Utter crap

This is a story about dreadful customer service. I'm not naming companies b/c getting sued is less adorable than you might think. Company X had my ex-husband and me on an auto policy. Obviously, we are now divorced. I moved my policy to the same company but a closer office to my house. He still has his policy at that office.

Last month, they charged me the entire amount for both our policies despite my having changed over to the other office. They eventually paid me back, and gave me an additional $1.06 for my trouble. This month, they took the money to cover HIS policy out of MY bank account.

I don't know how to think about this other than to call it stealing. This company has been pretty blase about the whole thing.

Who thinks I might need a different company, despite the fact that I've been with these people since 1996?

Odd trio

Gary Coleman, Dennis Hopper, and Rue McClanahan. An odd trio who all succumbed to Mr. Reaper (Mr. Reaper? Calling Mr. Grim Reaper? Please report to Gate C-3.) this week.

I'm wondering whether they ever attended Hollywood events together. My guess: no.

Dereg

It's a pretty simple concept. When you leave people/corporations (same thing now) to police themselves, they don't. Deregulation is a terrible idea. I'm not for more government oversight, but this is something that used to be/still needs to be part of governmental responsibility.

See: Countrywide, Wall Street, airline industry, Bernie Madoff, BP, etc. etc.

Random thoughts about NIH

So, I have to show up at NIH in a few weeks and stay there for close to a week. This is all because I have this hereditary disorder in which they're interested. It's a federal building, so just like the airport, you have to show up early. Happily, we have friends who live about a one-minute drive from NIH, so that's helpful. They also told me if I'm driving not to have any weapons, alcohol or pets in my car. Duly noted. Leave goldfish, machete and Mad Dog 20-20 at home.

I'm a little bit scared. They need to do a muscle biopsy, which is when they'll take a chunk of my thigh out. (You're jealous, I can tell.) That won't feel great, after the meds wear off. I also need to do another barium swallow. Have to do that before the last day, b/c who knows how long it will take to reach the Maryland House or the Chesapeake House? Not me.

I don't think of myself as sick or handicapped, although I did ask someone to get up on the bus today b/c he was sitting in seats prioritized for disabled people, and I don't have enough control over my legs to make sure I don't wind up in someone's lap, which has happened, to my ever-lasting embarrassment. (It'd be different if I didn't see the guy into whose lap I crashed every single day on my train.)

I'm going there b/c I need answers. There is no cure for what I have, so it's just a matter of palliative management. It will eventually kill me, but not for a long, long time. But there are some steps I can take, and I'd like to know what they are.

I had to can my neurologist b/c he couldn't/didn't give me answers. I told him words like "docile" and "passive" simply don't apply to me, and not to expect me to be like that, and that I wanted answers. But he in his buzzkill way didn't have them. This is why he's no longer my doctor.

Kagan

So, about Elena Kagan. I would think Congress would be doing backflips b/c finally there's a candidate for the Supremes whose record can't be easily ascertained. She's not a lefty, she's not a righty. She's extremely pragmatic. She works well with others.

The military recruitment thing is out of hand. No law school wanted to have military recruiters on campus b/c of "Don't ask, don't tell," a very wrong-footed policy. But when they realized they'd lose federal funding, they all zipped it, realizing you have to go along to get along. That's exactly what then-Dean Kagan did. It's what the deans of almost all law schools did, so why is she being singled out?

We all know that Justice Scalia is the archetype judge activist, despite his cries to the contrary. We all know that Chief Justice Roberts is about as pro-business as they come. I think it's refreshing that this woman can't be pigeon-holed into a box.

Toyota

I drive a 2005 Toyota Camry, not part of the recall. I've been very pleased with this car. But that was before Toyota started putting shareholders before customers. Now their big concern is: do they pay the $16.4 million the US is demanding, thus admitting some culpability, or do they fight it, ensuring more dreadful publicity?

Is this really hard? They've already admitted wrongdoing. They knew about this months ago and only had a recall in January. So if they've learned anything, like not to put shareholders before the safety of customers, just pay the fine already. $16.4 million is cake compared to the ongoing cost of fighting it.

Say, "My bad." Put on your big-boy pants. Pay it and continue to work hard to earn back customer trust. It's really not that hard.

Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100406/ap_on_bi_ge/us_toyota_recall

Not so good

Today I read that Osama Bin Laden has decided that if we execute Khalid Sheik Mohammed, considered the architect of 9/11, he will immediately kill everyone who is American who is currently being held by Al-Qaeda.

So, my questions begin:
1. Were people being detained by Al-Qaeda being treated with respect prior to this moment? I remember the beheading of Daniel Pearl and countless others, so I'm thinking no.
2. If we don't execute KSM, that rat bastard, will we all of a sudden have diplomacy with a terrorist organization? Again, no.
3. Al-Qaeda isn't currently holding any Americans, but its mutant sister group, the Taliban's Haqqani group, is. Does everything that goes for Al-Qaeda go for Haqqani? Secondarily, would Haqqani have any funding if it weren't for Al-Qaeda?
4. Do I actually need to pay attention to a guy who has been living in caves since 2001 and has been described on more than occasion as dead?

