Cliff Hanger - Still!

Well we can once again count on our politicians to be more worried about their political careers then about the American People. Has I write this, it's less then 9 hours till midnight, and the only agreement we have is an agreement to not raise taxes for at least 2013. That's great, but nothing close to what should have been agreed to over a year ago.

Both parties are responsible for this failure to protect our economy and for doing what was right for the American people. Tax cuts, and spending cuts need to happen while protecting our Education, Military and Social programs. Why is it that our politicians can't seem to understand that this is for ALL Americans, and not just a few? What will it take for them to wake up and begin doing their job for Americans and not for themselves.

To be frank, SCREW THEM! They treat the American people with such distaste that each and everyone who is in office as of December 31^st, 2012 and has been re-elected to office should be brought up for a recall vote and then simply voted out of office. They failed America, they failed at their job...they are failures by blaming the other party and not taking the necessary steps to deal with what is going on and to fix our economy!

I'm tired as hell about it, but I'm one person. We ALL need to speak up and say something to them about their failure to do their job. Speak up at: http://beta.congress.gov, find your Senator or House Rep., and tell them to get their act together. The numbers of the masses speak louder then the money of a few.

Stop Being a Sheep and Speak UP!!!  Afterall this is YOUR life they are Screwing with!!!!

Congress and the President's Holiday Greeting to you: Bah Humbug

The years 2011 and 2012 were the worst years for politics in the USA. While the American public has been clear in various ways that things have to change, they have not. So the question comes to mind; why not?

It is just days before Christmas, a day that is full of stress for most people as it is, and the US Congress and the President have chosen to tell the American people Bah Humbug...Scrooge is no long an individual, but a collection of 500 plus people who are more hell bent on protecting their job then they are about protecting the average American!

While I want to put the blame solely on the shoulders of our politicians, I can't. The American people have to speak up and tell them enough is enough. America is not about a small number of people, but about the average person. The Average American can not handle having their security jeopardized for the benefit of the few.

A deal must be made and the American public has to let their elected officials know that this game of chicken is a bunch of BS. Bah Humbug...give me a break!

NRA Shame on You!

In a press conference today, the NRA had the gull to be arrogant and to offer lame excuses as to who was to blame for the mass murder at Sandy Hook elementary. It is as clear as it possibly can be that there is no reason for citizens to have access to automatic weapons of any kind. For them to not stand up and say that a ban of the automatic rifle, or of high compact cartridges is completely unsatisfactory and arrogant of them.

They wanted to give some serious talk about a meaningful solution to the problem, and all they did was insult the American public, and the memory of those 20 children killed on December 14, 2012.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that the only way to fix the problem of violence is to get rid of automatic weapons, I wish it were that easy. But removing those type of weapons does decrease the potential for mass murders by a gun man.

Violence in of itself is a major cause for our issues when it comes to mass murders. The lack of mental hospitals or proper access to mental health professionals is also a major issue that has to be addressed. The Sandy Hook shooter was clearly having mental issues, and while his mother may have tried her best, she was not a trained mental health professional, something that may have made a major difference in this case. People need to be free to ask for help, and to know they can get it.

Case in point, when I was feeling depressed over loosing my business, I had requested to meet with a therapist through the only available resource I could, City Health Plan for the Homeless. I was only able to get 15 minutes of talk time with the therapist once a week. That was not enough time to dive into any issues of value that could help me. Thankfully, I had other resources I could pull from to help me deal with the issues.

But what if I was more distressed? Fifteen minutes of talk time is not enough for anything dealing with mental health. The chances of someone getting real help doesn't truly exist. That person could easily fall through the cracks and end up getting a weapon off the streets and kill as many people as they wanted to.

I agree with the general assessment that there is NO easy answer to stopping the mass murders by gun men. But, I can not sit back and agree with the NRA or others that say that not removing a mass murder type of gun as an automatic riffle is acceptable either. They and the high capacity cartridges for ammo must go.

We as humans can not continue to do nothing. It tarnishes the memory of all the people who are victims of murders, either it be mass murders such as Sandy Hook, or street killings.

