Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

          I really like to complain and hate on faceless corporations. There are a few, that no matter how I want to hate them, they try to do the right thing.
        Flying the friendly skies used to be fun. you got a free adult beverage, you were treated courteously, if a plane was late for any reason, the airlines bent over backwards to try to make you happy. Now days with all the security, it's more like your cattle being lead to slaughter and you have no room in your seat, even when I flew first class from ATL - GSP the seat was very uncomfortable. Two of my last three flights with Delta have been nightmares. Both were for funerals. #1~ Airlines don't do bereavement flights anymore. $800 round trip from DEN - GSP for the last trip. A couple of year ago, my flight out of Denver was late. I was told I would miss my connecting flight out of Atlanta but that they would have a hotel room.  In Atlanta there were no hotel rooms. They were passing out $50 vouchers for future flights. I was so pissed that I told the lady "a lot of good it was doing me right then and after this who says I'll ever fly with Delta again." Delta does have the cheapest airfares.....the next flight went according to plan. Then this last year. My first flight out of GSP was late and the stewards were nasty rude, yelling at people. I missed my connecting flight out of Detroit. I was stuck in Detroit for 5 hours. Delta gave me a $6 voucher. $6 wont buy you hardly anything in an airport. It was the weather, I know it wasn't really Deltas fault. The thing is; I think part of what is wrong with our society is that no one wants to take responsibility for anything that goes wrong. There is NO where that "The Buck Stops."    Airlines used to take responsibility no matter the fault.  Because of my frustration with all the fun being taken out of flying and my two very bad flights with Delta, I love to make Delta my whipping boy. I keep saying that I'm never going to fly with Delta again. There again they usually have the lowest priced flights. I plan to fly with them one more time, we will see how it goes.
      Over the years, I've flown a good bit. When I first asked about my sky miles account, when you still bought your ticket at a counter and not on-line the ticket people told me the miles would be added automatically. I have a card and the other day I got curious and went on-line to check my account. I don't know, maybe you had to register and I never did, maybe I have another account. I'm a dumb-ass when it comes to this kind of stuff...... all right! I registered the card I had and the only miles on there were for my up coming trip. You can enter flights from 9 months before. When I tried to add the trip from July, the site wouldn't let me. So, of course they had a place to file a question, I was really only going to inquire about the sky miles, I didn't mean to complain..... uh, then they used the words... or complaint.  I started about the miles and then quickly went into my diatribe on my frustrations with the previous flights. They were very apologetic After digging up some information for them, they gave me 5000 miles and someone else is supposed to contact me about my flight in July.  That is a nice gesture. It probably covers most of my miles I've flown, but you see, it takes 10,000 miles to get a discounted ticket and as little as I fly, that will take forever.  Maybe its greedy of me, but I want something tangible, something that makes me feel good right now about what happened during a terrible situation. If they want me to think of them in the way I think of North Face, it would be nice if I got some upgrades or free stuff on my upcoming flights.
   At least they were apologetic, timely in their response and made an effort to correct something that wasn't really all their fault. Very unlike Toshiba and Best Buy who take no responsibility for the products they make or sale.

     

Best Buy and Toshiba Boycott

     I bet Best buy and Toshiba was thinking they were never going to hear from me again! ha,ha!!!!!
    As a last gasp effort to get this settled in my favor. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. After filing a complaint with the Consumer Agency and not getting a response I don't expect much but maybe it will send a message and my complaint is now posted on the Better Business Bureau  web site for the whole world to see.

Reincarnated

             I watched the documentary "Reincarnated" last night. Its about Snoop Dog going to Jamaica to do a Reggae CD and his conversion from a Gangland Rapper to all about peace,love, struggle, Reggae singer.
          Its a very entertaining video. Its filled with Snoop going on about his history of gang violence and how he wants to change all that and be a man of love and peace. UHHHH,  there is a LOT of weed smoking in this video.
      Now I don't want to say that Snoop Dog isn't sincere in his desires, but he is a hustler and when he shows up to a funeral in a Rolls Royce and patent leather shoes or what ever those ridicules things were, I just think he has a ways to go. He hangs out with Rastafarians in Jamaica, some of the poorest people in possessions there are. When I was in Jamaica, years ago, there were people living in tents. Its a very poor country. He hangs out like he is one of them. If they saw his Rolls and some of his suits, I'm just not sure they would feel the same way.
   All I'm saying is maybe if Snoop dog is sincere, then maybe he should help out the community more instead of making a video to support his new CD, which is really what this is, in my opinion. If he wants to be a man of peace, then just maybe he needs to go hang out and talk to people like Michael Franti who is building play grounds in war torn countries, Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews, Widespread Panic and Further who give tons back to the communities. It seems like Govt Mule is always doing a benefit of some sort. Widespread Panic holds food drives at their shows all over the country. Further is involved in the Further Foundation and the Rex Foundation was started to support the arts. Snoop Dog could join 1 % for the planet, Jack Johnson does and then gives out info at his shows.

