Scary stuff!! What else is out there?
Washington State Militia
From Craigslist
"Tri City Militia Forming in 2011 (apply within) (Badger Mtn (?))
Date: 2010-11-24, 10:09AM PST
Reply to: comm-6qhcg-2077882748@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
Fellow Tri Citians:
I have the same resolution each and every New Year that always seems to go by the wayside by months end due to various commitments in my life. However, this year I find myself jobless and womanless—no better time to rally support for a Tri-City paramilitary group. It is our constitutional right, nay, our duty, to form an arms bearing militia to defend our great, God given land.
I’m thinking that we should set up a fort somewhere on Badger Canyon (due to its advantageous view of all the cities) and start by meeting once a week to secure an arsenal of weapons and food (canned, freeze dried, etc). Our militia will be progressive and all enduring. One need only be Christian and American (or ¾ through the process of naturalization) and be willing to contribute a weapon capable of substantial bodily harm. I currently don’t have a gun due to some past legal issues but I do have a crossbow and some arrows I fashioned myself and a bowie knife that I will contribute to our caché. I have some extra wool socks that can be used as socks or hand warmers during these colder months. I can also probably get my mother to sign over the title to my late grandmothers Kia Sephia which can be utilized as a group car for rideshares, and left on site at the fort for runs into town.
Essentially what I’m looking for right now at this early stage is some people to commit some time to getting the fort and arsenal secured. And to also contribute some items that may help in getting things rolling, like:
Toilet paper
Am fm radio
(oh ill bring my gateway laptop too)
ladder
hammer and nails
wood
those hand warmers that activate by squeezing ( I have poor circulation)
cigarettes
distilled water
and anything else you can think of
Gun control is unconstitutional and we have a right to gather and defend our land. I’m especially concerned about what’s going on over there in Korea which hits to close to home because they are on the Pacific. Mostly, though we’ll gather to tell stories and do some target practice and walk through hand to hand combat. I wrestled in junior high so if anyone can bring knowledge of another martial arts to the group that would be good.
I’d like to get things up and running by Jan 3rd so please email me with questions and ill send sign up sheets to those interested.
Thank you for your time fellow Americans and Tri Citians,
C.M.
* Location: Badger Mtn (?)
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
PostingID: 2077882748"
(Source Craigslist)
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Monday, November 29, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The US Two-party system and "Big Government"
I just saw a note on Facebook where an American guy complains about the two-party system in the US. Among other things he wants to boykot the two parties and replace all current politicians with Main Street people. This, goes his logic, will result in "No union block votes, no quid pro quo, no back room double dealing. Just actual representation of the voting American".
I don't agree. There are policies and there's politics. Since the Greeks invented democracy 2000 years ago there has been back room dealings and quid pro quo's. And that's an acceptable part of the game of politics, I think. Slander and lying is not. I, too, think that two parties is not enough for a healthy democracy. Denmark, where I'm from, has had between 8 and 11 parties in the Parliament (+ small local parties in the municipalities) => Denmark has mostly had minority coalition governments that had to strike compromises with the majority in the parliament. That construction keeps a democracy vibrant, I think, and I wish the American constitution could be changed so that not only parties, but also coalition governments could be allowed.
On another note, being from a country that's founded on Socialdemocratic principles (socialism mixed with capitalism, flexicurity = easy to hire & fire & and a welfare state to clean up after the firing rounds so we don't have too much homelessness and crime messing up our streets), I don't consider Obama a socialist. And even if he's a proponent of "Big Government", I assure you that all countries in Western Europe have by far more positive than negative experiences with a relatively big welfare state/public sector. In return for some of the highest taxes in the world, a Danish citizen gets:
- free health care where a broken arm gets fixed right away. Unlike mine. My husband and I are insured via Microsoft, supposedly one of the best insurances in the country. Still they sent me home from the ER last night in a temporary wrapping, telling me to make my own appointment with a specialist to get a cast or an operation! The place I was told to call, said I could get it fixed on FRIDAY!!!! WTF!?
- free education from 0 grade to university + money to live for while studying AND access to VERY cheap student loans
- plenty and cheap access to child care for all 0-6 year-olds, partly paid by the municipality, partly paid by the parent. In Sweden, it's considered a child's right to be raised/developed by a professional pedagogue when your parents are at work, so they keep the price even lower than Denmark, at a mere $180 a month - including meals and diapers
- public elderly care and protected housing for more independent elders and handicapped
- all kinds of economic support for unemployed single parents, since Denmark values its future - the children - highly and therefore invests in them
- Effective, fast and clean public transport and wide, well-maintained bikelanes, so I don't have to remember where I parked and worry about parking rules :-) i MISS not needing a car!
