We all know how the ACLU is always proclaiming separation of state and CHURCH. That is what they claim anyway. However if it is in their best interest they do an about face. Now I believe in the beginning the ACLU had good intentions, and the ACLU stood for “American Civil Liberties Union” . But as many civic groups grow they become drunk with power. I think this is what has happened with the current aclu. Somewhere along the line they strayed from their original intent. Protect our CIVIL rights. Now it seems all they are intent on doing is to destroy our CIVIL rights in the name of the minority. No longer does the majority rule. Just as the NAZI’s Communistis, etc. I don’t know ,how but I suspect money has something to do with it. The ACLU become corrupt and the new aclu has the power to convince OUR supreme court to misinterpret our CONSTITUTION. Somehow Our Supreme Court appointees have either become corrupted or very badly misled. They no longer consider that the majority rules, only the minority rules. Back to what prompted this post. In case you missed it the aclu, after all their talk about separation of state and church now wants the government to tell private CHURCH owned HOSPITALS to go against their beliefs, You see it is okay for the STATE to do whatever they want but let’s not give the CHURCH and Christians any rights. Sort of sounds like Communism and Nazism doesn’t it. The aclu wants the State to force Catholic owned Hospitals to go against their core beliefs regarding abortion. If the aclu wins this one….. The aclu wants to force these Catholic owned facilities to perform ABORTIONS. It isn’t about what you an individual believe, either pro or con. It is about conscious. I for one think the aclu should build their own Hospitals. Surely their are enough Government owned health facilities to provide this procedure. It is my considered opinion, if aclu wins this I would be behind the Catholic Church if they decided to close all their Hospitals. WOW!! That would leave a gaping hole in health care community. Wouldn’t it? I know that in my city we would be without a hospital. Our nearest facility would be about 50 miles away. aclu you are in over your heads on this, back off and try to return to your original edicts of protecting OUR , meaning, protect the rights in the best interest of all and not just a small group. I feel I have the right to eat and enjoy public events without having to inhale someone’s second hand smoke. What are you doing about that. That Is How I see It Views: 606
Author: Wayne Lawrence
Don’t Tax My Coca~Cola
It has been brought to my attention Our Government, in looking for more money to give to companies that invest badly. So it is looking at a possible 20-40 percent tax on my Coke. LAY OFF MY COKE. They say if we pay a 40 percent tax we won’t drink as much, (hurting the soft drink industry). The tax is to help us lose weight. It is said we could lose 1 pound a year if we pay a 40 percent tax. WOW!! A whole pound, imagine that. Of course with less sales the Soft Drink companies may have to lay off people and increase our roll of unemployed, less tax paid by the Soda companies. Sounds like a win- win situation to me. NOT. The only weight I’d lose would be from my pocket. As a small boy I was really frail. The doctor told me my problem was that my stomach did not produce enough acids to properly break down my food. To offset this I was told to drink Coca~Cola with my meals this would help break down the food for me. Would I be entitled to claim a medical exemption on this tax and my Cokes. I just really don’t see the benefit of taxing my Coke. Why not tax Candy, Cookies, bags of Sugar, etc. Chocolate and fast food probably put more weight on u than my Coke. Tax them. That Is How I See It. LAY OFF MY COKE. Views: 100
Blame It On The Economy
Aren’t you tired of professional sports blaming their slumping attendance on the ECONOMY? I am. NASCAR claims their attendance is down because of the ECONOMY. Is it the Economy or is it just the fact they are losing their appeal. From what I have seen even the the TV viewership is down. That is not an ECONOMY issue. Just think what a Race Party you can have for the cost of the tickets. But, under the leadership of Helton and the heir of the France family, I personally believe it is the false, the ill-fated trust of the France heir, in Helton which has led to the downturn in FANBASE. First they wanted to separate themselves from the “redneck” heritage of the sport. Then they decided that people came only to watch their big name, well financed, drivers. So they gave them “SUPER STATUS”. Automatic