, or home Internet. .
Then I began to notice businesses insisting that consumers use a phone to purchase products and services, which prompted several blog posts, all linked to in my post,"Is Mountain America Federal Credit Union in cahoots with the telephone industry?" After publishing that post, the question quickly became "Is CONSUMERS UNION in cahoots with the telephone industry?"
In the process of publishing tweets with a link to my post about Mountain America, I replied to one of Consumers Union's tweets, and my reply was apparently removed. So I fired off a tweet to CU asking if they were trying to keep things quiet about businesses helping phone companies force consumers to use phones. CU absurdly denied that my reply to their tweet had been removed, stating that it had been sent off for investigation and they would be in touch.
Just for grins n chuckles, I then posted a link to my post about Mountain America on CU's Facebook page. And the strangest thing happened. My post wouldn't appear as the most recent, which would have given it exposure on the front of CU's Facebook page. Instead, the post was buried, appearing out-of-sequence, and prompted no response from CU, even after I explained what had happened in a reply to the post.
I just love it when organizations act dumb. If CU was really interested in helping consumers, they would object not only to businesses requiring folks to use phones to obtain products and services, CU would have been objecting to the elimination of pay phones from the get-go. With me, it's a matter of choice not to have landline or cell. Many folks, for example those who are in bad health, not so fortunate, which demonstrates how greedy the telephone industry is, and how uncaring for consumers CU actually is. That CU touts itself as an advocacy for consumers is a joke.
CU finally "got in touch" with me via a message on Twitter, suggesting - of all things - that I contact them by phone. Of course, I insisted on e-mail, and finally got an e-mail asking what I thought about robocalls.
The gist of my response was to emphasize - as though CU is unaware - that e-mail and pay phones empower consumers with an inexpensive option to handing over big bucks each month to communicate, not to mention paying to put up with robocalls or paying extra to cut down on the harassment. Businesses helping phone companies by requiring consumers to use phones demonstrates that if ya give greedy goons like AT&T an inch by allowin' 'em to eliminate coin-operated pay phones, they'll take a mile. And CU couldn't care less. Let's just say that things are often not what they appear to be, especially in a society that worships deceit. At least I wuz never suckered into donating money to CU.
I've come to be uncomfortable with any person or group that encourages any kind of "campaign" directed at getting elected officials to reign in crooked corporations. Amerika is a cesspool of corruption aimed at enriching crooked, greedy goons like AT&T, Toyota, State Farm, and Toro, just to name a few. There's also a nationwide probate racket that's been going on for decades. American government is at all levels run by crooked corporate interests, making fools of a cowardly, brainwashed public "programmed" to think they can vote their way out of the malaise. I quit wasting my time at the polls long ago. Make no mistake: Robocalls are BIG BUSINESS, and if ol' Uncle Sammy wanted to end robocalls, the unconscionable jerk would have done so long ago. So-called regulatory agencies such as NHTSA (No Help To Solve Anything) are the biggest jokes of all, acting as agents for the crooked industries they claim to regulate.
Meanwhile...
I'm literally getting paid to avoid robocalls. As brainwashed Americans wander around in a patriotic stupor, blabbering on cell phones and shelling out big bucks each month to do so, I've verified that I rarely need to use a phone. I've quit promoting CU and their laughable efforts to appeal to corporate-controlled stooges to reign in the crooked corporate interests that fund their election campaigns.
Amerika's effort to attain self-governance has been nothing more than a spectacular failure. Recent polls indicate that Americans are beginning to realize that their government is a dictatorship.
Update 4/4/2018 - Such a pleasure to tweet CU a link to this post.
"You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." - anonymous
I got a bad first impression of the Consumers Union gang when I asked them to investigate engine failures in MR2 Spyders. They expressed an interest, then clammed up, never advising consumers of the risk involved in purchasing one. That was long ago.
So it was with cautious optimism that I got involved with their so-called Campaign to End Robocalls. Started promoting their campaign on my blog posts as I wrote about my decision to not have a landline or cell phone as an alternative to paying to be harassed by robocalls. I didn't see what participating in their campaign could hurt, and hoped to learn more about Consumers Union along the way.
I learned a great deal about 'em.
Ending robocalls is no problem - it'll soon be three years since AT&T terminated my "service" (including home Internet). I sure wish the thug had taken such action long ago. The peace n quiet that comes with an assurance that my phone ain't gonna ring remains absolutely glorious, and my bank account continues to grow. Factor in the IMMENSE satisfaction of not enriching the coffers of an out-of-control telephone industry, and it's wunna the best deals ya could ask for.
Along the way, I became acutely aware of the crooked telephone industry's campaign to eliminate coin-operated pay phones, and posted about it more than once on Consumers Union's Facebook page. Those comments were ignored, whereas my comments promoting CU's "Campaign to End Robocalls" were met with enthusiastic responses from CU, even to the point of hosting live links to my blog posts about not having a landline, cell phone, or home Internet. .
Then I began to notice businesses insisting that consumers use a phone to purchase products and services, which prompted several blog posts, all linked to in my post,"Is Mountain America Federal Credit Union in cahoots with the telephone industry?" After publishing that post, the question quickly became "Is CONSUMERS UNION in cahoots with the telephone industry?"
In the process of publishing tweets with a link to my post about Mountain America, I replied to one of Consumers Union's tweets, and my reply was apparently removed. So I fired off a tweet to CU asking if they were trying to keep things quiet about businesses helping phone companies force consumers to use phones. CU absurdly denied that my reply to their tweet had been removed, stating that it had been sent off for investigation and they would be in touch.
Just for grins n chuckles, I then posted a link to my post about Mountain America on CU's Facebook page. And the strangest thing happened. My post wouldn't appear as the most recent, which would have given it exposure on the front of CU's Facebook page. Instead, the post was buried, appearing out-of-sequence, and prompted no response from CU, even after I explained what had happened in a reply to the post.
I just love it when organizations act dumb. If CU was really interested in helping consumers, they would object not only to businesses requiring folks to use phones to obtain products and services, CU would have been objecting to the elimination of pay phones from the get-go. With me, it's a matter of choice not to have landline or cell. Many folks, for example those who are in bad health, not so fortunate, which demonstrates how greedy the telephone industry is, and how uncaring for consumers CU actually is. That CU touts itself as an advocacy for consumers is a joke.
CU finally "got in touch" with me via a message on Twitter, suggesting - of all things - that I contact them by phone. Of course, I insisted on e-mail, and finally got an e-mail asking what I thought about robocalls.
The gist of my response was to emphasize - as though CU is unaware - that e-mail and pay phones empower consumers with an inexpensive option to handing over big bucks each month to communicate, not to mention paying to put up with robocalls or paying extra to cut down on the harassment. Businesses helping phone companies by requiring consumers to use phones demonstrates that if ya give greedy goons like AT&T an inch by allowin' 'em to eliminate coin-operated pay phones, they'll take a mile. And CU couldn't care less. Let's just say that things are often not what they appear to be, especially in a society that worships deceit. At least I wuz never suckered into donating money to CU.
I've come to be uncomfortable with any person or group that encourages any kind of "campaign" directed at getting elected officials to reign in crooked corporations. Amerika is a cesspool of corruption aimed at enriching crooked, greedy goons like AT&T, Toyota, State Farm, and Toro, just to name a few. There's also a nationwide probate racket that's been going on for decades. American government is at all levels run by crooked corporate interests, making fools of a cowardly, brainwashed public "programmed" to think they can vote their way out of the malaise. I quit wasting my time at the polls long ago. Make no mistake: Robocalls are BIG BUSINESS, and if ol' Uncle Sammy wanted to end robocalls, the unconscionable jerk would have done so long ago. So-called regulatory agencies such as NHTSA (No Help To Solve Anything) are the biggest jokes of all, acting as agents for the crooked industries they claim to regulate.
Meanwhile...
I'm literally getting paid to avoid robocalls. As brainwashed Americans wander around in a patriotic stupor, blabbering on cell phones and shelling out big bucks each month to do so, I've verified that I rarely need to use a phone. I've quit promoting CU and their laughable efforts to appeal to corporate-controlled stooges to reign in the crooked corporate interests that fund their election campaigns.
Amerika's effort to attain self-governance has been nothing more than a spectacular failure. Recent polls indicate that Americans are beginning to realize that their government is a dictatorship.
Update 4/4/2018 - Such a pleasure to tweet CU a link to this post.
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Nuclear power scandal: High time South Carolinians march on the State House
"Bankruptcy isn't out of the question, (analysts) say, but it may not be the inevitable outcome (SCANA) has suggested." - article, The Post and Courier
South Carolinians are being set up for another shellacking by SCANA and its bought and paid for stooges in the legislature. The gall of a gang of paid-off jerks - charged with representing the public interest - to quietly arrange for customers to underwrite the financial risk of a private corporation. To pay in advance for an unnecessary project and to keep paying even if the project fails.
Those in power couldn't care less what people want, or what's in the people's interest. The behavior of Senate Minority Leader Nikki Setzler epitomizes the shameful state of affairs. Setzler co-sponsored the bill that got us into this mess, supports a deal with Dominion Energy that would leave ratepayers ripped off, and has a profound conflict of interest via his probate-dealing law firm when it comes to South Carolina's probate racket. He's a sadistic, high-handed little jerk who refuses to acknowledge the latest e-mail I sent him (via SC Legislature Online) way back on 12/5/2017 asking what he plans to do this legislative session to eliminate time limits on wills and simplify the probate process.
It all points to one thing: America is a dictatorship.
The few timid expressions of public displeasure with the nuclear fiasco have nonetheless been enough to throw South Carolina's corrupt power structure into a panic, prompting outcries of concern for SCANA, a crooked, 9 billion dollar holding company that now claims - is anyone surprised? - that if it's forced to give back all the money stolen from utility customers, it will go bankrupt, prompting unbearable agony for utility customers. To hear the state's power brokers and their mainstream media stooges tell it, the only "reasonable" thing to do is for utility customers to settle for way less than they're entitled to, way less than they lost, and continue to pay for a boondoggle that will never produce any energy.