So all in all, even though the Obama administration has managed to make some improvements in the rights of the majority of the American people, I think there's still a loooong way to go before Americans are fairly protected by strong consumer rights and the freedom to not having to lie awake at night worrying about going bankrupt if a family member gets ill, or if a parent gets unemployed.
Links
http://whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com
nprnews: Reich Blames Economy's Woes On Income Disparity
Johann Hari: America is now officially for sale
I don't agree. There are policies and there's politics. Since the Greeks invented democracy 2000 years ago there has been back room dealings and quid pro quo's. And that's an acceptable part of the game of politics, I think. Slander and lying is not. I, too, think that two parties is not enough for a healthy democracy. Denmark, where I'm from, has had between 8 and 11 parties in the Parliament (+ small local parties in the municipalities) => Denmark has mostly had minority coalition governments that had to strike compromises with the majority in the parliament. That construction keeps a democracy vibrant, I think, and I wish the American constitution could be changed so that not only parties, but also coalition governments could be allowed.
On another note, being from a country that's founded on Socialdemocratic principles (socialism mixed with capitalism, flexicurity = easy to hire & fire & and a welfare state to clean up after the firing rounds so we don't have too much homelessness and crime messing up our streets), I don't consider Obama a socialist. And even if he's a proponent of "Big Government", I assure you that all countries in Western Europe have by far more positive than negative experiences with a relatively big welfare state/public sector. In return for some of the highest taxes in the world, a Danish citizen gets:
- free health care where a broken arm gets fixed right away. Unlike mine. My husband and I are insured via Microsoft, supposedly one of the best insurances in the country. Still they sent me home from the ER last night in a temporary wrapping, telling me to make my own appointment with a specialist to get a cast or an operation! The place I was told to call, said I could get it fixed on FRIDAY!!!! WTF!?
- free education from 0 grade to university + money to live for while studying AND access to VERY cheap student loans- plenty and cheap access to child care for all 0-6 year-olds, partly paid by the municipality, partly paid by the parent. In Sweden, it's considered a child's right to be raised/developed by a professional pedagogue when your parents are at work, so they keep the price even lower than Denmark, at a mere $180 a month - including meals and diapers
- public elderly care and protected housing for more independent elders and handicapped
- all kinds of economic support for unemployed single parents, since Denmark values its future - the children - highly and therefore invests in them
- Effective, fast and clean public transport and wide, well-maintained bikelanes, so I don't have to remember where I parked and worry about parking rules :-) i MISS not needing a car!
So all in all, even though the Obama administration has managed to make some improvements in the rights of the majority of the American people, I think there's still a loooong way to go before Americans are fairly protected by strong consumer rights and the freedom to not having to lie awake at night worrying about going bankrupt if a family member gets ill, or if a parent gets unemployed.
Links
http://whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com
nprnews: Reich Blames Economy's Woes On Income Disparity
Johann Hari: America is now officially for sale
Sunday, September 26, 2010
US a county of free competition?
Not to the extent I had expected!
Comcast
Just getting something as basic as an internet/tv package turned out to be a frustrating endeavor when I moved to Seattle, WA, a couple of years ago. When I came here, my husband had already made a deal with Comcast which gave us fast and relatively stable internet, a possibility of getting an email account and a relatively big tv package where we can record tv programs - a great service, despite the high price.
I might never had noticed that my husband and I had locked ourselves into a monopoly if it wasn't because we kept on having problems with our tv, not being able to watch the channels we paid for. Three times we had a Comcast cable guy come buy to try to fix the cable problems, each time it ended in failure. So I looked into our options on Google.
At first I was filled with optimism seeing the many hits that came up when I searched for 'internet and tv providers'. But my smile quickly changed into a frown when I realized that the long hit list didn't do anything for me since all the providers in the US have neatly divided and conquered the nation between them so there remains only one (!) - 1 - cable provider in each urban area!! I though America was the country of free competition? And aren't cartels illegal in the US?
