Friday, November 23, 2007
I'd Like To Be Ripped Off Please
You know, the last time I checked, I thought that I lived in America. I thought that this was the best Nation on Planet Earth. Not that it isn't, I just seem to have found out that everywhere you go, people are only after one thing, and that's your money.
I ordered a box of checks, some deposit slips, and a new check book cover since mine was on the verge of breaking in half. I did this online through Bank of America. The total was like $54 dollars total. Cool right? The thing is that this order posted to my account in 3 separate transactions. What's wrong with that you might ask? Here it is.
I have been with Bank of America long enough to know how they are beginning to do their dirty work. They used to be a good bank, but over the years they have turned against their own customers and began to rip them off. So what really is wrong with the 3 transaction thing? Here's why they do it. For fee's. That's how a bank gets a good chunk of money that they bring in. And it's not from non Bank of America customers either. It's from their own customers. That's right. You see when I ordered the checks, deposit slips, and checkbook cover, the total for all was $54 dollars. My account has 3 transactions. One for the checks, one for the deposit slips, and one for the check book cover. Now, lets say that I was just plain broke. What were to happen if just one of those transactions were to put me over the limit? I would get a fee for going over my limit. Now, what would happen if I was to go over and then do two more transactions. Both additional transactions would get me a fee each. However, in this case, if I was over and this caused me to go over, I shouldn't be charged three fee's because it was one transaction, they just decided to put it on my account as three fee's.
Now, I can see some poor person or some high school student getting into trouble in this manner. I personally pay all of my bills by electronic checks. That is one of the coolest things that is out there. When I first started it, what would happen is that when ever I would send out an electronic check, it would be deducted out of my checking account right then and there. The very second that I pushed "send", it would be out of my account. Then Bank of America changed their policy. They changed it to where they would send out the check, but they wouldn't take it out of your account until the person you sent it to accepted it. If you had a company that didn't accept electronic checks but you still had Bank of America mail a check to them for you, that check had to be cashed just like a regular check. It used to no be that way as I said before. When this all started I was very confused. I could see someone getting themselves into serious trouble when this all started by not letting them know and then they think that the money was already taken out of their bank and then they see that they have a lot more money than they really do.
I have a friend that over drafted her checking account. She did it on purpose. Why? Well her dog was hit by a car. She had to take the dog to the vet and the cost was more than she had in the bank. She knew this so she wrote a check knowing that it would bounce. She thought that her bank would give her one fee. Instead her bank charged her a $35 dollar fee for everyday that she was over.
Ok, so lets look at that. One fee for everyday that she is over. If a bank charges you one fee for every day that you are over then all they are doing is helping you stay over drafted. Most jobs pay on a monthly or bi-weekly basis. Hardly do places pay weekly anymore. So depending on when this happened, it depends on when she will be able to bring her account back into the green. If she is charged a fee everyday that she is over, she may never get her account in good standing. Most people do not overdraft their account on purpose. In this case yes, but normally no. What is her bank? Washington Mutual or Wamu as some people call it.
Banks can change their policy anytime that they want to. They never have to tell you either and they don't, believe me. Why can they do this? Easy. You gave them permission to. Don't believe me? If you still have your contract with the bank when you signed up, look through it and you'll find a part in there that states very clearly that they can change their policy at anytime with or without your knowledge. If you do not have a copy of this then go to your local bank and ask for a copy. I'm sure that they would be more than happy to point that out to you. If you never agreed to that, trust me when I say that you would not be a member of their bank.
Now this goes far beyond banks. You seem to get ripped off everywhere you go. If you go to a medical facility for one reason or another, if you don't have medical insurance then your pretty much screwed. The cost of medical or dental is outright outrageous. There is no reason that it should cost as much as it does.
Pro sports is another one. Want to go see your favorite team play? Chances are your going to fork out some money if you want to see them, unless you want to see them from the furthest point in the whole arena. Even then it might cost you $30 or $40 bucks.
