Turnstile Prison Gates.... Let Them Rust Shut

Another example of our justice system making you want to scream and pull your hair out:

In mid-July of this year in Tampa, Florida, a Family Dollar store was robbed and the manager, Horsley Shorter Jr., was shot and killed by the robber. I'll keep this short. The robbery was caught on the store security camera. The robber was identified as Demetrius L Parks, a 23 year old convicted felon.

Parks fled the area and six days later was caught and arrested. He will have his day in court. Case over. Except I'd like to mention a few facts.

Parks was released from a Florida state prison last year and a county jail in June.

PARKS

According to Tampa police Chief Castor, Parks has an "extensive criminal record". That might be an understatement.

Parks was first arrested in Florida when he was 14 on a felony battery charge. In all, Parks has been charged with 37 felonies and 25 misdemeanors. His arrest in this case was his FIFTH since March 2012 when he was released from state prison.

That's it. I wanted to make it short and sweet. Is there ANY reason that animal was allowed to be out on the streets? How many crimes does a person have to commit to be put in jail an never released? An inocent hard-working family man is dead because a career criminal was not behind bars. Or I should say, a career animal.

Oh, did I mention that Shorter Jr. was a 26-year military veteran? And that Parks was holding a gun on the clerk and Shorter Jr came out of the office to defend the clerk?

SHORTER JR.

America, we are losing.

It's A Dying Business.....

This might not be a true example of "losing our America" but it sure does show how greedy an American business can get.

On August 1st of this year my mother passed away at 84 years of age. She lived a long, good life and the years took a toll on her body and it was time for her pain to finally be over. Naturally, my family had many things to take care of and plans to make and like most families, we thought an obituary should be ran in our local newspaper, the Tampa Bay Times.

So I personally wrote the obituary, summarizing her life and how we would miss her. in this modern day and age you simply send in your written words and any photo and the paper would get back with you telling you the price to run the article.

I want to show you the actual article so you can see the length. Well, I must admit, it also let's me publish it for free! I was told the price was based on the number of lines required to run it. ( Not sure that is the fairest way since I've seen some obituaries that are only a couple inches wide and other that are six inches or more in width, meaning less lines.) Anyway, below is what I wrote:

STEPHENS, Wanda L. "Nanny"
84, of St Petersburg, passed away August 1, 2013. She was born in Florence, Ky on June 28, 1929. She was preceded in death by her parents Bonnie and Russell Luck, her brother Russell Irvin Luck and infant son Gayle Stephens. She spent most of her working career as a registered nurse. She moved to Florida in 1970. She is survived by her loving family: sons, Glenn and Ken Stephens (Kim); daughter Mary "Cindy" Watson (Bob); grandchildren, Kelly Watson Stack, Heather Watson Simmons, James Watson, Bonnie Watson Lloyd, all from St Petersburg, Fl and William Stephens and Melissa Stephens from northern Kentucky; twelve great-grandchildren. Wanda spent the past five years residing at Bons Secours Maria Manor in St Petersburg, Fl where she often said she loved living. She was a friend to many there and she was loved by many of the staff and residents. She left many good impressions on those lucky enough to know her and she will be truly missed by them all. She loved old black & white movies and those ridiculous reality shows on TV. She loved having people bring her an occasional "samrich" and her buttermilk as well as having an ice cold beer every so often. She will be forever missed by her family. A memorial service will be held at a later date at Bons Secour Maria Manor, 10300 4th St N., St Petersburg. Donations can be made to Suncoast Hospice.

The next day I get a call from a man at the 'Obituary Desk'. He told be they calculated the cost and it would be $575. Yes. Five-Hundred-Seventy-Five dollars! Needless to say, I never thought it would be anywhere near that amount. Be honest, would you have guessed that amount?

So I decided to delete about 3-5 sentences to lower the cost and I got a response back that the revised article was now lowered to only $487. Much better, huh?

I didn't respond and the next day the man at the desk called me on the phone and wanted to know if I wanted to run the obituary. I told him I thought it was too high and we decided to go a different route. Do you think they get people to go ahead and buy their ads if they speak to you on the phone? Probably. Do you think a lot of people are so sad and in shock with the passing of their loved one that they don't care what it costs? Probably. You want to honor your loved one and you know that publishing an obituary is the right way because you've seen them all your life in the newspapers. Right?

