Tag: WTF?

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Abracadabra Alakazam Your online security is all a Big ‘Ol Sham

Just like the TSA waving their hands and muttering incantations when you try to board a plane.

10 years ago, I moved my checking and savings accounts away from Wells Fargo.

Recently I had need to speak with them and got the usual “you can get faster service by going to our web site”

During the course of the conversation, the representative, a lovely lady from Virginia told me that my records were very out of date. (I rarely have need to do business with them.) 

I told the lady that I knew that. And then told her that the reason for my call was that I couldn’t do what I needed to do online because the online system wouldn’t let me update the account profile.

The reason is this, I needed to change the phone number and the email address, but in order to do that I had to have access to one or both. Since I have access to neither, the system wouldn’t allow a change.

This was compounded by the fact that they didn’t have a cell phone number on file with which to send me a verification code.

Okay say I, “Since I’ve given you all the verification information and was able to tell you what the old number was, can you just make the changes? And can we proceed from there?”

Her answer is yes, “but we’ll have to add your cellphone number and then you’ll have to wait for us to send you an email telling you your number has been accepted, so that when you call us back to actually do what you needed to do, we can send you a verification text, so that we know it’s you…”

This somehow seemed totally logical to her.

She followed up by telling me it was for my security.

Sigh…

If I were a nefarious person, I could just as easily play along with this game, having changed the cellphone and email addresses, and I’d have access to do what I was trying to do in the first place, It would only take me keeping track of stuff for 24 hours and then calling back.

What exactly does the bank think is going on? Do they think that criminals have some kind of short attention span?  Are they thinking a criminal is going to forget about the score they were working on, over the course of 24 hours?

By the way this is the sort of thing that has turned me off traditional banks. Credit Unions seem to be a little more direct about getting the job done. 

The banking and insurance systems seem intent on making things so secure… That ONLY criminals will be able to access our data, because they have the time to commit to accessing the accounts.

40 minutes on the phone, and I still have not accomplished what I set out to accomplish.

So now I’m waiting on an email… 

I’m thinking that it’s not worth it. A far more direct method would be to keep my money in my mattress and eschew traditional banking institutions altogether. The problem is that  gold is heavy, and hard to store or move. Diamonds on the other hand are small, light, and easy.

Hummm I wonder…

Perhaps it’s time to close this last bit of business with Wells Fargo. To do that I’ll have to be in a bank branch sooo that’s on my TODO list.

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I’m a bit Bah Humbug today

Not that I didn’t have a great time with shopping for the past two days.

I had a totally great time and ton of laughs, plus a ton of walking. All of which are very good for my state of mind.

IMG 1070However, I’m dealing with car issues. My baby is at the dealership needing about $1500 in repair (Thank you California Freeways and Semi Trucks who insist on running on retreads that leave debris allover the roads) It really is time for a superfund that truck drivers MUST pay into so that the damage they cause can be paid for. 

That Superfund could  be used as incentive for all the truck drivers to operate their multi-ton instruments of destruction more safely.

That being said, the dealership has all the proper parts in stock and if I was paying for the repair, instead of the insurance company, I’d have my car back by late this afternoon.

Since the insurance company is paying for it, they’re insisting that an adjuster inspect the car adding 3 to 5 days to the whole process.

Including rental car fees and general inconvenience to all concerned. For that piddly sum, why bother? The car is at an authorized repair facility, specific to the vehicle. The Insurance company themselves prefers OEM parts. So it should be a no brainer. Alas… It’s not!

But that’s the way they want to waste their money, fine with me! Unfortunately they’re wasting ALL our money in the process.

Since I was dealing with insurance companies I figured, “I’ll deal with health care Insurance.”

What could possibly go wrong? 

LOL!

I was quoted $795.00 per month for high deductible medical Insurance with no dental or vision. Say what?

That’s more than my car payment and as much as my mortgage payment.

ARE YOU SHITTING ME?

One month of health insurance would cost me more than 1 year of the cost of my single medication for which I’m paying cash, out of pocket right now.

Uhhh NO! This speaks to a system that is so horribly broken I can’t even begin to describe it. While the Doctors and Hospitals are partially to blame. I contend that ultimately the fault for outrageous health care costs, lies squarely with the Insurance companies themselves. 