starting positions, regardless of qualifying time. What this amounts to is they do not have to set up for qualifying, They just get more practice on their racing set up. Then came the “CHASE”. Big deal. All that accomplished was a HYPE point. No longer would the best performer throughout the season be champion. Now only, what is it, 12 drivers, get to compete. This after a reset of points. An example a driver could be in the top 10 of every race. But because he hasn’t won a race it is possible he may not make the “CHASE”, he probably will but if the Race winners were evenly spread among twelve racers, He would start so far behind the the others that he would not have a chance of winning. He may have won the Championship under the old system. We will never know. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Now they have the NASCAR’s car. Nothing related to the showroom car. Unless NASCAR decides to open up their own dealership and sell these cars. Wake up FORD, CHEVY, and TOYOTA. How much can a decal cost. Let us consumers have some of that money you invest in NON brand cars. You can probably make more money that way. I ask you is a decal with your name on it worth the millions you pay for it? NASCAR is seeing a steady drop in fanbase. Even on TV which is free. Most is not related to the Economy. But to the lack of entertainment value. As for the other sports. You have your STARS. You pay so much for. Do you really think they bring in that many people to see your TEAM. How many tickets do you have to sell to meet their Exorbitant pay. I remember a time One YANKEE player made more than the entire payroll of the Montreal Expos. What do they bring to the game that is so special. If you want to see real baseball watch your local Little League or High School team. You spend Millions promoting these players to make them seem to be supermen. Get real players and bring your cost down, so people can afford to attend games. I guess that is why the NBA, NFL, etc do not like the small venue teams. Usually in these areas you don’t have the Millionaires who can afford to attend the games. You will always have the die hard fans. That will somehow come up with the money to attend at least one game. Let’s see. A family of four, 2 Adults, 2 children. At an average of $60 dollars a ticket, that is $240. Plus an average of $20 to park. We are now up to $260 to see millionaires play a simple game. Usually attending a game means souvenirs for the children. A cheap souvenir usually costs $10, that takes us to $280 for the game. Lets not forget snacks. Usually $5 for popcorn, that is a lot of markup. Drinks for the kids which usually cost $4 ea. Beer for Mom and Dad. Minimum of $5 ea. So we now have spent $38 for snacks. Raising our cost to $318. Many times in order to take in a game we eat out. Even at Burger King that is at least a $20 bill. Now we are at $338 to watch players who make more for one game than we will in 1 to 3 months. Blame the drop on the Economy? Some teams have acted on this and dropped their ticket prices and snack price. They are gaining Fanbase. This will result in more licensed paraphernalia sale, and as the economy picks up this income will grow. Wake up Owners and Players. I am a Union Man. I understand players want to get as much as they can. Owners you want a larger profit. I understand this. But what you don’t understand is you can price yourelves totally out of business. Isn’t it better to make $20 on one ticket and have 38000 people attend, or $4o and only have 18000 people attend. The 38000 will spend more on lower cost accesories than the 18000. Both be reasonable. Fanbase is the key to profits That Is How I See It. Views: 98
Jailed for Overdue Books
It appears that a Texas woman was jailed for failure to appear for a court hearing in regard to the failure to return books to the local library and is charged with a misdemeanor. She owes over $200 in fines. The number of books is only stated as a “number” of books. As for legal merit when one borrows books from a library they have a “contract” to return the books in a timely manner, You just can’t keep them an indefinite period, How this came about according to the defendant is that the books were destroyed in a house fire. So could all of this been averted if the borrower had just gone to the library and explained the situation. Most likely. Replacement costs may or may not have been assessed, but likely insurance would have covered it. If this ever happens to you, please keep these alternatives in mind. Sure beats sitting in jail. That Is How I See It Views: 122
Brett Favre to Retire??
