A Judge, a Muslim, and an Atheist

    

Mechanicsburg PA

    Here's what we have- A guy named Ernest who dressed as the prophet mohammed on Halloween, a zombie mohammed to be specific with a sign around his neck that read 'Mohammed of Islam' . Along with him you have other characters like the pope. It's a parody of religion being performed by an Atheist group  in PA. Some of you uptight people out there can save your criticism of the costumes. It's Halloween and if you are gonna get upset about the types of costumes people are wearing there are far worse than these, go complain about them somewhere.If you watch the video below you can see there was an altercation. As the video states a report was taken and as a result charges were filed. 

   The case came to trial. There are a couple of questionable tactics used by the defense but what would you expect, the guy is trying to get out of going to jail. There really is no question that there was an altercation. the man who had approached Ernest told an officer the evening he had put his hands on Ernest. At trial the officer testified to that fact and Ernest told the same version of events the defendant however testified at trial he did not put his hands on anyone. When the defendant was asked whether he was lying then or telling the truth at trial he responded that he was telling  the truth at trial and the  testimony of the officer and Ernest were falsehoods. The defendant is an immigrant and had come to the parade with his family. When he saw the costume it shocked him because he had never seen mohammed represented in such a way. 

     The defendant also testifies that his 9 year old son was looking at him and he felt he needed to do something in order to show his son he would fight for his prophet. The defendant also says "he is not allowed to do that" referring to Earnest wearing the Mohammed costume. He said he approached Earnest and told him to "stop it, you can't do that" and then called police because he thought making fun of Mohammed was a crime. Earnest had no way of knowing what the attackers intent was when he was approached. It would not be unreasonable to assume the man was intent on harming Ernest.at the time. 

   It seems after the testimony the man was simply trying to stop Ernest from making fun of Mohammed, he was trying to defend his god much like a Christian would try to rip away a sign that had a picture of jesus dressed as a nazi. It is also clear the attacker was ignorant of the law in this country. Ignorance of the law is no excuse but you can see how the guy would act out the way he did, he thought a crime was being committed. The Judge Mark Martin, who also happens to be a Muslim (a fact which was unknown until Judge Martin states it in his decision) finds for the defendant.

  Here is the judges ruling-

         Having had the benefit of having spent over 2 and a half years in predominantly Muslim countries I think I know a little bit about the faith of Islam. In fact I have a copy of the Koran here and I challenge you sir to show me where it says in the Koran that Mohammad arose and walked among the dead. I think you misinterpreted things. Before you start mocking someone else's religion you may want to find out a little bit more about it it makes you look like a dufus and Mr ---- is correct. In many Arabic speaking countries something like this is definitely against the law there. In their society in fact it can be punishable by death and it frequently is in their society. 
   Here in our society we have the constitution that gives us many rights specifically first amendment rights. It's unfortunate that some people use the first amendment to deliberately provoke others. I don't think that's what the forefathers really intended I think our forefathers intended that we use the first amendment so that we speak with our mind not to piss off other people and other cultures which is what you did. I don't think you are aware sir there's a big difference between how Americans practice Christianity. I understand you are an Atheist, but see, Islam is not just a religion, it's their culture, their culture. It's their very essence their very being. They pray five times a day towards Mecca to be a good Muslim, before you die you have to make a pilgrimage to Mecca unless you are otherwise told you can not because you are too ill too elderly, whatever but you must make the attempt. Their greetings wa-laikum as-Salâm (is answered by voice) may god be with you.Whenever, it's very common when speaking to each other it's very common for them to say uh this will happen it's it they are so immersed in it. 
     Then what you have done is you have completely trashed their essence, their being. They find it very very very offensive. I'm a Muslim, I find it offensive. But you have that right, but you're way outside your boundaries or first amendment rights. This is what, and I said I spent about 7 and a half years living in other countries. when we go to other countries it's not uncommon for people to refer to us as ugly Americans this is why we are referred to as ugly Americans, because we are so concerned about our own rights we don't care about other people's rights as long as we get our say but we don't care about the other people's say....     
      All that aside I've got here basically.. I don't want to say he said she said but I've got two sides of the story that are...in conflict with each other. I understand and I've been in the Halloween parade I understand how noise can be how difficult it can be to get a pulpit I can't believe that if there was this kind of conflict goin on in the middle of the street that somebody didn't step forward sooner to try and intervene or that the police officer on the bicycle didn't stop and say "Hey let's break this up" Put your hand down sir you are not a witness (it was in fact a witness) (long pause) The preponderance of, excuse me, the burden of proof. It must be proven that the defendant did with the intent to harass annoy or alarm another person whether there's conflict or not and yes he shouldn't be putting his hands on you. I don't know, I have your story that he did and I have his story that he did not but another part of the element is as Mr __ said was was the defendants intent to harass annoy or alarm or was his intent to try and have the offensive situation negated? If his intent was to harass annoy or alarm I think there would have been a little bit more of an altercation and something more substantial as far as testimony goin on if there was a conflict. Because there is not he has not proven to me beyond a reasonable doubt that this defendant is guilty of harassment therefore I am going to dismiss the charge



