Big Companies.. Listen up

I don’t think you realize that consumers mean business.  The days are over when you can charge what you want and we will mindlessly pay you like sheep.  We are in a financial crisis, we the individual consumer more so than you the big companies.  Verizon is the latest to feel the sting of consumers being fed up with corporate greed.  How dare you tell people they have to pay a $2 fee in order to pay their bills online?  I know you had meetings about this fee and I can’t believe that nobody said, “no big wigs, this is a bad idea. The people will be pissed.”  All you had to do was look at the backlash from Netflix.  People just can’t afford to be nickle and dime’d anymore.  I know your goal is to make money, and your first responsibility is to your shareholders, but you need to realize that consumers are who you make money off of.  You are all so out of touch with the average persons struggle to stay afloat.  These price hikes are greedy and disrespectful.  I know you keep saying the fees and price hikes are to better reflect the cost of these services, but why punish loyal customers? In the past 2 years I’ve learned just how far a dollar stretches and it let me tell you it doesn’t go far enough. I don’t think you have the ability to look at the bigger picture.  If a family is struggling financially and they have a choice to pay for utilities and food or cell service, what do you think they’ll pick?  Now is the time to be lowering prices not seeing what extra you can squeeze out of people already stretched to their limits.  I personally will not be supporting any company who displays a blatant disregard for me and my situation.  This means you Netflix, who still hasn’t lowered their prices back to where they were.  This means you Bank of America (You know what you did).  This means you Verizon.

Christmastime is here

This is probably my favorite Christmas song.  The little kids voices somehow fill me up with emotion every time I listen to this. It tis the season my friends.  Miracles happen at Christmas.  I need a few.  Its been so hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit this year, but I haven’t given up hope that things will turn around for me.  I haven’t given up hope that my family will be okay.  

While you’re out shopping and running errands take a second to smile and speak to your fellow human beings.  You never know the difference you can make in someones life just by offering a smile. Be good to one another, love, live life.

Chiefs Fire Head Coach Todd Haley

As all of Kansas City knows by now Scott Pioli, GM for the Chiefs and Clark Hunt, Owner, have fired Todd Haley with just three games left in the season.  I don’t profess to know everything there is to know about football and i’m fairly new to watching it.  I started watching and being a Chiefs fan in ’96.  All I know I know by watching and observing how the game is played.

Its true that the team hasn’t done well at all this season, they’ve been plagued by injuries of several key weapons on both sides of the ball and inconsistency from week to week by everyone else.  But I don’t think Todd Haley should have been let go with just 3 games left.

Here is the reason for my opinion: Last season Todd Haley got us to the play offs after a long absence.  There are also multiple contributing factors why we’re just no good this year.  Do I place the blame squarely on the shoulders of Haley? No way.  Am I in disagreement with Haley’s firing? Yes and no.  No, because I think it was more than just about this years record.  With only 3 games left in the season what is the point of firing your head coach?  Pioli was asked in the press conference about his relationship with Haley and he said they had an effective working relationship. He said they communicated when they needed to.  I doubt if there were any dinner parties or drinks shared between these guys.  Haley’s an emotional guy with a passion for the game, its one of the reason why I liked him as head coach.  He should have been allowed to finish out the season at least and not fired right before the holidays.

On the flip side, we know the season is over, no question about that.  And now you name Romeo Crennel as the interim coach for the last 3 games and say you’ll consider him for the head coaching job.  I call BS on that.  We’ve got the undefeated Pack coming in to Arrowhead this sunday and then the last two games are the Raiders, who no matter how well or poorly either team has played throughout the season, these games are always battles between the 2 bitter division rivals. Then here comes Denver. We all know Tim Tebow and the Broncos have been finding ways to win with craftiness and the power of prayer.  Its a pretty good chance we will drop the last three games.  If that happens do you think Romeo Crennel will be giving a fair chance at the head coaching job? I don’t.  I don’t think they have any intention of keeping on Crennel as the head coach.

I think this gives time to get a jump on the unemployed coaches with a name i.e. Gruden, Cowher or McDaniels.  The chiefs also have to be willing to pay up to get these guys,  The question is will they do it? The Chiefs need to start thinking like contenders in all areas of the game to be successful.  Loosen up those purse strings and lets get some talent in here.