Like many other Football fans I am wondering. Will Brett Favre retire? I am of the opinion he will. I think the one thing that kept him going was the most consecutive starts record. With Peyton Manning breathing down his neck, he had to keep going. But now after having to sit out a game or so, he doesn’t have time to start over. By retiring this year, (really retiring), Favre will go out on top of the heap in all categories. I think he has passed Jim Marshall for most regular season starts. Marshall played 20 seasons and started 282 regular season games. Favre had, (I think), 269 before this season started, thus needed to start 14 regular season games this year to take that title. I know how hard it is to give up something you love doing. But I believe the time is right for Brett Favre. I think Favre will retire from playing. However he has a wealth of knowledge to pass on. Will he just walk away from Football or will he find a new niche, a different job with another record to set. We can only wait and see That Is How I See It. Views: 91
Health Choices
Elderly people are caught in the insurance crunch The company a friend of mine worked for closed it’s doors in April of 2008. He has not been able to find a job. Although he has years of management experience. A Bachelor of Business Administration, a PHD , 3 other degrees, and a Honorary Doctorate degree. He can’t find a job. He was 61 years old when he found himself unemployed Even though He has the education and experience instead of saying you are too old, they say “You don’t meet minimum requirements.” Never mind he has many years experience. If you didn’t just graduate from college you can barely get a job at McDonalds. But to the INSURANCE thing. They want so much money for insurance, you can’t really afford it on unemployment, (which his has run out), His financial adviser told him to get a $5000,00 deductible temporary, or GAP insurance. Because he has always been healthy. This insurance is usually issued for a 6 month period. You can usually renew it for a second 6 month period. What this really translate to is a $7500.00 deductible because it is $5000.00 then you go to an 80/20 for the next $2500.00. Let me say this. When the company closed he had to use a huge portion of his 401K to pay off bills so he could get by on unemployment. Then he had to take out over $6,000.00 to pay his income tax because the firm he worked for did not take enough out of his separation package plus what he had to take out out of 401K to pay bills off. Then a hail storm hit. His homeowner insurance told him the damage was so small he would only need to take a caulking gun with tar and fill the holes. This of course fell below his deductible. His house which is a big old two story house, needed a new roof, and and a few things took what little he had left after loosing a big portion due to the “downturn” of the economy. So he has very little money left. One health insurance company was good until he had to fill a $20.00 prescription. They thought it was for something else. His doctor explained it was not that thing. But for something else. They would not listen. They refused to renew his 2nd 6 month coverage. He went to another company, paid 1 year in advance. They found out that he had been treated about 4 years earlier for possible Gout (that is a surplus of Uric Acid and causes pain in your toe joints). They informed him that because of that he would have to pay 3 times his present cost or be canceled. He couldn’t afford the tripled payment. So now he is out of insurance. The state he lives in has a state sponsored insurance program. Guess what.. He had to do without insurance for 6 months to qualify. Big risk to do with out health insurance for that long. You never know if you are going to be in an accident. He has now found another Gap insurer. He is due to renew in February. But now he needs to have an expensive procedure done. But if he has it done the insurance company will probably not renew his policy. He needs the renewal to cover him until he becomes Medicare Eligible. Now he is asking the hospital for an estimate of it’s cost. The surgeon said he would forgo his charges if that helped. If the estimate comes back within the money he has saved he will get the procedure done. But it is not expected to be that price, which would wipe out his entire savings. So you see his plight. He either loses all his savings and has the procedure, or goes in debt to the hospital. He also feels obligated to pay the surgeon. Also he has been told there may arise complications which will raise the cost. His social security is only $115o.00 a month pre-tax. His is still making House payments, Utility, Insurance, and trying to scrounge money to eat. Or he can put off the procedure (which may or may not prove to be cancerous), for 9 months when he qualifies for Medicare. What would you do if you found yourself in this situation This is his experience with this insurance. Because he has to bounce around from company to company every year. That Is How I See It. Views: 161
