Small Talk: Judge's Chambers

[funky-rat]

33 minutes ago, Byrd is the Word said:

If we're all being honest most of us have fallen for a scam or two in our lifetime.  Years ago I was scammed on a very expensive wrist watch eBay sale that used a stolen credit card to complete the purchase.  In addition to the money, I lost a lot of sleep over the upset of being so foolish.  I comfort myself by imagining that the eBay experience taught me a lesson that might save be from a greater loss one day.

I consider myself pretty savvy, and I got scammed on a medication thing about 2 years ago, when I was desperate, and fell for their sales pitch.  I couldn't afford my non-generic meds (still can't) and this company called Simple Fill (I was referred to them by CVS Pharmacy - go figure) offered to get my meds for me at a small co-pay of $40 per med per 90 day supply, and they'd refund me my first payment when my 2nd one came through.  No other costs involved, but I had to pay the first one up front to cover their time in helping me.  I was referred there by a legit business and it all sounded good.  These meds cost hundreds, and even thousands of dollars per month.  I was very overwhelmed at the time and they offered to take the work out of a lot of it. 

But I was very quickly underwhelmed.  Two months in, I had not received my meds.  They had only gotten me approved for one of the meds (claimed the other ones weren't companies they worked with, but it turns out that it was that I was over income limits), and I had paid them $80 for meds I had not received.  A fairly quick Google showed me that what this company does is apply for free meds on your behalf.  It's a lot of legwork, but you can do it yourself for free.  I ended up getting all of my needed meds for free - it was a lot of work, but I got it done myself.  So what they get from the people they apply for is pure profit - they only apply for meds for you once a year, but you're paying them multiple times a year.  Phone calls placed to them looking for my meds were met with rude indifferent people (they were kind when I was giving them money) who told me I just needed to be patient and wait.  They blamed me, my doctor, etc.  I finally called the drug company directly and they told me that sadly, I was essentially duped.  I qualified for the program on my own, without their help.  The drug company was having some internal supply issues, but soon enough it was rectified.

I had a heck of a time cancelling their "service".  I filed a chargeback because I never received my meds, but they didn't pay me back.  They claimed because they filled out the applications, they provided a service for what I paid, but I thankfully didn't have to pay them more.  Someone sent me a link to a site that promised high dollar meds for just $50 per month.  Different company - same thing.  Truly irritating how people prey on those in dire straits.

[Byrd is the Word]

32 minutes ago, funky-rat said:

I couldn't afford my non-generic meds (still can't)

That's awful.  And I'm sorry.  Usually there's a circumstance that makes us vulnerable to mistakes in judgement and yours is clear here.  It also highlights another problem and that's health care.  My wife was in the doctor's office on Friday for her yearly mammogram.  As always, she did her due diligence to make sure what elements of the procedure were covered and what, perhaps, were not.  Nothing but green lights.  The office had the customary financial responsibility form and there was a clause in which she assumes responsibility for the radiologist's charge regardless of whether or not he/she is in network.  Yellow light.  "Who's the radiology group?" She asked.  "We don't know." was the reply.  "We use more than one".  Red light.  My bride is smart AF and refused to sign an open ended, one sided guarantee and its vagueries.  30 minutes later she had the information from both the doctor's office and the insurance company.  Green light but a real pain in the ass particularly under stress.  My example is not exactly a scam but there's enough of a lack of transparency in that system to make it smell like one sometimes.  Those that profit at the service of others are the heroes of capitalism.  And those that profit at the expense of others are the villains.

Edited February 18, 2019 by Byrd is the Word

[AngelaHunter]

1 hour ago, Byrd is the Word said:

Funny how these emails never answer the begged question of how I, the recipient, got to be the lucky one presented with this golden opportunity.

Don't we all choose random email addys of people whose names we don't even know to invite them into multi-million dollar deals with us? They  often say they got your email addy "when searching online for reliable business partner."