     Now this is where the case troubles me. The defendant is teaching his children it is okay to confront a person who is mocking their prophet in some way, the defendant feels it is his duty as a Muslim. The judge only mentions in passing that the defendant should not put his hands on anyone and that isn't even directed to the defendant. It seems it would be a bit more responsible of the judge to at least inform the defendant that he needs to become familiar with this country's laws and it is not acceptable to put your hands on another person in such a manner in order to prevent any other such incidents in the future.The judge does nothing, not a word about that, instead his decision is more like a sermon on the Muslim faith.
   I don't know why Judge Martin felt he needed to preach about Islam and inform everyone how much time he has spent in other countries, it's almost as if he felt a need to impress someone as to how strongly he embraces Islam even pointing out that he keeps a copy of the Koran at the bench.
    Judge Mark Martin goes on droning about Islam and how no one is allowed to poke fun at Mohammed because it offends a Muslim's "very being". I guess Judge Martin thinks any speech that offends people should not be protected. He says the first amendment does not allow anyone " to piss off other people and other cultures" When you hold a sign that says abortion should be legal you are offending Catholics I guess that isn't allowed either.And Islam gets a special pass because it is part of a culture? I have news for the judge, just about every religion is considered by the people who practice it as part of their culture. He also indicates he believes that Muslims are more devout in their beliefs than Christians when he says " there's a big difference between how Americans practice Christianity" and  how Islam is practiced.
  I wonder how this would go over with some of the Christians who have Judge Martin presiding over their case.
  Judge Mark Martin also feels the need to inform everyone that he too is insulted by Ernest's portrayal of Mohammed and the sign he carries. I don't know why a judge would feel the need to do such a thing. Did he feel it had some importance to the case? The only effect I could see it having is to indicate that Judge Martin is biased. He should have allowed another judge to take the case and is too stupid to keep his mouth shut.
  I would think that as soon as the judge knew it was a case involving a religious issue on Islam he would excuse himself from it just to make sure it was a fair trial. Not only did he not do that but he went out of his way to do just the opposite. All judge Martin needed to do was keep his big mouth shut and rule based on the law and a little common sense.
  Judge Martin even has the nerve to say that people like Ernest are the reason other countries refer to us as "ugly Americans" That's right, we are called ugly because we don't consider the rights of other people when exercising our own rights. People in other countries are pissed off about this fact and they are calling us names over it. The reason people in other countries call us ugly is not because we value our rights more than we value those of others. There are various reasons for this such as our tendency to become familiar with people too quickly and being too straightforward. Again more commentary that was needless and also incorrect. I can only assume that Judge Martin was blaming Ernest for making us all look ugly because of his bias.
  The judge then goes on to say he can't be sure who is telling the truth. An officer testified that the defendant said he had contact with Ernest the night of the conflict. When is the last time any of you heard a judge go against the testimony of an officer who was at the scene? I'll bet it is not very often if ever. Yet here judge Martin basically says the officer didn't give an accurate account or doesn't give it any weight.

   There is not any indication the judge even looked at the video footage. I can't believe that he watched it and still worded the decision as he did, saying it was "his word against your word" It's not a real complicated case. What possible reason could there be for the judge not to at least watch the video footage? The defense did go to Ernest's YouTube account to try and show he was biased against the defendant. Even pointing out comments that had been made on the video of the attack.
   At one point the judge tells someone to put his hand down because he "is not a witness". The person is Carl from the video. Carl was obviously standing right there. Of course the judge wouldn't know this if he didn't watch the video, but why wouldn't he at least consider any testimony and then decide if it was relevant?
   Once again considering the judge is a Muslim, there could be a question of his neutrality. There is definitely a question as to his intelligence when considering how to present his ruling.
  Do I think the defendant should be put in jail? No. But I do think he should have been instructed to learn about the laws in this country because that is the way it works for everyone else. Try claiming ignorance of the law in court sometime. About the only time this will work is in Mark Martin's courtroom if you are Muslim Do I think this case was fair? No. I don't think Ernest deserved to be made the the bad guy for expressing his freedom by wearing a zombie costume of Mohammed on Halloween. Like I said there are far more tasteless costumes worn on that  holiday that could be considered offensive. I don't think anyone should be putting any laws into place dictating what you can wear on Halloween. I think Ernest was subject to a meaningless lecture about Judge Martin's travels, his religion, and what he sees when he imagines he is Benjamin Franklin. I doubt Judge Martin's rambling had any effect on Ernest's opinion of Islam accept to prove it also causes people to be biased in some cases.  I think this case is a perfect example of how religion has an effect on how justice is served. Judge Mark Martin himself gives us the perfect example. It's fine if people want to have a 'personal religious belief' but as soon as you start talking (in this case almost bragging) about it in a public forum it is no longer a personal belief. I think maybe Mark Martin needs to learn a little about how justice should be blind before he tries to provide it to people wrapped in Islam   