Noah’s Ark Park In Kentucky
Noah’s Ark Park is to be built in an as yet to be determined site in the Great State of Kentucky. Currently an 800 acre site, off of Interstate 75 is being considered, about 40 minutes from Cincinnati . The cost is estimated to be $150 million, by a for profit group. The ark itself will be funded by donations. The purpose is to lend assurance that Noah could have two of every animals on the ark. Now as I understand the account of Noah’s Ark. It doesn’t mean like 2 Clydesdale horses and 2 Arab horses. It would just be 2 horses. It doesn’t say they were adult animals. Canines, although we have various breeds. I’m sure there was only one breed. So I can see having all life forms represented. But I have strayed from my original thought. There is a group called “Americans United for Separation of Church and State, (AUSCS) opposing the State of Kentucky giving tax incentives for the project. Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear states, “bringing new jobs to Kentucky in my top priority”, and that he is “happy about the economic impact this project will have on the Northern Kentucky region.” First you will have the construction jobs. Then, according to the sources I have checked. The park will create approximately 900 permanent jobs, and have a $214 million economic impact the first year of operation alone. Regardless what the AUSCS, believes this is a business just as, lets say General Electric decided to build a facility on that 800 acres. They neither one are a Government entity. By the way the biggest objection I have heard from the AUSCS is that State funds should not be used for the project because it has a religious theme. But back to the tax incentive. Business is Business as long it is a legal entity. I’m sure they would not object if say Disney decided to put in a park and asked for the same tax incentives. I’m never in favor of tax incentives for business, because I have to make up for the tax revenue lost. But in these times I can tell you. After seeing my friends and relatives out of work for over 2 years now, I would consider it a viable option. We sure could use those jobs in my area. If Kentucky doesn’t want them contact me I’m sure my state will gladly give the tax incentives. Sometimes you just have to look at the big picture In this case the Benefits of the park far outweigh the petty objections of a few people who probably don’t even live in the area. That Is How I See It. Views: 113
Greedy Government
A midwestern city seems a to be a little greedy. The government is trying to keep in excess of $190,000.00 it seized after a traffic stop. As I understand it the money belonged to a couple of brothers who remodel homes. It is hard to believe that anyone would drive around with that much money. But the way I understand it the money was the family’s life saving and they were taking it to their father so he could pay off his mortgage and retire to Mexico. The police officer who pulled them over confiscated the CASH. The city will try to keep the cash under what is called “Civil Forfeiture”. This is a procedure which lets police forces to take property where the legal standard is lower than criminal forfeiture. Now here is the kicker. There was no traffic arrest made. No charges of any crime. Neither brother has a criminal record. A month later the brothers attorney filed a complaint that the city had no claim to the money. Eleven days later the city attorney appeared in front of the County Circuit Court Judge. The Judge asked what were the basis for the seizure. The City Attorney said, “We don’t know.” The Judge said, “This is America. Give it back.” He also ordered the city to return the money with one month’s interest and costs. So what did the city do? Refused to abide by the court order and return the money. They say they are going to appeal the judges order. Claiming he overstepped his authority. The appellate Court rejected the appeal on “Technical Grounds. ” Whatever that means. It seems that now the Department of Homeland Security/Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, has taken the money and claims the cash is subject to forfeiture under U.S. Codes dealing with drug transactions. Again I remind you NO arrests, No charges filed. Is this just a case of government greed? Or what. I think no arrest, no charge, they get their money back. That Is How I See It. Views: 109
Re: AT&T Customer Service