Now if I answer this, the next email will be a request to send money by Western Union to an outlet in Lagos, to pay for shipping, "demurrages" etc.

Lately I've been inundated with Russian love scammers. They're like pigeons. If you feed one, the whole flock descends on you.

[funky-rat]

9 minutes ago, Byrd is the Word said:

That's awful.  And I'm sorry.  Usually there's a circumstance that makes us vulnerable to mistakes in judgement and yours is clear here.  It also highlights another problem and that's health care.  My wife was in the doctor's office on Friday for her yearly mammogram.  As always, she did her due diligence to make sure what elements of the procedure were covered and what, perhaps, were not.  Nothing but green lights.  The office had the customary financial responsibility form and there was a clause in which she assumes responsibility for the radiologist's charge regardless of whether or not he/she is in network.  Yellow light.  "Who's the radiology group?" She asked.  "We don't know." was the reply.  "We use more than one".  Red light.  My bride is smart AF and refused to sign an open ended, one sided guarantee and its vagueries.  30 minutes later she had the information from both the doctor's office and the insurance company.  Green light but a real pain in the ass particularly under stress.  My example is not exactly a scam but there's enough of a lack of transparency in that system to make it smell like one sometimes.  Those that profit at the service of others are the heroes of capitalism.  And those that profit at the expense of others are the villains.

Health Care in general is just a big scam anymore.  My husband had a job with expensive but fantastic insurance.  He lost that job due to a lot of issues with a manger brought in partway through his time there.  So since, he's largely been on my insurance, which is the best the small company I work for can do.  No meds are covered until the sky high deductible is met.  The last job he was at had decent insurance.  Six months to the day of him starting there, they pulled him aside and told him he didn't do a thing wrong, they just didn't want to continue to employ him - he "wasn't a good fit with where the company was going" - whatever the hell that means.  So now he's back on my health insurance yet again.  He's had some health issues pop up (some we think may be responsible for them not wanting to keep him on), so how sad is it that I know which hospitals around here don't credit report, and which have generous write-off policies?  He's racking up bills and testing fees that I can't pay for in any way right now - I don't make enough money to cover our basics for the month.  The deficit isn't huge - about $500 - but it's enough.

[momtoall]

Hi gang - I don't watch JJ regularly anymore but I want to tell you guys about what happened to my granddaughter that belies one of JJ's favorite pronouncements "no one has full coverage insurance on a car over a certain age".  Well my granddaughter had a 2009 Saturn Vue, which had full coverage insurance.  A couple of weeks ago she slid on ice and crashed into a pole in a parking lot.  While she is looking at the damage, a bus comes along, slides on the ice and clips her car and pushes it further into the pole.  The insurance adjuster declared the car totaled.  With the money she collected from her insurance, she was able to get Chevy Trax on a 2 years lease, which she prepaid.  Now she has a new car, no car payment, and time to decide her next move regarding another car.  Glad she kept her car fully insured.

[Byrd is the Word]

20 minutes ago, momtoall said:

JJ's favorite pronouncements "no one has full coverage insurance on a car over a certain age".  

I’m glad it worked out so well for your granddaughter. What JJ never mentions is that any insurance, whether on your life of your $30 toaster is about nothing but risk, what party assumes that risk and an individual’s tolerance for risk; both financial and emotional. If you have resources and a strong stomach, assume more risk in the form or less insurance and/higher deductibles. If you more insurance will give you more sleep and peace of mind, go for it. As long as everyone understands their risk, what their liability is and honors that liability everyone will be fine. 

[DoctorK]

59 minutes ago, momtoall said:

"no one has full coverage insurance on a car over a certain age".

Same here, I have a 2003 2WD Tracker with a rough value estimate of about $1500 as per KBB. I carry $500 deductible Comprehensive/$500 deductible Collision coverage. These cost me about $120 per year and sooner or later I may drop them but the big ticket items are liability (~$300/year) and Uninsured Motor Vehicle (~$225/year). Sometimes I think I am paying too much but then I see the folks on the court shows who are paying hundreds of dollars per month and worry about it less.