These are the same organizations that came into existence to help you plan for the worst. They were supposed to be, “you pay a little monthly so that you don’t have to cough up a huge chunk of cash IF something bad happens,” 

Clearly these companies are not what they once were and I contend that these companies should be thoroughly investigated and perhaps stripped of their business licenses. I’m stopping short of having their entire executive staffs whipped naked through the streets of every city in America.

That being said, they should be forced to return their huge profits to the individuals they STOLE from or their heirs.

I have wondered and continue to wonder what would happen if every single person in America simply refused to pay these excessively high, no, usury rates. This is no longer providing a service, this is flat out extortion. 

It’s time for our wonderful Congress to apply racketeering laws to the Insurance industry. Oh wait… our wonderful Congress is in bed with the insurance industry. Could we use the racketeering laws to clean out the corruption in congress?

Hum… there’s a thought!

You want to curb homelessness? Stop making people decide between health insurance and paying their mortgage!

That path to health insurance is a dead issue! 

I do wonder if I should get into politics. I wouldn’t run on a Make America Great Platform… I’d go for a “Fix America for All” platform.

My FAFA plan would be to take each fucked up broken aspect of our country and start fixing it. Start with Health insurance… Everybody who can pay for policies does and they pay an affordable rate, Say never more than 250 per moth per person. Streamline the Medical Professionals interaction with insurance companies making it less burdensome therefor reducing the cost overhead on the medical professionals. That should drive down costs because then it would be cheaper for the Medical folks to actually do their jobs, you know, “Treating Patients!”

FAFA could then take a look at the pharmaceutical industry and start asking why the medications cost so much in America, (Even though many of the drugs are manufactured overseas) Then we bring these drug costs into line with their actual value how much do they cost to make? How much did they cost to research? From there the costs would be normalized and the companies would still make decent profits.

Has it ever occurred to you, if we in America pay $25.00 a pill and that same pill is $5.00 in any other country, that Americans are in effect paying for all the research and development costs but 3rd world countries are reaping the benefits? In effect, American citizens are footing the bill not only for themselves and their families, but we’re also paying for the rest of the world?

Not only do our tax dollars get sent to prop up some shit hole country but with the additional costs we bear we’re subsidizing their socialized medicine too.

Moving on…

Now that I think about it.

The Mafia got into trouble for doing the same thing the insurance companies do.

One difference is that the Mafia only kills those what need killin.

Insurance companies kill indiscriminately and capriciously. 

There’s little difference in my mind between a couple of Mafia guys telling you, “Pay us and your granny’s house ain’t gonna burn down,” or an insurance company telling you, “make your payment and we’ll keep your granny’s oxygen tanks coming.”

In fact, the mafia guys are probably nicer to deal with because unlike an insurance company, they have faces.

Okay, now I’m moving on!

Time to take out my frustrations on the snow that’s piling up in the driveway.

Have a nice Thanksgiving Eve everyone.

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 I noticed a glaring error in my post. I meant to say never more than 250 per person. I I’ve amended the text. 

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So yesterday I was out & About…

After watching the completely thoughtless behavior of a number of people, I had to take a piss.

No not due to the thoughtlessness of the people, they were just the constant background irritation that I face every day.

One incident that really caught my attention was at the car wash:

I watched someone pull up to the change machine, get out of their car, get change, then drive 50 feet to put their car in the washing bay. Really? You lazy fuck? Oh, and you had two other people in the car with you. Why not pull into one of the 6 empty wash bays, and haul your ass 50 feet to get your change?

You thought it was okay to park in front of the machine blocking the driveway for everyone else, causing a traffic jam, preventing other people from leaving the car wash, or exiting the automated washing area. while you sat there fucking around to find your paper currency to change into coin.

I’d remind you dumbass, you’re not the only person on the fucking planet.

I did my best to ignore it.  Obviously I wasn’t successful! 

Anyhoo…

I finish drying my car and that was when I needed to take a leak. I do a quick check, there are other drying bays open so I can leave my car for a minute.

As I’m approaching the restroom, I note that the two doors are sporting nice new gender neutral signs. I think nothing of it. I head for the “Men’s room”, or the room formerly known as the men’s room.

UrinalIt’s unoccupied and I’m pretty much on auto pilot and then I notice the urinal is gone. No it’s not broken, it’s completely missing. Now there is only a toilet and a sink.

WTF?

Leave the fucking urinals in gender neutral bathrooms!

Women have been bitching for years about the length of time it takes for them to go pee. You know what ladies? It’s because men can piss in a trough, or against a wall, shoulder to shoulder.