Consumer Reports, and customers are finally finding out what I discovered years ago. AT&T/Cinglular, customer service really sucks. It didn’t just happen it has been that way for many years. Example 1: Many years ago, before they became AT&T, I decided I no longer needed my mobile phone, as I was no longer on the road as much. I paid 3 months in advance to fulfill my contract. I told them to stop service when my contract was up. Did they heed my instructions? NO!! About 3 months after they were to stop service, I got a notice saying they were shutting my service down for non payment. Non Payment?? I didn’t even have a phone any more and did not sign a renewal contract. What was a non payment of. To make a long story short after trying to talk to CUSTOMER SERVICE, I decided, because I couldn’t afford an attorney, to pay what they called “LIQUID DAMAGES”, that is what they called it. The 3 months of service would have been $90, but they said I owed $300 for terminating services early. Now mind you I paid my contract in full, and told them I no longer needed their service. Example 2: I purchased the “insurance” for my phone. Yes I went back on the road. Anyway, my phone got smashed. I had hung my coat, with the phone in a pocket, on a post and a truck backed into it and demolished my phone. When I took it to the local office for replacement I had to pay about 1/3 of my phones original cost. About a year later I found out they replaced my phone with one that had been outdated. It looked similar to my old one. I trusted them. Then I was back working close to home and a phone at work. I no longer needed the cell phone. No problem this time. They shut off the service when they were supposed to. Example 3: Back on the road again. I needed a cell phone again. Every thing went fine. Until I realized that I could save money with their family plan.. Before I renewed my contract and purchased a new phone, I asked about adding the additional phone. The other phone was on its own plan, as they didn’t have the family plan when I added a 2nd phone. Now they did. I was assured I could add the phone. I signed the contract. Then I was told the other phone had 3 months left on that contract so we would have to wait another month before they could add the phone to the family plan. OK. The month passed. They told me I would have to wait until the full contract had expired, But would be able to transfer the phone then. Finally the 2nd contract expired and I went in to move the phone to the family plan. Guess What. Can’t do it. “We don’t offer that plan anymore.” I talked to the local representative, with no satisfaction. I called AT&T “customer service” We talked about a half hour. I was told they would check to see what could be done, and call me Monday. This was on a Friday. Know what I’m still waiting for that call. As soon as my contract was up, I switched to Sprint. I have better coverage. SPRINT, really does believe in taking care of the customer. I have had no problems with them. They are always eager to help me, no matter how long it takes. I can never see returning to AT&T. As always this is just my experience, and may have happened before the name changed to AT&T. I’m not sure when the name change occurred. Although I not sure a name change means much when it come to customer service. I do know people who have AT&T who jumped through hoops just this summer to get “CUSTOMER ” service. I’m sure from what I have heard the weren’t very satisfied. That Is How I See It. Views: 134
Consumer Warning HAMP
The Home Affordable Modification Program, is a Federal Program set up by the United States, to assist eligible Home owners in danger of losing their homes. The people who are to be aided by this program receive loan modifications to lower payments, and avoiding foreclosure. This is in the midst of the subprime mortgage crisis. Remember the Bailout money given to the banks. Banks took $50 billion of our taxpayer money to help homeowners reduce payments. You have all heard the advertisements “Keep your home for less.” “Save hundreds of dollars” It has come to my attention that this program also works in favor of the banks. The trap takes the form of what they call “Trial Period”. The way I understand it, (I’m no Lawyer, Banker, or Real Estate salesman), a person must apply for the modification, submit all requested documentation, and meet certain criteria before being accepted for the “trial period”. Once accepted into the trial period, which protects your home from foreclosure, a person must make the payments at the lower rate for 3 months. If they meet this requirement they should be accepted for the full modification. I have heard stories about people who do all the things required, only to be told they have been rejected. As the story goes they are told to pay $X,000,00 or be foreclosed on. Desperate to keep their home the couple dips into their Saving, IRA, 401K, or whatever to pay the $X,000.00. Send the payment in, only to have it returned. The bank wants $100.00 payment until December. At any rate the people in question were then told to keep their house they would have to pay $XX,000.00 Does this sound like some kind of racket? It does to me. The people had not missed a payment before or during the trial period. Now they face a real possibility of losing their home. The bank wins again. That Is How I See It. Views: 96