Being stubborn, I called the only 'alternatives' to cable we've got in Seattle, two dish networks providers - an anachronistic solution from the 1980's that no one in Denmark uses anymore - unless they are from another country and want to be able to watch all the channels from their home country. I swallowed my pride, deciding to go for the obsolete option in order to not allow myself to fall victim of a monopoly and made an appointment with Quest Dish Network to install a dish for us. When the guy came, he carried not just one, but two (!) dishes, one bigger than the other. Both were supposed to be installed on the railing on our balcony, facing south - thus keeping the sun away from our balcony. My husband and I couldn't stand that thought, so we apologized to the guy, helped him carry down his stuff and sent him home. Back to Comcast, head down.
After the 4th Comcast cable guy left our place being unable to help us, we decided to just scratch the up-to-date solution with the recording box and change to the minimum package of purportedly 26 tv stations (de facto about 10 that are in any way watch-able). If Comcast had competition I imagine we would have at least one other cable option, and maybe even a change to pick the tv stations we want - even if we only want 10 tv stations, say, CNN (Europe - which has much better world coverage than the US equivalent), MSNBC, KCTS9, TV5, C-SPAN, CBC, BBC World, HGTV, Comedy Central & SciFi. But somehow you're forced to pay for a load of @#$%^&* you don't want if you want to get most of these channels I just mentioned. And since we refused to pay a ton of money for a huge package of stuff we'd only use a tiny fraction of, we decided it's just not worth it. So we almost never watch tv anymore - which is probably for the better anyway. Instead we use podcasts, pbs.com, Netflix & Hulu (thank you PBS, Netflix & Hulu!), and I know an increasing amount of people are doing the same. You would think that that trend would at least make the cable monopolies CONSIDER upping their service a bit...
Ticketmaster
Same goes for buying concert tickets or other tickets. It seems that most concert places and theaters have made a deal with Ticketmaster that you can only get tickets via Ticketmaster's website - and pay the exorbitant fee to Ticketmaster for doing so. That, too, enraged me so much, that I have boycotted any event that require you buy your ticket via Ticketmaster. If I can in any way walk to the location and buy a ticket there, I do that. Fortunately I see one alternative to Ticketmaster ever more frequently, http://www.brownpapertickets.com/ So there's light at the end of the tunnel in the ticket purchasing market at least.
iPhone & AT&T
I know that AT&T is the old state monopoly, we have them too in Europe. But never have I seen such a clear case of monopoly for a phone company AFTER the official fall of the state owned phone companies as I have with AT&T and the iPhone! How can the American competition authorities possibly allow one company to sit on one specific phone brand - and that's one that happens to be the most popular and fastest growing?
Having consumer organization like Consumer Reports and Consumer Watchdog is a good thing, but it's not enough. The american citizens also need a strong federal or state authority that ensures that the citizens can act in a market with real options, free competition and absence of cartels.
Comcast
Just getting something as basic as an internet/tv package turned out to be a frustrating endeavor when I moved to Seattle, WA, a couple of years ago. When I came here, my husband had already made a deal with Comcast which gave us fast and relatively stable internet, a possibility of getting an email account and a relatively big tv package where we can record tv programs - a great service, despite the high price.
I might never had noticed that my husband and I had locked ourselves into a monopoly if it wasn't because we kept on having problems with our tv, not being able to watch the channels we paid for. Three times we had a Comcast cable guy come buy to try to fix the cable problems, each time it ended in failure. So I looked into our options on Google. At first I was filled with optimism seeing the many hits that came up when I searched for 'internet and tv providers'. But my smile quickly changed into a frown when I realized that the long hit list didn't do anything for me since all the providers in the US have neatly divided and conquered the nation between them so there remains only one (!) - 1 - cable provider in each urban area!! I though America was the country of free competition? And aren't cartels illegal in the US?
Being stubborn, I called the only 'alternatives' to cable we've got in Seattle, two dish networks providers - an anachronistic solution from the 1980's that no one in Denmark uses anymore - unless they are from another country and want to be able to watch all the channels from their home country. I swallowed my pride, deciding to go for the obsolete option in order to not allow myself to fall victim of a monopoly and made an appointment with Quest Dish Network to install a dish for us. When the guy came, he carried not just one, but two (!) dishes, one bigger than the other. Both were supposed to be installed on the railing on our balcony, facing south - thus keeping the sun away from our balcony. My husband and I couldn't stand that thought, so we apologized to the guy, helped him carry down his stuff and sent him home. Back to Comcast, head down.