Sources, I got sources:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100325/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_bin_laden

Good Guys

So, all I ever read about when it comes to football players are the cretinous things they do when they're not on the field. They're drunk, they use drugs, they get in fights, they got shot, they shoot, etc. Which is why it's very refreshing to read about two football players who made some very kind gestures.

1. Keith Bulluck gave out 9 $1,000 scholarships to Tennessee kids in honor of his fallen teammate, Steve McNair (#9). He did so despite the fact that he'll almost certainly be leaving the Titans.

2. Scott Fujita, who is definitely leaving the Saints for the Browns, got $82,000 in playoff winnings, and donated half of it to coastal restoration of New Orleans.

Sadly, it's become clear that most people who are public figures are nothing to emulate. But it's nice to see examples of when people step up to do the right thing.

To celebrate

It was 20 years ago today, Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play...

Well, OK, that's not really the point. 20 years ago today, Nelson Mandela walked out of prison. The day before, de Klerk had announced he'd go free the next day.

The thing is, when democracy happens, it happens quickly. Who knew the Wall would come down as quickly as it did in Berlin? It's people doing the right thing, despite the potential negative consequences.

I boycotted all South African products until everyone there could vote, and I felt good about that choice when Mr. Mandela walked. Now he's 92 years old, generally retired from political life. Still, he's been an inspiration to me while in prison and out.

So it's something to celebrate on a day of digging out.

And also, happy birthday, Auntie.

Ugh

Here's all I have to say on the matter:

Rush Limbaugh blows. Ditto Pat Robertson. They are each spectacular in their lack of compassion for the human condition, unless it applies to them.

Should I have prayed for Rush to have complete and total heart failure while he was rushed to the hospital for chest pains? Maybe. But I didn't. It's that darn liberal bias, making me think that everyone deserves compassion, even asshats like these.

Get out there, Ted!

Theodore Olson and I agree about virtually nothing. He's a conservative. I'm anything but. He has argued in front of the Supremes many times. I have argued in front of family members, cashiers, and "customer service" reps. He argued in front of the Supremes for Bush, not Gore. And won.

But I have respect for this man who is very different from me. We're both lawyers, it's true. I respect him not just because he's arguing on behalf of the right of gay people to marry in California. But to listen to him speak, you realize that it's nothing more than an issue of civil rights.

People who don't believe that gay people are entitled to marriage should read both the US Tax Code and the 14th Amendment. There's simply no way to get equal protection, taxwise, if you can't marry. Domestic partnerships and civil unions simply don't qualify. The arguments used by conservatives to decry gay marriage as a slap to the institution of marriage should read Loving v. Virginia (cited below) because the same arguments were made about inter-racial marriage. We seem, as a nation, to have moved past that (Mr. Bardwell notwithstanding).

Another plus about Mr. Olson is that if it does manage to get to the Supremes to hear, as is seeming increasingly likely, he has a lot of experience there.

Now get out there, Ted. Score some points for We The People.

Addendum

Mr. Bardwell has decided to resign. Hooray.

AP: La. justice quits after interracial wed flap
MELINDA DESLATTE

The Associated Press

BATON ROUGE, La. - A Louisiana justice of the peace who refused to marry a couple because the bride was white and groom was black resigned Tuesday, after weeks of refusing to step down despite calls for his ouster from officials including the governor.

Keith Bardwell quit with a one-sentence statement to Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne and no explanation of his decision: "I do hereby resign the office of Justice of the Peace for the Eighth Ward of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, effective November 3, 2009."

Gov. Bobby Jindal called Bardwell's resignation "long overdue."

Bardwell, who is white, refused to marry Beth Humphrey and Terence McKay.

When questioned, Bardwell acknowledged he routinely avoids marrying interracial couples because he believes children born to them end up suffering. In interviews, he said he refers the couples to other justices of the peace, who then perform the ceremony, which happened in this case.

"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said in an October interview with The Associated Press. "I think those children suffer, and I won't help put them through it."

Humphrey has said she and McKay received their marriage license from the parish clerk of court, where they also received a list of people qualified to perform the ceremony. When she called Bardwell's office on Oct. 6 to ask about the ceremony, Humphrey said Bardwell's wife told her that the justice wouldn't sign their marriage license because they were a "mixed couple."

Bardwell didn't immediately return a call for comment Tuesday about his resignation, which followed calls for his removal from civil rights groups and several public officials, including Jindal and U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu.

"This was the right decision by Mr. Bardwell. What he did was clearly wrong and this resignation was long overdue," Jindal said in a statement released by his office.

Humphrey and McKay have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Bardwell. The couple did not immediately return a call for comment.

Bardwell was elected in 1975 as justice of the peace in Ponchatoula, La., a town 55 miles north of New Orleans. His term was set to run through 2014, and he had said that even before the flap, he hadn't intended to run for re-election.

