MISTER ED's CORNER

(One of the most inspiring clips on what our country and it's citizens can and should be - Ronald Reagan)

Plato once said: "The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men". I now realize this to be true. I've spent most of my life thus far ignoring political issues and rolling my eyes at the claims of politicians. I joined the Republican Party initially to anger my family and grandmother, as they were strong and dedicated Democrats. Yet I was excited to vote. I felt all grow'd up casting my vote the first time. As time passed, I would vote for a candidate I thought was most enlightened. Most of the time it was a Republican. When I didn't know the issues or candidates, I voted for some third party wannabee.

2008 is yet another election year where opponents from various political parties square off on various issues and what they believe is the best solution or path to improve the great country known as the United States of America. For most Americans, politics holds very little importance in their lives. They go about life excited for the next winner of Dancing with the Stars, or some other mindless alleged reality show, engaging in a never ending consumption of mindless entertainment that holds no real worth a week later. Others are so involved in taking care of their families and living paycheck to paycheck that to take their nose from the grindstone could be catastrophic. So, for most Americans, who can be bothered with politics when life is in the way and the government seems to grow bigger and bigger with no interest in listening to it's citizens? Well, now I can be bothered, and I am.

The last 2 years or so, I have awakened to the need to be involved in the political process. I have awakened to find the ideals I was taught in my youth, constitutional values, have been trampled upon, sometimes before I was of legal age. The Democrat Party of my parents and grandparents and beyond has been hijacked by fabian socialists cloaking themselves as "saviors" of the poor and creating victims of anyone they can spin it upon. If you aspire to be wealthy, they wish to redistribute the success of those that can manage money to those that cannot, including to the federal guberment. The Republicans spend and bend. They waiver in the wind instead of standing strong on the values that founded this country and that have proven true over time. America is in jeopardy of becoming tribal in nature as each party becomes more and more partisan and in one case more socialistic by forcing compassion upon the masses. Being awakened recently gives the one advantage of seeing the distraction techniques of the press and politicians, mostly the democrats in my not so humble opinion. You know the trick, where they say look at this (a meaningless sock puppet) and then with their other hand they are reaching around your back and robbing you of your wallet. Then you have the media, brand names we all grew up with and thought we could trust, covering up and pretending to be objective. In some cases they seem so convincing, yet when you dig into the facts they omit and backgrounds of those involved, you find stuff that makes Hollywood spy conspiracy plots look like childs play. The issues with the politicians and the media are so deep and disconcerting that you could write volumes on the connections to corruption, journalistic and political malpractice, and their greed for power and wealth.

Lately I've been noticing movement in the idea that all the problems will dissappear if we abandon capitalism, if we allow the government to decide how to help the poor and needy, if we allow the government to determine how patriotic we are by taxing us and businesses (large and small), and how just handing out money will satisfy us to the point we are blind to their mistakes and ambitions to usurp power from the people. But this is the key that people do not seem to remember, The power belongs to the people and not to the government. As President Reagan said: "If no one among is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else". So when you hear soundbites and various political pundits on TV that are pretending to be experts that know what's best for you or make you feel guilty or frustrated for feeling otherwise, that perpetuate the myth that government knows best or props up someone that believes in more government as the default winner, such as Barack "Hot Air Balloon Ride" Obama, you need to remember what our founding fathers said and warned against in the case of the government gaining too much power. You need to learn what other great US Presidents have said and done in the past in regards to protecing us, we the people, from growing government and over taxation in the guise of helping the less fortunate. Government's job is to provide protection of the opportunities, not equalize opportunities to bless one group of people and to punish another. It's job is to ensure personal responsibility and the opportunity to pursue happiness, not guarantee it through forced compassion or via the spreading of wealth.

Socialist and Marxist ideals that many high ranking democrats embrace and implement have failed time and time again. So those that embrace it must be aware of this fact and therefore must be desiring the destruction of the United States as we know it. If not, then they are emotionally invested and no longer practice common sense and are not fit to lead the rest of us.

Now, before I finish, I'm not happy with Republicans either. If I could find a party that truly embraces the constitution, our founding values, personal responsibility, limited government, helping the poor by encouraging compassion from it's citizens instead of mismanaged guberment programs, protecting the environment without buying into whimsical data like that of man-made global climate change or forcing everything to be studied and litigated to death, as well as embracing religious freedom - not freedom from it; then I would join that party. But for now the choices are where we have are: socialists, renamed as progressives as if their idears are new and unheard of, posing as democrats. Then we have goof balls with holes in their wallets pretending to be conservatives. Then a bunch of so called independent parties that have nothing of substance to offer but wastes of time when looking at their platforms/candidates - think Green party and the gal they nominated as their candidate for President ... she slapped an officer for inconveniencing her as she went through security screening at a congressional building ... now that really instills confidence.