The SCANA and legislative gang's Johnny-come-lately concern for utility customers is aptly summed up by the proposed sale of SCE&G to Virginia-based Dominion Energy: "Just offer the suckers a few up-front dollars along with a nominal decrease in rates, and they're sure to bite."
Here's the kinda propaganda we're being bombarded with:
"Hey, we could get ripped off even worse, and something is better than nothing" blabbers Keven Cohen, chief honcho of Columbia's Miss the Point radio. I recently blogged about the antics of Cohen and his friend Ashley Landess, president of the South Carolina Policy Council. Cohen has since been running Dominion Energy ads, spotlighting Dominion big shots as guests, and airing the opinion of Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, who "ever so sadly" intoned that "there just isn't any way" that ratepayers can be made whole.
Then there's the State newspaper's Cindi Ross Scoppi - another would-be investigative reporter who balks at exposing South Carolina's probate racket. Scoppe downplays anything short of ratepayers being taken to the cleaners in the current ripoff proposed by Dominion. I quit subscribing to the State's biased rag years ago, haven't bought one since, and noticed Scoppe's blabber via the Internet.
It's not that the paid-off creeps that got us into this mess deserve to be voted out of office. It's that they deserve to be tarred, feathered and ridden out of town on a rail. Nor do I buy the claim that there are "some good legislators." I'll make exceptions if someone can gimme the names of anyone who warned the public about what was going on when the oh-so-cleverly-named "Base Load Review Act" was originally proposed.
Point is, if South Carolinians are dumb enough to settle for anything less than a full refund from SCANA, they richly deserve the fleecing it looks like they're gonna get.
1/26/2018 updates
> Protested SC's probate racket for a little over 2.5 hours yesterday in front of Williams, Stitely, and Brink law firm across from the probate court in Lexington.
> Sent a link to this post to all SC legislators and Ethics and Judiciary committees and e-mailed a link to Nikki Setzler's sidekick, Alisa Painter.
South Carolinians are being set up for another shellacking by SCANA and its bought and paid for stooges in the legislature. The gall of a gang of paid-off jerks - charged with representing the public interest - to quietly arrange for customers to underwrite the financial risk of a private corporation. To pay in advance for an unnecessary project and to keep paying even if the project fails.
Those in power couldn't care less what people want, or what's in the people's interest. The behavior of Senate Minority Leader Nikki Setzler epitomizes the shameful state of affairs. Setzler co-sponsored the bill that got us into this mess, supports a deal with Dominion Energy that would leave ratepayers ripped off, and has a profound conflict of interest via his probate-dealing law firm when it comes to South Carolina's probate racket. He's a sadistic, high-handed little jerk who refuses to acknowledge the latest e-mail I sent him (via SC Legislature Online) way back on 12/5/2017 asking what he plans to do this legislative session to eliminate time limits on wills and simplify the probate process.
It all points to one thing: America is a dictatorship.
The few timid expressions of public displeasure with the nuclear fiasco have nonetheless been enough to throw South Carolina's corrupt power structure into a panic, prompting outcries of concern for SCANA, a crooked, 9 billion dollar holding company that now claims - is anyone surprised? - that if it's forced to give back all the money stolen from utility customers, it will go bankrupt, prompting unbearable agony for utility customers. To hear the state's power brokers and their mainstream media stooges tell it, the only "reasonable" thing to do is for utility customers to settle for way less than they're entitled to, way less than they lost, and continue to pay for a boondoggle that will never produce any energy.
The SCANA and legislative gang's Johnny-come-lately concern for utility customers is aptly summed up by the proposed sale of SCE&G to Virginia-based Dominion Energy: "Just offer the suckers a few up-front dollars along with a nominal decrease in rates, and they're sure to bite."
Here's the kinda propaganda we're being bombarded with:
"Hey, we could get ripped off even worse, and something is better than nothing" blabbers Keven Cohen, chief honcho of Columbia's Miss the Point radio. I recently blogged about the antics of Cohen and his friend Ashley Landess, president of the South Carolina Policy Council. Cohen has since been running Dominion Energy ads, spotlighting Dominion big shots as guests, and airing the opinion of Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, who "ever so sadly" intoned that "there just isn't any way" that ratepayers can be made whole.
Then there's the State newspaper's Cindi Ross Scoppi - another would-be investigative reporter who balks at exposing South Carolina's probate racket. Scoppe downplays anything short of ratepayers being taken to the cleaners in the current ripoff proposed by Dominion. I quit subscribing to the State's biased rag years ago, haven't bought one since, and noticed Scoppe's blabber via the Internet.
It's not that the paid-off creeps that got us into this mess deserve to be voted out of office. It's that they deserve to be tarred, feathered and ridden out of town on a rail. Nor do I buy the claim that there are "some good legislators." I'll make exceptions if someone can gimme the names of anyone who warned the public about what was going on when the oh-so-cleverly-named "Base Load Review Act" was originally proposed.
Point is, if South Carolinians are dumb enough to settle for anything less than a full refund from SCANA, they richly deserve the fleecing it looks like they're gonna get.
1/26/2018 updates
> Protested SC's probate racket for a little over 2.5 hours yesterday in front of Williams, Stitely, and Brink law firm across from the probate court in Lexington.
> Sent a link to this post to all SC legislators and Ethics and Judiciary committees and e-mailed a link to Nikki Setzler's sidekick, Alisa Painter.
Friday, January 5, 2018
Mountain America Federal Credit Union: In cahoots with the telephone industry
4/10/2019 update: The much ballyhooed Credit Karma has also apparently joined ranks with the telephone industry. Credit Karma advertises a free filing of tax returns, but can't "understand your message" when someone dares to not have a phone. Below is a copy of their reply, arriving days after I contacted Member Support as their free-file website indicated for people without phones. Meanwhile, I found a free tax-filing service via South Carolina Dept of Revenue. Read the reviews: Credit Karma's so-called Member Support is lousy for anyone, whether Credit Karma's victims have a phone or not. AVOID 'em like the plague.
4/5/2018 update: For the latest, see 4/3/18 post, "BEWARE of Consumers Union's campaign to end robocalls"
3/8/2018 update: Re 2/8 update, a minor health issue delayed things, but more info is planned re Consumers Union.
2/8/2018 update: Consumers Union has been in touch. Earlier today, I replied to an e-mail from one of their employees who works on robocall issues. Stay tuned.
2/5/2018 update: Still no word from Consumers Union (see 1/10 and 1/13 updates), even though I've asked. Here's a copy of the tweet they sent me, and it still looks to me like my reply was removed:
1/30/2018 update: Here's a copy of the message I received from Mountain America Federal Credit Union:
1/10/2018 update: Recent efforts to tweet a link to this post resulted in a blocked link. My apologies for that. Apparently, the only link that currently works on Twitter and Facebook is a general link to this blog. Thanks for your interest. As of 1/31/18, specific link is once again blocked.
Regarding phone companies trying to force people to have home phones or cell phones, I decided to expose an unpleasant experience I had last year with Mountain America Federal Credit Union in West Jordan, Utah.
| ##- Please type your reply above this line -## | |||
| |||
Credit Karma Member Support, Apr 11, 7:08 AM PDT: |
4/5/2018 update: For the latest, see 4/3/18 post, "BEWARE of Consumers Union's campaign to end robocalls"
3/8/2018 update: Re 2/8 update, a minor health issue delayed things, but more info is planned re Consumers Union.
2/8/2018 update: Consumers Union has been in touch. Earlier today, I replied to an e-mail from one of their employees who works on robocall issues. Stay tuned.
2/5/2018 update: Still no word from Consumers Union (see 1/10 and 1/13 updates), even though I've asked. Here's a copy of the tweet they sent me, and it still looks to me like my reply was removed:
Hi Parris, your reply wasn't removed. We've shared it with the appropriate staff person to investigate. We'll be in touch!
Mr. Boyd,
In order for us to move forward, I need to speak with you over the phone. I am not allowed to open an account without having verbal conformation. I tried the number on the application (803) 796-3357 but it’s not a working number. Please call me on my direct line, (801) XXX-XXXX.
1/10/2018 update: Recent efforts to tweet a link to this post resulted in a blocked link. My apologies for that. Apparently, the only link that currently works on Twitter and Facebook is a general link to this blog. Thanks for your interest. As of 1/31/18, specific link is once again blocked.
Regarding phone companies trying to force people to have home phones or cell phones, I decided to expose an unpleasant experience I had last year with Mountain America Federal Credit Union in West Jordan, Utah.
Tried to open a CD, and they express-mailed me some forms to be notarized. I complied and express-mailed the forms back in the envelope they included.
Then they e-mailed me that I would have to call them for "phone verification." Never mind that I'm in South Carolina and it was not an 800 number. (see 1/30 update, top of post, for an exact copy of the message)
So I never opened the account, and got a higher interest rate elsewhere. Sometimes it pays to look around. Searching reviews, I found one that claimed Mountain America required wire transfers if you opened an account from out of state. Fortunately, I never got that far with 'em.
I strongly recommend avoiding Mountain America.
So I never opened the account, and got a higher interest rate elsewhere. Sometimes it pays to look around. Searching reviews, I found one that claimed Mountain America required wire transfers if you opened an account from out of state. Fortunately, I never got that far with 'em.
I strongly recommend avoiding Mountain America.
I'm sick and tired of businesses helping telephone companies try ti force consumers to use phones, fax machines, wire services - anything but e-mail. I posted a complaint about another financial institution last year. Adding insult to injury is the telephone industry orchestrating the disappearance of pay phones.