Another Holiday Lost

When does the "Holiday" season begin these days?  Not the sales days, gee, those start before Thanksgiving now a days.  But why?

I want to congratulate the few hundred people who worked for Wal-Mart and stood up to them.  There is absolutely no reason for holiday sales to begin on Thanksgiving day.  That day is a holiday meant to reflex on what good we have in our life, both past and present.  Not to freak out over trying to save money on a certain item on a certain day.

We are the consumers, and that means we control what we want to buy, and for how much.  Yet, we seemed to have forgotten that years ago.  We have allowed the usual Big Business to tell us when to go to the store and 'save big'.  Really?  Why have we given up our rights to Big Business?  Never mind, it's the same mentality as I have been preaching on here since I started this blog.  Americans have become sheep!

We let others tell us what to pay and when to pay for it.  Not the other way around.  The consumer sets the value of a product, yet we gave that up.  The consumer tells businesses if they like something or not, yet we gave that up.  Consumers can say, "We will not shop on this or that day," yet we gave that up too.  Yes, like everything else, we Americans continue to give things up.  We might as well crawl into a hole and die.  Heck, since I said it, be good sheep and do it!

Ops, sorry, I forgot, I'm not Big Business, only they can tell you to do that.  In fact, they have been saying that for years.  We just don't realise it, because we are too busy stuffing our faces with food full of chemicals that cause cancer.  Or we drive vehicles that cause cancer.  Or even better yet, we pay millions of dollars to watch a sport that promotes physical harm.  Oh, we give up control on so much....baaa, baaa, baaa

Election Day - Time for Change

I know I am not the only one in America who has felt that their vote didn't matter this election cycle.  I mean, can one small state like Ohio or New Hampshire really elect our next president?

Of the 325 million plus citizens in this country, if we are lucky, about 10% will vote today.  That's roughly 32 million who should select our next president.  Yet, a state like Ohio with less then 32 million living in it, can actually be the ones who select the person to run our country for the next four years.

What happen to every vote counts?  Oh, sorry, I forgot, we gave that power away when we allowed Congress to create the Electoral College.  Sorry, but 270 votes does not come close to 32 million.  Nor does it really represent the voters in the states they are suppose to represent.  Did you know, that the full electrical voting block from one state can go to one candidate, even if they only won by the smallest of margins.  How does that represent the peoples interest?

I propose two things:
1 - Completely get rid of the electoral college and let the popular vote really count.  Maybe then, people will actually begin to vote again, for they will know their vote actually counts.

2 - Until the American voters demand #1, I suggest that the states actually change their system and give out Electoral college votes based on the popular vote within their state, so if Joe Blow gets 49%, then he gets 49% of the EC, while Jane Smith who got 51%, gets that much in EC votes from their state.  Again, this may help encourage people to vote.

But sadly, since most Americans don't feel they have the time, energy or feel that their vote counts, the above two suggestions will never happen.  And as we have seen in this election cycle, big corporations, and rich people who can afford to bank roll candidates will ultimately choose who our next leaders will be.  It will not matter if it is in a local election or for the Presidency.  The American people will continue to give up their rights that our founding fathers gave to them, and all of those soldiers who died fighting for them.  How sad.

Big Business Bullying – Biz as Usual

I am a book publisher that has dealt with Lightning Source/Ingrim the biggest POD printer in North America, and pretty much the world.  This is a perfect example of a company that has control of a market and can do whatever it wants to do to its customers.  The customers have to roller over and take the ass f… and enjoy it.  They get to be a Big Bully and they know they CAN and WILL get away with it.  Here is my example of what has happened.

A customer service representative by the name of J. Killebrew had sent me an email telling me that I am too emotional in my correspondence with him and that I need to stop being that way.  Yep, I am a small business man who is struggling to keep his business open.  So when things are not done the way they are suppose to be done, or I am reprimanded by a customer service rep, well, yeah, I am going to be emotional.  It’s my life they are playing games with, not with their life.