A Loss Of Style

                    I've been looking at old pictures this morning on the net. Pictures that have been colorized, some pretty amazing affects for sure. There is just one more thing I noticed in this picture, a sense of style. In our corporate attempt to homogenize everything, to make everything politically correct and the same from "sea to  shinning sea" I think we have lost our sense of style. Sure there are fashion crazies and everybody jumps on the band wagon of the newest latest craze, Doesn't matter if its wearing lingerie where people can see it or wearing your pants so low, all gangsta to where half your underwear is sticking out or big beards. People jump on it. What I'm talking about is not how much you spend but how you wear it. An attitude of looking good and being your own person.
            You can really see this in buildings and cars. You look at some of the mills and factories from the 30's that were built when brick laying was a craft and there were no minimum wage laws. No, you went and worked as an apprentice and you learned and earned a trade, a craft and that became in many places, works of art, really, if you look at them. They have style! They are not pre-poured, pre-molded put together like legos. I've seen many beautiful buildings torn down to make way for a parking lot of mall. Our cars are the worst, yea they can drive themselves almost and have every safety feature going, video for the kids, heated seats, but no style what so ever. look at this 1956 Cadillac compared to a 2013. Sure the 2013 is all aerodynamic and all but look at the lines and frill of the 1956. the 56 is a thing of beauty and STYLE!!!! Ha,ha!!!!
          Don't follow the corporatized crowd! Put your own personal spin on the way you dress and the way you lead your life. Express yourself! Ha,ha!!!

     

Settle The Argument This Way

              There are a lot of good arguments on both sides of the Marijuana legalization issue. It now seems to be legal or nearly legal in two states and it seems more states are legalizing it for its medical benefits all the time. I think we need to look at it in a totally rational and scientific way.
             I think this is the question a scientist would ask; Is Marijuana unhealthy and a menace to society?
       We know with out a doubt that too much nicotine and alcohol will kill you. But what about Marijuana?
          Here is what I think a doctor or scientist should do;
  Marijuana has been illegal for over 70 years. I know for a fact there are people out there that have smoked marijuana regularly for at least 30 years or more. We should find 100 of them and compare them with 100 people who have never smoked pot, same age group, same income level. How they treat their families, jobs, mental health, physical health every aspect of their lives should be compared.
    I think this would give us some great statistics to compare and see how dangerous marijuana really is.
                                                                                   

Dark Days Ahead

    The National Parks are closed because of a Government shut down.

            Today, I thought; the roads may be shut down to traffic but what would stop the average person from riding his bike into the park. I drove the hour to the entrance, actually just before the entrance. I thought that if there wasn't a car at the guard house I would ride on in. Turns out there was a car and multiple gates.

Talking to one couple they saw mounted rangers at an entrance that is a popular hike but not well marked as National Park. I was told by someone else that some of the same people getting paid to keep  us out were the same people that let us in.
  WAIT a minute!!!!!
      Here we are paying out tax dollars to keep us out of a place that we protect with our tax dollars for our enjoyment. A PARK FOR THE PEOPLE! Its our money and our park, but our government says we can't enter!!!!!!  
Excuse me!!!!!
   Can any body not think about this and NOT go stark raving mad!
        Over the years I've listened to and entertained many, many crazy crack pots and conspiracy theories. Each, for the most part I held a little tongue in cheek. Now at the risk of sounding like one of these crack pots, you can not tell me something is going on that is not being told. Its not the democrats, its not the republicans, its not the president or congress. But I guarantee you, I can feel it to the marrow of my bones. some one or more likely a group of some ones are changing the way America works, some where some one or a group of some ones are making another dirty billion dollars because of all this mess. They use smoke and mirrors by making huge spectacles of  "Dancing With The Stars", "The Voice"," The Next American Idol" and Sporting Events that spend more money than some third world countries NGP on one game.
       DOES ANYONE SMELL ROME BURNING ???  
  Its time to do what ever can be done to fight this force that is chipping away at our personal freedoms, this force that is trying to make us into one huge automaton homogenized nation. It has always been Americas diversity and individuals coming together that has made this a great nation. Our forefathers in 1776 would not stand for this. If you consider your self a patriot, if you believe in the constitution as our forefathers wrote it. Then it is time to get active; write letters to your local politicians about things that upset you in your community. Don't vote a straight party ticket. Until things improve vote out the incumbent no matter what party they fall under. Ideally vote Libertarian. 
   Get active in your community or get prepared for the worst.
   

Our Two Party System

  Lewis Black is a very intelligent and a VERY funny man. He says it best; "Our two party system is a bowl of shit looking in the mirror at itself."
   It is time for a real change. It is time the people of this country took back the country from the faceless corporations, lawyers and professional politicians. I urge everyone to look into the Libertarian Party and vote Libertarian!