The phone company "connection" to financial institutions reared its head long ago when I opened a reward checking account with Bank First in Macon, Mississippi, the deal being that in order to get higher interest on your account, you had to have home phone and Internet. I blogged about the stunt they pulled (third paragraph) when I cancelled my home phone and Internet.
Time for politicians who sell out to telephone industry lobbyists to clean up their act.
1/5/2018 update: SUCH A PLEASURE to expose all of these jerks on Blogger, Facebook, and Twitter. If Americans are DUMB enough to tolerate efforts to force 'em to pay big bucks to communicate, so be it. I'm not about to.
1/5/2018 update: SUCH A PLEASURE to expose all of these jerks on Blogger, Facebook, and Twitter. If Americans are DUMB enough to tolerate efforts to force 'em to pay big bucks to communicate, so be it. I'm not about to.
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Ashley Landess paid over $100,000 a year just to say SC's legislature is corrupt? SHAME on the SC Policy Council.
According to the South Carolina Secretary of State, make that a whoppin' $104,681 for 2016. Perhaps President Landess got a raise for 2017. I e-mailed a request to the Secretary of State after I couldn't find Landess' salary on the Council's website.
Landess is a regular commentator on Columbia's Make the Point radio station. She's a longtime friend of station founder Keven Cohen, who started his operation several years ago after being fired from his longtime job at WVOC, supposedly because WVOC wanted to go in a "different direction."
Talk about a cozy relationship.
Cohen is quick to encourage listeners to donate to the SC Policy Council, though I've never heard him mention his friend's six-figure salary. From what I've heard, a better name for Cohen's radio station would be "Miss the Point."
The trick seems to be to conjure up as many ways as possible to break the earth-shattering news to South Carolinians that their state legislature (gasp) is corrupt. Nonetheless, Cohen and Landess have yet to breathe a word about South Carolina's probate racket. That glaring omission by both of these self-proclaimed government watchdogs - I've tweeted blog links to both businesses - gets stranger by the day.
Searching the Council's website, I noticed that the Council was founded in 1986, the same year attorneys in the legislature turned probate into a money-makin' racket designed to pad their own greedy pockets. Is the public expected to believe that a bonafide government watchdog organization, present from the get-go, has never seen fit to publicize what was going on?
Kinda makes ya wonder what guidelines Landess and Cohen follow when deciding where they want to focus the public's attention. Or, more to the point, what they want to focus the public's attention away from. Lately, the nuclear power scandal has taken front and center in their blabberings.
Landess' commentary last week was downright alarming.
She cooed ever so sweetly into Cohen's microphone that based on the Council's recent "research," legislators may now have no alternative but to allow power companies to continue charging customers for the boondoggle. In other words, the gang who got us into this mess may not now be able to get us out, an opinion at odds with late-breaking news regarding the proposed sale of South Carolina Electric and Gas.
Cohen's behavior has also been enough to raise eyebrows. For example, instead of interviewing a culprit like Nikki Setzler, who co-sponsored the bill that got the mess started, Cohen "grilled" a relatively unknown House member who wasn't even around when the nuclear power scandal quietly got underway. Notice in the news article linked to above that Nikki Setzler has nothing but praise for the proposed sale of SCE&G, which would leave rate-payers badly ripped off.
At this point, nobody can be blamed for wondering exactly who bankrolls the South Carolina Policy Council, or, to make the point even clearer, who's interests Cohen and Landess are looking out for. But alas. In that regard, the Council's professed dedication to "transparency" has again faltered.
I BELIEVE Landess when she declares that keeping the South Carolina Policy Council's donors anonymous is designed to protect them from reprisal.
Now that I'm more familiar with how the Council operates, I better understand why, when I first e-mailed the Council (in February of 2016) about South Carolina's probate racket, their response was "Unfortunately, we don't have the resources to pursue a topic like that." Right. When "resources" are spent on six-figure salaries, ya gotta cut somewhere.
Methinks Cohen and Landess protesteth too much. Actions speak louder than words.
Update 1/18/2018 - Cohen is now running Dominion Energy ads (for which he's paid) and featuring fast talking Dominion big shots as guests. How long are South Carolinians gonna put up with being ripped off by self-serving jerks in the legislature?
Update 1/5/18 - Truly a pleasure to send a link to this post to all SC legislators and the Senate and House Judiciary Committees.
Landess is a regular commentator on Columbia's Make the Point radio station. She's a longtime friend of station founder Keven Cohen, who started his operation several years ago after being fired from his longtime job at WVOC, supposedly because WVOC wanted to go in a "different direction."
Talk about a cozy relationship.
Cohen is quick to encourage listeners to donate to the SC Policy Council, though I've never heard him mention his friend's six-figure salary. From what I've heard, a better name for Cohen's radio station would be "Miss the Point."
The trick seems to be to conjure up as many ways as possible to break the earth-shattering news to South Carolinians that their state legislature (gasp) is corrupt. Nonetheless, Cohen and Landess have yet to breathe a word about South Carolina's probate racket. That glaring omission by both of these self-proclaimed government watchdogs - I've tweeted blog links to both businesses - gets stranger by the day.
Searching the Council's website, I noticed that the Council was founded in 1986, the same year attorneys in the legislature turned probate into a money-makin' racket designed to pad their own greedy pockets. Is the public expected to believe that a bonafide government watchdog organization, present from the get-go, has never seen fit to publicize what was going on?
Kinda makes ya wonder what guidelines Landess and Cohen follow when deciding where they want to focus the public's attention. Or, more to the point, what they want to focus the public's attention away from. Lately, the nuclear power scandal has taken front and center in their blabberings.
Landess' commentary last week was downright alarming.
She cooed ever so sweetly into Cohen's microphone that based on the Council's recent "research," legislators may now have no alternative but to allow power companies to continue charging customers for the boondoggle. In other words, the gang who got us into this mess may not now be able to get us out, an opinion at odds with late-breaking news regarding the proposed sale of South Carolina Electric and Gas.
Cohen's behavior has also been enough to raise eyebrows. For example, instead of interviewing a culprit like Nikki Setzler, who co-sponsored the bill that got the mess started, Cohen "grilled" a relatively unknown House member who wasn't even around when the nuclear power scandal quietly got underway. Notice in the news article linked to above that Nikki Setzler has nothing but praise for the proposed sale of SCE&G, which would leave rate-payers badly ripped off.
At this point, nobody can be blamed for wondering exactly who bankrolls the South Carolina Policy Council, or, to make the point even clearer, who's interests Cohen and Landess are looking out for. But alas. In that regard, the Council's professed dedication to "transparency" has again faltered.
I BELIEVE Landess when she declares that keeping the South Carolina Policy Council's donors anonymous is designed to protect them from reprisal.
Now that I'm more familiar with how the Council operates, I better understand why, when I first e-mailed the Council (in February of 2016) about South Carolina's probate racket, their response was "Unfortunately, we don't have the resources to pursue a topic like that." Right. When "resources" are spent on six-figure salaries, ya gotta cut somewhere.
Methinks Cohen and Landess protesteth too much. Actions speak louder than words.
Update 1/18/2018 - Cohen is now running Dominion Energy ads (for which he's paid) and featuring fast talking Dominion big shots as guests. How long are South Carolinians gonna put up with being ripped off by self-serving jerks in the legislature?
Update 1/5/18 - Truly a pleasure to send a link to this post to all SC legislators and the Senate and House Judiciary Committees.
Thursday, December 28, 2017
HEY, SCE&G: Everyone doesn't have a phone
I've been trying for about a month to get South Carolina Electric and Gas out to check for underground lines before I dig.
I don't have a phone, landline or cell, 'cause I got tired of robocalls and refused to pay to be harassed. SCE&G gimme a link to an online form, which I filled out, but got no response.
GET WITH IT, SCE&G - QUIT HELPING PHONE COMPANIES TRY TO FORCE PEOPLE TO HAVE HOME PHONES OR CELL PHONES..
1/5/2018 update: SCE&G REFUSES TO INSPECT FOR UNDERGROUND LINES UNLESS I TELEPHONE THEM. I have explained over and over that I don't have a phone, and why, and I've provided more than enough information on their online form for them to confirm a time to visit my property. Here's another post re businesses helping phone companies try to force people to pay big bucks to communicate.
12/28/2017 update: My pleasure to send SCE&G a link to this post on their online form about calling before you dig. Also sent 'em a link in a tweet.
I don't have a phone, landline or cell, 'cause I got tired of robocalls and refused to pay to be harassed. SCE&G gimme a link to an online form, which I filled out, but got no response.
GET WITH IT, SCE&G - QUIT HELPING PHONE COMPANIES TRY TO FORCE PEOPLE TO HAVE HOME PHONES OR CELL PHONES..
1/5/2018 update: SCE&G REFUSES TO INSPECT FOR UNDERGROUND LINES UNLESS I TELEPHONE THEM. I have explained over and over that I don't have a phone, and why, and I've provided more than enough information on their online form for them to confirm a time to visit my property. Here's another post re businesses helping phone companies try to force people to pay big bucks to communicate.
12/28/2017 update: My pleasure to send SCE&G a link to this post on their online form about calling before you dig. Also sent 'em a link in a tweet.
Monday, November 6, 2017
Siddiqui scandal: Amerika's military is a national disgrace
"Siddiqui's father is an auto-parts worker who was returning from his night shift when he first heard the news that his son was dead. He recalls seeing an ambulance parked in front of his home. Inside, first responders were attending to Siddiqui's mother, who had just received the news." - Eric London, in his excellent article, "20-year-old Muslim recruit killed by officers at Marine boot camp."