Peter Popoff-The Prophet of Profit

Peter Popoff was proven to be a fraud years ago by James Randi. Peter went into hiding after the truth came out about him. He's been back for a while with a new scam. He can be seen on infomercials on BET and several other stations that value money over credibility and dignity. There are many people who have been telling the true story about Peter Popoff and his scams, I thought another example may help spread the word of Peter Popoff as the con-man he is. I have also written to any network I see Peter appear on and let them know exactly what kind of person they are supporting by allowing him to use their airwaves and to let them know people are paying attention. If this stops even one person from falling into Peter Popoff's trap then it was time well spent.  Screw you Peter Popoff, you are a dickhead

In Atheists We Miss Trust

 

Here's an article discussing a study on Atheists and the amount of trust people have in them

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/30/study-explores-distrust-o_n_1120869.html

       Bigotry, in my opinion is caused by several preconceived notions, or to put it simply, ignorance.
  The article states " While reasons behind antagonism toward atheists have not been fully explored the study is among the first explorations of the social psychological processes underlying anti-atheist sentiments." and then grasps on to this issue of trust and rockets it to the top of the list of things Atheists need to worry about. Lack trust is a result of bigotry ad the bigotry is caused by ignorance.

IGNORANCE

: the state or fact of being ignorant : lack of knowledge, education, or awareness

 Most people don't know any Atheists or at least they don't think they do. If someone is a bigot against gays, it's usually because they don't know any gay people. As homosexuals have become more open, the acceptance of them has grown. When your kids teacher is doing a great job motivating the children and half way into the school year you find out he is gay it's going to be more difficult to say gays can't teach. Of course there are going to be some who would say that still but you can't fix stupid.
THAT is the reason we need to be vocal and we need others to at least be open about their lack of beliefs in god or more importantly, in the failure of religion to stand up to reasonable questions about it's validity. While I do not believe in a god or gods I feel it is more important that we focus on how silly religion is. It's a much more simple argument to prove. Once you get people to question the beliefs they hold just because their mother and father said so or because it makes them feel good by putting it  to a very basic examination then they will look to other belief systems. Since all belief systems are basically built from the same type of shaky foundation and stem from fantastic stories you end up with an Agnostic which eventually (from my experience)  will lead a person to Atheism. This depends on the person caring enough to go that far, many people simply don't care enough about religion and I don't think those people are ones we need to worry about forcing religion into our personal lives or government.
  When we proclaim "There is no god!" we take something that people feel gives their lives meaning and try to crush it. We need them to think about the meaning being a different one than they currently believe in. Once you get people thinking they won't stop....I think.

 

Evolution Occupy

"If a congressman learns that his committee is about to do something that would affect a company, he can go trade on that because he is not obligated to keep that information confidential.... He is not breaching a duty of confidentiality to anybody and therefore would not be liable for insider trading." ~March 3, 2006 - STOCK Act Fact Check


 The occupy protest has come to and end in Oakland. just this morning I watched as the protesters were removed from Frank Ogawa Plaza. There was no teargas, no graffiti, no rubber bullets, and no rocks thrown.
  Watching you couldn't help but see even the protesters knew it was time to move on. There were several factors that came into play when the choice was made to shut down the protest. A group of anarchists had spawned from the occupy group and were calling for violence against not only police but against reporters too. There was a shooting and a man was killed this week during an altercation (it's not clear whether those involved were part of occupy)
  I know some people have a vision of tent cities popping up across the land as the people gather in a peaceful protest against the evil corporations and as the tent cities grow we watch the corporate monsters crumble and fall around our feet. That's not going to happen. I would hope that other cities do have occupy protests and they send their opening message to the companies that do not have our best interests in mind as they use our own money against us. I also hope the people involved are intelligent enough to know when that leg of the protest has run its course. What turned out to be a good beginning now needs to evolve into something that takes action from as many people as possible. Many people supported the issues represented by occupy protests but they could not just drop everything and go to live in tents outside city hall.

   People have been critical about my opinion that the tent cities were not effective. They seem to think just because people are living in tents it will force companies and politicians to change their behavior. I don't see that happening. I do see them paying attention, waiting to see if maybe the occupy protests have something in mind that would effect them. Now we are in a few months the only thing that has happened is more protests have popped up in more cities. That's a good thing, it shows the sentiment is widespread. but even if protests were to occur in every single city across the country what else is that going to achieve?