This same customer service rep told me that he would fix an issue with my book covers that were not showing up properly on Amazon.com.  I did not ask him to do this; in fact, I had questioned him when would the database updates happen so that the covers would properly show up.  He chose to do this, I thought.  In fact, months later when I saw that they had not been done, I questioned him about it.  Instead of addressing the example I sent to him, he addressed another book that was showing up ok.  That lead I to believe that he lied to me, was caught lying to me and used another book to wiggle his way out of failing to do as he promised he would.

During this time, I found out that Lightning Source was changing information in my ISBN database without my permission.  Removing the fact that the titles were available for sale, and who the distributor was and wither they were returnable or not.  These issues cost me to lose a great number of sales, which thus affected my income.    In addition to the hours of communication with the ISBN database management company to find out what was going on, I lost more time and money.

At the same time, I owed them money, and I had always been clear with them that I wanted to get caught up with payments and had pledged my income from their sales of my books to this debit.  We agreed to make weekly payments, even though it was a hardship to me, I knew that my books would continue to sale well enough to help pay this off quickly.  After the sales were applied, I had a balance of $800 plus owed to them.  When I agreed to payment terms, I was not aware of the above factors playing into the sales aspect of my books.

When I addressed this issue with Mr. Killebrew’s supervisor, a Mrs. L. Pflueger, I received no communication back from her to indicate that she received my email, or that she would look into the mater, absolutely nothing.  Which clearly indicates to me, the poor quality of customer service, and what I am willing to say is the mind thought of Lightning Source to continue their Bullying practices.

When I was contacted by a book store and advised that my books were not available for ordering, I then contacted a Mrs. D. Jackson, VP of Credit who I had been working with to make the payment plan to find out how my payments were going.  It was when she had a subordinate call me and advised me that Lightning Source had closed my account.  My books were no longer available for sale.

Now is this how you handle customers?  They challenge one of your employees and instead of looking into the issue; they choose to close your account.  “Let’s hope the problem goes away, and we will make them look like the bad guy and blame them for their problems.”

I’m sorry, I don’t have a college degree, but I cannot believe that you are taught in business school to treat customer like this.  Blame the customer for the problems and have a ‘We did nothing wrong.’ mentality.

Yes, the actions done by J. Killebrew caused me to lose sales.  Yes, the actions done by Lightning Source to change the database information in the ISBN database without my permission caused me to lose sales.  Yes, I did everything humanly possible considering my homelessness to make payments to them in order to keep my account in good standing and yet, they choose to close out my account because I questioned the behavior and actions of what their employee did.  How is that my fault?  Oh, because I choose to stand up for what was right, that’s how it is my fault.

Fine, Lightning Source/Ingrim, you are the Big Bad Bully and you WON!  My business is not forced to shut down.  I am now going to be sued by a variety of people for failure to meet the contract requirements because I cannot sale the books that were published through your company.  Nor do I have the money to pay for another company to do half of what you can do.  Nor do I have the money to sue you for damages.  Nope, I have to roll over and get f…up the ass and enjoy it.

While I am not afraid to put my name on this, I will not add additional damage to my company at this time. 

And now I can understand why a Presidential Nominee can say that it’s the 47% of American’s who won’t take responsibility for their actions.  He supports big business, thus his previous actions and I believe his future actions clearly side with Big Biz Bullies.

With Respect,

A Client Who Doesn’t Like Getting Screwed!

Sandy's Fall Out

My heart goes out to everyone who lost something due to Sandy.  As a homeless person, I understand what it is like to loose everything you have, so I send my prayers to you and hope others do as well.

Dear Mr. Romney, GET real!  Why is it so important for you to continue to flip flop on policy and speeches.  First you want to get rid of FEMA and now you want to leave it alone.  Really....

I guess the hardest part, is that the people who support you, just don't see you as a liar, or as a person who will say anything to be elected.  You are a perfect example of what's wrong with politics today.  Be real, you may actually win more voters.

Mr. President, On the campaign trail so soon?  Come on, you can do video links to campaign rally's while you stay in Washington and do what you were elected to do...lead!

