Kevin James is an idiot
I’ve been too busy to do much blogging lately between the end of the school year, preparing to move, and a manuscript due this fall. But just LOOK at this:
First a press secretary that doesn’t know what the Cuban Missile Crisis was and now this. You can’t blame the schools for this one either. Kevin James could have easily looked up Chamberlian or “appeasement” on Wikipedia before going on air. Hell, he probably has a Blackberry or something so he could have done it in the cab-ride over.
I’m generally not one for big government but I think that abusing history to attack a political figure should be illegal. Of all the threats to Democracy, that’s a pretty serious one. And aren’t we tired of Democrats and Republicans comparing each other to Hitler? Doesn’t that desecrate the greatest generation that died fighting Hitler? Not to mention the 11 million people Hitler killed? All just to make a nasty insult for a mud-slinger to keep in his bucket.
This law would be almost impossible to prosecute and that’s probably best. I don’t really care if Kevin James goes to jail. But as a society we need to recognize that we did is not only stupid, it’s wrong.
How to deal with Comcast
I swear I posted this letter last week. I’m either crazy or my corporate nemesis has found a way to censor me.
To Whom It May Concern:
I am contesting this charge of $27.23 on the grounds that it is not representative of any contract, written or oral with Comcast Cable. I have spoken with your representatives, who stated that Comcast has not even stated what this charge of $27.23 is for. This is part of a pattern of Comcast breaking agreements and demanding arbitrary amounts of money.
Comcast Cable does not list a price for the services I have received on their website. They also apparently do not issue contracts or receipts. In the absence of any written documentation, I have relied on the oral contract made by telephone with Comcast representatives and in person with their installation personnel.
The product I purchased was unbundled internet service. The price I was quoted for this service was $30/month. I have paid this price, along with taxes and installation fees, because those were the terms of our oral contact. Comcast, however, has billed me for $60/month. This price was never quoted or suggested by Comcast’s personnel or literature. Had they stated at any time that their product cost $60/month I would not have purchased it. I understand that Comcast’s prices are subject to change, however, I was not billed the quoted price even once.
Furthermore, Comcast Cable denied my demand to cancel my subscription to their service and continued to bill me. I am currently not certain whether I still have an account with Comcast or not. They have, however, billed me for late equipment. Again, I have never signed and never been shown any documentation stating a) when the equipment was to be returned by, b) what the charges are for late equipment, or c) the address to which the equipment must be returned. A responsible company would have provided this information when they installed the equipment.
Please note copies of the following documents:
A: Comcast’s prices as currently listed on their website. Note that these prices are specific to my address. The product Comcast sold me—monthly internet access without cable or phone service, is not listed among their services.
B: My e-mail correspondence with Nick P and Randy C from Comcast customer service. Please note that when I stated I would pay $30/month in following with our oral contract, Nick P did not reject this offer or present a counter offer. Also note that Randy C’s response to a customer service inquiry contains an order not to share his response with anyone else. This willful attempt to conceal information is not consistent with a company that is honest with its customers.
C: My notice informing me that my service has been scheduled for disconnection. I received this note after I had already demanded that my service be disconnected. Note that the box indicating that Comcast was attempting to retrieve equipment has not been checked. Also note that no date is given on this notice.
D: My receipt stating that all equipment has been returned to Comcast.
If Comcast can explain what this latest charge is for, and can demonstrate that I am in error and have, in fact, agreed to pay $27.23, I will, of course, pay the bill.
Sincerely,
Anonymous Rex
The government is evil
Today I found this story courtesy of Alex Jones.
In a previous post someone commented that they doubted Jones’ claims about CPS abducting and torturing children. I am not a parent and, despite my job, I don’t have a lot of experience working with CPS. But this story about a child put into foster care because his dad accidentally bought him a lemonde chilled me. I lived in Anne Arbor in the fourth grade. My parents aren’t that hip. This could have easily have been me in that foster home.
Note the comments by Don Duquette at the end of the article: he expresses surprise that the father was only separated from his son for a week and admits that CPS’s emergency removal powers are out of control. Any emergency powers are by definition going to be out of control! Positions of power attract evil people. The founding fathers knew that. Hell, the Roman senate knew that. Alex Jones commented on this story, “Where do you think pedophiles work?” While I have never seen evidence that CPS hires a large number of pedophiles, the theory makes perfect sense. If I were a pedophile, I would work for CPS. I were a sadist, I would seek a job as a prison guard or in law enforcement. If I enjoyed murdering people I would join the military.
This was a tenured faculty member in a town where the university pretty much runs everything. He had time, money, and resources. I can’t help but think about my students, many of whom are teenage mothers and fathers. What if this happened to them? The answer is simple–they would never see their children again, it would not be reported in the news, and no one would blog about it. It would just be one more awful thing that happens in a long string of awful things that is the life of an American living in poverty.
Alex Jones of course thinks that this part of an elaborate plot to destroy the family unit and to enslave humanity. It’s possible. That tactic is mentioned by George Orwell in 1984. His ideas about monster states were formed by his own work as an imperial police officer and the likes of Karl Rove have certainly adopted other “Orwellian devices” in their quest for power.
But here is what I think really happened: the CPS emergency powers were signed into law because legislators and their constituencies formed a mental picture of an otherized abusive parent. A parent that was poor and black and lived in the ghetto and that any child would be privilleged to get away from. Only when there is a breach in selective enforcement and the victim is a middle-class white family from the suburbs do we question whether this law is just.