  I don't have all the answers to solve our problems but I have some ideas. I also believe that sooner or later some of these ideas will have to become a reality or our nation will no longer be around for us to demand to be changed.
  We need to start voting. The highest percentage of voter turnout in 2010 was 56% in Minnesota and the lowest was in the District of Columbia at about 29%. Pathetic to say the least. How can we complain about the way our country is being run when at least half of us don't care enough to do anything that would have an effect on it? http://elections.gmu.edu/Turnout_2010G.html
  Move your bank account to a credit union
   I consider this the first real productive action coming  from the occupy protests. People are moving their accounts from big banks like bank of America to smaller banks or credit unions. The way banks make their money these days is on bullshit fees like the $5 fee they put on us when legislation was enacted to limit the fees that could be charged for using your card at the time of purchase. Take the time to move away from that big bank, if losing a charge of a few cents worried them enough to blatantly try and screw us in public then losing customers all together will have some effect. http://www.neontommy.com/news/2011/11/bank-transfer-day-rally-targets-bank-america
 
   Stop buying from the big chains. Start shopping at that independently owned store and support small businesses whenever possible. If you drive across the country you may notice that every city is starting to look exactly alike. There are shopping centers which contain stores like Home Depot or Lowes (sometimes both) Walmart, Taco Bell, KFC, Barnes & Noble, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond. In many of these same cities you will also find what used to be a busy downtown that looks like a ghost town. All the businesses run by the people who lived in town are closed due to people helping the corporations grow bigger and bigger. As a business get larger it tends to lose any personal relationship with it's employees, instead treating them as a number. How easy is it to be concerned for the number 34617? If I were to tell you number 34617 was late to work because their child had a cold how much care could you muster up?


 The last thing I am going to address this time around is the way our elected representatives are cashing in on inside information about companies. This information is being used to effect stock purchases.There is legislation written to help stop this practice but there is very little support for it by congress....I wonder why.http://www.louise.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=433&Itemid=106
 CBS did a story on this and you all need to read it and act accordingly. Congress: Trading stock on inside information?
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57323527/congress-trading-stock-on-inside-information/
Send an email to your representative and make it clear how you feel. Here's a link to help you do that https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Ask them if they support the Stock Act and tell them to co-sponsor it. If they don't, go camp on their lawn

"In ___ I Trust"

 Congress passed a law making "in god we trust" the national motto. This resulted in the following  comment from President Obama “You’ve been debating a commemorative coin for baseball. You’ve had legislation reaffirming that ‘In God We Trust’ is our motto. That’s not putting people back to work,” Obama said. “I trust in God, “but God wants to see us help ourselves by putting people back to work.”

 I'm sick to death of republicans (and in this case democrats too) wasting time on bullshit. I'm sick of republicans voting down anything that could create jobs. The republicans claim that what we need to create jobs is 'new leadership'. Couldn't they try and find out what the 'new leadership' would do to create jobs and propose those ideas now? I don't think they can for one simple reason THEY ARE FULL OF SHIT. What have the republicans offered so far? Relaxing regulations and boosting offshore oil exploration and drilling.That's right, those ideas are what the republicans think we need to create jobs. Do the republicans think the population of this country is retarded? It seem s that way to me. Trouble is, we aren't.
 The whole 'in god we trust' thing was the brainchild of Congressman Randy Forbes. Forbes represents a handful of people in VA.
 I wanted to give the congressman my thoughts on his lame ideas so I went to his website. He tried to make it a little harder to relay my thoughts to him but where there is a will there is a way. If you would like to inform Congressman Forbes of what you think I'd like to make it as easy as possible for you to do so.

  The congressman is not interested in hearing from anyone who does not live in his district even though he wants to make law that effects all of us. It seems a bit unreasonable and irresponsible for Randy Forbes to be unavailable to the people his actions have an effect on. I sent Randy Forbes a reply anyway, you can too.

Here is how. 
Send email to Congressman Randy Forbes

When Randy asks you for a zip code so you can prove yourself worthy of his time type in this
23083-2172
 

Here is what I sent to Congressman Forbes-

Sir with all due respect I believe it is ignorant to make the claim that all Americans are equally represented by the phrase 'in god we trust'
 For you to assume 'in go we trust' does in fact represent everyone in the country shows you are out of touch with much of the population and it's belief system(s)
 Why not embrace a phrase that encourages all Americans to join in unity instead of one that alienates over 15% of the population?
 Please refrain from proposing anything that effects the nation as a whole until you gain the ability to understand its diversity. You do not represent much of the country, from your actions I would assume there is a valid reason for that.
 How does using "E pluribus unum" as a national saying harm or alienate anyone? It doesn't. Your worry about the president using it reeks of racism and fundamentalism. Those two traits have no place in society. Can't you think of something more productive to do? 

Per Second

  With the planet reaching 7 billion people I heard a news report that informed me there are 5 births per second. 5 per second! Amazing. It kinda gives you an idea of how we tend to live in a bubble. Most of us behave as though the only things that really happen occur within our scope of vision. Even people who include the information they see on the internet still fail to grasp the enormity of human events.
    I figured it would be fun and easy to take the entire year, compress it into one day and see what numbers I would come up with.
If you took one year and lived it as a day, here's what would be happening ....