I just love it when Americans are confronted with uncomfortable truths about their inane love affair with the military. The usual response is a nervous chuckle as they put a dumb look on their faces, zip their lips, and tuck their cowardly tails. Big Brother has brainwashed his subjects well: musn't criticize Amerika's goon thug military, no matter how heinous the conduct. I blogged about the deafening public silence when the investigative report was released regarding the Marines drowning Jason Tharp, and the appalling lack of adequate public outrage has once again emerged, though not quite as deafening, regarding the alleged suicide of Muslim recruit Raheel Saddiqui, whose Arabic surname, ironically enough, means "The Truthful." One Muslim recruit was forced into an industrial clothes drier, got severely burned, and broke into tears. Saddiqui wound up dead. Jacob Weaver, a former Marine who was in Siddiqui's unit, decided to expose the horrors of boot camp "training," thereby prompting the current investigation.
It must have been a real shocker to the thugs who run Parris Island that someone dared to speak out so publicly about Marine Corps "training." The courageous Jacob Weaver is due a BIG round of applause. Fact is, the Marine Corps has an appalling history of scandals dating back at least to the 1950's. .
Conspicuously missing from all the mainstream media accounts of Marine Corps brutality inflicted on recruits is any mention of the drowning of Marine recruit Jason Tharp.
Had it not been for the decades-long, cowardly public silence in response to previous instances of criminal military conduct, the racially-charged atmosphere of Marine Corps boot camp and the abuse of Muslim recruits would not have happened. The public has given America's military the go-ahead for any kind of barbarism imaginable, even when it's directed at hapless young recruits.
The death of Raheel Saddiqui features headline-grabbing visits by two politicians to Parris Island, both of whom are willing to accept the Marine Corps' word for it that Saddiqui - who had no history of mental problems until he entered the Marine Corp - committed suicide. Never mind that the Marine Corp was caught lying about the circumstances of Jason Tharp's drowning (initially claiming he entered the water voluntarily), and never mind that boot camp bigotry was exposed in 2006 (!) by no less of a veteran than a retired Marine sergeant who wrote an article aptly titled "Learning to be a Killer." Note that 2006 is the same year the Army got exposed for its pornographic torture of Muslims at Abu Ghraib. Based on my own experience, I wrote about how the Army indoctrinates recruits with sexual filth.
Siddiqui's family vehemently disagrees with the allegation of suicide, maintaining that there's insufficient evidence to warrant such a conclusion, and they have now filed a 100 million dollar lawsuit against the Marines. Their efforts are supported by Rep. Debbie Dingell, (D) Michigan.
Raheel Siddiqui was a personable young man, much like the accounts given of Jason Tharp, and Siddiqui's family is to be commended for challenging the allegation of suicide. The racially-charged circumstances of Siddiqui's death cry out for long overdue national honesty regarding Marine Corps. misconduct. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) apparently has a problem when it comes to drawing logical conclusions based on findings of fact. By what standard of Orwellian mumbo jumbo did the drowning of Jason Tharp amount to anything other than cold-blooded, first degree murder? It would have made just as much sense had the NCIS concluded that Jason too somehow committed suicide.
A country with a scintilla of fundamental decency would have protested in massive numbers at the gates of Parris Island when Jason Tharp's investigative report was released.
In addition to making racist thugs out of "the troops," when the US military burns Korans, tortures Muslim prisoners, and singles out Muslim recruits for racially-charged harassment, it fans the flames of America's illegal wars and helps keep profits flowing to the security-industrial complex. What better way to stoke up Amerika's war machine than verbal and physical assaults directed at Muslim recruits, not to mention the worldwide publicity that would surely result if one of those recruits wound up dead? Marine General Smedley Butler got it right, way back in the 1930's, in the title to his book, "War is a Racket." At the time of his death, General Butler was the most highly decorated combat Marine in US history.
How did Americans come to be so cowardly, so brainwashed, so spiritually dead that they tolerate anything a tyrannical government and its goon thug military dishes out? Dr. Paul Craig Roberts tells it like it is in his article, "Americans are a conquered people." They "live in a propaganda-fabricated world in which a brutal police state is cloaked in nice words like 'freedom and democracy.".
Update 3/13/2018 - Marine officer pleads guilty to charges associated with Siddiqui's death.
Update 11/11/2017 -It was announced yesterday that a drill instructor has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for abusing Muslim recruits, one of whom was Raheel Siddiqui. Here's a link to another article.
I just love it when Americans are confronted with uncomfortable truths about their inane love affair with the military. The usual response is a nervous chuckle as they put a dumb look on their faces, zip their lips, and tuck their cowardly tails. Big Brother has brainwashed his subjects well: musn't criticize Amerika's goon thug military, no matter how heinous the conduct. I blogged about the deafening public silence when the investigative report was released regarding the Marines drowning Jason Tharp, and the appalling lack of adequate public outrage has once again emerged, though not quite as deafening, regarding the alleged suicide of Muslim recruit Raheel Saddiqui, whose Arabic surname, ironically enough, means "The Truthful." One Muslim recruit was forced into an industrial clothes drier, got severely burned, and broke into tears. Saddiqui wound up dead. Jacob Weaver, a former Marine who was in Siddiqui's unit, decided to expose the horrors of boot camp "training," thereby prompting the current investigation.
It must have been a real shocker to the thugs who run Parris Island that someone dared to speak out so publicly about Marine Corps "training." The courageous Jacob Weaver is due a BIG round of applause. Fact is, the Marine Corps has an appalling history of scandals dating back at least to the 1950's. .
Conspicuously missing from all the mainstream media accounts of Marine Corps brutality inflicted on recruits is any mention of the drowning of Marine recruit Jason Tharp.
Had it not been for the decades-long, cowardly public silence in response to previous instances of criminal military conduct, the racially-charged atmosphere of Marine Corps boot camp and the abuse of Muslim recruits would not have happened. The public has given America's military the go-ahead for any kind of barbarism imaginable, even when it's directed at hapless young recruits.
The death of Raheel Saddiqui features headline-grabbing visits by two politicians to Parris Island, both of whom are willing to accept the Marine Corps' word for it that Saddiqui - who had no history of mental problems until he entered the Marine Corp - committed suicide. Never mind that the Marine Corp was caught lying about the circumstances of Jason Tharp's drowning (initially claiming he entered the water voluntarily), and never mind that boot camp bigotry was exposed in 2006 (!) by no less of a veteran than a retired Marine sergeant who wrote an article aptly titled "Learning to be a Killer." Note that 2006 is the same year the Army got exposed for its pornographic torture of Muslims at Abu Ghraib. Based on my own experience, I wrote about how the Army indoctrinates recruits with sexual filth.
Siddiqui's family vehemently disagrees with the allegation of suicide, maintaining that there's insufficient evidence to warrant such a conclusion, and they have now filed a 100 million dollar lawsuit against the Marines. Their efforts are supported by Rep. Debbie Dingell, (D) Michigan.
Raheel Siddiqui was a personable young man, much like the accounts given of Jason Tharp, and Siddiqui's family is to be commended for challenging the allegation of suicide. The racially-charged circumstances of Siddiqui's death cry out for long overdue national honesty regarding Marine Corps. misconduct. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) apparently has a problem when it comes to drawing logical conclusions based on findings of fact. By what standard of Orwellian mumbo jumbo did the drowning of Jason Tharp amount to anything other than cold-blooded, first degree murder? It would have made just as much sense had the NCIS concluded that Jason too somehow committed suicide.
A country with a scintilla of fundamental decency would have protested in massive numbers at the gates of Parris Island when Jason Tharp's investigative report was released.
In addition to making racist thugs out of "the troops," when the US military burns Korans, tortures Muslim prisoners, and singles out Muslim recruits for racially-charged harassment, it fans the flames of America's illegal wars and helps keep profits flowing to the security-industrial complex. What better way to stoke up Amerika's war machine than verbal and physical assaults directed at Muslim recruits, not to mention the worldwide publicity that would surely result if one of those recruits wound up dead? Marine General Smedley Butler got it right, way back in the 1930's, in the title to his book, "War is a Racket." At the time of his death, General Butler was the most highly decorated combat Marine in US history.
How did Americans come to be so cowardly, so brainwashed, so spiritually dead that they tolerate anything a tyrannical government and its goon thug military dishes out? Dr. Paul Craig Roberts tells it like it is in his article, "Americans are a conquered people." They "live in a propaganda-fabricated world in which a brutal police state is cloaked in nice words like 'freedom and democracy.".
Update 3/13/2018 - Marine officer pleads guilty to charges associated with Siddiqui's death.
Update 11/11/2017 -It was announced yesterday that a drill instructor has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for abusing Muslim recruits, one of whom was Raheel Siddiqui. Here's a link to another article.
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Nuclear power scandal exposes a stupefied South Carolina public
"Sooner or later it will dawn on them that there is nothing they can do but violently revolt. Most likely, by the time they reach this conclusion, it will be too late. Americans are very slow to escape from the false reality in which they live. Americans are a thoroughly brainwashed people who hold tightly to their false life within The Matrix." - Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (under Reagan) Dr. Paul Craig Roberts
It was a howling hoot when Ashley Landess, president of the SC Policy Council, blabbered the ol' "contact your legislators" line as a solution to the utility company ripoff orchestrated by SC's General Assembly. Perhaps Ms. Landess is unaware of the deluge of opposition legislators have received for many years regarding their empowerment of so-called Homeowners Associations, all to no avail, Expressing your views to these special-interest-serving jerks is a waste of time, Just for grins n chuckles, I sent all of 'em a link to the latest post on my probate blog. As expected, I got nothing but automated replies.
It was a howling hoot when Ashley Landess, president of the SC Policy Council, blabbered the ol' "contact your legislators" line as a solution to the utility company ripoff orchestrated by SC's General Assembly. Perhaps Ms. Landess is unaware of the deluge of opposition legislators have received for many years regarding their empowerment of so-called Homeowners Associations, all to no avail, Expressing your views to these special-interest-serving jerks is a waste of time, Just for grins n chuckles, I sent all of 'em a link to the latest post on my probate blog. As expected, I got nothing but automated replies.