So when you go to the polls this year, think deep down in your heart and reflect upon what you know about history, and then think about which candidate will embrace the values our country was founded upon, even at a local level. Then ask yourself: Which one promises to do the hard things that need to be done? Which one is less likely to be buying off your vote with free stuff we all pay for anyways? Which one sounds like they will cost less to us as taxpayers? Which one will allow you to be free and make your own decisions with your money and not meddle in your private affairs? I know who I am voting for, after 2 years of research and study, even if I do not like all my choices. But I refuse to let my country become a socialist country and I will fight the rest of my days to keep this it free for us all, as best I can, and no matter how small I can assist in such an endevour. So, on a personal level, I ask you to please support those that believe in smaller government and those that will "fight" for you and what is truly important.

We do not need nor should we desire the guberment and our representatives to tell us otherwise nor to ignore us. Change is good, but only if we know what that change is and that it is soundly rooted in principles that are proven to work for us, not against us.

Remember this, Compassion can be exercised individually, but freedom can be taken from us collectively.

A client of mine from the midwest sent this funny pic to ME in an Easter message. I just had to share it...

Picture it, the day after Thanksgiving 2004, the biggest shopping day of the year for retailers. And guess where I was? Yes, that's right! I was in the middle of it all watching a horde of Wal~Mart maniacs duke it out for those "all you can buy" $2 DVD titles that you wouldn't be caught dead with on a rainy day; as well as waiting in a series of hour long lines at CompUSA, Office Max, Best Buy and a few other local retailers; all for the hunt of the ultimate bargain on a few toys and trinkets for home and the office.

By the end of the day, I suffered many shopping war wounds comprising of sore feet, limp arms from the "wait-lifting" exercises during my quest to pass through a checkout stand, and finally not to mention my parched taste buds that yearned for a drop of anything liquid to quench the desert it felt like. But it was all worth it, or so I thought as I surveyed my conquests for that day. I had racked up an incredible amount of deals, mostly for the office, that earned me the self-proclaimed title of Mighty Bargain Hunter, which coincidentally could rival the shopping skills of any gal I knew.

Later that week I turned my attention to mailing off the many mail-in rebates I could redeem. I believe the total was close to $1200. It was exciting to mail the rebate forms and think of the money streaming back into my mailbox.

Life went on. Afterall, it takes like a billion weeks for a rebate arrive in the mailbox. After a a billion weeks and a day, I started to forget about the rebates as life decided I needed to be busier by pursuing yet another piece of paper to hang on my wall, as well as with the increase of opportunities for me professionally. Soon I forgot about the rebates all together.

But in June of last year, I needed to purchase another significant piece of computing equipment. While browsing the local advertisements containing numerous mail-in rebates for just about anything I could buy, I suddenly realized that I had never received a single one of my rebates. This angered me, especially when I found uncooperative companies, so I won't name compUSA or Office Max since they need to be innocent and all that other stuff to protect their identities. I double checked my copies and found I had made no error that I knew of. Postage was affixed. Mail was gathered by a postal carrier at my office, so what had happened to my rebates I deserved?

I spent the next several months bad mouthing rebates at every store I entered that offered such a scam... including CompUSA and Best Buy. Even though I knew it to be futile to complain to a 20 year old sales clerk that only knew life as a mail-in rebate world, I felt like I needed to voice my outrage at the retail marketing gimmick gone awry. During that time, I also vowed I'd never fall for the mail-in rebate trick again, nor buy any large item from any mega store that didn't know the meaning of the term sales price that did not include a mail-in rebate appendage.

Well... as they say ... never say never. I ventured into compUSA two days ago to purchase a flat panel monitor for a workstation, and to my disgust I found that it too had the dreaded mail-in rebate. I choked on that hard. I walked around the blasted store reading the back of various product boxes that looked interesting, all the while processing the big dilemna I had in the back of my mind .... should I buy and take a chance on a rebate? or should I go buy a pad of paper and go back to manual data crunching? It was a tough decision to wade through for me. Afterall, I had made a blood-sworn vow to never ever return to CompUSA nor to ever buy a product with a mail-in rebate but to instead to buy the competitor's product offered without any mail-in rebates. After about an hour, I decided to take another chance on a rebate product ... and if it didn't work out, I'd then buy CompUSA as a company and sell it off into little pieces.

After walking out of the door and feeling a little sick to my stomach for breaching my code of ethics, I discovered a little notice on the sales receipt that said something like "this item qualifies for eRebates, File online". That made me go hummm. So, I tried it out. It was relatively painless and linked directly into their sales data to validate the elegibility for the rebate. After the process was completed for my initial claim, I felt taht maybe I could accept doing rebates online; where I could track the progress from validation to the actual sending out of the funds. I was once again in bargain hunter's heaven.

The interesting thing is, just a few days prior to my rebound rebate-laced purchase, I thought about such a beast as a service and wondered why no one was using such a sevice to help their customers get their money back. I thought that would be the ultimate promotion compared to silly rebates that a lot of folks dislike. Mail-in rebates can be frustrating when a manufacturer rules it invalid due to some technicality, just to worm their way out of paying the money. So, I thought that retailers could gain a competitive advantage by helping their customers navigate the rebate process and claim the money that was rightfully the customers to begin with. So, I was delighted to see that someone was getting a clue. Of course I would have liked the chance to develop the solution myself.

