Let me begin by saying, I am in no way against preserving the environment. I think we do need to take steps to make this world a better place to live, literally. BUT in this moment we are experiencing some economic hardships with more people losing their jobs every day. I just heard from a friend of a friend that his company laid off 30 of the 34 employees that work in his location…he happened to be one of the 4 and not one of the 30 with a giant sigh of relief and guilt. Circuit City is closing every one of their stores, putting some 30 thousand people out of jobs across the country in one fell swoop.

What is the point of this, you ask, besides a laundry list of statistics? The point here is that there are still environmental groups who are freaking out because someone wants to mine for coal or drill for natural gas in the barren wasteland that is the Great Basin Desert. Mining for coal and drilling for gas creates jobs. “Job” is really a commodity that will probably never “run its course” and now, especially, it is in the highest of demand. People are losing their jobs all over the place but these environmental groups don’t want to do anything that might harm the habitat of the Great American Dung Beetle – or make it hard to observe their migration patterns from the shoulder of the highway while sitting comfortably in your Subaru wagon. Forget humans, desert dwelling bugs are far more important.

Now before you get out your trusty brick and tie your hate mail to it… I understand that there are arguments larger than bugs. I understand that everything we do today will affect the Earth in the future but I can’t quit my job that I hate because there are no other jobs to switch to. And there are so many other people in my community (the same community where the illogical, irrational, human-hating tree-huggers reside) who have lost their jobs and have no other options ahead of them.

Things are in the works to help get us out of this but in the meantime, if someone has the money and backing to start a new business, to create new jobs in a time when they are slim, I don’t see any reason anyone should stand in their way. Human beings are just as much a part of the environment as dung beetles and have just as much right to protection as the beetle. And right now, creating jobs seems to be a pretty good way of protecting our fellow humans.

http://beshameless.net/archives/2009/02/06/some-people-just-dont-get-it/trackback/

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Nowadays, it is all in who you talk to. A couple of weeks ago, we went to WalMart on our weekly quest for groceries and other odd things. While we were there, we approached a CSA and asked where, in the store, would she suggest we look for ice melt. “They don’t send it here. They tell us it doesn’t get that cold here,” says the blue be-smocked lady.

Last night, the weekly quest led us through the outdoor/sporting goods department and there was a palette of …. ice melt. Bags stacked as high as me (which is not tall if you are a person but really tall if you are a pile of ice melt).

Over the summer, my sister called, different store, same chain, and asked if they had a specific Playskool playhouse that came with a slide. Through her attempts to find this specific playhouse, she had acquired its exact title and gave that to the CSA on the phone, who found one in the system then put Sis on hold to “go make sure it really was there.” She came back, said “I can’t put a hold on it but if you come in this afternoon we should still have one. I’ll set it aside and when you come in, ask for Melissa.” We went in, we asked for Melissa, Melissa was no where to be found. Nor was the playhouse. Nor was anyone in the toy department who might know where to find one or how to order one. “Go online,” was all the cashier in the garden department could offer.

I get not having authorization to do things but some CSAs or CSRs or GSAs or whatever their corporate title is simply don’t want to. It really does depend on who you talk to what kind of customer service you are going to get. Phone reps especially. You call a company once, ask if something can be done and “no way, no how, not gonna happen.” You call back the next day, ask the same question of someone else and you get, “Hmmm, I don’t know. Let me find out for you. Do you mind holding?” (Insert crappy hold music here) “Actually, it looks like, based on the fact that you have been a customer with our company for five years, you are entitled to….” Bingo, an affirmative answer to your question just because you talked to Susie today instead of Jim. Watch out for Jim. He might come into work tomorrow and start picking co-workers off with a high-powered sniper rifle.

Once upon a time, the adage was “the customer is always right.” Now, it’s “the customer is right if it doesn’t require me to do any extra work. Otherwise the customer is wrong, wrong, wrong, WRONG!”