Pulling urinals out of restrooms only slows the whole process down for everyone. If I’m in a men’s room that has a toilet and a urinal I don’t lock the door. Another dude can come in and take a leak in the toilet. That’s why there’s rarely a line at a baseball game or airport for the men’s room.

You neutrality nazis want to come into a large gender neutral restroom?

Fine… You better be prepared to see some dick! That had better not offend your delicate sensibilities.

You got some religious concerns or concerns that you’ll have to look at men? Well creampuff make a fucking decision. Gender neutrality OR your desire to not see dick.

Think about it for two seconds and incorporate your life experience.

For example:

Go to a party at someones home. Every bathroom will be full, there’s a line and nobody is going anywhere. Eventually the guys will be out in the front yard, beer in one hand and cock in the other watering the largest tree in the yard.

There’s a joke which gets modified to fit the branch of the military the teller of the joke served in.

First person:
You know, in the <Military Branch> they taught us to wash our hands after we piss.

Second Person:

In the <Military Branch> they taught us not to piss on our hands.

Men revert to our cave man nature pretty damn quick. We shouldn’t have to make apologies for it.

That’s not male privilege, it’s biological design. Ain’t nothing that you can do about it. So stop trying to make Men feel like they’re less than, or somehow wrong, for the way they were born.

If you keep the bathrooms at a party locked up too long, eventually some dude is out in the back yard digging a latrine. If you’re really lucky he’s preserving the sod in nice neat squares so that the lawn can be fixed in the morning. There’s your gender neutrality, and gender equality. All the party goers who can’t get into the bathrooms, will be using the latrine.  Perhaps that’s an idea for my next party, If you’re going to be puking your guts up… Go out back!

Just hope to god someone brings paper towels out, or your perennials are going to be stripped bare by morning.

Tell you what, how about we take the wall space used by the couches in the former ladies only bathrooms and put a nice trough right there?

Oh, now the ladies are concerned!

I swear, If I wasn’t worried about being arrested I’d just start pissing against buildings, or trees whenever I had to go.

Think of it as a rebellion against the Neutrality Nazis. I know of course that there would be some horribly offended snowflake that runs to the police to report indecent exposure. Not because they saw anything, but simply because I’m a dude and comfortable pissing while standing up. God knows that must be some kind of crime!

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Truly one of the sickest things I’ve ever read.

A jury in Texas has ruled against a father in a custody battle leaving the door open for the mother of a 7 year old boy in Texas (One of a set of male twins) to pursue at her option, the transition of one twin boy to a female. 

Here is an opinion piece from The Washington Examiner

Here is a news piece from The Washington Examiner

Here is the report from KPRC in Texas

Here is a report from Lifesitenews

Here is a link to a website dedicated to the boy

Here is a link to Chad Felix Greene’s article in The Federalist

UPDATE

Judge rules that the father of James Younger will be allowed to Veto medical intervention. In other words, the father has not been stripped of all parental rights.

Read More here

Oddly, I wasn’t able to find coverage on NBC, ABC, CNN, CBS or more than the briefest mention of it in local Texas papers. It is somewhat unsurprising that only “conservative” outlets are carrying the story.

A 7 year old?

WHAT?

It’s not even clear that the child has gender dysphoria. At 7 isn’t it natural, perhaps even expected for children to be curious about what it’s like to dress up? The experts in the case say the childs gender is still fluid.

Reading through the available, and no doubt biased, information points to a bitter divorce… correction annulment. I suspect that the annulment is a farce and that there is still some kind of pitched legal battle behind the scenes ongoing. To my rather suspicious mind it begs the questions, “Is the mother trying to use the child as a weapon? Is she willing to harm a child in order to harm the father?” The truly amazing thing is that she’s not the twins biological mother.  Yes she gave birth to the boys, but the eggs were not her own. 

Add to this, several years ago there was the case, in Seattle I believe, where biological parents (who happened to be Native Americans) won custody of a child. In this case the child had been given up at birth. The child had been adopted by a white suburban family and had never known anything other than that family. But the state in it’s infinite wisdom ordered the child surrendered to the Native American parents based on the biological connection.

By that logic, in the case of James, his father Jeffery should have a greater claim to custody of the two boys. 

After all, at its heart this is a custody battle. It’s a father acting to protect one of his children from medical procedures that will have permanent, potentially negative effects. Isn’t this what custody battles are all about, or at least what they should be about?