1562.5 births per second

Number of days of heavy fog (defined as an observation with 1/4 mile visibility or less sometime during
the day.) in Oakland California -  .0002 per second

Number of Earthquakes in the United States  .1 per second

People that die from rabies .8 per second

Firefighters die on duty   .001 per second

Arrested for drunkenness  560,718  6.5 per second

Arrested for prostitution and commercialized vice offenses in us   .73 per second

Number of aggravated assaults in US  4.7 per second

Busted for vandalism in US 2.93 per second

Accused of a drug abuse violation  in US 18.2 per second

Murder or non-negligent manslaughter in US .13 per second

Number of forcible rapes  .23 per second

Number of tornadoes in Oklahoma  .0012 per second

Number of tweets sent on twitter  worldwide 289351.9 per second

Heart transplants .02 per second

Number of deaths 28.1 per second

People who die from Alzheimer's disease .86 per second

Marriages per second 24

Unintentional poisoning deaths .34 per second

Visitors to disneyland 184.1 per second

Have a nice day...

Eric Cantor of the Republican Rhetoric Party

     Allow me to start out by sending out a message directly to and for Eric Cantor....  

Eric Cantor with all due respect would you please shut your fucking big stupid mouth and go the fuck away. Your ego is far too inflated with your own hot air for you to ever be helpful, insightful, or mindful enough so that you can qualify as any type of leader. I suggest you move on to a crew leader position at a Mc Donalds since your style reminds me of a teenager who just got his first chance to boss other people around. The United States is not comprised of kids who are working their first job and haven't had enough life experience to see you are a dick. Wait ,I did say "with all due respect" so let me rephrase that.... Fuck off idiot. 

     Let's watch this video so everyone can get an idea why I think Eric Cantor is an inept little weasel. 

 
    

    Besides the fact Eric has the look and demeanor of a punk ass preppy who spends the first 30 minutes of each day popping zits on his face and treating his acne, he is stuck-up. Eric Cantor thinks the possibility of his being wrong is less than zero. If you watch the way he holds his head and the mannerisms he uses Eric clearly thinks he shits gumdrops, and if he allows you to have one of those gumdrops you should be thankful, very thankful. Eric first referred to the protesters by saying they were 'mobs'. Isn't the word 'mob' a historically negative term when used by politicians? If a politician says 'mob' then don't you have a vision of money laundering, illegal gambling and corruption or other criminal activities? 

    It plain that Eric didn't see the protests as positive. He didn't even see them as people exercising their freedoms, they were 'mobs' , out of control and dangerous. Then when he is called on it does he back off the term? NOPE. Instead he says there are other things more important than his use of the word. Eric is in a huff because the Democrats are supporting the protesters position that big business is also to blame for the problems we are currently having. His position is not enough blame is being put on Washington. We can safely assume Eric does not plan on taking his plate of blame and trying to force it down. No, Eric seems to think he has a nice clean plate with some golden etching on it spelling out "COOL CANTOR" in a graceful arch. Well Eric Cantor I hope very soon someone or something comes along plops a nice big helping of 'you re not helping' on that pretty little plate. 

   All Eric does is support something that becomes more and more clear each day. The Republicans are not out to see this country come back and support the people who live in it. The Republicans want to see America come back riding on the backs of the American people.They should give as much and work as hard as possible, not for a better life for themselves but for a bigger America. A bigger America represented by corporations and bottom lines instead of the voices of honest hard working happy people. 

     If you are a Republican or a Democrat I want you too look at what is happening. This bullshit need to stop. The two parties can not get anything done and while the Republicans are acting like the biggest racist, greedy, male chauvinist, two-faced idiot dick-heads on the planet the fact remains they are just the worser of two evils. The Democrats are just smart enough to know when to shut the fuck up and do what is needed to keep the people happy enough so marching through the street seems a silly thing to do when there is football, internet, and i pads to be attended to and shopping to be done. 

   I don't know where this is all going to end up when it's done but I would like to see Eric Cantor at a fast food counter asking me what size fries I want when it's through. I don't know if he realizes the possibility these protests could go very wrong he doesn't seem to see that but then you wouldn't be able to spell Cantor without C-A-N-T.

The 99%

Listen to this-
"Don't blame Wall Street. Don't blame the big banks. If you don't have a job, and you're not rich, blame yourself," ~Herman Cain candidate for president.