You did a great job of getting out in front of Sandy and getting FEMA set up.  Now, when 60 million people need you, you are going back out on the campaign trail.  DON'T!  Just stay in Washington and make sure things are getting done to get power back on, to turn off the gas that's leaking, to clean up the water ways that have oil spills.  By you leaving Washington, I suspect you are leaving it up to people who are capable of doing the job.  Well that's what Bush thought and look what happen with Katrina.

Nope, YOU Sir are the President.  Stay in Washington another day or two and do your job!  The American people will respect you more for giving up a few more campaign rally's in order to lead us through the aftermath of Sandy.

More and more, we see what's wrong with politics today...No Real Leadership!

Really...

Did I miss something?  Are we really going to have another debate that focuses on Foreign Policy instead of our sad economic policy?

Don't get me wrong, what we say and do with other countries is very important, but we really can't do much if our own economic policy is keeping us strapped and weak.

We are still stuck with the same old Republican ideas that brought us to this mess, or the same Democratic ideas that seems not to get us out of the mess.  People are so caught up with trying to keep their jobs that they no longer think of what's right for America.  ENOUGH!!!

So much for the fan fair with Occupy Wall Street coming back...they continue to show that they are afraid to do something, anything of value.

Oh, and what ever happen to that new web site that promoted a third candidate.  You clearly have not see anything of them since the conventions...but did you really expect to.  They were controlled by both major parities and people bought into that hype.

Nope, all this election cycle continues to show us, is that we are ALL SHEEP...we are told in commercials what to believe, we are told who to vote for, but we just can not seem to think for ourselves and demand something different.  Something profound!

What a shame...

Rebuplican Bullies

On Tuesday, August 27, 2012 at the national convention for the Republican party, a roll call was taken to determine who had enough delegates to win the nomination to run for President of the United States.  Clearly we already knew that Mitt Romney was going to win.  So why did the Republican party BULLY Ron Paul?

Everyone knew that Ron Paul was not going to get enough delegates to win, so why not allow the roll call to proceed as normal and let his supporters get their moment to support Ron?  Why was it necessary to BULLY Ron's supporters?

It's clear, just like over the past two years, they use their weight to push the President around, to try and force the American public to accept what they want.  They can't accept the fact that it was their party that brought us to the current economic problems that we have dealt with for over 6 years now.  Thus, like any BULLY who is afraid to admit they are wrong, they turn to what they know best...being a BULLY!

And you wonder why we have BULLY rage going on in America today?  Just watch our politicians...they are great leaders, right?

Same Old BS...the ride never ends

I have bitten my tongue long enough over the past few months as I watch the political game continue without the changes that Occupy Wall Street or others had hoped for.  We need those changes to happen and fast.

Here is one good reason why:

Our economy is still in the toilet.  While each party wants to blame the other, they are both at fault for creating it and maintaining the problem which makes them both at fault for not fixing it...I personally want to blame one party more then then other, but the reality is that they both should own the problem 40/40 with 20 percent going to the American people for being sheep and allowing it to happen.

The latest round of BS coming out of both parties is the need to have Romeny show his income taxes...really?  We already know he's a millionaire and he is using the law to pay as little in taxes as he can get away with.  We also know that if he is elected, he will work the tax code to make sure him and his rich friends will pay even less, using the old line of 'trickle down economy' as the reason for it.  And America believes him....:(

Then their is the debate over Medicare.  A program that was meant to be temporary until the politicians found out they could make millions from it, then it became a permenate part of our government spending.  Both parties want to 'save' it, when in reality neither will.  They know it, and all they are trying to do is to make it sound like their version will be the better choice....And America believes them...:(

It's the same old shit being served to us on another campaign ride that seems to never end.

Occupy Wall Street...you need to come back...this time, don't be dicks about it.  Have some balls and take responsibility for your actions...legally and morally...make the difference happen now!

Greed and Injustice

Ok, I am going to be very upfront and blunt here...this message is a pure vent! Thus, it may not make a lot of sense, but I have to express my thoughts.