I guess that’s really it for this installment. I could go on for days offering examples of poor customer service but instead I think I’m going to find me a high-powered sniper rifle and go pick off a few CSRs.

Crimson

http://beshameless.net/archives/2009/01/17/when-did-we-forget-the-meaning-of-customer-service/trackback/

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Lori Drew, 49, of Missouri, was convicted of 3 misdemeanor charges of various types of computer fraud. Lori Drew, 49, of Missouri, killed her 13-year-old neighbor, Megan Meier.

Sure, she didn’t shoot the girl. She didn’t poison her or stab her or strangle her. She didn’t touch her at all. But Lori Drew, 49, of Missouri, pushed 13-year-old Megan Meier to commit suicide, hanging herself in her own closet.

Early in 2008, Lori Drew, with the help of her 18-year-old assistant and her 13-year-old daughter, created a MySpace profile under the guise of a cologne-ad-esque 16-year-old boy named Josh. “Josh” began flirting with Megan, who Lori Drew knew to be depressed and, as are most girls her age, insecure.

“Josh” carried on the relationship with Megan for four weeks while Lori Drew sat amused in her own home, planning all the while to build the girl up only to tear her down farther than she had been before the whole thing started.

Finally, one day, Megan told “Josh” he was the kind of boy a girl could kill herself over and “Josh” told Megan the world would be better off without her. Megan hanged herself in her closet with her parents downstairs.

Had the fraud and bullying been conducted by Lori Drew’s 13-year-old daughter, Sarah, that would be one thing. That would be kids being cruel to one another without quite comprehending what might happen. Not excusable but somehow less astonishing. Sarah, arguably, could plead naivete, saying she didn’t know that Megan wouldn’t know it was all a joke. Sarah, arguably, could say that she didn’t really think Megan would go through with it. Sarah’s 49-year-old mother can not make feasibly make those claims. Sarah’s 49-year-old mother knew what she was doing and knew what the outcome would be. Sarah’s 49-year-old mother has been convicted of three counts of computer fraud and will receive, at max, 3 years in prison and a $3000 fine – one year and $1000 for each count, maximum. Sarah’s 49-year-old mother deserves at the very least first degree manslaughter, at the very most first degree, premeditated murder.

And what is worse about all of this, in my opinion, is not that this woman did something deplorable which will go completely unpunished. It is that people are blaming Megan’s parents for not monitoring her internet usage. They are blaming MySpace for allowing “Josh” access to 13-year-old Megan’s profile. They are not blaming Lori Drew for being a malicious, heartless, cruel woman with absolutely no moral compass.

For what it is worth, Lori Drew’s home address and phone number can be found by Googling “Lori Drew MySpace.” Fifth hit from the top is the home address and phone number (which has probably been changed by now….) of Lori Drew in O’Fallon, Missouri.

Until next time, I’ll be looking for a horse’s head on my way to Missouri.

Crimson

*For the full story, click here:

http://beshameless.net/archives/2008/12/02/we-now-know-the-worth-of-a-13-year-old-girls-life-in-todays-world/trackback/

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I just found out that one of my favorite musicians is not only supporting Barack Obama, he is joining the campaign efforts. Chris, Chris, Chris…. Really?

I guess I get the “lesser of two evils” theory, but here’s the thing – He rides the fence on important issues, he doesn’t have near the experience of many of his …. er, competitors (?).

He signed the revised PATRIOT ACT because, to paraphrase, it wasn’t as good as it could be but as good as it was going to get. “Let me be clear: this compromise is not as good as the Senate version of the bill, nor is it as good as the SAFE Act that I have cosponsored. But, it’s still better than what the House originally proposed. This compromise does modestly improve the PATRIOT Act by strengthening civil liberties protections without sacrificing the tools that law enforcement needs to keep us safe.” Source Maybe I’m wrong but I think when voting on something as crucial as the PATRIOT act, one should be at least 90% satisfied and that doesn’t sound like someone who was even 50% satisfied.