Movies. How much does it cost to go to a movie? $10? What if you want popcorn or a coke? $5 for a bag of small popcorn and $4 for a small 20 oz. drink! Are you kidding me?
But I can tell you why this happens. Because we as Americans allow this to happen. We just go with the flow and pretend that everything seems that of the norm. Used to if people didn't like the price of things they wouldn't but them. Over time when no one would buy them, the prices would go down. Now prices keep going up because we as a society keep paying them instead of putting our foot down. If we did, then this country would not be like it is now.
Here's something to think about. Do you think that our forefathers intended this country to be the way that it is now when the Declaration of Independence was written? I seriously doubt that. Justice for all as it says in our pledge. But where is the justice? How come some people can afford to go to the doctor and some cannot?
If everybody would just put their foot down and take a stand then this country would be a great Nation again.
I ordered a box of checks, some deposit slips, and a new check book cover since mine was on the verge of breaking in half. I did this online through Bank of America. The total was like $54 dollars total. Cool right? The thing is that this order posted to my account in 3 separate transactions. What's wrong with that you might ask? Here it is.
I have been with Bank of America long enough to know how they are beginning to do their dirty work. They used to be a good bank, but over the years they have turned against their own customers and began to rip them off. So what really is wrong with the 3 transaction thing? Here's why they do it. For fee's. That's how a bank gets a good chunk of money that they bring in. And it's not from non Bank of America customers either. It's from their own customers. That's right. You see when I ordered the checks, deposit slips, and checkbook cover, the total for all was $54 dollars. My account has 3 transactions. One for the checks, one for the deposit slips, and one for the check book cover. Now, lets say that I was just plain broke. What were to happen if just one of those transactions were to put me over the limit? I would get a fee for going over my limit. Now, what would happen if I was to go over and then do two more transactions. Both additional transactions would get me a fee each. However, in this case, if I was over and this caused me to go over, I shouldn't be charged three fee's because it was one transaction, they just decided to put it on my account as three fee's.
Now, I can see some poor person or some high school student getting into trouble in this manner. I personally pay all of my bills by electronic checks. That is one of the coolest things that is out there. When I first started it, what would happen is that when ever I would send out an electronic check, it would be deducted out of my checking account right then and there. The very second that I pushed "send", it would be out of my account. Then Bank of America changed their policy. They changed it to where they would send out the check, but they wouldn't take it out of your account until the person you sent it to accepted it. If you had a company that didn't accept electronic checks but you still had Bank of America mail a check to them for you, that check had to be cashed just like a regular check. It used to no be that way as I said before. When this all started I was very confused. I could see someone getting themselves into serious trouble when this all started by not letting them know and then they think that the money was already taken out of their bank and then they see that they have a lot more money than they really do.
I have a friend that over drafted her checking account. She did it on purpose. Why? Well her dog was hit by a car. She had to take the dog to the vet and the cost was more than she had in the bank. She knew this so she wrote a check knowing that it would bounce. She thought that her bank would give her one fee. Instead her bank charged her a $35 dollar fee for everyday that she was over.
Ok, so lets look at that. One fee for everyday that she is over. If a bank charges you one fee for every day that you are over then all they are doing is helping you stay over drafted. Most jobs pay on a monthly or bi-weekly basis. Hardly do places pay weekly anymore. So depending on when this happened, it depends on when she will be able to bring her account back into the green. If she is charged a fee everyday that she is over, she may never get her account in good standing. Most people do not overdraft their account on purpose. In this case yes, but normally no. What is her bank? Washington Mutual or Wamu as some people call it.
Banks can change their policy anytime that they want to. They never have to tell you either and they don't, believe me. Why can they do this? Easy. You gave them permission to. Don't believe me? If you still have your contract with the bank when you signed up, look through it and you'll find a part in there that states very clearly that they can change their policy at anytime with or without your knowledge. If you do not have a copy of this then go to your local bank and ask for a copy. I'm sure that they would be more than happy to point that out to you. If you never agreed to that, trust me when I say that you would not be a member of their bank.