Now this-
“The fact is these people are anarchists. They have no idea what they’re doing out there,” ~Long Island Republican Congressman Peter King 

And this-
"I regard the Wall Street protests as a natural outcome of a bad education system teaching them really dumb ideas." ~ Former Speaker of the House and 2012 presidential candidate Newt Gingrich

Republicans, just when I thought they couldn't get any more stupid. Besides their dismissive belittlement of the Occupy Wall-Street protesters they also seem to be blind too. Among the groups who are a part of these protests you can find labor unions, airline pilots, librarians, students, the handicapped, the elderly, and just your typical everyday citizens. The Republicans can't see anything but bored kids with purple hair. I keep hearing the Wall- Street protesters compared to hippies from the 60's. I wasn't around in the 60's and a lot of the protesters weren't either. They haven't just been protesting the wars, they have more than that on their minds.I can't tell you every issue that the Occupy Wall Street protesters are upset about but I can speak to my frustrations. I spent $75.00 at the grocery store last night. Among the few bags I left the store with were several products that had been quietly downsized. The trend lately is to lower the amount of product you bring home as if by magic. One of the magic tricks is changing the container shape a little cone shape at the bottom of the jar or bottle can saves lots of money. You are hardly going to notice that bottle of katsup only gave you 17 servings instead of 20, right? The katsup makers are counting on that. take a good look at all the items you purchase next time you go shopping and you will see what I mean. From Oreos that lack the filling they had in the past to laundry soap that comes with a 'easy pour' spout which also includes a bottle that holds just a few ounces less detergent.
 Making products using the cheapest materials, changing the unit of measurement so that even though the package reads the same, you are  getting less and paying more. Another trick is to make things look like they are being made easier for you because the company cares about your quality of life. Those little Coke bottles that are 'serving size'? Yea, that 'convenience' is costing you.
  Do you have medical coverage from your employer? Do you have to pay for part of it? Most of us do now. In fact the 'medical coverage' offered by most companies should be called 'medical coupon' since some aren't getting much more than a slight discount from what they would pay if they got coverage on their own.
   The Feds put some rules down on banks, pretty mild rules IMO. One of these rules regulated the amount a bank could charge you for using your card at a store. It really bothered me I would drive around to save $.02 per gallon on gas only to come out even cause of those charges.  The banks considered the amount of revenue they would lose because of the new regulations and figured they needed that money. Now you can pay the bank a lump sum of $5.00 per  month to use your bank card on top of the lowered fee they charge you at the time of your purchase.
 Gas prices go up hand in hand with oil prices. Even though the oil has been purchased ahead of the price hike you can expect the price to instantly rise if oil prices go up. Now if you think about that then you could expect that gas prices would go down along with the current oil prices, right? Hell no. IF gas prices go down it is at an incredibly slow pace. As a result of this practice and the raising of prices "just because" every so often the oil companies have been making record profits. When anyone complained about it the oil companies would reply "supply and demand" expecting that to shield them from any further negative image caused from their price gouging. Well yea there is a demand because people have to use their cars to get  to work to pay their bills, like gas for the car. Public transit is not even close to being an alternative for most people so they have no choice but to drive. The demand is forced and that is a bit unfair. I can understand if the oil companies were looking at some hardship that was going to hurt them if prices didn't go up but that's not the case because they are making record profits. Making record profits at a time when so many people are struggling to get a job and keep their homes seems a bit cold. I'm not saying they stop making money, make a profit, but RECORD PROFITS? The raise in gas prices also costs us more in increased price for goods and services because companies pass the rise in overhead down to the consumer.
  At this time about half the country has heard about the Occupy protests. Of those people 19% disagree with the protesters on their basic core issues, one of  which is corporate greed.
 19%....that is a very small percentage. In this country how many issues can you think of that only 19% of the population disagree with it? That figure alone should strike fear in the hearts of every politician in office and especially those who are sitting on their stupid fat asses talking shit (republicans)
   That idiot Newt has some nerve saying the 99% are a result of a 'bad education' cause obviously his math skills are shit.   

Tipping Point

When I get a bonus from my employer, it is taxed at 50%. When I had to withdraw from my 401k because of hardship the internal revenue service came after me and added interest charges. If I did not pay within 30 days they would take all the money available from my bank account. It did not matter that would cause me to be unable to pay my rent. The cost of a parking ticket is $100. The Santa Clara traffic Court made a mistake in recording a fix-it ticket I received. Although I had attempted to pay the $50 fine I was told by the traffic clerk there was no fine owed. Two weeks later I got a notice informing me I owed $300 because I had not paid the fine. I had an opportunity to despute. I replied, telling them the conversation I had with the clerk, her name, and proof I had been at the court. 2 days later they replied saying they had 'investigated' my claim, it was denied. There was no name, no information on how to persue the matter any further just an amount due. They filed paperwork to take the money from my bank account 2 weeks later and did so, without my consent. I applied for an apartment last week. I was denied because the credit agency they used said I was not approved. I have lived on my own since I was 18, I am now 42 I have never failed to pay my rent, I have never broke a lease. I have never been without a job.I do not have any outstanding debt. I do not use credit cards. One reason I was turned down was because my daughter, who is 18 has not established a credit history yet.Bank of America insists on creating the circumstances that make it possible to steal money from me. My overdraft protection covers funds in the correct order as to cause my account to have insufficient funds as many times as possible to result in the highest amount of charges to my account.
 I am about fed up with credit agencies being able to speak for my character. I am sick of banks who, when forced to treat me in a fair manner, find another way to add charges to my transactions. I am sick of lobbists making choices that override any votes from the people.
 It is about time something was done. If they won't check themselves then we need to create some balance. Pass it on.