“Obama says the death penalty ‘does little to deter crime” but he supports it for cases in which “the community is justified in expressing the full measure of its outrage.’” Source So, what you are saying here is that the death penalty doesn’t accomplish anything as far as lessening crime but it makes people feel better so let’s keep it around? Not that I am saying I’m against the death penalty. I’m not. I’m not for it either. I haven’t really made up my mind either way. But be damned skippy that I will have a better explanation for my decision when I make it.

Anyway, back to the point here. Americans are really good at doing what celebrities and Hollywood tells us we should do. So, my question is why don’t any celebrities jump on the band wagon to support third-party candidates? Granted they aren’t making tabloid covers or People’s 50 Most Beautiful People lists but if Chris Walla and Hill Harper (or any Liberal celebrity) would join forces with Cynthia McKinney instead of Obama, Americans would start to realize that the Green Party is A) not soley a British thing and B) not made up entirely of tree-huggers and pot smokers (I like to use McKinney as an example because she’s ….well a She and she’s African-American…the truth is there are 16 candidates for President on the ballot in the state of Colorado….other states may have more, others fewer but every state has at least 3).

I guess it just really frustrates me to see the Third-Party candidates, the ones with truly different ideas, the ones without corporate backing and influence, the ones without celebrity backing….have no celebrity backing. If just one of the Third-Party candidates – Green, Libertarian, Constitutionalist, etc. – could get Brangelina to join their campaign efforts, or even publicly support their efforts, it could completely change the face of politics in the U.S.

I am not naive enough to think it’s all the President. Congress and Senate makes all the decisions, based on suggestions made by the President. The President can only make a few unilateral decisions, like declaration of war, for one example. The rest of his “changes” (to quote Obama) have to be put before Congress and Senate for a vote, that’s how democracy works. If a Presidential candidate could really do all they say they are going to do in their campaign speeches, this would be a monarchy at the very least, a dictatorship at the most and voting for President would eventually (sooner rather than later) go by the wayside.

But I’m tired of ranting about this. While our ballot system is arranged so that no one has to worry about other people knowing who they are voting for, I will tell you, when November 4th comes around, I will proudly mark the box next to Cynthia McKinney’s name. And not because she is the Green Party candidate or because she’s not McCain or Obama but because I have seen her voting record and she’s voted about 90% the way I would have in her position (including drawing up impeachment papers against Bush).

Until next time, I’ll be bleeding Green.
Crimson

P.S. Earlier today I heard a McCain campaign commercial on the radio blathering about Obama opposing the “rights provided by the Second Amendment,” or something blah blah blah. I just saw an Obama commercial on the television with him speaking to a group of people about how important it is for Americans to be able to defend themselves….. more proof that campaign commercials are useless but, unfortunately, the only access many Americans have to their candidates.

http://beshameless.net/archives/2008/10/24/voting-in-todays-hollywood/trackback/

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The dollar sign goes to the left of the number; the cents sign goes to the right. They’re going to park their cars over there. You’re showing your age. If he isn’t coming, I ain’t going.

I think a lot about the little inaccuracies that are commonly acceptable in our society. A few days ago I saw a car with the windows painted a lovely shade of shaving cream to read “for SELL.” Exactly like that; I’m not capitalizing for emphasis. The seller of said car had for in all lowercase letters and sell underneath it, taking up the better majority of the window space, in all capitals. I wanted to stop the car, in the middle of a six lane highway, and hose off the window. Let them figure out why. Then do it again when I come back two days later and it, again, says for sell.

Still mad about the stupid car on the side of the road when I went to bed that night, I started thinking. It’s really not his (or her) fault that he’s an idiot. It’s the fault of our public school system.

Before you start lacing your hate mail with anthrax powder, let me explain. In Kindergarten, we learn to share, clean up our cookie crumbs, write the alphabet, and count to ten. This is the very last time we visit these subjects in our education. In third grade we learn cursive writing, multiplication, and how to memorize the spelling of two and three syllable words long enough to pass the weekly spelling test. This is the very last time we visit these subjects in our education. Even multiplication, which is used in basically every other facet of mathematics from this point on, is never really reinforced. We are expected to memorize 2×2=4 4×4=16 16×16=who the hell cares? Numbers that size call for a calculator.