Interestingly enough, Ms. Landess admitted that popular opposition to a gas tax did not prevent the legislature from imposing one this year. If you say it fast enough, "contact your legislator" sounds almost as good as "Free Iraq."
Someone dared to imply that politically-nonchalant South Carolinians - so permissive of corruption - are genetically disposed to be stupid. I liked that. Ms. Landess, of course, did not.
Why on earth do people participate in a pervasively corrupt electoral system? Ya gotta be pretty dumb - or willfully ignorant - not to know that elections are controlled by big-moneyed goons such as SCANA (a "hyper-secretive" 9 billion dollar holding company), funding those ultra-expensive political advertising campaigns so popular with a presstitute mainstream media whose "investigative prowess" is a national joke. Wanna be elected? Just play up to the "right" special interests, and rest assured that sufficient numbers of a media-brainwashed public - mindlessly believing that voting is their civic duty - will usher you into position. I quit voting many years ago.
The South Carolina Policy Council keeps itself politically correct by ignoring a fundamentally flawed electoral system. I got fed up with their claims to be a government watchdog when they refused to breathe a word about South Carolina's probate racket. Makes ya wonder what else they oh-so-politely decline to address.
Not that some of the Council's articles aren't pleasantly appropriate. I've even linked to several - it's a nice touch - in my blog posts. Unfortunately, their articles really don't disclose anything that a smattering of common sense wouldn't tell a person about notorious corruption in the state legislature.
The nuclear power plant ripoff will continue.
I always laugh when people express shock and dismay that "their" representatives don't care what the public thinks about anything. The self-serving slobs aren't accountable to the public - they're accountable to a slew of special interests. The Public Service Commission - a select bunch of utility company stooges - will approve the utility rate hike requests, and South Carolinians will hand over the dough, keeping their mouths shut and their tails tucked.
The most frequent comment I get regarding the SC Legislature's probate racket is, "It's all a racket." Indeed it is. America has reduced itself to a cesspool of corruption, dishonesty, and deceit. The last thing it needs is a gang of conflicted social climbers who ultimately promote the status quo.
Update 12/19/2017 - According to the SC Secretary of State, Ashley Landess' salary is a whoppin' 104,681 per year. No wonder the Council wants people to donate.
Update 9/21/2017 - My pleasure to tweet a link to this post to the South Carolina Policy Council, and just for a few more grins n chuckles, I also sent a link to all SC legislators and tweeted a link to Governor McMaster.
The South Carolina Policy Council keeps itself politically correct by ignoring a fundamentally flawed electoral system. I got fed up with their claims to be a government watchdog when they refused to breathe a word about South Carolina's probate racket. Makes ya wonder what else they oh-so-politely decline to address.
Not that some of the Council's articles aren't pleasantly appropriate. I've even linked to several - it's a nice touch - in my blog posts. Unfortunately, their articles really don't disclose anything that a smattering of common sense wouldn't tell a person about notorious corruption in the state legislature.
The nuclear power plant ripoff will continue.
I always laugh when people express shock and dismay that "their" representatives don't care what the public thinks about anything. The self-serving slobs aren't accountable to the public - they're accountable to a slew of special interests. The Public Service Commission - a select bunch of utility company stooges - will approve the utility rate hike requests, and South Carolinians will hand over the dough, keeping their mouths shut and their tails tucked.
The most frequent comment I get regarding the SC Legislature's probate racket is, "It's all a racket." Indeed it is. America has reduced itself to a cesspool of corruption, dishonesty, and deceit. The last thing it needs is a gang of conflicted social climbers who ultimately promote the status quo.
Update 12/19/2017 - According to the SC Secretary of State, Ashley Landess' salary is a whoppin' 104,681 per year. No wonder the Council wants people to donate.
Update 9/21/2017 - My pleasure to tweet a link to this post to the South Carolina Policy Council, and just for a few more grins n chuckles, I also sent a link to all SC legislators and tweeted a link to Governor McMaster.
Saturday, August 26, 2017
DHEC refuses to remedy sandblasting hazard in W. Columbia, South Carolina
So-called regulatory agencies in America are a disgrace. I got another example of this sorry state of affairs when I complained to DHEC about sandblasting being done on the W. Columbia water reservoir off Augusta Rd. near the library.
On 8/17/2017 I encountered a fog of particles when riding my bicycle to the library. There were some folks sweeping alongside the road, and I initially thought what I saw was the dust they were stirring up. Work on the water reservoir had been going on for weeks, and I had no idea that particles had been escaping from underneath the cover at the top. When I realized what was happening, it was too late to avoid inhaling dangerous pollutants, and I immediately encountered respiratory problems.
So I complained to DHEC.
They first tried to pass the buck to the EPA due to the potential for lead contamination, maintaining if there was a lead issue, DHEC would not have jurisdiction. And of course the EPA referred me back to DHEC. John C. Ansell from DHEC said he visited the sandblasting operation, determined that the old paint contained no lead, and DHEC refused to take further action.
Using sand for sandblasting has been banned in Europe due to the risk of silicosis,
DHEC's attotide is typical of a corporate-controlled government that establishes regulatory agencies designed to serve the interests of businesses they are charged with regulating. The public is left with little or no recourse short of filing a lawsuit, which, of course, is expensive and risky.
I'm sure DHEC is well aware that lead is not the only concern when it comes to sandblasting. It's ridiculous that the cover placed over W. Columbia's water reservoir would permit particles to escape, much less enough to create a fog. Point is, the cover should function to contain the sandblasting operation instead of fooling an unwary public into assuming protection is in place.
The regulations - see 3a - for the city of Haverhill, Massachusetts exemplify a legitimate concern for protecting the public when lead is not an issue, requiring that "Such blasting operations be sufficiently shrouded and ground covered with tarpaulin to contain particulate matter from entering the ambient air space, to prevent visible emissions beyond the vertically extended property line to prevent public exposure to particulates, and to prevent deposition of particulate matter upon public and other property."
W. Columbia and DHEC need to clean up their act.
8/26/2017 update: My pleasure to send DHEC and the City of W. Columbia a link to this post.
On 8/17/2017 I encountered a fog of particles when riding my bicycle to the library. There were some folks sweeping alongside the road, and I initially thought what I saw was the dust they were stirring up. Work on the water reservoir had been going on for weeks, and I had no idea that particles had been escaping from underneath the cover at the top. When I realized what was happening, it was too late to avoid inhaling dangerous pollutants, and I immediately encountered respiratory problems.
So I complained to DHEC.
They first tried to pass the buck to the EPA due to the potential for lead contamination, maintaining if there was a lead issue, DHEC would not have jurisdiction. And of course the EPA referred me back to DHEC. John C. Ansell from DHEC said he visited the sandblasting operation, determined that the old paint contained no lead, and DHEC refused to take further action.
Using sand for sandblasting has been banned in Europe due to the risk of silicosis,
DHEC's attotide is typical of a corporate-controlled government that establishes regulatory agencies designed to serve the interests of businesses they are charged with regulating. The public is left with little or no recourse short of filing a lawsuit, which, of course, is expensive and risky.
I'm sure DHEC is well aware that lead is not the only concern when it comes to sandblasting. It's ridiculous that the cover placed over W. Columbia's water reservoir would permit particles to escape, much less enough to create a fog. Point is, the cover should function to contain the sandblasting operation instead of fooling an unwary public into assuming protection is in place.
The regulations - see 3a - for the city of Haverhill, Massachusetts exemplify a legitimate concern for protecting the public when lead is not an issue, requiring that "Such blasting operations be sufficiently shrouded and ground covered with tarpaulin to contain particulate matter from entering the ambient air space, to prevent visible emissions beyond the vertically extended property line to prevent public exposure to particulates, and to prevent deposition of particulate matter upon public and other property."
W. Columbia and DHEC need to clean up their act.
8/26/2017 update: My pleasure to send DHEC and the City of W. Columbia a link to this post.
Thursday, May 11, 2017
BAD DOGS at 727 Hook Avenue in W. Columbia, South Carolina
8/21/2017 update - I've now confirmed that at least one other person had witnessed the dogs chase people and had informed W. Columbia police.
8/19/2017 update: Animal control officer Emily Alford "forgot" to take video of the dog attack but filed a report, #1717914. And just for the record, the name of the W. Cola. police officer I emailed complaints to for several months is David Myers. TOTALLY INEXCUSABLE THAT THE DOG OWNER HASN'T BEEN FINED. Law enforcement's latest song n dance is that the attack animal control witnessed only counts as the first offense and therefore doesn't warrant a citation. Ms. Alford also suggested that the dogs may have been upset because of high frequency noises generated by spinning bicycle wheels. In other words, the dog attacks were somehow my fault.
6/28/2017 update - Spoke with someone yesterday who used to walk by the property and was attacked by the same one of the dogs that came after me. The guy said he was armed, had started to draw his weapon on one occasion, but didn't want to shoot the dog, so he had decided to change his walking route. Real shame that W. Columbia refuses to protect people from vicious dogs.
6/5/2017 and 6/16/2017 updates - On 6/5, W. Columbia animal control officer and two other people WITNESSED the largest of the dogs attack me - getting my foot in its mouth - as I bicycled by the property. I had to kick at the dog and dismount in the oncoming traffic lane. Almost fell. 6/16 - W. Columbia STILL refuses to issue a citation to the dog's owner, claiming this latest incident only counts as the first complaint since it's the only attack they've witnessed. I won't belabor the mind-numbing stupidity of W. Columbia's response.