Peter Popoff Stole My Money!

note:Please keep in mind my references to  god are only in order to give some perspective on things as a believer.I don't believe there is any proof of a god and therefore it/he/she/them does not exist.That would make it impossible for me to be angry at them/she/him/it so any religious people please do not get it twisted.Thanks  

There really is no doubt about it now. Peter Popoff stole my hard earned cash. I  sent him $3.00 cause I needed some debts erased and Peter assured me he was the prophet for the job. I just heard back from Peter and boy am I pissed! Here is what he sent-

Daniel, let me first say THANK YOU... for your faithful support.
Your faithful giving makes it possible to keep
this ministry doing the work of God in the
earth. . . and. . . it makes it possible for you to hook up to
the POWER OF DEBT CANCELLATION... Yes , Jesus said,
"GIVE AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN UNTO YOU"... Your
gift of $3.00 is already working for the kingdom
of God... and working to bring you a great
harvest.

Dear Daniel, .

  I believe of all the secrets of great achievement that eminent

people have known and Jesus taught the essence is found in this ONE

thought . . . "AS A MAN THINKETH IN HIS HEART, SO IS HE."

First, I must help you understand the POWER of this insignificant

faith tool...

  The laws of the land may grant liberty and freedom to all in the

physical sense, but unless individuals take it upon themselves to

cultivate their minds in a spiritual way... they will remain in bondage

in so many areas where they should enjoy freedom.

These spiritual laws validate the importance of specialized

knowledge as well as your dreams, purposes, goals and plans. Now if you

are ready to begin your journey toward TOTAL DEBT CANCELLATION... let’s get started.

    Moses was directed by God to stretch out a rod in order to roll

back the Red Sea... David was directed by God to choose five little

stones to defeat a giant... A prophet of God was directed to cast a

certain branch into bitter waters to make them sweet... ALL OF THESE

ACTS, IN THEMSELVES DID NOT HAVE THE POWER TO BRING ABOUT THE RESULT

NEEDED . . . BUT WHAT THESE FAITH ACTS E ACCOMPLISH WAS TO CONNECT MAN’S

NATURAL LIMITATIONS WITH THE UNLIMITED SUPERNATURAL POWER OF GOD.

That's what faith acts do.

   Daniel, now in Jesus’ Name, use the enclosed eraser just as I

instruct . . . remembering "AS A MAN THINKETH IN HIS HEART, SO IS HE"... Common

logic will tell you that this eraser does not in itself have the power

to erase your debts. HOWEVER... as you and I operate in Faith... we

connect our natural limitations to a SUPERNATURAL GOD... WHO CAN DO ANYTHING.

DANIEL, YOUR VISION ULTIMATELY DETERMINES YOUR DESTINY... Oh, receive

this into your spirit. Many have visions of crystal palaces, golden

streets, but few ever translate these dreams into reality because it

requires PAINSTAKING THOUGHT AND EFFORT... ONE HAS TO HAVE NOT ONLY A

VISION... BUT ALSO FAITH, THOUGHT, AND FOCUSED ACTION... for that Vision

to become a reality. ~

NOW LET’S YOU AND I VISUALIZE... YOUR DEBT CANCELLATION... See yourself

totally DEBT FREE because Jesus Christ paid the price for your total

freedom. NOW... let's put some faith action with this vision... TAKE A

PENCIL... not a pen... but a PENCIL... and write down all of your debts.

Total them all up..

    IN JESUS’ NAME, TAKE THIS ERASER... and erase ONE each day. . . then,

as you erase each one each day, say. . . " I COVER “THIS DEBT WITH THE

BLOOD OF JESUS... AND I DEGREE IT CANCELLED... PAID IN FULL...

AS I PERFORM THIS ACT OF FAITH ....AND ERASE THESE DEBTS"

Don't stop... EVERY DAY FOR THE NEXT 30 days or until all your debts are

erased, CONTINUE THIS ACT OF FAITH AND MAKE THIS CONFESSION WITH HOLY

BOLDNESS...

 DANIEL, FAITH IS BEING SURE OF WHAT WE HOPE FOR AND

CERTAIN OF WHAT WE DO NOT SEE... THOSE WHO PLACE ALL OF

THEIR FAITH IN OUR LIVING GOD WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.

  Right now, put all your faith in God for the successful outcome of

your life. God now becomes your perfect conduit through which your

thoughts are channeled in regard to the formulation of your dreams,

purposes, goals and plans for DEBT CANCELLATION.