Racist

Note to Keith Bardwell, aka Racist JP in Louisiana:

It's a little thing called Loving v. Virginia, and it means you don't get to decide whom to marry, if they're legally compliant, cretin. It means the choice of marrying interracial couples got taken out of your idiot hands 42 years ago. It means carrying out legal justice (ie your job). Do it or get out of the business. And by the way, you're not scoring any huge points for Louisiana, either.

Sources:
1.http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_212262447.shtml
2.http://www.4lawschool.com/conlaw/lov.shtml

Eunice

Eunice is gone, as of this morning. She was described by people in her family as the conscience of them all. I believe that Eunice Kennedy Shriver had an admirable view of people, which was that their spirit can't and shouldn't be limited. Doubtless part of her view came from having a sister who was mentally disabled, but I have read much on the topic of the Kennedys, and when she and her sister Kathleen were going to school in a convent in Europe, it was Eunice who wrote to the family about Kathleen's accomplishments.

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy didn't have as many choices as women today do, and raising nine children can't have been easy. But I believe if she were alive and had had the options women do today, she'd have been much like Eunice.

As a mother and a daughter, I think that's a wonderful tribute to both.

Swine flu: Of course it had to get ridiculous

This article from yesterday's NYT details the politics behind naming of a flu. I get it. But the part that made me just shake my head in wonder is:

An Israeli deputy health minister — an ultra-Orthodox Jew — said his country would do the same (call it "Mexican flu"), to keep Jews from having to say the word “swine.” However, his call seemed to have been largely ignored.

I know where in the Torah it says that my tribe shouldn't eat pork. (Leviticus and Deuteronomy, if you're bored spitless sometime.) Can someone point out the part in the Torah that describes the sin of...talking about pork?

Oooh, heresy.


Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/world/asia/29swine.html?_r=1

Hmmm

This story is from www.philly.com. It's about a German couple who abandoned their three children in Italy. Maybe you heard about it. The youngest child is 6 months old. The oldest child is 6 years old. They were having some financial difficulties and so took a trip to Italy (as a cost-savings measure, I suppose) and then while at a restaurant for dinner, went outside to smoke and...never came back. They were found by the authorities and now Italian prosecutors are investigating the couple for abandoning minors, and the German prosecutors are considering whether to open a probe against the mother. Below is a picture of the man of the couple. This is very sad, and highly irresponsible and so forth. But what I'd really like to know is: Will no one say anything about the lipstick this guy is wearing?


Source:
http://www.philly.com/philly/gallery/20090423_ap_policecouplewhoabandonedkidsfoundinitaly.html

K

What does K mean to you? In law, it's shorthand for "contract." In common parlance (one could never accuse the law of being anything remotely close to common parlance), it has come to mean "thousand."

Dipsticks of the world, I invite you to consider the following: We have m, which is shorthand for mille, the Latin word for "thousand." We also have M, which means mille mille or "million."

K is metric, and it signifies distance, such as a 5K, or a 5,000-meter race. When I see that 663K jobs have been lost, it worries me that someone so cretinous is writing about something so important. What other facts may be subject to only nominal scrutiny? It's a question of credibility, and K, when used for something other than distance, strains that credibility.

The Trog will now step off her soapbox and resume her day.

Source:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Jobless-rate-bolts-to-85-apf-14841814.html

Separated at Birth

This is former Afghan warlord Gul Agha Shirzai.


This is Mr. Spock.



I'm just sayin'...

Go Andrew

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo rocks. He's always stood for the right side of things, and now has managed to unearth (via subpoena) that 73 AIG people stand to get at least $1 million.

Is it fraud if a company demands a bailout and then pays bonuses to boneheads? Does an employee have to actually *earn* a bonus these days?

I would also like for Mr. Cuomo to check into Countrywide. I find it galling that the people who largely got us into this mess are now making money hand over fist from it. Yes, they're helping some distressed homeowners, but let's tally up the "we screwed you" v. the "we helped you" list and see where things land. My guess is List One is miles long. Since New York's comptroller has filed a suit against Countrywide, it might not be out of Cuomo's jurisdiction.




Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/aig_cuomo
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/business/04penny.html

Let's

Let's be sure to equate one day of trolling at the U.N. with foreign-policy experience, even though so many supporters of the troll's party believe the U.N. is pointless.

Let's also be sure to keep a lid on the investigation going on about how a public official canned someone who wouldn't can her ex-BIL, who may well have mean to her sister but who nevertheless didn't do anything wrong in his job.

Let's play a game called "I'll trot my children out for my own benefit but don't you dare bring them into it" so that every angle will be the public official's to play. Yes, her party had trouble with the out-of-wedlock baby of a fictional character named Murphy Brown who, some have pointed out, was not a minor, had a job and was independent and successful. It's true Murphy didn't have a husband, but she also didn't have to wash any "Redneck Pride" t-shirts. Some things, you just can't put a price on.

Let's play a game called "Family Values doesn't mean the public official won't go back to work three days after her special-needs child is born and it also doesn't mean she'll be disappointed when her 17-year-old gets knocked up and limits all the high hopes she had for her." It's so much fun to keep changing all the rules to suit the needs of the party.

And let's say maverick when we mean liar and/or simp.