[CrazyInAlabama]

My insurance company loves me, since I keep cars forever (2003 Honda Element, traded in 2018) and keep full coverage forever.      If I ever dropped full coverage, and only had liability, I'm sure my car would get smashed by a meteor or something the next day.   

However, my car insurance is paid every six months, not every months, and it's not hundreds a month either.     I would love to see a clip reel of the accidents that brought someone to the hundreds a month insurance payment bills, that would be epic. 

Edited February 23, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[lovesnark]

I also have full coverage on my 2003 Toyota Tacoma. It's a double cab version with low miles and is still worth about 10k. If I dropped the collision, I'm sure one of the tools we see on JJ would smash into me and I'd be stuck with a smashed up truck. I'd love to tell her why I keep full coverage and dare her to call me an idiot. I'm 62, have a perfect driving record and my premiums are low.

[funky-rat]

The first car my husband had was liability only - he was under age 25 (when rates drop) and it was an old car.  He wrecked it, and we had nothing to help get another car.  I had a loan on my car, so I had to keep full coverage on it.  We had liability only on his 2nd car as well.  Once the rates dropped, we always kept full coverage on both vehicles.  It was never a significant savings, and at least we'd have something to put toward a new car.

[6Lombardis]

Does Judge Judy need anger management?  All she does is shout, not let people talk, and pound her gavel.  She is not fun to watch anymore and I am out.  I’ll check back for snark but I can’t sit through her rudeness.

[funky-rat]

Ugh. Last night, cops shot and killed a Pitbull/American Bulldog mix who was mauling a woman to death.  The dog drug the woman outside by her hair, and would not let go, despite being hit with chairs, an ice chopper (which is a flat heavy piece of metal on a stick, for those who don't deal with winter) and being tazed….twice.  The news shows footage of the dog's collar, and a lot of blood....everywhere.  The woman is said to be the girlfriend of the dog's owner, neighbors said the dog attacked her before, and that she's in the trauma unit of a hospital much farther away than the one closest to her, because her injuries are that bad.  She is in "fair" condition.

The first comments out of people's mouths?  What did she do to provoke the dog?  They find it hard to believe it would attack that badly unprovoked.  Second comments came from people who obviously didn't read the article or see it on the news, saying there was no excuse to shoot the dog and they should have tried tazing it first, or hitting it with stuff (which then brought about some amusing posts about reading the article/watching the whole thing on TV first).  Third sets were from Pit fanatics, who went in to full-on damage control mode.

The largest takeaway seemed to be that people think this woman brought the attack on herself, and that the dog should still be alive.  Last night, they updated the story to say they're now checking to see if the dog had rabies.  And if it did, there will still be those clueless people saying they should have left the dog live.....(yes, I know that's not possible, but people are that clueless anymore).

We need JJ on this one....STAT!

[Byrd is the Word]

2 hours ago, funky-rat said:

Ugh. Last night, cops shot and killed a Pitbull/American Bulldog mix who was mauling a woman to death.  The dog drug the woman outside by her hair, and would not let go, despite being hit with chairs, an ice chopper (which is a flat heavy piece of metal on a stick, for those who don't deal with winter) and being tazed….twice.  The news shows footage of the dog's collar, and a lot of blood....everywhere.  The woman is said to be the girlfriend of the dog's owner, neighbors said the dog attacked her before, and that she's in the trauma unit of a hospital much farther away than the one closest to her, because her injuries are that bad.  She is in "fair" condition.

The first comments out of people's mouths?  What did she do to provoke the dog?  They find it hard to believe it would attack that badly unprovoked.  Second comments came from people who obviously didn't read the article or see it on the news, saying there was no excuse to shoot the dog and they should have tried tazing it first, or hitting it with stuff (which then brought about some amusing posts about reading the article/watching the whole thing on TV first).  Third sets were from Pit fanatics, who went in to full-on damage control mode.