I bicycle by this property, and the dogs first attacked me in December of 2016, coming into the road, teeth bared, getting within inches of my foot. I complained to animal control, and an employee came by my house, listened to my complaint, and said she would speak with the dogs' owner. I thought it kinda strange that I wasn't asked to sign anything, but I figured a warning would be sufficient for a first time
Another attack happened in January 2017, at which time W. Columbia no longer had an animal control department, and I was advised (via Lexington County animal control) to contact W. Columbia police, which I did. They assured me that they had spoken with the "elderly lady" who lives in the house, said the dogs belonged to her children who were out of town, and extra precautions would be taken to make sure the dogs were restrained.
In March 2017, one of the largest, most aggressive dogs came after me again, and I kicked and yelled at the dog while simultaneously riding my bicycle. So I complained to the police, informing them that this was my third complaint since December, but they refused to issue a citation to the dog's owner.
So I consulted an attorney who advised me to complain to Lexington County Sheriff's department, which I did via their website, but I didn't even receive a reply. Then I exposed the situation on Twitter and Facebook, which resulted in an ambiguous reply from W. Cola.
Then I sent an email to Lexington County Councilman Ned Tolar. His "method" of handling my complaint was to ask me to contact him by phone (I had emphasized that I didn't have a phone), and he refused to reply further by email. Perhaps Mr. Tolar doesn't wanna state things in writing. Then again, maybe that was just his lamebrained way of avoiding the matter. Or maybe there's some part of "I don't have a phone" that ol' Ned just can't figure out. Whatever, the jerk is one sorry excuse for a councilman. With the likes of Ned Tolar and Nikki Setzler in office, it's no wonder that government is unresponsive to people's needs.
At this point, it's anyone's guess what will happen next. Meanwhile, if you're in the vicinity of 727 Hook Avenue, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
6/4/2017 update - Found a Ned Tolar unstamped flyer on my mailbox yesterday encouraging people to email him about anything. Distributing flyers in such a manner is illegal, and of course ol' Ned didn't say he would email ya back... Probably won't do any good, but I filed a complaint.
5/26/2017 update - another attack by the largest dog coming into the road, teeth bared. Had to yell and kick at the dog while riding my bicycle. On my way back home, I saw a Lexington sheriff's deputy parked alongside the road, and explained the situation to him. He rode by the property and called W. Columbia animal control (apparently they now have one - maybe my tweets got someone's attention), and one of their vehicles showed up at the property. I told their employee what had happened (FOURTH complaint) but they continue to refuse to issue a citation to the dog(s) owner. Something is terribly wrong with this picture.
5/12/2017 update - A reliable source says the problem revolves around W. Columbia relying in the past on Lexington County animal control, but deciding the cost of county service was too high, and pulling out of the deal. Sounds like W. Columbia and quite a few other entities need to be named in a lawsuit if someone winds up with serious injuries or gets killed due to animal attacks.
5/11/2017 update - My pleasure to tweet links to this post to the City of W. Columbia, the W. Columbia police department, the Lexington County Sheriff, and Ned Tolar. In Tolar's case, to make sure he got the message, I also sent him a link via email.
8/19/2017 update: Animal control officer Emily Alford "forgot" to take video of the dog attack but filed a report, #1717914. And just for the record, the name of the W. Cola. police officer I emailed complaints to for several months is David Myers. TOTALLY INEXCUSABLE THAT THE DOG OWNER HASN'T BEEN FINED. Law enforcement's latest song n dance is that the attack animal control witnessed only counts as the first offense and therefore doesn't warrant a citation. Ms. Alford also suggested that the dogs may have been upset because of high frequency noises generated by spinning bicycle wheels. In other words, the dog attacks were somehow my fault.
6/28/2017 update - Spoke with someone yesterday who used to walk by the property and was attacked by the same one of the dogs that came after me. The guy said he was armed, had started to draw his weapon on one occasion, but didn't want to shoot the dog, so he had decided to change his walking route. Real shame that W. Columbia refuses to protect people from vicious dogs.
6/5/2017 and 6/16/2017 updates - On 6/5, W. Columbia animal control officer and two other people WITNESSED the largest of the dogs attack me - getting my foot in its mouth - as I bicycled by the property. I had to kick at the dog and dismount in the oncoming traffic lane. Almost fell. 6/16 - W. Columbia STILL refuses to issue a citation to the dog's owner, claiming this latest incident only counts as the first complaint since it's the only attack they've witnessed. I won't belabor the mind-numbing stupidity of W. Columbia's response.
I bicycle by this property, and the dogs first attacked me in December of 2016, coming into the road, teeth bared, getting within inches of my foot. I complained to animal control, and an employee came by my house, listened to my complaint, and said she would speak with the dogs' owner. I thought it kinda strange that I wasn't asked to sign anything, but I figured a warning would be sufficient for a first time
Another attack happened in January 2017, at which time W. Columbia no longer had an animal control department, and I was advised (via Lexington County animal control) to contact W. Columbia police, which I did. They assured me that they had spoken with the "elderly lady" who lives in the house, said the dogs belonged to her children who were out of town, and extra precautions would be taken to make sure the dogs were restrained.
In March 2017, one of the largest, most aggressive dogs came after me again, and I kicked and yelled at the dog while simultaneously riding my bicycle. So I complained to the police, informing them that this was my third complaint since December, but they refused to issue a citation to the dog's owner.
So I consulted an attorney who advised me to complain to Lexington County Sheriff's department, which I did via their website, but I didn't even receive a reply. Then I exposed the situation on Twitter and Facebook, which resulted in an ambiguous reply from W. Cola.
Then I sent an email to Lexington County Councilman Ned Tolar. His "method" of handling my complaint was to ask me to contact him by phone (I had emphasized that I didn't have a phone), and he refused to reply further by email. Perhaps Mr. Tolar doesn't wanna state things in writing. Then again, maybe that was just his lamebrained way of avoiding the matter. Or maybe there's some part of "I don't have a phone" that ol' Ned just can't figure out. Whatever, the jerk is one sorry excuse for a councilman. With the likes of Ned Tolar and Nikki Setzler in office, it's no wonder that government is unresponsive to people's needs.
At this point, it's anyone's guess what will happen next. Meanwhile, if you're in the vicinity of 727 Hook Avenue, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.
6/4/2017 update - Found a Ned Tolar unstamped flyer on my mailbox yesterday encouraging people to email him about anything. Distributing flyers in such a manner is illegal, and of course ol' Ned didn't say he would email ya back... Probably won't do any good, but I filed a complaint.
5/26/2017 update - another attack by the largest dog coming into the road, teeth bared. Had to yell and kick at the dog while riding my bicycle. On my way back home, I saw a Lexington sheriff's deputy parked alongside the road, and explained the situation to him. He rode by the property and called W. Columbia animal control (apparently they now have one - maybe my tweets got someone's attention), and one of their vehicles showed up at the property. I told their employee what had happened (FOURTH complaint) but they continue to refuse to issue a citation to the dog(s) owner. Something is terribly wrong with this picture.
5/12/2017 update - A reliable source says the problem revolves around W. Columbia relying in the past on Lexington County animal control, but deciding the cost of county service was too high, and pulling out of the deal. Sounds like W. Columbia and quite a few other entities need to be named in a lawsuit if someone winds up with serious injuries or gets killed due to animal attacks.
5/11/2017 update - My pleasure to tweet links to this post to the City of W. Columbia, the W. Columbia police department, the Lexington County Sheriff, and Ned Tolar. In Tolar's case, to make sure he got the message, I also sent him a link via email.
Friday, March 17, 2017
BEWARE of Velocity Federal Credit Union in Austin, Texas
These jerks are a never-ending hassle.
I took out a five-year CD with them, and they never notified me by regular mail shortly before the maturity date. Never had that happen before with any other financial institution. I shudder to think of the penalty I would have paid had I not been keeping a close eye on things. Then they thought of every requirement imaginable for me to obtain my money. First, they wanted me to fax a request to withdraw my money. After I had done that, they "remembered" that I would have to include a copy of a photo ID. Then that had to be sent to management "for approval." Delayed me obtaining my money for two weeks. Totally inexcusable.
Now I'm having a miserable time getting them to send me the amount of interest to report for tax purposes for 2016. They've come up with similar stuff to what they required for me to get my money, even though they are required by law to issue a 1099-INT. They refuse to send me the info by email.
Heed my warning - AVOID 'EM LIKE THE PLAGUE.
3/24/2017 update - The info arrived in yesterday's mail. Velocity waited until Monday to send it - maybe everything had to be approved by management before they could act. Shakin' my head.
3/23/2017 update - Tomorrow will be a week since I published this post and sent Velocity a link. They quickly replied that they would send the 1099-INT by regular mail. It SHOULD have been mailed to me last Friday, but I haven't seen it yet, which is no surprise.
I took out a five-year CD with them, and they never notified me by regular mail shortly before the maturity date. Never had that happen before with any other financial institution. I shudder to think of the penalty I would have paid had I not been keeping a close eye on things. Then they thought of every requirement imaginable for me to obtain my money. First, they wanted me to fax a request to withdraw my money. After I had done that, they "remembered" that I would have to include a copy of a photo ID. Then that had to be sent to management "for approval." Delayed me obtaining my money for two weeks. Totally inexcusable.
Now I'm having a miserable time getting them to send me the amount of interest to report for tax purposes for 2016. They've come up with similar stuff to what they required for me to get my money, even though they are required by law to issue a 1099-INT. They refuse to send me the info by email.
Heed my warning - AVOID 'EM LIKE THE PLAGUE.
3/24/2017 update - The info arrived in yesterday's mail. Velocity waited until Monday to send it - maybe everything had to be approved by management before they could act. Shakin' my head.
3/23/2017 update - Tomorrow will be a week since I published this post and sent Velocity a link. They quickly replied that they would send the 1099-INT by regular mail. It SHOULD have been mailed to me last Friday, but I haven't seen it yet, which is no surprise.