I left court about an hour ago and I am pissed that the court was so disrespectful towards me and my company. I had submitted a request for a continuance so that I could raise the money to hire an attorney to represent me and the judge totally ignored it saying that I was not on the lawsuit, regardless of the fact that I am the major owner of the company and that I signed the promissory note for Ginny's Printing.

It was clear that the judge just didn't give a shit! He was siding with companies left and right during the hearings with no regard for the individuals that were before him. I don't know his political affiliation, but I have no doubt based on his actions he was a Republican, and I would go as far as to say that the attorney's that were before him, including the one representing Ginny's Printing have donated to his campaign fund. Conflict of interest?

Well, with a judgement against my company, I am now forced to figure out if I will close my business down in order to project the interest of everyone involved with my company. But instead, I need to see how I can save my company, and save the vested interest of every person who works with me.

It was clear that I am not an attorney, and the fact the judge would not allow me an opportunity to have time to raise money to hire an attorney is pure Bull Shit! Ginny's is already waiting for money they will not see, so what is another 3 or 6 months wait? Why couldn't the judge allow me the additional time to save my company? To save my last and only income that I have left?

Once again, the rich get richer and the poorer get poorer....

Life goes on...I MUST GO ON!

Law Suites = Greed

Last year when faced with a variety of financial losses and pending law suites, I felt it was best for myself and for my company if I filled bankruptcy. In so doing, I listed just about every debit I could find and remember, from personal to business. During the process, everyone who was listed had an opportunity to appear in court, or to send letters, or legal documents to the courts to alter or change, and even possibly stop the bankruptcy from proceeding and yet no one did.

Instead, two attorneys who are simply doing this out of their own greed and not for their clients best interest are actually suing me in court. What I believed to have been dealt with in Bankruptcy according to them has not. Now I have to figure out how to raise money to pay for an attorney to represent me and to stop these useless cases from going forward. This is money that I don't have, and if I did have any to hire an attorney, I would have them suing the companies that put me in this mess to begin with.

Once again, this shows that if you have money, you will make money at other peoples expense and keep others pinned down to the ground so they can not get up and fight back. Both companies, Ginny's Printing who printed poor quality books and the University of Texas Co-Op are being represented by attorney's that are only interested in billing their clients and making money for themselves, not for the best interest of their clients. Both companies received tax credits for the bankruptcy, so they can actually use those credits for more then the debit, and yet, their attorney's want to sue me for the debit.

If they win the law suites, I will not be able to pay them, which is already clear as I am barely hanging on now as it is. If they win, I will have to consider the reality of being forced to close my business. That means because of an attorney's greed, hundreds of peoples dreams will be shut down and most likely lost for ever. Where is the humanity in that? Where is the true best interest for the companies who are suing me? Greed...you have got to love it when someone can be so calouse and cold to not care about anyone but themselves!

Life goes on...I try to keep going on.

You can read more about my homeless situation at: www.blogspot.nowhomeless.com

Oil BS

I found it very interesting that the day after President Obama did the State of the Union address, gas prices went up, and not by a couple of cents either.  This clearly was a show by the executives who control the oil companies, also Republicans, that they didn't approve of what President Obama had said. 

In fact, I have reason to believe that they want him out of office so bad that they will do anything to make him look as bad as possible, all while hurting the American people by raising the gas prices and blaming it on other issues that they play with...middle east...terrorism, etc.  A sad game that the American public allows to happen.  We are so dependent on driving our cars, having that freedom that we put up with these games and get suckered into a mindset of blaming the wrong person, due to politics.

To further make things worst, the oil companies put out commercials about 'voting' for energy.  What a pathetic use of money, but yet it works.  People get suckered into seeing these commercials thinking that these actors really represent them and that they should also support big oil companies need to keep tearing up our land in order to find the last of the oil.  But at no time, do they put a commercial out about renewable energy and how someone should vote for that.  Why is it that big oil has not lead the charge for renewable energy?  Why have they not created businesses devoted solely for that purpose, so when the oil does run out, they would have already created another source of income that would make them billions more? 

Instead, big oil wants to continue to play politics and bet on old things that are proving to become scarce, and even trying to convince us that there is plenty available to last our life times...our life times, what about our grand children's, great-great grand children's, what about their life times?