We decided to have the article I wrote printed up and laminated with a poem on the reverse side which would be a memorial bookmark/keepsake for family members. The cost for 54 of of those? $40. Yep, Forty-Dollars. At Office Depot. Do you think 54 people would have cut out the obituary from the Times and saved it? I doubt it.

So to me, I see it as local newspapers preying on the sadness and shock of people losing loved ones. They couldn't make money on running an ad the size of what I wrote and even charging $50 or even $100? I think they would have a lot more lengthy obituaries in their papers. I would have paid that with no problem.

And the papers wonder why they are losing subscribers and they know it's only a matter of time before there aren't any printed newspapers left. Everything will be online. Maybe an obituary the size of what I wrote would be $10. But I doubt it. Greedy people love looking for grieving families.

I can't wait to read an obituary about the Tampa Bay Times....

You Can't Beer The Truth....

I have an update on my last post about the Sam Adams beer commercial where they quoted the Declaration of Independence in an attempt to be patriotic. I see it as an attempt to sell more beer. Period. And when they quoted the passage they deliberately left out the words, "by our Creator". 

So, for those of you that know me, then you know when I get irked by something a company does or doesn't do, I don't have a problem writing to them and having my say. Which is what I did in this case. 

Here is what I wrote to their corporate office:

 I have been a loyal Sam Adams buyer for many years. After seeing your ad which appeared over the past Independence Day holiday I will no longer buy any of your products. With your omission of a few words about our Creator in your quote,  you have shown that you are more concerned with being politically correct than you are with  showing your true patriotism. I have principles that I live by and I am proud that I stand by them. I will spend a dollar to regain a penny if principal is involved. You will no longer receive any of my business and I will ask everyone I know to do the same.

A few days after I sent that email I received a reply from their "External Relations" director. I guess that means they also have a director of Internal Relations. (Make your own joke here).

Below is the entire email I received:

  

Dear Ken Stephens,

Thank you for your message about our recent TV ad and our use of some words from the Declaration of Independence, without the phrase “by our Creator.” We apologize that the omission offended you. That was never our intent. As you may already know, we adhere to an advertising code, established by the Beer Institute – a beer industry trade organization. The code states, "Beer advertising and marketing materials should not include religion or religious themes." We agree with that, and follow those guidelines in our advertising and responsibly marketing our products.

We understand your objection to the omission of the phrase "by our Creator" in other circumstances (after all, these words occur in the Declaration of Independence which our namesake, Samuel Adams, signed), and, in this case, we believe it would be outside our industry guidelines and inappropriate to invoke the deity in a beer commercial. We also want to let you know that this commercial was developed to run exclusively around Independence Day, and is no longer on the air. We appreciate your getting in touch with us to express your concerns and sensitizing us to your point of view. Thank you for giving us a chance to respond.

We really do rely on consumers to be the judges of our work and we appreciate your taking the time to reach out.

Sincerely,
Michelle Sullivan
Senior Director of External Relations
Boston Beer Company

So it appears that they are blaming the omission of the word "Creator" on the Beer Institute and their rule of not allowing religion or religious themes. So they just decided to edit the Declaration of Independence and still use it to sell beer. Would it really be using a religious theme or "invoking the deity" by simply quoting the entire Declaration? I think not. As a matter of fact, I went to the Beer Institute's web-site and read their advertising rules. And they do have a long list of no-no's. Most seem to be about age requirements, and not appearing to be aimed at people under 21, as well as not using models in commercials that are not at least 25 years old. Oh, and you can't have any beer ad with Santa Claus in it.... I'm serious.

But Michelle at Sam Adams was telling the truth. Line 7 of the rules does say:

"Beer advertising and marketing materials should not employ religion or religious themes".

Yes, line 7 is just one sentence. I guess it is open to interpretation. I take it to mean that you can't have God or Budda or the Pope sitting on a bar stool while taking a long drink of a frothy-headed beer and making that "Ahhhhhhh" sound after they swallow. Or make up your own image.