I suppose what’s shocking to me is that the jury ruled against the father. 

My shock is not about Transphobia, this is about a child who frankly is too young to understand the hubub and for whom nature should probably be allowed to take it’s course at least until the child can specifically say, “I want to be a girl.”

I have many reservations about transitioning children’s genders because of the long term physical damage. Think about it. Hormone replacement therapy is a lifelong commitment, and potentially life shortening in the case where you’re fighting the fundamental programming of the human body. Would any parent wish that for their child who didn’t need it, or was uncertain of the child’s wishes?

I found myself nodding as I read the opinion piece (above) by Brad Polumbo

This “transgender radicalism” has gone on long enough and been allowed to go too damn far.

Let children be children. All of us need to stop putting our hangups, fears, hatred, confusion, or political statements on them. 

Our duty as adults, Straight, Gay, Transgendered, White, Black, Yellow, Red, Brown, whatever, is to protect children, any children, because they can’t protect themselves. 

That means protecting their lives, innocence, and childhood, until they are ready to make their own choices. Even then, when they make poor choices and stumble, it is our duty to pick them up, dust off their clothes, put a band-aid on their boo boos (emotional, physical, or both) and tell them to try again.

That’s what being an adult is.

It depresses the shit out of me that so many so called “Adults” have forgotten that simple duty or have been terrorized into silence.

There used to be a saying, “There’s nothing worse than an X-smoker”. That statement is often true about an X anything. X- Smokers tend to be rabid about other people smoking, X-overweight people tend to point out what others are eating as fattening. 

Perhaps X-Binary Genders are engaging in something similar? “ I’m happier now that I’ve transitioned and therefore everyone would be happier if they did too”

It’s a question that has more than once flitted through my mind.

I’m quite happy being a male. I like my body, (well except for the few creeping pounds of age). I like my genitalia and have no desire to change. (Well, larger would be nice, ahem) I recognize that may not be true of all people and your choice, is to make changes to your own bodies as you desire.

BUT, don’t you dictate my choices, or impose your beliefs about what I should feel or want, or how I should express my sexuality. 

You see I, as an adult have to personal strength and conviction to say that, and the ability to defend my statement, just as you do. 

Can the same be said of a child?

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I am in shock that PC bullshit has gone this far.

Laura.jpgThe American Association for Library Service to Children has removed Laura Ingalls Wilder’s name from one of its awards. They’re changing the name to Children’s Literature Legacy award. Read the article Here

For those who may not know that name, this is the Author of The Little House on the Prairie series of books. You know, an American Classic. The books are considered semi-autobiographical. 

This is being done because in the books she implies Native Americans were not people, and later describes African American people as “Darkies”. 

Laura Ingalls Wider was born in 1867. The books were published between 1932 and 1943. 

Since the books are semi-autobiographical in nature, it is not surprising that they might contain some racist stereotypes. From the perspective of the author, these stereotypes would have been a normal part of her lexicon and she wouldn’t have seen anything wrong with using them.

Once again the PC police are subjecting classical literature to the standards of today. Who’s next? Mark Twain? After all, his writings speak of a black man who was a slave.

I honestly don’t see the point. Why waste the energy to rename awards? In the words of a famous politician, “What does it matter at this point anyway,”

Fahrenheit 451 6I read about stuff like this and think Fahrenheit 451,  or the book burnings of Nazi Germany.

Authors create snapshots  of their times and environment. Without those perspectives from more or less “average people” I feel we risk losing something of ourselves. This is especially concerning if we continue moving toward editing our past just because our current standards are rightfully different from those of our past.

Maybe I’m worried over nothing, in fact, were I in my twenties reading this, I’d probably give it no thought. But one benefit of age is perspective.

It’s not about looking back fondly on older times. It’s the realization that one of the best ways to mark progress is to look at where we’ve been. In that, literature gives us a view that we might otherwise not have. A first person narrative while biased, allows us to see what was normal and contrast that with what is normal, for better or worse.

NevilleC_Hitler.jpgAppeasements typically don’t work, ask Neville Chamberlain. If you don’t know who that is, look him up. He & Hitler had an interesting relationship.

This kind of renaming and whitewashing of history is nothing more than appeasement. In the long run, one incident isn’t significant, but when the appeasements add up well, Poland gets annexed.

Even if you don’t agree, give it some thought and figure out where you personally would draw the line.