Oh well, I had to speak my mind and I am resigned at this moment to know that it falls on the death ears of the American people who are so caught up in their lives, they just don't get it.

Laws & Law Breaking

I have been silent for the past couple of months as I watch our Political climate continue to get worst and worst.  There is so much crap out there, that I just couldn't stay silent any more.
First off, what gives with this 20 something generation saying they want change, respect the universe and each other, and yet they can't even follow the rules and laws that govern common sense?  Can someone help me understand that. 

Here is an example of what I am talking about:  Occupy was created for change, to improve the lives of everyone and during the process, laws were broken in so many ways.  From simple stupid laws, to more complex...all of which just shows that they don't care about anything but themselves.  Am I missing something?  Don't get me wrong, I don't approve of all the laws that exist now, especially when they support big business and not the American people...bank laws are perfect example of that issue.

In reality though, if you want people to follow you, you have to live by example as much as possible.  Total anarchy, fine...break all the rules you want, but remember it only creates more hassle for you in the long run.  Change the rules or remove them I think it would serve your purpose better. 

Feel free to comment back on this, I am always eager to understand other thoughts.

Enough of the BS!

Ok, I have been biting my tongue long enough.  The 2012 election for President is completely insane!  The Republican party is being controlled by Big Oil, Big Corporations and the Christian Right and the American public keeps buying into it.  While the Democrat party is not much better, in fact I can’t seem to see a difference other then the rhetoric they are giving out.  Yes, it is time for a third party, a party not committed to either side and one that can bring the good of each party to the middle, the common ground that we so desperately need to move our country forward.  And yet, the only web site out there that has the money to convince people to support a third party is supported by both major parties.  In addition, they keep asking for money to support the republicans and democrats that are listed on their site.  Come on people, ENOUGH!

Americans for Common Ground is hell bent on changing American politics and to help educate people about independent parties, and to truly find a candidate that can not only win, but will change the way politics is handled in the United States.  But, we do have our draw backs: No Money!  I am not asking for money so don’t mis-interput what I am saying.  I want American’s to step up and support true Independent candidates.  People who are willing to risk their political career for what is right, not what the right or left want, but what American’s want.  “Easier said than done,” you say.  The real truth is that while there are those who are very much committed to a thought, there are far more that want us to find that Common Ground, that place where we may not have it completely one way or another, that place that allows for us to move forward.  That can only happen if you show your support for Americans for Common Ground.  Send us emails at: AforCG@live.com and let us know you support us, and if you want to help volunteer in getting the word out, then tell your friends about us so we can grow, so we can have access to the media and the world through various sources. 

Americans for Common Ground is about YOU and YOUR children’s future!

Facebook Pages:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Americans-for-Common-Ground/316900205003679

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Vote-them-Out/234849889914285

AmericanElect.org - False hope

Just before the first of the year, I heard a news story about an organization designed to give the American people a third party choice.  The organization is known as American’s Elect.org.  At first I was disappointed that another group beat me to the punch of what American’s for Common Ground is trying to do, but, I don’t have to worry about that.  Instead, I get to give a brief rant on what is so wrong with this group.

American’s Elect is controlled by Politicians.  How wrong is that?  They know that American’s are feed up with Politics as usual and to save their asses, they create a web site that is supposed to represent or encourage an Independent concept, only to promote career politicians.  Once again, they try to control politics by giving the American public a false concept and the American people buy into it with vigor!

Here is our reality, Americans for Common Ground is working to create a historic event this June and we don’t have the connections or financing available at the moment to make it happen.  At a rough estimate, we will need about $1 million to make it completely happen and to send a strong and united message to career politicians to run for their lives.  Politics as usual will NO longer be tolerated!

We need your help.  Send out Tweets, Facebook postings and whatever else you can to let people know that Independent politicians are wanted, needed and electable.  We need financing to make the first Independent Convention a reality, along with lots of volunteers to help support the cause and the event.

We are working on establishing a web site shortly and will post the information on our blog as soon as we have it set up.  Feel free to email us at AforCG@live.com.