The largest takeaway seemed to be that people think this woman brought the attack on herself, and that the dog should still be alive.  Last night, they updated the story to say they're now checking to see if the dog had rabies.  And if it did, there will still be those clueless people saying they should have left the dog live.....(yes, I know that's not possible, but people are that clueless anymore).

We need JJ on this one....STAT!

I don't know about the rest of you folks, but I can no longer read the comments at the bottom of a news article without wanting to pull my hair out.  Rarely, and I mean RARELY there is a cogent comment from an informed person with something of some value to share.  The other 97% are infuriating, mindless remarks/rants by idiotic trolls with little or no idea of how the world works.  For this reason and this reason only, I prefer the old fashioned newspapers.

Edited April 23, 2019 by Byrd is the Word

[funky-rat]

1 hour ago, Byrd is the Word said:

I don't know about the rest of you folks, but I can no longer read the comments at the bottom of a news article without wanting to pull my hair out.  Rarely, and I mean RARELY there is a cogent comment from an informed person with something of some value to share.  The other 97% are infuriating, mindless remarks/rants by idiotic trolls with little or no idea of how the world works.  For this reason and this reason only, I prefer the old fashioned newspapers.

I tend to skip over them too.  I only looked on this one because I saw a friend commented (She was of the "Have you all lost your minds?" camp - that people are just morons), and I quickly closed them down.  Especially after some were turning this story in to a way for them to comment on anything and everything from abortion to politics.  I hate people sometimes.

[Byrd is the Word]

1 hour ago, funky-rat said:

I tend to skip over them too.  I only looked on this one because I saw a friend commented (She was of the "Have you all lost your minds?" camp - that people are just morons), and I quickly closed them down.  Especially after some were turning this story in to a way for them to comment on anything and everything from abortion to politics.  I hate people sometimes.

I wish there was an option to turn them off.  They're like a car wreck on the expressway; you don't want to look and know you shouldn't.  But you can't help sneaking a peek.

[AngelaHunter]

Okay, I get what you say about comments under stories BUT once in a while, you find a ruby in a mountain of rock. This happened recently with a story about how Taylor Swift is now pimping out garlic presses, and the article raved on about how she felt this is a "game changer" even though she only knows how to cook three dishes. That was funny enough, but the comments were gold, and one person was inspired to write the following song for her, and it had me in hysterics:
 

Quote

Gonna Press Some Garlic by Taylor Swift

Gonna press some tasty garlic and put it in a pan
Got to press some tasty garlic and give it to my man
Got to press some tasty garlic, gonna go and press some zesty garlic, goin' to the kitchen to press some garlic just because I can

My baby said "I need some garlic" so I headed out the door
Knew I needed to buy some garlic so I headed for the store
They only had one bag of garlic, I said "I need me lots more garlic"

had to drive all over town just to find some more

 

[funky-rat]

14 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

Okay, I get what you say about comments under stories BUT once in a while, you find a ruby in a mountain of rock. This happened recently with a story about how Taylor Swift is now pimping out garlic presses, and the article raved on about how she felt this is a "game changer" even though she only knows how to cook three dishes. That was funny enough, but the comments were gold, and one person was inspired to write the following song for her, and it had me in hysterics:
 

I do read the comments when I think they're going to be funny.  Sometimes you can just tell by the article whether they'll be gold or not.  😁

PS: Did you find a Coupe De Ville hiding at the bottom of a Cracker Jack Box too?  🤣

Edited April 24, 2019 by funky-rat

[AngelaHunter]

3 hours ago, funky-rat said:

PS: Did you find a Coupe De Ville hiding at the bottom of a Cracker Jack Box too?

I haven't even found any oil on a city street. 😑

[funky-rat]

6 minutes ago, AngelaHunter said:

I haven't even found any oil on a city street. 😑

Nor any gold on a sandy beach for me.  🤔

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Stop looking for a ruby in a mountain of rocks!