After the 4th Comcast cable guy left our place being unable to help us, we decided to just scratch the up-to-date solution with the recording box and change to the minimum package of purportedly 26 tv stations (de facto about 10 that are in any way watch-able). If Comcast had competition I imagine we would have at least one other cable option, and maybe even a change to pick the tv stations we want - even if we only want 10 tv stations, say, CNN (Europe - which has much better world coverage than the US equivalent), MSNBC, KCTS9, TV5, C-SPAN, CBC, BBC World, HGTV, Comedy Central & SciFi. But somehow you're forced to pay for a load of @#$%^&* you don't want if you want to get most of these channels I just mentioned. And since we refused to pay a ton of money for a huge package of stuff we'd only use a tiny fraction of, we decided it's just not worth it. So we almost never watch tv anymore - which is probably for the better anyway. Instead we use podcasts, pbs.com, Netflix & Hulu (thank you PBS, Netflix & Hulu!), and I know an increasing amount of people are doing the same. You would think that that trend would at least make the cable monopolies CONSIDER upping their service a bit...
Ticketmaster
Same goes for buying concert tickets or other tickets. It seems that most concert places and theaters have made a deal with Ticketmaster that you can only get tickets via Ticketmaster's website - and pay the exorbitant fee to Ticketmaster for doing so. That, too, enraged me so much, that I have boycotted any event that require you buy your ticket via Ticketmaster. If I can in any way walk to the location and buy a ticket there, I do that. Fortunately I see one alternative to Ticketmaster ever more frequently, http://www.brownpapertickets.com/ So there's light at the end of the tunnel in the ticket purchasing market at least.
iPhone & AT&T
I know that AT&T is the old state monopoly, we have them too in Europe. But never have I seen such a clear case of monopoly for a phone company AFTER the official fall of the state owned phone companies as I have with AT&T and the iPhone! How can the American competition authorities possibly allow one company to sit on one specific phone brand - and that's one that happens to be the most popular and fastest growing?
Having consumer organization like Consumer Reports and Consumer Watchdog is a good thing, but it's not enough. The american citizens also need a strong federal or state authority that ensures that the citizens can act in a market with real options, free competition and absence of cartels.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Illogic food pricing in the US, Part II
I guess I should just stop shopping at super markets over here since it seems to be bad for my blood pressure. Reaching for the yeast (yes, the fresh) in anticipation of baking some buns, I was shocked to see the price: $1.79 for 17 grams - 17 GRAMS! In Denmark they throw it at you, 50 grams for $0.20-0.50. So since I need min 2 US packages of yeast to make a full portion of buns (yes, Danish recipe), I end up paying more for going through the trouble (and the electricity for heating the oven) of making my own bread than buying a so-called quality bread in the same super market! Now where's the logic in that!?!? In Denmark it used to cost me $2 to make my own bread and $4 to buy a good bread, see THAT's logic.
Also sad to see that of the few words that are highlighted in the baking isle sign is NEITHER flour nor sugar (anymore, it used to be sugar), but cake mix!! No wonder America is struggling w overweight and bad health when it's so expensive (and therefore uncommon) to make your own dishes. How sad though.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Mixed bag on politics
In Denmark where I'm from, you earn less when you work in the public sector, but it's true that you have the best pension deals, typically around 8 weeks of vacation and good parental leave and sabbath deals. Nonetheless most Danes still aim for a job in the private sector because the salaries are much higher and there's the possibility to get stocks/bonuses/stock options while all still have minimum 6 weeks of vacation. Women more often than men choose to work in the public sector because of the parental leave deal, the possibility for flexible work hours and there's a smaller risk of over time work so it's easier to pick up the children after school or daycare.
I don't know if Americans in the public sector earns more than people in an equivalent job in the private sector, but I'd be surprised if it was so.
As I understood based on the FRONTLINE tv documentaries and articles on the housing implosion it was not laws or the government that forced banks to make bad loans and rub them off to others that thought they were buying secure loan packages. But the lack of laws to prevent the banks from doing it. As far as I remember these preventive laws were made in the aftermath of the 1929 depression and removed by President Clinton in the happy 1990s. Economists were repeatedly warning that it was a problem that the law that demanded banks to have a certain amount of money saved up as a buffer, was gone. But no one i power seemed to listen.
As for retirement age, I think it's the same problem all over the developed world: The elderly burden is rising because the young/elder balance is tipping = fewer people in the working age to generate money to take care of the retired => retirement age rise, private saving is encouraged/rewarded by the government if not outright enforced. I don't necessarily think Boehner's idea on this issue is a bad idea. But there has to be a possibility for early retirement for people of weak health that are unable to work until they're 70. I expect to work till I'm 70, and that's what I want - if I stay healthy. And I'm gonna do all I can to stay healthy. In Europe people are saying that the 30s are the new 20's and the 80s are the new 70s and so on. People in their 80s being so healthy that they lead quite active lives, traveling, doing sports, having an active sexual life etc. That's what I hope will be the case for the majority of people in the world in a few decades.