Now this goes far beyond banks. You seem to get ripped off everywhere you go. If you go to a medical facility for one reason or another, if you don't have medical insurance then your pretty much screwed. The cost of medical or dental is outright outrageous. There is no reason that it should cost as much as it does.
Pro sports is another one. Want to go see your favorite team play? Chances are your going to fork out some money if you want to see them, unless you want to see them from the furthest point in the whole arena. Even then it might cost you $30 or $40 bucks.
Movies. How much does it cost to go to a movie? $10? What if you want popcorn or a coke? $5 for a bag of small popcorn and $4 for a small 20 oz. drink! Are you kidding me?
But I can tell you why this happens. Because we as Americans allow this to happen. We just go with the flow and pretend that everything seems that of the norm. Used to if people didn't like the price of things they wouldn't but them. Over time when no one would buy them, the prices would go down. Now prices keep going up because we as a society keep paying them instead of putting our foot down. If we did, then this country would not be like it is now.
Here's something to think about. Do you think that our forefathers intended this country to be the way that it is now when the Declaration of Independence was written? I seriously doubt that. Justice for all as it says in our pledge. But where is the justice? How come some people can afford to go to the doctor and some cannot?
If everybody would just put their foot down and take a stand then this country would be a great Nation again.
Last Doesn't Really Mean Worst
I guess that each of us learn something everyday. Something that we didn't know before.
For me, it's about Gilbert Arenas. If you don't happen to know who that is, Gilbert is rated as one of the top players in the NBA. He plays for the Washington Wizards and during the '06-'07 season, ranked 4th overall in leading scorers in the NBA. He has made the NBA All Star team multiple times. That's pretty impressive right?
The thing is, that if you just saw Gilbert and the way that he plays, some people would assume that he was drafted. Well, your right. He was drafted. However, the way that I have seen it in the past, if your not in the first 10 or 12 to get drafted, your really not anybody...or at least they don't expect you to be. For some reason, that's just the way that it has seemed to work. For Gilbert Arenas, that's what some people thought of him. Gilbert wasn't even drafted in the first round. That's right. Gilbert was drafted 1st in the second round of the NBA Draft. That means that he was the 31st pick of the NBA Draft. Not really what most people pay attention to. Over the years he has picked up his game and proven that he is one of the best players in the NBA. His stats show it and everybody loves him.
That reminds me of one other player in the NBA who was drafted way down the line and is now considered one of the best in the league.
Josh Howard of the Dallas Mavericks was almost like Gilbert. Lucky for Josh, he was drafted in the first round. Think that's good? Not really. Howard and Arenas were drafted 1 spot from each other. Howard was drafted the last pick in the first round of the NBA Draft. Once again, probably someone who wasn't really looked at that closely. However, Howard has proven that he is one of the best players in the NBA. Improving in every area of the NBA every season, last season Howard became an NBA All Star as well.
I guess that this just proves that the draft really doesn't matter as long as you can prove that you are worth it. Now if I could only figure out how many players that were drafted in the top 10 or 12 and who never made an impact in the NBA. Now that would be cool.
For me, it's about Gilbert Arenas. If you don't happen to know who that is, Gilbert is rated as one of the top players in the NBA. He plays for the Washington Wizards and during the '06-'07 season, ranked 4th overall in leading scorers in the NBA. He has made the NBA All Star team multiple times. That's pretty impressive right?
The thing is, that if you just saw Gilbert and the way that he plays, some people would assume that he was drafted. Well, your right. He was drafted. However, the way that I have seen it in the past, if your not in the first 10 or 12 to get drafted, your really not anybody...or at least they don't expect you to be. For some reason, that's just the way that it has seemed to work. For Gilbert Arenas, that's what some people thought of him. Gilbert wasn't even drafted in the first round. That's right. Gilbert was drafted 1st in the second round of the NBA Draft. That means that he was the 31st pick of the NBA Draft. Not really what most people pay attention to. Over the years he has picked up his game and proven that he is one of the best players in the NBA. His stats show it and everybody loves him.