Anyway, farewell Todd Haley, we hardly knew ye but I personally respect your efforts here in Kansas City.

Korean twin towers

This is unfathomable.  The picture above is a building design for luxury apartment buildings in South Korea.  The Dutch developers are claiming that it wasn’t intentionally designed to resemble the 9/11 attacks. Intentional or not this is beyond disrespect to the victims and families affected by this tragedy. I get that 9/11 may not be in the forefront of peoples minds who are from other countries but you have to have seen the similarities, and once the similarities were noticed, the design should have been changed.

When tragedies and natural disasters happen in other countries, America is always expected to give aide, and we do give aide because its the right thing to do.  No matter what the country, I think the loss of lives should be respected.  Its insensitive to the families who lost their loved ones in this unspeakable tragedy.  

I hope they don’t actually build this.

Stepping up onto my soapbox… In his own words

Have you seen the new Rick Perry campaign ad?  Some things just need to be addressed.  For a person to be intentionally misleading and making false accusations is just wrong. I’m all for free speech but Mr. Perry, you’re wrong. You run a campaign debating the issues but this ad is offensive on so many levels.  I’m going to post it here but also put down the words in case the video gets pulled from youtube.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Christian, but you don’t need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school. 
As President, I’ll end Obama’s war on religion. And I’ll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage. 
Faith made America strong. It can make her strong again. 
I’m Rick Perry and I approve this message

 

First thing to address is ‘you know there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school’.  Kids can both pray and celebrate Christmas in school, it just can’t be a school sanctioned activity.  Not every religion celebrates Christmas sir and that is the purpose of separation of church and state, to not give preference to one religion over another.  The separation of church and state was made law long before President Obama was in office.  

I’ve never gotten why a persons sexual orientation matters so much to people.  This is supposed to be a free country and yet we find new ways everyday to oppress one another.  Does being gay make a person any less capable to protect and serve this country? Absolutely not.  Enough is enough.  I do however think that narrow minded bigots aren’t in the least bit fit to run The United States.  What and who we are supposed to be, says it in the name of our country, United.  We are anything but united.  We find ways to be divisive when in these trying times we should be embracing our fellow man. For Mr. Perry to say that Obama has a war on religion is just mudslinging and irresponsible.  This issue is about human rights. Everyone should be afforded the same rights without picking and choosing who gets what.  Good luck with that campaign Mr. Perry, attacking on made up issues, instead of coming up with ideas on how you’d make America stronger.  Faith is great but FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD.  The bible you hide behind says that.  

 

It gets better

I watched Extreme Makeover Home Edition tonight.  The episode dealt with a family who lost their 11 yr old son because he hung himself.  Carl Walker was bullied at school.  This has all got to stop.  This episode touched my heart so deeply because not only was I bullied but I’ve also been guilty of bullying.  No child should have to go to school and feel like they aren’t safe.  They especially shouldn’t feel like they have no other way out besides suicide.  It gets better kids and adults alike.  Bullying doesn’t stop after you leave school.  We can start changing things by caring about our fellow man.

From the innocent baby dying from SIDS to the most evil murderer being executed, they all matter.  Your own humanity makes it matter. There is a poem that I was first introduced to in a book For The Roses by my favorite author Julie Garwood.  She had this poem included in the book as one of her characters favorite quotes:

No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as a manor of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man’s death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

by John Donne

If you’re a person who feels like you have no other option than to end your life, and you feel nobody cares, take a moment to reassess.  Somebody cares. I care. Your parents care.  Your teacher cares.  Your sister cares. Your brother cares.  Your aunt cares.  Your uncle cares.  The stranger that just smiled and nodded at you cares.  When you feel like you’re at your lowest and you just can’t go on any more, tomorrow is the day it gets better.  Don’t suffer in silence. Scream till the right person hears you. Your salvation could be in the most obvious place or where you’d least expect it to be. Be good to one another.

Please take a moment to visit standtogether to pledge to end bullying.  I’m the 79,398th person to pledge it only takes a minute of your time.