[funky-rat]

18 hours ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

Stop looking for a ruby in a mountain of rocks!

Now, don't be sad.  🤣

[AngelaHunter]

Hey, two out of three ain't bad!

And, apropos of nothing, I just have to stick this here because I like silly. Sorry.

[AngelaHunter]

I hope none of my fellow Canucks here are affected by these catastrophic floods.😟

[Brattinella]

35 minutes ago, AngelaHunter said:

I hope none of my fellow Canucks here are affected by these catastrophic floods.😟

 I have seen nothing about the flooding until you posted this.  I'm so sorry, is your area flooded too?

[Brattinella]

Wow I was just reading some news sites; this flooding is horrible and has been ongoing for a couple weeks!  Is your home okay?

[funky-rat]

Natural disasters galore lately.  We had tornadoes here (a somewhat rare occurrence) 2 weeks ago, and flooding came on the heels of that, but thankfully it wasn't terribly bad....this time.  We've had historic flooding here a few times in the past few years.  My heart goes out to those dealing with it.

[AngelaHunter]

51 minutes ago, Brattinella said:

I'm so sorry, is your area flooded too?

All around me places are under water. I am so very lucky and thankful to be living right where I am, with no floods. The two previous homes we had are both flooded now. One community had 10 minutes to clear out of their homes when a dike broke on Saturday.  I cannot imagine losing everything you own.:(

[funky-rat]

I think we should institute pet ownership classes anymore.  Pass the class, or you don't get a pet (I KNOW this isn't practical, legal, etc - just wish it was sometimes).

I have an acquaintance who really doesn't like or want pets.  Never had them growing up, and was never interested.  Husband is the same way.  But they have kids who are just catered to on every level, so when kids wanted a dog, they got one.  Queue years of whining and moaning by both parents about how much they hate this dog, don't want it, it's such a pain, etc.  And predictably, the kids were all "We'll take care of it!" but don't.

For starters, being as clueless as they are, they buy an expensive dog from a pet store in a mall.  Most of us animal people know darn well you are severely overpaying for a dog from a puppy mill in about 90% of mall pet stores.  And we know puppy mill dogs suffer from a host of health issues.  And buying one perpetuates puppy mills.  But non-animal people don't realize you're better off getting from a reputable shelter or foster organization, and think that more money = better dog.  They also don't research breeds, their temperament, etc.  They just buy the one the kids think is "super cute" (it's a small dog, hyper, and a bit yippy - it also requires a fair amount of grooming).

So now they're resentful that the kids aren't helping, the dog was expensive, it acts "psycho" all the time, and fail to realize that a lot of it is because they don't socialize the dog, generally treat it with disdain, etc.  They also don't like the grooming involved, so they generally just get the dog shaved, and then re-shave repeatedly.  So the dog acts out, and the cycle of complaining continues.  Many people have offered to take the dog, but the responses are always "No, the kids love her" (the kids probably wouldn't notice if she was gone).  The dog rarely leaves the house.

They never bother to get the dog spayed.  They didn't plan on breeding her, but just "never saw the point" of spaying her.  I'm sure it was monetary, largely, but I don't get why they would continually put up with a dog's heat cycle if they never planned on breeding her.  Then a new cycle of complaints starts when the dog develops a dangerous medical condition based on her not being spayed.  Initially, they don't go to the vet, but eventually relent.  And rather than spay her then, they wait to see if meds help.  When they don't, she has to have surgery.  More complaints about money.

It took everything I had to not say "I pray you never get another pet again.  Ever."

[AngelaHunter]

So I looked up one of these "instant loan" places online of the type I'm sure are familiar to many of our litigants.

I chose a loan of 750$, to be repaid weekly,  to give my boyfriend to put a down payment on some rent-to-own rims and a new tattoo. 

Okay, so I'm beyond hopeless at even simple arithmetic, but even I could add up what amount is being paid back. I think.