That reminds me of one other player in the NBA who was drafted way down the line and is now considered one of the best in the league.
Josh Howard of the Dallas Mavericks was almost like Gilbert. Lucky for Josh, he was drafted in the first round. Think that's good? Not really. Howard and Arenas were drafted 1 spot from each other. Howard was drafted the last pick in the first round of the NBA Draft. Once again, probably someone who wasn't really looked at that closely. However, Howard has proven that he is one of the best players in the NBA. Improving in every area of the NBA every season, last season Howard became an NBA All Star as well.
I guess that this just proves that the draft really doesn't matter as long as you can prove that you are worth it. Now if I could only figure out how many players that were drafted in the top 10 or 12 and who never made an impact in the NBA. Now that would be cool.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Angels and Airwaves
Ok, so if you have never heard of the band called Angels and Airwaves then you are missing out. The band was started by Tom Delonge of Blink 182. Unlike Blink 182, Angels and Airwaves have a very unique type of music. In a way they sound like U2. With all due respect to U2, who I love and have for years, Angels and Airwaves seem to have taken the U2 style of music and kicked it up a notch. There style of music is unlike any other band out there. You can go to their website and listen to a clip of music from their upcoming album I-Empire due out in October 2007. To go to their website click here. Listen and find out for yourself. You'll love it! Especially if you like bands like U2!
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Erik Botta
So I'm reading this article about Army Sgt. Erik Botta. He's a reservist. He recently received orders that would place him in Iraq for the 4th time. So he's protesting that he has already served his time over there so he doesn't want to go back.
When I first read this article I was beginning to believe that he has a valid point in staying here in the U.S. After all, most tours of Iraq have been a year or longer. So why should he have to go back? He's probably served more time over there than a lot of people have in their first enlistment. At least that's what I was thinking first of all. As I continued to read the article, I realized that he hadn't even served 5 months in Iraq in 3 trips over there. Mr. Botta served a 3 month tour, a 1 month tour, and a 15 day tour and that's it. These 3 tours of duty also spanned over a period of 2 years. If that's what you call serving your time then I just don't understand your way of thinking!
Mr. Botta, there are hundreds upon hundreds of Marine, Navy, Army and Air Force personnel that have served 3 or more tours of duty in Iraq in which each tour of duty was 16 months or more. Now, why don't you go up to them and tell them that you shouldn't have to go back because you have done your time and served your country. I would be interested in hearing what they have to say to you!
Now don't get me wrong, 5 months in Iraq is fine. Mr. Botta has served his country. But to protest in the way that he is protesting is outright stupid. You can't serve 3 tours in Iraq that only totals less than 5 months over a 2 year period and then protest about going back saying that you have already served your time. If I was the judge residing over this case then I would throw it out! It wouldn't be worth my time. I would send you packing for Iraq. Plain and simple.
When I first read this article I was beginning to believe that he has a valid point in staying here in the U.S. After all, most tours of Iraq have been a year or longer. So why should he have to go back? He's probably served more time over there than a lot of people have in their first enlistment. At least that's what I was thinking first of all. As I continued to read the article, I realized that he hadn't even served 5 months in Iraq in 3 trips over there. Mr. Botta served a 3 month tour, a 1 month tour, and a 15 day tour and that's it. These 3 tours of duty also spanned over a period of 2 years. If that's what you call serving your time then I just don't understand your way of thinking!
Mr. Botta, there are hundreds upon hundreds of Marine, Navy, Army and Air Force personnel that have served 3 or more tours of duty in Iraq in which each tour of duty was 16 months or more. Now, why don't you go up to them and tell them that you shouldn't have to go back because you have done your time and served your country. I would be interested in hearing what they have to say to you!
