Words without action are pointless.
Occupy Wall Street? How about Unoccupy Wall Street. You want to take money out of politics? Take your money out of the banks, out of the stock market. Remove it entirely from the entities that speculate with your funds. Some guy with a sign in a park has no effect; removing your money from the market sends a clear message to the very entities you protest against. Even if you only do it for a week, it will have an effect.
Want to stop new oil wells from being drilled? Buy an electric car, ride a bike, take the bus, join a car pool. But don't spend your time whining to me about saving the polar bear habitat if you aren't doing anything on a personal level to save the polar bear habitat.
Want the politicians to sit up and take notice of your desires? Get up and run for office yourself. No, you won't be able to run for president in 2016 but you can certainly start by filing your candidacy in a local office in your town. That way you can learn for yourself how it works and work your way up, just like hiring on at a company and working your way up the career ladder.
Too many people speak too many words and take no action. Until you shut up and step up, nothing's going to change.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Hill's Pet Food is BAD
Editing original post as I acquire additional information
No, I'm not talking about the product. I'm sure it's a fine product (I have in fact previously used Hill's prescription products for other animals in my household). My complaint has to do with their business model which requires their prescription food dispensing partners carry no other brands of prescription pet food or they pay higher prices for the Hill's product. This puts my local supplier in a very difficult position.
I have a 12 year old dog. She eats Purina j/m formula dog food. She's eaten it for the past 4 years. The LOCAL pharmacy where I purchase this item is having to cave into Hill's demands that they stock and dispense only Hill's labeled product to get pricing breaks. This is an independent pharmacy. They should be able to dispense whatever products veterinarian's write a prescription for without penalty.
I am not changing my dog's food. I will change my pharmacy first. And if I have to change my dispensing pharmacy for one item, I might as well switch all my pet's prescription needs to another pharmacy. I have some expensive dogs in the medication department. This may cause the local pharmacy to go out of business. Great work Hill's. The economy could use more companies like you.
Hill's pet food has made a serious enemy today. Let the internet trashing of Hill's begin.
11-18-2011: Hills adamantly stands by their claim that they enact no coercion on the companies they supply to carry only their product. MyVetsMeds adamantly stands by their claim that their contract with Hills is contrary to Hills' claims. MyVetsMeds has changed their business model and I am no longer able to get ANYTHING from them on a local level so at this point I am despising both companies equally.
No, I'm not talking about the product. I'm sure it's a fine product (I have in fact previously used Hill's prescription products for other animals in my household). My complaint has to do with their business model which requires their prescription food dispensing partners carry no other brands of prescription pet food or they pay higher prices for the Hill's product. This puts my local supplier in a very difficult position.
I have a 12 year old dog. She eats Purina j/m formula dog food. She's eaten it for the past 4 years. The LOCAL pharmacy where I purchase this item is having to cave into Hill's demands that they stock and dispense only Hill's labeled product to get pricing breaks. This is an independent pharmacy. They should be able to dispense whatever products veterinarian's write a prescription for without penalty.
I am not changing my dog's food. I will change my pharmacy first. And if I have to change my dispensing pharmacy for one item, I might as well switch all my pet's prescription needs to another pharmacy. I have some expensive dogs in the medication department. This may cause the local pharmacy to go out of business. Great work Hill's. The economy could use more companies like you.
Hill's pet food has made a serious enemy today. Let the internet trashing of Hill's begin.
11-18-2011: Hills adamantly stands by their claim that they enact no coercion on the companies they supply to carry only their product. MyVetsMeds adamantly stands by their claim that their contract with Hills is contrary to Hills' claims. MyVetsMeds has changed their business model and I am no longer able to get ANYTHING from them on a local level so at this point I am despising both companies equally.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
When Did I Become a Conservative Again?
I try to book some home PC time every weekend because clicking links on tweets on the BB does not always render a page that's mobile device friendly. This weekend I'm catching up on links from Rachel Maddow's blog. And once again my fellow liberals just make me cringe almost as much as the right wing does.
TRMS highlights (as wrong) the politician that wants to make it so that the clothing allowance that's given to children on welfare and in foster care can only be spent at thrift stores or the Salvation Army. I disagree with limiting it to those two options but I don't disagree with the idea of requiring a clothing allowance be spent on clothing, especially if there are no current restrictions on how it gets spent. WIC dollars are restricted as to what you can spend them on, shouldn't clothing dollars be the same?