[DoctorK]

1 hour ago, AngelaHunter said:

even I could add up what amount is being paid back. I think.

I couldn't resist the temptation (I also go through at least 4 crossword puzzles a day). A weekly payment of $70.72 for (approximately? what a weasel word) 120 days should be 17 payments (unless they add one more week for the fraction of a week in 120 days). The payment total is $1,202.24 which is about 60% interest on the original loan. Since 120 days is just about 1/3 of a year, that gives an annual percentage rate of about 180%. It's really sad that we see so many litigants who are so ignorant and/or incapable of figuring out day to day decisions. (Feel free to point out any errors I may have made.)

[AngelaHunter]

49 minutes ago, DoctorK said:

Since 120 days is just about 1/3 of a year, that gives an annual percentage rate of about 180%.

OH, thanks. If you made any errors, I would never know. Really, going to a loan shark would be more economical. I bet even the mob doesn't charge 180%. I really wanted to know the interest rate, but can't figure out anything with numbers. I'm great at crosswords though!

I did stupid things too when very young, like paying the minimum on my CC balance each month, until a boyfriend I had at the time found out and punched me in my eyel... oh wait, no. He informed of how much I would actually pay on a balance of say, 1200$. I was shocked, so no more minimums ever again. He didn't even ask me to take a cash advance to pay his car insurance/child support/rent/dental bills. What a guy!

funky-rat, I just skimmed your dog story and that was enough. The blood - it boils.🤬

[Byrd is the Word]

3 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

So I looked up one of these "instant loan" places online of the type I'm sure are familiar to many of our litigants.

I chose a loan of 750$, to be repaid weekly,  to give my boyfriend to put a down payment on some rent-to-own rims and a new tattoo. 

Okay, so I'm beyond hopeless at even simple arithmetic, but even I could add up what amount is being paid back. I think.

If you have Netflix, find a limited series called “Dirty Money” and an episode entitled “Payday”.  These loan predators feast on poor, desperate people who have little or no option when they need cash. Not all of these borrowers are of the ilk of the average JJ litigant. Sure they should know better. Sure they should read and understand the fine print. But how many of us REALLY understand the fine print of everything we sign. Most of us are saved only by virtue of the legitimate options available to us. I’m not always sympathetic to borrowers. But rich lenders who outsmart poor people in need are a fucking pestilence. 

[funky-rat]

1 hour ago, AngelaHunter said:

OH, thanks. If you made any errors, I would never know. Really, going to a loan shark would be more economical. I bet even the mob doesn't charge 180%. I really wanted to know the interest rate, but can't figure out anything with numbers. I'm great at crosswords though!

I did stupid things too when very young, like paying the minimum on my CC balance each month, until a boyfriend I had at the time found out and punched me in my eyel... oh wait, no. He informed of how much I would actually pay on a balance of say, 1200$. I was shocked, so no more minimums ever again. He didn't even ask me to take a cash advance to pay his car insurance/child support/rent/dental bills. What a guy!

funky-rat, I just skimmed your dog story and that was enough. The blood - it boils.🤬

There's still more griping about the dog, even a few weeks out.  I really just want to go rescue it sometimes, but we have a pet limit where we live, and my cats wouldn't like it even if we didn't.  I wish they would just give the dog to one of the people who say "I'll take her".  I never see the kids playing with her in photos, and the constant "(Husband) HATES this dog", "Stupid crazy dog", etc, comments just make me angry.

As for the credit cards, laws now exist that show on your statements how the payments break down over time, and how to pay it off quicker by adding money to the payment, etc. Most people are too stupid to follow it, but it is helpful for those who care.

[Brattinella]

2 hours ago, DoctorK said:

I couldn't resist the temptation (I also go through at least 4 crossword puzzles a day).

Very cool!  Do you play Scrabble, too?  I used to, but no one would play with me anymore.  I played one very satisfying game with two players of equal skill.  We played to the end of the tiles, the board was filled and there were no 3-letter words.  It was exquisite!