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Beaten at its own game, AT&T discounts the bill I DON'T owe 'em
Update 5/1/2019 - My savings for not having a phone are now approaching $4,000.
Update 10/26/2017 - AT&T has further reduced the bill I don't owe 'em - this time to $59.05 - and the bullying thugs aren't one bit closer to getting one cent outta me. No surprise that a bully like AT&T sponsors LGBTQQIAAP activities.
Life jus' doesn't get much better. I chose to allow AT&T to discontinue my "service" (rather than be bullied into paying their fabricated bill) on 5/13/2015, and I've had FUN GALORE ever since. Not to mention the heavenly peace n quiet that comes with not being bombarded by robocalls. Bicycling to use a computer at the library, shopping n running errands along the way, and using a pay phone has worked out FAR better than I ever DREAMED.
Update 10/26/2017 - AT&T has further reduced the bill I don't owe 'em - this time to $59.05 - and the bullying thugs aren't one bit closer to getting one cent outta me. No surprise that a bully like AT&T sponsors LGBTQQIAAP activities.
Life jus' doesn't get much better. I chose to allow AT&T to discontinue my "service" (rather than be bullied into paying their fabricated bill) on 5/13/2015, and I've had FUN GALORE ever since. Not to mention the heavenly peace n quiet that comes with not being bombarded by robocalls. Bicycling to use a computer at the library, shopping n running errands along the way, and using a pay phone has worked out FAR better than I ever DREAMED.
But wunna the ABSOLUTE BEST experiences came a few weeks ago when I got a letter from Afni, Inc., wunna AT&T's collection gangs, discounting my "bill" from $118.09 to $64.95. Not that I trust AT&T or its "enforcers," and actually, over the past year and seven months, I haven't gotten many collection letters from any of AT&T's thugs. Once the goons realize I don't have a phone they can incessantly ring, they back off quick.
Ah, the SHEER DELIGHT of sockin' it to a crooked bunch like AT&T, ANOTHER CORPORATE SLOB that thinks it can kick ALL consumers around with impunity. A gang that uses robocalls and charges exorbitant, deceitful fees to force folks to give up their landlines and buy cell phones. Just for the record, AT&T, if there's anything I HATE, LOATH, AND DESPISE, it's a cell phone. And from asking around, it appears that I've got WAY more company than your presstitute mainstream media friends would have the gullible American public believe.
It'll be such a pleasure to send AT&T and their lapdog, the SC Department of Consumer Affairs, links to this post. I'm not givin' AT&T ONE RED CENT, and along the way, I've discerned a few things that I'll take this opportunity to point out.
It'll be such a pleasure to send AT&T and their lapdog, the SC Department of Consumer Affairs, links to this post. I'm not givin' AT&T ONE RED CENT, and along the way, I've discerned a few things that I'll take this opportunity to point out.
If anyone owes anyone anything, AT&T owes ME for at least a year's worth of home phone (landline) and Internet for the $34.95 per month CONTRACT they entered into - IN WRITING - with no mention of any additional fees, taxes, etc. At this point, I'm willing to overlook their illegalities and the inconvenience they've caused me, in exchange for the few months they billed me correctly for, only to fire up their nonsense again, which ultimately led to their cutting off my "service" entirely after attempting to intimidate me with extended periods of "partial service."
Then there's that threatening collection letter they first mailed me, pointing out that unless I forked over the amount they came up with (I still can't figure out how they arrived at it), I would be responsible for attorney fees, court costs, etc. when their fleet of scumballs - er I mean lawyers - took legal action. Of course, once they realized that I was SERIOUS about not having a home phone, and could actually pull it off, their tone got a lot less threatening.
And factor in over a decade's worth of robocalls (the precipitating feature of this whole matter), which had gotten so bad I usually didn't even bother to answer the phone. AT&T owes me an allowance for all the harassment, essentially cutting my "service" in half.
And factor in over a decade's worth of robocalls (the precipitating feature of this whole matter), which had gotten so bad I usually didn't even bother to answer the phone. AT&T owes me an allowance for all the harassment, essentially cutting my "service" in half.
I have a suggestion, AT&T.
Let's do what you initially threatened to do. Tell your gang of lawyers to file charges, haul me into court, and let's see what a jury of my peers has to say about the bill you cooked up. I'd LOVE to present that e-mail you sent me with the itemized charges guaranteed for a year, neatly summed up, without further ado as a GRAND TOTAL.I'll even act as my own attorney.
So PUT 'EM UP, AT&T. Yer not scared of a 71-year-old and his antique, steel-framed, easy-ridin' 10 speed bicycle...
ARE YA?
9/14/2017 update - AT&T solicited door to door again last Saturday. Always such a JOY tellin' 'em how much money I've saved - now over $2,800 - and how DELIGHTED I am not watching TV and not having a landline, a cell phone, or home Internet.
5/14/2017 update: TWO YEARS without home phone or Internet and I like it all the more as time goes by. Applying a bit of creativity, including rare use of snail mail, I don't even need pay phones. And that's a good thing, since a dumbed-up American public has permitted crooks like AT&T to eliminate pay phones. So far, I've saved about $2,500 and I've also noticed a decrease in junk mail.
9/14/2017 update - AT&T solicited door to door again last Saturday. Always such a JOY tellin' 'em how much money I've saved - now over $2,800 - and how DELIGHTED I am not watching TV and not having a landline, a cell phone, or home Internet.
5/14/2017 update: TWO YEARS without home phone or Internet and I like it all the more as time goes by. Applying a bit of creativity, including rare use of snail mail, I don't even need pay phones. And that's a good thing, since a dumbed-up American public has permitted crooks like AT&T to eliminate pay phones. So far, I've saved about $2,500 and I've also noticed a decrease in junk mail.
Sunday, June 12, 2016
An "unconscious" woman? Gimme a break.
Let's ditch the Orwellian "newspeak" regarding the Sanford rape case. A woman - obviously never before exposed to the ways of the world - got passed-out-drunk at a fraternity party, wound up without her underwear on (we are not told at what point in the "party" it got removed or by whom), and was raped by another drunken punk out by a garbage dumpster.
Neither of them get any sympathy from me, likewise for the Brainless Rants And Tantrums (BRATS) because a judge sentenced one of the drunken punks to six months in jail, with a proviso for serving only three. We live in a "culture" wherein promiscuity rules supreme, confirmed by a never-ending epidemic of STDs, along with a barrage of failed marriages, single parents, unwanted pregnancies, and aborted fetuses. Toss in a nauseating acceptance of sexual perversion along with the popularity of alcohol and drugs, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to discern an out-of-control society coming apart at the seams.
There's nothing unusual about the Sanford case. Similar scenarios are commonplace on today's college campuses. The "evolved" society views sex as a recreational activity, and this entire case is consistent with that sorry state of affairs. The rapist thug's father exemplified this "evolved" society's cynical attitude toward sex when he quipped about a "six month sentence for 20 minutes of action."
America, ya asked for it.
Neither of them get any sympathy from me, likewise for the Brainless Rants And Tantrums (BRATS) because a judge sentenced one of the drunken punks to six months in jail, with a proviso for serving only three. We live in a "culture" wherein promiscuity rules supreme, confirmed by a never-ending epidemic of STDs, along with a barrage of failed marriages, single parents, unwanted pregnancies, and aborted fetuses. Toss in a nauseating acceptance of sexual perversion along with the popularity of alcohol and drugs, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to discern an out-of-control society coming apart at the seams.
There's nothing unusual about the Sanford case. Similar scenarios are commonplace on today's college campuses. The "evolved" society views sex as a recreational activity, and this entire case is consistent with that sorry state of affairs. The rapist thug's father exemplified this "evolved" society's cynical attitude toward sex when he quipped about a "six month sentence for 20 minutes of action."
America, ya asked for it.
Monday, May 23, 2016
Beware of Toro lawn equipment
Toro sure has a clever name. Their advertising is Bull, and their customers get gored. Most of the time, I wound up pushing their "self-propelled" mower myself, which is where the "Personal Pace" kicks in. Mowing speed depends on the terrain and the customer's strength. #ToroSpeak
The self-propel mechanism on my lawnmower became inoperable and neither of the only two Toro authorized repair shops in my area - A-Z Lawnmower Parts in Lexington, South Carolina and Catoe's Equipment in Columbia, South Carolina - could repair it.
A-Z failed twice, and charged me for work I didn't authorize. After their second effort failed, one of A-Z's employees advised me to hold the mower handle with one hand and force the self-propel mechanism down with the other. This is dangerous advice and provides no solution.
The Toro Company offers no help - AVOID THESE BUSINESSES like the plague.
> Update 6/11/2016 - Been sending links to this post, along with a few choice comments, to @ToroCompany on Twitter. Wonder why Toro isn't investigating the matter, intent on finding out why TWO of their "authorized mechanics" didn't repair the mower. TOTALLY INEXCUSABLE. The mower should have been repaired when the first shop, A-Z, had it.
> Update 6/14/2016 - No response from Toro, other than to suggest that I try yet another of their "authorized repair shops." It would be quite a distance from my home, and I know this will be a shocker to Toro, but I have better things to do than arrange to have my lawnmower hauled all over the metro area HOPING one of their "authorized mechanics" will repair a COMMON maintenance issue. I don't have the means to haul it myself, so I gotta pay for pickup and delivery or else ask my neighbor to haul it in his pickup. Toro apparently doesn't care what its customers encounter at its "authorized repair shops."
> Update 6/15/2016 - How incompetent does A-Z have to be to charge for things a customer DIDN'T authorize, and NEGLECT (twice) to repair the problem that prompted the customer to contact 'em. There appears to be more to this story, and Toro needs to find out what's going on at their "authorized repair shops." Can't blame anyone for concluding that Toro is trying to force its customers to buy new equipment.