  Each time you demonstrate your faith in God through this Faith Act

by erasing your debt. . . understand, it also becomes a prayer. . . "ASK AND

YOU WILL BE GIVEN WHAT YOU ASK FOR" Prayer is simply having a mental a

and verbal conversation with your heavenly Father. THEN... you'll know

the response you will receive will be loving and true.

  No one is endowed with great faith from birth... FAITH IS SOMETHING

THAT GROWS SLOWLY CONTINUOUSLY INCREASING AS IT IS PUT INTO ACTION AND

USED... So practice your faith with me each day for the next 30 days. . .

or until each one of your debts has been erased. YES, ERASE YOUR

DEBT... ALSO, UNDERSTAND THIS IS PREPARING YOU FOR THE NEXT PROPHETIC

LEADING... -

DANIEL, THE NEXT PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT FOR YOUR FAITH WILL BE THE

PHASE OF EMPOWERMENT... as you continue to confess and erase debt on

paper and in your thoughts... with prayer and faith in God... God will

EMPOWER YOU TO ACHIEVE NEW HEIGHTS OF ACCOMPLISHMENT.

     Now, be honest, have you ever heard such horseshit in your life? Yea, me neither. Keep in mind Peter has no idea whether my $3.00 was needed to feed my kid or to help pay the electric bill but I was so desperate that I sent it anyway.  You know every letter if received from Peter has contained some kind of trinket or prop for me to use and pave the way for Peter asking for more money except this one acknowledging my handing over some cash. You would think  I could get a piece of gum or something for $3.00 but I got nuthin'. Peter Popoff is great with the rhetoric though isn't he? I wonder if Peter could explain one thing to me. This question is one that I've wondered about since i was a little kid. Even when I was very young it seemed to make no sense that god needed people's money. Why the hell would god need money? You would think he could at LEAST make sure the people and places people went to worship him/it/her/them had adequate funds for the bare necessities. You  would think that people who devote their entire lives to god would have some kind of medical coverage and the local  church should have some kind of spiritual disaster coverage. But they don't you hear about a church getting burned down by lightening at least a couple times a year and churches fall down in earthquakes, floodwater does not go around a church either.What's going on with that? I'll tell you what, if you apply the same logic to this question of mine as you would everything else that  exists then you would find the demand for money much the way I see Peter Popoff and his scam.. The problem is most people don't do that. Most religious people say that because its god there is a different type of logic which needs to be applied. That makes no sense, you would think god of all things would make sense sometimes, but it seems that is seldom the case.
   Peter isn't quite done with me yet so I read the rest of his latest letter...

   When the next 30 days come to an end, you, like Moses, will have grown to such a degree that empowerment will come along with a complete trust and knowing that God will meet all your needs. His purpose will be accomplished in your life and your dream of DEBT CANCELLATION WILL BECOME A REALITY...
SPIRITUAL FORCE IS STRONGER THAN MATERIAL FORCE; YOUR THOUGHTS WILL RULE YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES BECAUSE OF YOUR FAITH IN GOD. One thing stronger than all the armies in the world is an idea whose time has come. I say to you... THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA... THIS IS A GOD IDEA... AND THE TIME FOR ITS  FULFILLMENT HAS COME.
 

  REMEMBER, the cost of keeping this ministry reaching out to the world with compassion... continues daily... and let me say... this week your-support is greatly needed:
 

    Daniel, if God should speak to you to enclose a SPECIAL OFFERING THIS WEEK.., it will be greatly appreciated... and KNOW THIS... YOUR OFFERING aimed specifically at your desire for deliverance from this weight problem will come back to you as answered prayer and WILL ALSO BRING YOU AN ABUNDANT HARVEST!
 

  God says, vow and pay... if you have made a pledge of faith to this ministry.., then give toward the fulfillment of that faith pledge. Do what ever you can today... return your offering in the enclosed envelope. ONE MORE THING... would you please... take a pencil and WRITE YOUR DEBTS OUT ON A SEPARATE SHEET... AND GET IT BACK TO ME... I WOULD LIKE TO JOIN YOU IN THIS ACT OF FAITH...

SO, PLEASE FOLD YOUR OFFERING IN THAT SEPARATE SHEET... AND RUSH IT TO ME TODAY... THAT WILL MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO JOIN YOU IN THIS ACT OF FAITH OVER THE NEXT 30 DAYS... AND KNOW THAT I AM STANDING WITH YOU FOR TOTAL DEBT FREE LIVING! 

Ok, so Peter Popoff has ended his thank you note with: Give me more.
Amazing, I wonder if anyone really falls for this crap. I  guess these days anything is possible. Hopefully one of those possible victims will come across my blog and it will prevent them from sending  their own cash to this parenthetic leech and my three dollars will not be wasted on buying a tin ring or some salt that will be used to steal from people who can afford it the least.