If I haven't bored you by now and you want to read more, here is the link to the Beer Institute's rules about advertising. Beer Rules - (I guess that could have a double meaning huh?)

I'd also like to point out this quote from Benjamin Franklin in a letter addressed to André Morellet in 1779:

Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.

Over the years, Ben has been misquoted as saying:

Either way I know he's talking about an alcoholic beverage and bringing God into the conversation. And I take no offense. Do you?

So, thank you Michelle and thank you Samuel Adams beer. I still will not buy your products and your feeble attempt to shift the blame doesn't work on me.

Did I mention "Buy Yuengling!" ?

Red, White and Boo

If you've ever read any of my other posts you've probably noticed that I love to promote any merchandise that is made in America. For quite some time now I have been a huge promoter of Yuengling beer because it is one of the few large breweries that is still American owned.     (They are the oldest American brewing company). That is the beer that I try to always buy. 

But on occasion I will also buy Samuel Adams beer made by the Boston Brewing Co., also American owned.

But not patriotic enough???

But I must pass along to you something that I discovered over this Fourth of July holiday. Sam Adams recently ran a commercial for their beer by quoting a passage from the Declaration of Independence. I have copied an article by By Christopher Freeburn, a InvestorPlace.com writer.

Boston Beer Company released a Fourth of July-themed commercial touting Sam Adams beer by quoting the Declaration of Independence, which was signed by none other than the brand’s namesake Sam Adams. But because of an omission, the ad has misfired with many viewers, MediaBistro notes.

During the ad, an actor quotes from the Declaration noting of men that “they are endowed with certain unalienable rights.” Alert viewers quickly noticed that the commercial had altered the passage, which actually reads “they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.”
 
Irate viewers filled the comment section of the ad’s posting on Google‘s YouTube with complaints about the omitted reference to God, accusing Sam Adams of “historical revisionism” and deliberately misquoting the Declaration. Some threatened to boycott the beer.
Not all commenters were offended, with one calling the whole debate “childish.”

  
You can add me to the offended list. If you are going to use something that is such a huge part of our country's history to sell your product then don't edit out parts that you may personally not agree with or parts that you think will offend some of your consumers. Would any atheist that drinks Sam Adams beer really quit buying it if the company had used the entire quote? I bet they still use our currency that mentions God in its printing.

(I imagine that Jim Koch, owner of Sam Adams, doesn't mind getting his hands on the same currency). 

Jim Koch

James Thompson, writes on Mediabistro.com:  

As created beings we have a Creator. This is included in our nation’s Declaration of Independence. Why is Sam Adams deliberately omitting this?”
It is fine (though somewhat inherently risky) to name a beer after an important American historical figure and build a brand around an image that espouses the all-American values of our founding fathers. But, honestly, beer should not be treated any more seriously than that. Sam Adams should remember it is a beer company, not a political entity.
So Sam Adams may want to revisit its decision to play loosely with the Declaration of Independence; Americans naturally have strong feelings regarding the document and take offense when they believe it is being exploited or molested.

Here is the link to see the actual commercial on Youtube.  Sam Adams Ad

So it looks like I will now add all of Boston Beer's brands to my No-Buy list. I'll stick with my all American beer Yuengling. Yes, some will say this is petty or people are taking it too serious and are blowing it way out of proportion. But I make most of my decisions in life based on one simple thing......principal.  And that's good enough for me. Cheers.

Same Old Song... "Cry Me A River" by Exxon/Mobil

I wanted to share this when I first saw it months ago. But of course I put the clipping away and just found it. From the Tampa Bay Times: (The bold highlights are from me).

Exxon Mobil said fourth-quarter profit rose to $9.95 billion, a five-year high, as growing supplies of cheap U.S. oil boosted margins from refining crude into fuels. (Are they saying that the oil they get from our land is cheaper than getting it from foreign  areas???)

Profit from processing crude into gasoline,diesel,heating oil,and other fuels quadrupled in the quarter compared with a year earlier. Exxon refineries earned $1.77 billion during the period, compared with $425 million a year earlier. 

