May, 2012 archive
There’s an App for That 0
Will Durst explains how the Republican nomination race has been like a game of Angry Birds:
The object of Angry Birds is to use a slingshot to fling various flightless birds at flimsy houses built by egg-thieving green pigs. The object of the 2012 Republican primary race is, well, pretty much the same thing: to toss accusations and blame at the White House in order to steal independents from the Democrats. All while emitting unintelligible screeches, squeals and shrieks.
The Voter Fraud Fraud 0
She’s taking them to court.
Ms. Applewhite has tried for years to obtain a photo ID, but to no avail. NYU School of Law’s Brennan Center for Justice estimates that 25 percent of black adults have no form of state-issued photo ID, as opposed to only eight percent of white adults.
The Fee Hand of the Market 0
The game of Fee Card Monte continues:
The Pew study found that more than half of those hit with overdraft fees did not believe they had opted in to the policies, which enable banks to approve purchases or withdrawals for customers short of funds and then charge them fees for the transactions. Pew says the median bank overdraft fee is about $35.
One is tempted to say, “Read those statements banks send you about ‘changes to the agreement’ carefully,” but, really, that’s pointless advice.
If you have a magnifying glass strong enough to make that four-point type legible, you find quickly that the prose is a multi-syllabic word salad that even Sarah Palin would step back to admire. Follow the link for a description of some of the semantic games banks play.
Here’s the two magic words for avoiding this.
Pay cash.
I don’t mean pay cash for everything; that’s an absurdist fantasy attractive only to those who fancy themselves “Libertarians.”*
I mean pay cash for that cup of coffee. Pay cash for those three bags of chips from the dollar store. Pay cash for anything under twenty dollars.
Aside: I used to wonder how persons kept track of all those itsy-bitsy debit card purchases. Then I read about the banks’ Fee Card Monte and realized: they can’t; that’s what the banks are banking on, to the tune of $30,000,000,000 in overdraft fees last year.
Will paying cash automatically keep your pocket from being picked?
No. It will make keeping track of your checkbook a lot easier. Then you can keep yourself from overdrawing your account.
_________________________
*Libertarian: A Republican who’s ashamed to admit it.
False Witness 0
Mary Mignogno, who knew about the boy’s complaint, didn’t know what to say to her children when she heard the lie from the pulpit.
Nothing to add. Nothing needs adding.
Drinking Liberally Norfolk Tomorrow 0
Drinking Liberally is a support group for liberals, where you can realize you are not alone.
When: 6 p., Tuesday, May 8.
Where:
Lola’s Caribbean Restaurant
328 W 20th St (map)
Details here. Meetup page here.
The Voter Fraud Fraud 0
Brad Friedman reports:
According to a report today from Sacramento ABC affiliate News10 [see video posted below], a private, for-profit firm calling itself Momentum Political Services, hired by the local Republican Party “to boost GOP registration ranks in key battleground communities” has turned in more than 3,100 hundred invalid voter registration cards during their recent drive.
Follow the link for much, much more.
Update from the Foreclosure-Based Economy 0
Bloomberg:
Now it turns out some lenders haven’t merely been unhelpful; their actions have pushed some borrowers over the foreclosure cliff. Lenders have been imposing exorbitant insurance policies on homeowners whose regular coverage lapses or is deemed insufficient. The policies, standard homeowner’s insurance or extra coverage for wind damage, say, for Florida residents, typically cost five to 10 times what owners were previously paying, tipping many into foreclosure.
When I bought my truck, my lender tried to pull a stunt like this with my car insurance. Only I had insurance already–I had to show proof of insurance to drive the thing off the lot.
Their policy’s premiumn was four times mine.
It took me three months to get them to stop trying to swindle me. The car salesman, who was a neighbor of mine, later told me that he had heard that this was not an uncommon problem with them.
And they were not some finance company.
They were an old local bank.
Facebook Frolics 0
MarketWatch offers hints from Consumer Reports on how to avoid running naked through the internet.
Driving while Brown 0
What was old is new again.
There’s always the fear in white America that their grip on economic . . . power is slipping.
Consensual State Rape 0
Warning: NSFW.
Afterthought:
I never expected to post stuff like this. I also never expected the Republican Party to develop a fetish for vicariously sticking things up women.
They Won’t Help Where She’s Going 0
Oh, my.
Police reports filed in Maricopa County Superior Court say 27-year-old Jamie Lynn Toler told her former boss she needed a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction and was uninsured. She also told the tale to her mother and grandparents.