Now don't get me wrong, 5 months in Iraq is fine. Mr. Botta has served his country. But to protest in the way that he is protesting is outright stupid. You can't serve 3 tours in Iraq that only totals less than 5 months over a 2 year period and then protest about going back saying that you have already served your time. If I was the judge residing over this case then I would throw it out! It wouldn't be worth my time. I would send you packing for Iraq. Plain and simple.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Have More Control
There are a ton of people that I know that have a myspace account. It's been around for years. I was debating for a while wether or not to get an account. So finally the other day I decided that I would start up my own account. I went through all the motions of getting a new account and finally was done.
As I looked for people that I knew, I realized that myspace is actually not that bad. I have been able to talk to people that I haven't seen in 10 or more yeaars. It's actually been kinda cool.
The only thing is that everytime I get new messages, they are not from my friends. They are from girls that want me to go look at their naked pictures on some other website. The first time that it happened I just thought that they were people that I went to school with. People that I just didn't remember. Then I clicked on their message and I got something totally different. I get 10 times more mail for girls that want me to look at their naked pictures than I do any of my friends.
Myspace should have better control of things like that. I could set my profile to private and take care of the junk e-mails that I get, but then the people that you want to talk to, can't see you. It's Kinda a lose-lose situation. Not that I don't enjoy the people that I have been able to talk to now, I just don't like to junk e-mails. Myspace should have better control.
As I looked for people that I knew, I realized that myspace is actually not that bad. I have been able to talk to people that I haven't seen in 10 or more yeaars. It's actually been kinda cool.
The only thing is that everytime I get new messages, they are not from my friends. They are from girls that want me to go look at their naked pictures on some other website. The first time that it happened I just thought that they were people that I went to school with. People that I just didn't remember. Then I clicked on their message and I got something totally different. I get 10 times more mail for girls that want me to look at their naked pictures than I do any of my friends.
Myspace should have better control of things like that. I could set my profile to private and take care of the junk e-mails that I get, but then the people that you want to talk to, can't see you. It's Kinda a lose-lose situation. Not that I don't enjoy the people that I have been able to talk to now, I just don't like to junk e-mails. Myspace should have better control.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Nothing to Say
I just don't have anything to say. It's just one of those days I guess. Haven't done much today. I did seem to get myself up and mow the yard today. Finally. It only took the grass to reach a record 2 feet tall before I realized that I should mow the yard. Seemed like it took forever. I had to go over it multiple times before it was to my liking. That was a real joy.
Seem to have new neighbors. Someone is in the house next door and I don't know who it is. We'll soon see I guess.
I watched the Cleveland Cavilers beat the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals today. What crap that was to see Detroit go down so easily. Like they just gave up or something. Kind of like the Dallas Mavericks played when they were playing the Golden State Warriors. Horrible and in shock. Just can't believe that Detroit lost. Now Cleveland will play San Antonio in the NBA Finals. The only hope that I have for Cleveland is that San Antonio never won against Cleveland this season. That's the only hope that I have for them. Hope Cleveland wins the NBA Finals though. Can't stand San Antonio. Nothing but a bunch of cheats and whiners. Always seems like the refs make calls toward their favor. I hate that team.
Seem to have new neighbors. Someone is in the house next door and I don't know who it is. We'll soon see I guess.
I watched the Cleveland Cavilers beat the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals today. What crap that was to see Detroit go down so easily. Like they just gave up or something. Kind of like the Dallas Mavericks played when they were playing the Golden State Warriors. Horrible and in shock. Just can't believe that Detroit lost. Now Cleveland will play San Antonio in the NBA Finals. The only hope that I have for Cleveland is that San Antonio never won against Cleveland this season. That's the only hope that I have for them. Hope Cleveland wins the NBA Finals though. Can't stand San Antonio. Nothing but a bunch of cheats and whiners. Always seems like the refs make calls toward their favor. I hate that team.
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