So there you have it. They're still rolling in the dough. And we just watch gas prices go up and up. So why don't we continue to get more "cheap" oil from our own land? Drill baby drill.

Those of you that read my other blog, "Gasoline Costs Too Much!" know that I have been preaching for years that the ONE way that we as a people can control gas prices to a large extent is to STOP buying gas from ANY Exxon/Mobil station. Period. That's it. No gas from them. How long would it take all of their stations to reduce the gas prices in order to get it out of their storage tanks? Especially since gasoline can not sit for long extended periods of time without becoming weaker. 

Let their tanks get full and watch their prices drop. Stay away and they'll drop more. The station across the street will get their business. After a period of time when the Exxon price is lowered then go fill your tanks and stop going to Shell or BP. Their prices will fall to match Exxon. If Exxon starts rising too much stop going to their stations again. And so on and so on.

Either way, we let them know that we can prevent them from having these record high profits while we pay record high prices. I haven't went to an Exxon/Mobil station in over 15 years. 

It's your turn......

And We Have To Pay For Your Housing?

I wanted to write this post last week when the topic was current but, as usual, I put it off until now. There are so many crooked politicians in America that you could probably write about one each day and never run out of new people. I don't have time for that so I'll pick and choose from the large vat of prospects and write about the ones that really disappoint me. 

So Jesse Jackson Jr., it's your turn.
I would like to say that I'm surprised by the lack of media attention this has received. To be fair, I think that most of the major newspapers, TV news programs, and other media have reported on this story. But have they reported it as much if this had been, say, a republican Representative from Illinois? I'm just sayin'... 

Jesse Jackson Jr., the former Democratic representative from Illinois, pleaded guilty last Wednesday to one felony fraud count in connection with his use of $750,000 in campaign money to pay for living expenses and buy items like stuffed animals, elk heads and fur capes and a $43,000 Rolex watch. According to the official charges, Jackson spent campaign funds on Michael Jackson, Bruce Lee, Jimi Hendrix, and Martin Luther King, Jr. memorabilia, which prosecutors hope to confiscate.

I know this is getting to be a longer post than I had planned but I have to add a few examples of the out and out thievery that Jackson and his wife committed: Court papers released by federal prosecutors provided new details about how Mr. Jackson and his wife used the $750,000 in campaign money to finance their lavish lifestyle. 

From 2007 to 2011, Mr. Jackson bought $10,977.74 worth of televisions, DVD players and DVDs at Best Buy, according to the documents. In 2008, Mr. Jackson used the money for things like a $466.30 dinner at CityZen in the Mandarin Oriental in Washington and a $5,587.75 vacation at the Martha’s Vineyard Holistic Retreat, the document said.

On at least two instances, Mr. Jackson and his wife used campaign money at Build-A-Bear Workshop, a store where patrons can create stuffed animals. From December 2007 through December 2008, the Jacksons spent $313.89 on “stuffed animals and accessories for stuffed animals” from Build-A-Bear, according to the documents.

One of the more exotic items they bought was an elk head from a taxidermist in Montana. According to the documents, Mr. Jackson arranged in March 2011 to have $7,000 paid to the taxidermist, with much of the money coming from a campaign account, and it was shipped a month later to Mr. Jackson’s Congressional office.

A year later, Mr. Jackson’s wife, knowing that the elk head had been bought with campaign money, had it moved from Washington to Chicago, and she asked a Congressional staff member to sell it, the documents say.

In August 2012, the staff member sold the elk head for $5,300 to an interior designer and had the money wired to one of Mr. Jackson’s accounts. What the staff member did not know was that the interior designer was actually an undercover F.B.I. employee who was investigating the Jacksons, the documents say.

Documents released on Friday showed how Mr. Jackson used his campaign money to buy items like fur capes, celebrity memorabilia and expensive furniture.

Among those items were a $5,000 football signed by American presidents and two hats that once belonged to Michael Jackson, including a $4,600 fedora. 

"We're in the money now Sandi!" "Go get it Jesse!"