> Update 6/22/2016 - An independent mechanic has confirmed that ANYONE could have determined that the problem was worn out gears. All anyone had to do was take off the gear housing to see what the problem was. Time for Toro to explain what's going on.
> Update 6/24/2016 - The independent mechanic's report (6/22 update) tends to explain why Catoe's immediately refunded the $48 they charged me for 10 minutes worth of work (after my neighbor got me and the mower to Catoe's in his pickup), and weren't interested in dropping by my house to confirm the inoperable condition of the mower, which was locking up and making a loud, rattling sound. A-Z charged me $115 and ignored my request for a refund. Once again, here's the point: Toro needs to explain why neither of their authorized repair shops corrected the problem or offered appropriate advice.
> Update 6/27/2016 - Update 6/27/2016 - The gears (6/22 update) were BEYOND worn out. ALMOST DISINTEGRATED - one part was literally "floating" - would be more like it. Now I'm wondering why Catoe's (the shop I've been using regularly since I bought the mower) didn't replace the damaged gears long ago, because it took quite some time for the self-propel mechanism to get in such bad condition. I had noticed over the years that Catoe's "repair" of the mechanism didn't last very long, and there were shorter periods of acceptable operation each time they "repaired" it. Apparently, there's a "quick fix" via adjusting a cable, but that doesn't correct worn out gears. When I used Catoe's in the past, I had a means of hauling the mower, and when I no longer had a means of hauling the mower, I tried A-Z because they were slightly nearer to my home and charges for pickup and delivery were slightly less. The failure of two of Toro's authorized repair shops to correct the underlying problem - or at least advise me of it - suggests a Toro-involved racket intended to increase sales of new mowers.
> Update 6/30/2016 - I received an e-mail from someone regarding Toro lawnmowers of yesteryear - here are a few excerpts (emphasis mine):
Apparently (see 6/22 update), Toro eliminated the "soft gears" and designed a built-in obsolescence as the main gears gradually wear down. Meanwhile, customers shell out regularly - time, money, and inconvenience - for temporary repairs. No wonder Toro refuses to investigate their repair shops.
> Update 7/1/2016 - Talk about sleazy repair shops. A-Z charged $50 for pickup n delivery, and went ahead with other items I didn't authorize (new blade, new starter-rope, spark plug, oil n filter change) and laid on an additional $65. I had told them I thought everything was okay except the self-propel mechanism, but they could give me a quote for anything else before they did the work. Right. Run up a bill for a mower they either knew or should have known was inoperable. A-Z even stated on their invoice that the self-propel mechanism "checked out okay" when in fact it wasn't pulling at all. And BTW, the handle came off the new starter-rope. SPEAK, Toro. Explain what's going on at your authorized repair shops.
> Update 8/22/2016 - Beware of ordering Toro parts. After buying my mower, I thought it wuz kinda strange when every non-authorized-Toro shop I visited - lookin' for a repair shop close to my home - said they couldn't repair the self-propel mechanism on my Toro because they couldn't get the parts. And things got even stranger when the two Toro shops mentioned in this post failed to correct the problem.
Now I know what's been going on.
The independent mechanic I worked with ordered 'bout a $100 worth of parts from Toro in an effort to fix my mower. But alas. TORO'S PARTS WON'T WORK. They only allow the self-propel mechanism to partially function, and only if the mower is running. If the engine is off, the back wheels lock up, so the mower is essentially useless. No wonder Toro's "authorized dealers" didn't attempt to repair the problem.
Toro is just another crooked American corporation propped up by cowardly consumers who tolerate anything corporate thugs dish out. Meanwhile, Toro contributes heavily to environmental pollution by making sure that lawnmowers that should be operable for many years to come wind up in dump yards.
I've been e-mailing links to this post and the updates to Toro on Twitter. If they have an explanation, I'll publish it.
Disgusting facts abt ancient Rome: http://listverse.com/2016/08/23/10-truly-disgusting-facts-about-roman-life/
The self-propel mechanism on my lawnmower became inoperable and neither of the only two Toro authorized repair shops in my area - A-Z Lawnmower Parts in Lexington, South Carolina and Catoe's Equipment in Columbia, South Carolina - could repair it.
A-Z failed twice, and charged me for work I didn't authorize. After their second effort failed, one of A-Z's employees advised me to hold the mower handle with one hand and force the self-propel mechanism down with the other. This is dangerous advice and provides no solution.
The Toro Company offers no help - AVOID THESE BUSINESSES like the plague.
> Update 6/11/2016 - Been sending links to this post, along with a few choice comments, to @ToroCompany on Twitter. Wonder why Toro isn't investigating the matter, intent on finding out why TWO of their "authorized mechanics" didn't repair the mower. TOTALLY INEXCUSABLE. The mower should have been repaired when the first shop, A-Z, had it.
> Update 6/14/2016 - No response from Toro, other than to suggest that I try yet another of their "authorized repair shops." It would be quite a distance from my home, and I know this will be a shocker to Toro, but I have better things to do than arrange to have my lawnmower hauled all over the metro area HOPING one of their "authorized mechanics" will repair a COMMON maintenance issue. I don't have the means to haul it myself, so I gotta pay for pickup and delivery or else ask my neighbor to haul it in his pickup. Toro apparently doesn't care what its customers encounter at its "authorized repair shops."
> Update 6/15/2016 - How incompetent does A-Z have to be to charge for things a customer DIDN'T authorize, and NEGLECT (twice) to repair the problem that prompted the customer to contact 'em. There appears to be more to this story, and Toro needs to find out what's going on at their "authorized repair shops." Can't blame anyone for concluding that Toro is trying to force its customers to buy new equipment.
> Update 6/22/2016 - An independent mechanic has confirmed that ANYONE could have determined that the problem was worn out gears. All anyone had to do was take off the gear housing to see what the problem was. Time for Toro to explain what's going on.
> Update 6/24/2016 - The independent mechanic's report (6/22 update) tends to explain why Catoe's immediately refunded the $48 they charged me for 10 minutes worth of work (after my neighbor got me and the mower to Catoe's in his pickup), and weren't interested in dropping by my house to confirm the inoperable condition of the mower, which was locking up and making a loud, rattling sound. A-Z charged me $115 and ignored my request for a refund. Once again, here's the point: Toro needs to explain why neither of their authorized repair shops corrected the problem or offered appropriate advice.
> Update 6/27/2016 - Update 6/27/2016 - The gears (6/22 update) were BEYOND worn out. ALMOST DISINTEGRATED - one part was literally "floating" - would be more like it. Now I'm wondering why Catoe's (the shop I've been using regularly since I bought the mower) didn't replace the damaged gears long ago, because it took quite some time for the self-propel mechanism to get in such bad condition. I had noticed over the years that Catoe's "repair" of the mechanism didn't last very long, and there were shorter periods of acceptable operation each time they "repaired" it. Apparently, there's a "quick fix" via adjusting a cable, but that doesn't correct worn out gears. When I used Catoe's in the past, I had a means of hauling the mower, and when I no longer had a means of hauling the mower, I tried A-Z because they were slightly nearer to my home and charges for pickup and delivery were slightly less. The failure of two of Toro's authorized repair shops to correct the underlying problem - or at least advise me of it - suggests a Toro-involved racket intended to increase sales of new mowers.
> Update 6/30/2016 - I received an e-mail from someone regarding Toro lawnmowers of yesteryear - here are a few excerpts (emphasis mine):
'The “soft gears” are the “weak link” in the drive system, but you do want them to protect the (far more expensive) transmission from unexpected excessive loads -- as well as the drive gears which interact with these more easily replaced “sacrificial gears.”
Thankfully (and luckily) I never had to go beyond the worn-out wheel gears – after being “ripped-off” the first time at “an authorized repair” shop.
You’re correct. They just want to “sell you” a new one ...'
Apparently (see 6/22 update), Toro eliminated the "soft gears" and designed a built-in obsolescence as the main gears gradually wear down. Meanwhile, customers shell out regularly - time, money, and inconvenience - for temporary repairs. No wonder Toro refuses to investigate their repair shops.
> Update 7/1/2016 - Talk about sleazy repair shops. A-Z charged $50 for pickup n delivery, and went ahead with other items I didn't authorize (new blade, new starter-rope, spark plug, oil n filter change) and laid on an additional $65. I had told them I thought everything was okay except the self-propel mechanism, but they could give me a quote for anything else before they did the work. Right. Run up a bill for a mower they either knew or should have known was inoperable. A-Z even stated on their invoice that the self-propel mechanism "checked out okay" when in fact it wasn't pulling at all. And BTW, the handle came off the new starter-rope. SPEAK, Toro. Explain what's going on at your authorized repair shops.
> Update 8/22/2016 - Beware of ordering Toro parts. After buying my mower, I thought it wuz kinda strange when every non-authorized-Toro shop I visited - lookin' for a repair shop close to my home - said they couldn't repair the self-propel mechanism on my Toro because they couldn't get the parts. And things got even stranger when the two Toro shops mentioned in this post failed to correct the problem.
Now I know what's been going on.
The independent mechanic I worked with ordered 'bout a $100 worth of parts from Toro in an effort to fix my mower. But alas. TORO'S PARTS WON'T WORK. They only allow the self-propel mechanism to partially function, and only if the mower is running. If the engine is off, the back wheels lock up, so the mower is essentially useless. No wonder Toro's "authorized dealers" didn't attempt to repair the problem.
Toro is just another crooked American corporation propped up by cowardly consumers who tolerate anything corporate thugs dish out. Meanwhile, Toro contributes heavily to environmental pollution by making sure that lawnmowers that should be operable for many years to come wind up in dump yards.
I've been e-mailing links to this post and the updates to Toro on Twitter. If they have an explanation, I'll publish it.
Disgusting facts abt ancient Rome: http://listverse.com/2016/08/23/10-truly-disgusting-facts-about-roman-life/
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