Does this sort of thinking make me a conservative? I liberally support public assistance programs; why can't I also support some sort of checks and balances that assure the money I give from every pay check goes to the actual sort of assistance I am supporting.
TRMS highlights (as wrong) the politician that wants to make it so that the clothing allowance that's given to children on welfare and in foster care can only be spent at thrift stores or the Salvation Army. I disagree with limiting it to those two options but I don't disagree with the idea of requiring a clothing allowance be spent on clothing, especially if there are no current restrictions on how it gets spent. WIC dollars are restricted as to what you can spend them on, shouldn't clothing dollars be the same?
Does this sort of thinking make me a conservative? I liberally support public assistance programs; why can't I also support some sort of checks and balances that assure the money I give from every pay check goes to the actual sort of assistance I am supporting.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Escape From the Rest Home, Part Ia
I just realized after my part II post that I never posted about the local Realtor lady adventure!!!
O.M.G. Let me tell you a tale.
The week after Escape Part I, I showed up for our weekly weekend lunch and asked if he'd found any homes in the paper that he'd like to look at. The Topeka paper didn't have anything he wanted to see. We did lunch and then he indicated he wanted to cruise around my little town and see what houses had for sale signs. No problem. I had the local paper with me and we cruised up and down the streets and I compared what we saw with the info in the paper. Ended up with four houses he wanted to see.
He asked me when I would be available to take him to see those houses. I replied that it was a Realtor's job to show him those houses and if he was so sure he could live independently, he could certainly call the Realtor, and have the Realtor pick him up and show him houses. Which he did. I informed the staff at Shady Pines that this was being done with my blessing and they agreed it was a good reality check. After his Adventure in Real Estate was concluded, he called me to inform me that he'd made an offer on one of the houses and I needed to call the Realtor and give her my fax number so she could fax him some documents to sign.
The next day I called the Realtor full expecting i would have to fight some money-grubbing entity that was salivating over the thought of a nice commission in a lousy market. Oh Ye of little faith. Slipping back into my Los Angeles state-of-mind. What I got on the phone was another nice slice of Kansas. People who care. People who don't look the other way and say, it's not my business. People who every single day make me so glad I moved to Kansas.
Her first question was, "You're not really considering letting him do this, are you?" which segued into "I have serious reservations about his abilities to live alone." I said no, I wasn't, but that he was insistent that he was capable of this and f he proved he was, I would have no argument against it. She went on to detail how from the moment she saw him, she knew this was not a viable client. She had not submitted any offers to any sellers as she could not believe it would come to pass.
She continued to say that she really grilled him about his capabilities and couldn't believe he didn't have family to assist him, at which point he admitted to a daughter in the area. Relieved, she pushed no further as she could see he was getting agitated. She related that she too had a mother that was growing incapacitated and understood what I was going through.
So there are many people who tread the same path I do. What I want to know, is why am I walking this path for a man who mercilessly beat his wife and children to the point where they each left him several decades ago?
O.M.G. Let me tell you a tale.
The week after Escape Part I, I showed up for our weekly weekend lunch and asked if he'd found any homes in the paper that he'd like to look at. The Topeka paper didn't have anything he wanted to see. We did lunch and then he indicated he wanted to cruise around my little town and see what houses had for sale signs. No problem. I had the local paper with me and we cruised up and down the streets and I compared what we saw with the info in the paper. Ended up with four houses he wanted to see.
He asked me when I would be available to take him to see those houses. I replied that it was a Realtor's job to show him those houses and if he was so sure he could live independently, he could certainly call the Realtor, and have the Realtor pick him up and show him houses. Which he did. I informed the staff at Shady Pines that this was being done with my blessing and they agreed it was a good reality check. After his Adventure in Real Estate was concluded, he called me to inform me that he'd made an offer on one of the houses and I needed to call the Realtor and give her my fax number so she could fax him some documents to sign.
The next day I called the Realtor full expecting i would have to fight some money-grubbing entity that was salivating over the thought of a nice commission in a lousy market. Oh Ye of little faith. Slipping back into my Los Angeles state-of-mind. What I got on the phone was another nice slice of Kansas. People who care. People who don't look the other way and say, it's not my business. People who every single day make me so glad I moved to Kansas.
Her first question was, "You're not really considering letting him do this, are you?" which segued into "I have serious reservations about his abilities to live alone." I said no, I wasn't, but that he was insistent that he was capable of this and f he proved he was, I would have no argument against it. She went on to detail how from the moment she saw him, she knew this was not a viable client. She had not submitted any offers to any sellers as she could not believe it would come to pass.