Of course Jackson waited until the trial was near to agree to a plea bargain. But really, how are you going to plead not guilty when they have you dead to rights?? 

As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors recommended that Mr. Jackson receive a sentence of 46 to 57 months in prison. The federal judge overseeing the case, Robert L. Wilkins, is scheduled to sentence Mr. Jackson on June 28.

“For years I lived off my campaign,” Mr. Jackson, 47, said in response to questions from the judge about the plea. “I used money I shouldn’t have used for personal purposes.” “Guilty, Your Honor — I misled the American people,” Mr. Jackson said when asked whether he would accept the plea deal. 

After the hearing, Mr. Jackson’s lawyer, Reid H. Weingarten, said his client had “come to terms with his misconduct.”Mr. Weingarten said that Mr. Jackson had serious health issues that “directly related” to his conduct.“That’s not an excuse, it’s just a fact,” Mr. Weingarten said. 

So remember that folks if you ever get caught stealing. It's probably caused by your medical conditions and not really your fault.

 Mr. Jackson’s wife, Sandi, also accompanied him, and later in the day she pleaded guilty to a charge that she filed false income tax statements during the time that Mr. Jackson was dipping into his campaign treasury. Prosecutors said they would seek to have her sentenced to 18 to 24 months. Nice to see they were close enough in their marriage to join together in their criminal activities.

Mr. Jackson’s plea was yet another chapter in the downward spiral of his career. Elected to Congress in 1995 at the age of 30 from a district that includes part of the South Side of Chicago, Mr. Jackson was once one of the most prominent young black politicians in the country, working on issues related to health care and education for the poor.But I guess that didn't pay enough. 

But as the federal authorities investigated Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois over his efforts to sell the Senate seat that President Obama vacated in 2008, they uncovered evidence that one of Mr. Jackson’s friends had offered to make a contribution to Mr. Blagojevich’s campaign in exchange for the seat. Since then, Mr. Jackson, who has said he had no knowledge of the offer, has been dogged by questions about his ethics. 

Last summer, Mr. Jackson took a medical leave from Congress and was later treated for bipolar disorder. After winning re-election in November, he resigned, citing his health and the federal investigation into his use of campaign money. I'm sure we'll be hearing how his health problems likely led to this "misconduct" that normal people call theft. As long as you hang your head low enough and you can work up some tears in your eyes  (while secretly pinching you leg) you will get pity and support because you have "seen the light" or you "were forced to be misled by others around you". 

But to me they are no different than a shoplifter, a car thief, a burglar, a bank robber or any other common thief in this world. They just held a more trusting position and selected by voters to take care of the political business required by every state. To me they are even worse than a common thief who are usually strangers to us. The politicians that turn crooked are people that we trusted to work for us. Trusted to care about us. Trusted to be a voice for us. They should be ashamed. And we should be ashamed if we allow this to continue. 

You want to be in politics? Good. But be prepared to have your background checked to the smallest degree. Be prepared to answer questions about your past. And be prepared to be accountable while you hold that office. And be prepared to go to jail if you are a thief!

Good riddance Mr. and Mrs. Jackson. I can't wait until they slam the door on your cells.

545 x 300,000,000 =

I ran across an editorial comment and thought that it was right on the money.
Perfectly explained and straight to the point. I did research the validity of the article using Snopes.com and it appears to be completely true.

Charley Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper. He originally
wrote this article in the 1980's. He updated it and it ran again in the Orlando Sentinel under the title "Looking For Someone To Blame? Congress Is A Good Place To Start."

In 2008, Reese's editorial was updated and circulated via e-mail under the title "The 545 People Responsible For America's Woes", often with additional material not written by Reese himself tacked onto the beginning or end of the article. An idea suggested by Reese that holds true today just as it did when he first wrote it.

A very simple solution to our complex problems. Judge for yourself.
***********************************************************************
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No
matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party. What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.. ( The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.)
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.

Who is the speaker of the House?( John Boehner. He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. ) If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to. [The House has passed a budget but the Senate has not approved a budget in over three years. The President's proposed budgets have gotten almost unanimous rejections in the
Senate in that time.]

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.
If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it's because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan ..
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees... We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!