Thanks to a retired Delta Captain for sending this "paraphrase"
of a memorable safety PA (public announcement) from an Air Alaska
Flight Attendant.

In his own words....

"I was flying to San Francisco from Seattle this weekend, and
the flight attendant reading the flight safety information had
the whole plane looking at each other like "what the heck?"
(Getting Seattle people to look at each other is an
accomplishment.)
So once we got airborne, I took out my laptop and typed up what
she said so I wouldn't forget. I've left out a few parts, I'm
sure, but this is most of it."


(BEFORE TAKEOFF)


Hello and welcome to Alaska Flight 438 to San Francisco. If you're
going to San Francisco, you're in the right place. If you're not going to
San Francisco, you're about to have a really long evening. We'd like
to tell you now about some important safety features of this aircraft. The most
important safety feature we have aboard this plane is the ... Flight
Attendants. Please look at one now.

There are 5 exits aboard this plane: 2 at the front, 2 over the
wings, and one out the plane's rear end. If you're seated in one of the exit
rows, please do not store your bags by your feet. That would be a really
bad idea. Please take a moment and look around and find the nearest exit.


Count the rows of seats between you and the exit. In the event
that the need arises to find one, trust me, you'll be glad you did. We have
nice blinking lights on the floor that will blink in the direction of
the exits. White ones along the normal rows, and pretty red ones at the exit rows.


In the event of a loss of cabin pressure these baggy things will
drop down over your head. You stick it over your nose and mouth like the
flight attendant is doing now. The bag won't inflate, but there's oxygen
there, I promise. If you are sitting next to a small child, or someone who
is acting like a small child, please do us all a favor and put on your mask first.
If you are traveling with two or more children, please take a moment now to
decide which one is your favorite. Help that one first and then work your
way down.


In the seat pocket in front of you is a pamphlet about the safety
features of this plane. I usually use it as a fan when I'm having my own
personal summer. It makes a very good fan. It also has pretty pictures.
Please take it out and play with it now.


Please take a moment now to make sure your seat belts are fastened
low and tight about your hips. To fasten the belt, insert the metal tab
into the buckle. To release, it's a pulley thing -- not a pushy thing like
your car, because you're in an airplane -- HELLO.


There is no smoking in the cabin on this flight. There is also no
smoking in the lavatories. If we see smoke coming from the lavatories, we
will assume you are on fire and put you out. This is a free service we
provide. There are two smoking sections on this flight, one outside each wing
exit. We do have a movie in the smoking sections tonight ... Hold on, let me
check what it is ... Oh here it is: Tonight's movie is "Gone With the Wind."


In a moment we will be turning off the cabin lights, and it's
going to get really dark, really fast. If you're afraid of the dark, now would
be a good time to reach up and press the yellow button. The yellow button
turns on your reading light. Please don't press the orange button unless
you absolutely have to. The orange button is your seat ejection button.


We're glad to have you with us on board this flight. Thank you for
choosing Alaska Air and giving us your business and your money. If there's
anything we can do to make you more comfortable, please don't hesitate to
ask.

If you all weren't strapped down you would have given me a
standing ovation, wouldn't you?


(AFTER LANDING)

Welcome to the San Francisco International Airport. Sorry about
the bumpy landing. It's not the Captain's fault. It's not the Co-pilot's
fault. It's the Asphalt.

Please remain seated until the plane is parked at the gate. At no
time in history has a passenger beaten a plane to the gate, so please
don't even try.

Also, please be careful opening the overhead bins because
"shift happens."

Howdy,

I'm just venting a bit today with this submission...

Have you ever felt like life is standing still and now matter what you do, it just seems to go even slower? Well, I am feeling like this today. I have been working very hard on the new version for months and months, maybe even years now, but I'm at that point that it will not come soon enough.

I love making AgoraCart a great product that is found useful. I love how it can help folks make a primary or a secondary income... especially those folks like single moms, stay home parents, the disabled, charities, home based businesses, and the many other people the cart helps in making the ever so needed extra buck. But today, I have watched several folks fight against the grain and indicate the need for better features. The sad thing is that those features exist in the new version and I find myself just wanting to scream out loud in frustration cause I can't show off the really cool stuff we have coming out and I hate watching the needless frustration these folks experience.

However, in the end, part of this frustration I feel is a result of having to make a living and not being able to dedicate most of my time to developing the cart. Makes me yearn for the popularity to attract bigger donations and support so that the resources could be obtained to push this project out the door in a rapid fashion...

... but despite my frustration and lack of the much needed resources to develop the infrastructure needed to develop AgoraCart into the project I envision, I am very excited about this coming release and hope it will be useful to thousands of folks that have stuck with the project for so long.

To those who have stuck it out... thank you. for those that have donated financially and with code snippets... Thank You! I look forward to your reactions to this new and very cool version.

Sincerely,

Mister Ed ... of course .. of course