In fifth grade we learn that the Constitution was signed at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 17, 1787, bleu cheese is a form of mold and, to quote, “Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.” Assuming, of course, that you attend a school that doesn’t think teaching pre-pubescent kids what makes a boy a boy and what makes a girl a girl will make them want to try a little hands-on experimentation. And, according to Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?, this is the very last time we visit these subjects in our education.

My point is that, while some things in our education are beaten into us (although I can think of none at the moment), most things are taught once and never again. It’s no wonder that a rocket scientist from MIT can go on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? and look like a complete doofus because they don’t remember automatically that there are 12 states whose names begin with vowels or that there are 4 I’s in Mississippi. Granted he doesn’t really need all 4 I’s in Mississippi to further the space exploration program but it amazes me that such simple things go by without anyone noticing that while they may be taught and may be taught well they are not remembered because they are displaced by other information.

We only use 10% of our brains’ capacity for learning. Imagine what kind of a race humans would be if we even used 20 or 25%.

Until next time, I’m off to fetch up on the latest versions of English syntax and World History…
Crimson

http://beshameless.net/archives/2008/09/28/when-you-sell-a-car-the-sign-should-read-for-sale/trackback/

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Autumn didn’t want to get into the political ranting. Autumn wanted to let it all go, avoid the trite “politicians are idiots” tirades, but Crimson wants to kick and scream.

While it will be pretty easy to tell by the end of all this, I will say now that I am a registered voter for the Green Party and if I thought it would do any good or could be achievable, I’d tell everyone I was an Anarchist. How cliche’, right? An Anarchist punk.

Anywhoooo

I saw on the “up next” blurb for tonight’s Fox news at 9 broadcast that Sarah Palin is now “officially the first woman, ever, on a Presidential ticket.” I wanted to throw the television. Senator John McCain announced last week (August 29, 2008) that he had selected Ms. Palin as his running mate and it became official tonight when she accepted the nomination at the RNC. Cynthia McKinney accepted the Green Party nomination in June. Pat(ricia) LaMarche ran alongside Green Party candidate David Cobb in 2004. In 1980, three, count ‘em THREE women were on the ballot – LaDonna Harris for the Citizens Party VP, Eileen Shearer for the American Independent VP, and Ellen McCormack for the Right to Life party for President.

What made me so angry, as a Green Party voter and as a citizen who has to search the web and read The Guardian to keep myself informed, is that because those women were all third party candidates, they get swept under the rug. But what is even more infuriating is that Former Vice President Walter Mondale ran against incumbent Ronald Regan in 1984 and Former Vice President Walter Mondale selected for his running mate Geraldine Ferraro. Mondale was the Democratic candidate and Fox news can’t even remember Ferraro’s name in their broadcast.

What started out as a rant about third party candidates being ignored and pushed aside, about the statement that “a vote for a third party candidate is a wasted vote,” has somehow developed into a women’s equality tirade. No matter how you look at it, though, Ms. Sarah Palin is getting entirely more press than she deserves. Probably because no one figured Mondale stood a chance at beating Regan….McCain has in his corner, at the very least, a sect of our society who wouldn’t vote for a “colored person” for all the pickled pig’s feet on Earth (yanno what, everyone else is playing the race card, I can too…..P.S. Cynthia McKinney is also African-American). McCain might actually have a chance in this race. So what Fox news at 9 should have said is “Sarah Palin is the first woman ever on a Presidential ticket who actually has a prayer of getting into office…..” Because you know that’s what they really meant.

Until next time, I’ll be packing. I’d rather take my chances with the IRA in Belfast.
Crimson

http://beshameless.net/archives/2008/09/04/if-you-wont-i-will/trackback/

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