She continued to say that she really grilled him about his capabilities and couldn't believe he didn't have family to assist him, at which point he admitted to a daughter in the area. Relieved, she pushed no further as she could see he was getting agitated. She related that she too had a mother that was growing incapacitated and understood what I was going through.
So there are many people who tread the same path I do. What I want to know, is why am I walking this path for a man who mercilessly beat his wife and children to the point where they each left him several decades ago?
Escape From the Rest Home, Part II
Apparently he hasn't abandoned his fantasy of leaving Shady Pines, he was just waiting for me to leave town. We are going on vacation. We're going to visit my mom, whom I have not seen in seven years, and the three of us are driving from her place north of Phoenix to Vegas. We are going to have fun. Lots of fun. And I don't have to worry about my animals 'cause Amber stays at the house and I don't have to worry about Dad because he's got 24 hour supervision.
Note to self: Don't ever tell dad you are going on vacation. Just go. Let the staff at Shady Pines take care of him. It's what you pay them for.
After his experience with the local Realtor, he wasn't trying any in-town vendors. Found some travel agent in Burlington, Kansas (maybe she advertised in the newspaper he gets?) and bought a plane ticket to Redmond via Chicago and Portland. I feel sorry for the people he would potentially have come in contact with on this trip. He can barely walk. If he doesn't use the restroom frequently, he's incontinent. By the time the flight attendants caught on to the fact that he was having just a little too much alcohol, it would have been far too late. I shudder to think of him trying to make one plane connection, much less two. It's why I booked a non-stop when I brought him here. He is in complete denial of his capabilities.
It seems he mixed up the date he thought I was leaving and started telling everyone goodbye today. When the envelope with his plane ticket arrived at Shady Pines, the staff put 2 + 2 together and called me.
He's pissed. Said he wants to revoke the trust so I can't "keep him there anymore". Shady Pines director told him that he couldn't just say the words and make it so, he had to get an attorney. I told him that was fine, he could put his attorney up against my attorney any day, but it would have to wait until I got back from vacation. I made it clear that since I didn't want to have to worry about any stunts while I was gone, and with the staff's blessing, I was taking all his credit cards and his phones so he couldn't cause any more mischief. Told him that anything he needed to get by for the next week was right here at Shady Pines and that the staff would be happy to get him anything he needs, but gone. They would also be happy to make any calls he needed made.
This man, who beat my mother, my brother, and my self; who terrorized us for years, is the most ungrateful bastard in the world. He once told me I was an ungrateful piece of shit. Today, I know exactly what he was feeling when he said those words to me 35 years ago.
They're cute at that age, right?
Note to self: Don't ever tell dad you are going on vacation. Just go. Let the staff at Shady Pines take care of him. It's what you pay them for.
After his experience with the local Realtor, he wasn't trying any in-town vendors. Found some travel agent in Burlington, Kansas (maybe she advertised in the newspaper he gets?) and bought a plane ticket to Redmond via Chicago and Portland. I feel sorry for the people he would potentially have come in contact with on this trip. He can barely walk. If he doesn't use the restroom frequently, he's incontinent. By the time the flight attendants caught on to the fact that he was having just a little too much alcohol, it would have been far too late. I shudder to think of him trying to make one plane connection, much less two. It's why I booked a non-stop when I brought him here. He is in complete denial of his capabilities.
It seems he mixed up the date he thought I was leaving and started telling everyone goodbye today. When the envelope with his plane ticket arrived at Shady Pines, the staff put 2 + 2 together and called me.
He's pissed. Said he wants to revoke the trust so I can't "keep him there anymore". Shady Pines director told him that he couldn't just say the words and make it so, he had to get an attorney. I told him that was fine, he could put his attorney up against my attorney any day, but it would have to wait until I got back from vacation. I made it clear that since I didn't want to have to worry about any stunts while I was gone, and with the staff's blessing, I was taking all his credit cards and his phones so he couldn't cause any more mischief. Told him that anything he needed to get by for the next week was right here at Shady Pines and that the staff would be happy to get him anything he needs, but gone. They would also be happy to make any calls he needed made.
This man, who beat my mother, my brother, and my self; who terrorized us for years, is the most ungrateful bastard in the world. He once told me I was an ungrateful piece of shit. Today, I know exactly what he was feeling when he said those words to me 35 years ago.
They're cute at that age, right?
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