[AngelaHunter]

2 hours ago, Byrd is the Word said:

. Not all of these borrowers are of the ilk of the average JJ litigant.

I"m sure they're not but I have zero sympathies for the litigants who take title loans and borrow at loan-shark rates or agree to rent-to-own to buy nonsense like huge tvs, tats, rims, the latest phones, and other non-essential "Gotta have right now!" luxuries or toys when most of them should be using it to get some damned teeth. Or car insurance.                                                                                                                                                    And I'm sure JJ litigants aren't the only ones who buy cars they know they aren't going to pay for, enjoy them for a few months and let them get repossessed (what do they care? They have no credit to be ruined) or who rent apartments, don't pay and squat until they're thrown out or sneak out in the middle of the night. Rinse, lather and repeat because this is their modus operandi. As one def and her deadbeat hubby,  who cheat on their taxes said, "It's just the way we do it." The way all these parasites "do it" means the rest of us have to pay more.

[iwasish]

On 5/8/2019 at 12:09 PM, AngelaHunter said:

OH, thanks. If you made any errors, I would never know. Really, going to a loan shark would be more economical. I bet even the mob doesn't charge 180%. I really wanted to know the interest rate, but can't figure out anything with numbers. I'm great at crosswords though!

I did stupid things too when very young, like paying the minimum on my CC balance each month, until a boyfriend I had at the time found out and punched me in my eyel... oh wait, no. He informed of how much I would actually pay on a balance of say, 1200$. I was shocked, so no more minimums ever again. He didn't even ask me to take a cash advance to pay his car insurance/child support/rent/dental bills. What a guy!

funky-rat, I just skimmed your dog story and that was enough. The blood - it boils.🤬

Yet you let this guy get away?

[AngelaHunter]

1 hour ago, iwasish said:

Yet you let this guy get away?

I  married him.;)

[CrazyInAlabama]

I was a civilian employee of the U.S. military for many years, and the Payday loan people disgust me.     The young soldiers that went to them were desperate to have the latest things, and put them selves in the hole at those horrible interest rates, and would keep doing that over and over.     A lot of them never paid the loans up, or stopped taking out loan every month.   Don't get me started on the title loans either.     The title loans outstanding on the show stun me, it's not as if the new owner of your hoopty isn't going to find out you still owe a bundle on the vehicle you sold them. 

The same people would by pass the free tax preparation, and filing services on post, to go to the chain tax services (some operate at the post exchange too), and get the loans/refunds that charges thousands to do simple forms, and pay them on the spot, minus the interest, filing fees, and prep fees. leaving them with maybe 75% or less.  

The ones who come on the show, bought something from a rent-to-own place, and want to be paid for the price after the 9000% interest are hysterical too.  Just because a  $200 TV cost you $1k, doesn't mean Byrd is paying you $1000. 

Edited May 22, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[Byrd is the Word]

7 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I was a civilian employee of the U.S. military for many years, and the Payday loan people disgust me.     The young soldiers that went to them were desperate to have the latest things, and put them selves in the hole at those horrible interest rates, and would keep doing that over and over.     A lot of them never paid the loans up, and quit doing that.   Don't get me started on the title loans either.    The same people would by pass the free tax preparation, and filing services on post, to go to the chain tax services (some operate at the post exchange too), and get the loans/refunds that charges thousands to do simple forms, and pay them on the spot, minus the interest, filing fees, and prep fees. leaving them with maybe 75% or less.  

I am a big believer in personal responsibility.  But I also know we live in a world that since the beginning of time morally bankrupt individuals prey on those of lesser intelligence and build wealth at the expense of the poor. That’s beyond reprehensible.  So I couldn’t agree with you more. 

[AngelaHunter]

24 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The same people would by pass the free tax preparation, and filing services on post, to go to the chain tax services (some operate at the post exchange too), and get the loans/refunds that charges thousands to do simple forms, and pay them on the spot, minus the interest, filing fees, and prep fees. leaving them with maybe 75% or less.  