As for the oil spill, I, too, like JK, have seen other oil companies presenting themselves as "green" companies, especially Shell
See the full debate here
I don't know if Americans in the public sector earns more than people in an equivalent job in the private sector, but I'd be surprised if it was so.
As I understood based on the FRONTLINE tv documentaries and articles on the housing implosion it was not laws or the government that forced banks to make bad loans and rub them off to others that thought they were buying secure loan packages. But the lack of laws to prevent the banks from doing it. As far as I remember these preventive laws were made in the aftermath of the 1929 depression and removed by President Clinton in the happy 1990s. Economists were repeatedly warning that it was a problem that the law that demanded banks to have a certain amount of money saved up as a buffer, was gone. But no one i power seemed to listen.
As for retirement age, I think it's the same problem all over the developed world: The elderly burden is rising because the young/elder balance is tipping = fewer people in the working age to generate money to take care of the retired => retirement age rise, private saving is encouraged/rewarded by the government if not outright enforced. I don't necessarily think Boehner's idea on this issue is a bad idea. But there has to be a possibility for early retirement for people of weak health that are unable to work until they're 70. I expect to work till I'm 70, and that's what I want - if I stay healthy. And I'm gonna do all I can to stay healthy. In Europe people are saying that the 30s are the new 20's and the 80s are the new 70s and so on. People in their 80s being so healthy that they lead quite active lives, traveling, doing sports, having an active sexual life etc. That's what I hope will be the case for the majority of people in the world in a few decades.
As for the oil spill, I, too, like JK, have seen other oil companies presenting themselves as "green" companies, especially Shell
See the full debate here
Thursday, June 10, 2010
American bank-customer rules like the Wild West
I just stumbled upon a status from a Facebook friend complaining over the service from Bank of America to a degree that he left the bank and encourage others to follow suit. Some of his friends commented and all comments agreed with him.
That made me add this comment, which has been brewing inside me for as long as I've lived in the US:
I just can't believe how weak the competition is in the US bank sector & how weak the consumers are!?!? How can the banks demand as high interest rates over here?!?? It's a mystery to me. The interests rates over here would be illegal in Denmark, and somehow our banks (in DK) are still doing quite well (and so are their stock holders) with decent profits even though Danish banks usually demand 8-12% interest rate on your credit card and 7-8% on home loans (the expensive 2nd mortgage). The institution that loans you the max 80% value of your home typically takes 5% interest rate for a fixed loan or lower if you're willing to renew your loan and accept a floating interest rate - for good or bad - 1 a year or every 3 years. Student loans cost the student 1% a year while they are studying and until 1 year after they graduate. Then it's time to pay back, and that at a rate of 3-5% I wish the Americans would have the same rules!
Checking Bank of America's website, I can't even find the rates they take for credit cards and student loans, not even under Frequently Asked Questions! But they make it very easy to open an account, of course. Not pretty.
Speaking of usury, just saw an ad for a company called peachtree, which looks like something equivalent to lendingtree/moneytree or whatever they're all called. All these pay day loan companies shocked a Danish friend and journalist of mine so much when she visited me here in the US that she took a picture of one of these companies. These kinds of companies are not legal in Denmark and haven't been for decades because they're considered to be taking advantage of desperate people in need.
Hilarious! Bank of America Chairman, Charles Holiday, just said on C SPAN that US banks shouldn't be restricted in size because then they would be weaker compared to their European competitors! As if any European bank is allowed to be as big as, say Bank of America. Has he 'forgotten' that it is EU that keep suing Microsoft for quenching free competition?!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Make Strides Walkathon 2010 - help children & adults walk again
Join my team at the very first Prosthetics Outreach Foundation 2 mile Walkathon Saturday July 10, 9-11:30AM @ Seward Park, 5895 Lake Washington Blvd. S Seattle, WA 98118
Or skip the walk and join the other volunteers, eat, drink enjoy the music and other entertainment, all in order to help children and adults in the developed world walk again. Have fun and do good at the same time!
If you happen to be out of town that day, you'd still make my day if you donate to my cause!
POF Make Strides Walkathon 2010 - Prosthetics Outreach Foundation
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