Yes, but they want the money right now. Maybe their baby daddy needs to be bailed out of jail. This is a mentality that only sees the cash in their hands today, this minute, and never thinks about the cost of getting that.

12 minutes ago, Byrd is the Word said:

I am a big believer in personal responsibility.

If you're looking to ever see that, you're watching the wrong show. Nothing anyone does, no matter how despicable or heinous is ever their fault. It's someone else's problem. "It wasn't my fault," is the battle cry of the new millennium.

[iwasish]

3 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

I  married him.;)

I knew you were too smart to let a prize like that slip thru your fingers! They are few and far between. 

[AngelaHunter]

13 hours ago, iwasish said:

I knew you were too smart to let a prize like that slip thru your fingers!

One of the very few truly smart things I've ever done.

[funky-rat]

Re: Prom/Wedding/Not My Fault stuff:

We have an incident right now locally that falls in to this general thing.

A local school student attended Vo-Tech his senior year, which means he is at the Tech School (which serves 3 counties and a number of school districts, and is not near the home school of this student) for most of the day.  I had a friend attend Tech when we were in school 25-ish years ago, and the complaint then was that the communication between the home school (and by "home school", I mean the school he would normally attend if not at tech - not a homeschooling situation) and the tech kids wasn't great.  Apparently not much has changed.  

Kid in question graduated with a decent GPA both for home school and Tech.  He was a class officer for his home school.  He is doing a paid co-op (which is allowed), and sometimes misses some of the home school stuff, and that's been approved.  The incident in question involves home school graduation.

He was denied the ability to walk at his home school graduation.  He graduated from Tech, who does their own grad ceremony, and participated.  He was refused to participate because he did not attend the rehearsal for the grad ceremony, which is required.  The fact that he missed the rehearsal, and the fact that he was refused participation is the only thing that is not in dispute.  To make completely clear: the kid graduated from Home School.  He has a diploma.  He was just denied the ability to walk with his class.

**As a quick aside, this school is already under controversy (beside being consistently one of the lowest performing in a wide area, academically).  They apparently have a senior prank tradition going back eons (we didn't do this at my school, which is about 15 miles away).  For some reason, two well-liked teachers allowed the students entry to the school after hours to pull this prank - which was just stupid.  The kids, in turn, took things too far.  They released live chickens, and poured sticky substances everywhere.  And the first thing kids and parents did was throw the teachers under the bus, claiming if the teachers didn't let them in, this would have never happened (yeah, right).  Both teachers were suspended for the rest of the school year, and the kids were required to clean up, and received in school suspension.  This info is important**

The mom of the kid who couldn't be in the ceremony is shopping his story to media.  Every time I see it, the story gets bigger and more fantastical.  It started with it being not his fault because the school didn't send the letter home with the info he needed.  A few other parents of Tech kids said they didn't get it either, but others say they did.  My thinking is the kids just didn't take them home, but I'm willing to cut this kids some slack because he was on paid co-op and wasn't at the school hardly at all.  The kid supposedly showed up with cap and gown, but was told he had to leave because he missed the practice.  He was informed a letter was sent, and that it was discussed multiple times.  A teacher had him get out of line and leave.  But after some people spoke up and said this might be a bit of malarkey, it was changed.  There is plenty of outrage from people who have no clue, keyboard warriors, social justice warriors, etc.

Second round of story: kid showed up.  Was told he had to leave by a named teacher (one involved in this prank stuff).  Teacher told him repeatedly he had to leave.  Kid tosses every excuse in the book at him, and is told sorry, but this was known, and you didn't come (IMO, had the kid said to the school "I'm on co-op and working", it might have been different).  Kid protests more, and is "removed" from the ceremony.  Some kids step forward and say it didn't go down like this, and this woman didn't see what happened (she's only relying on the word of her kid), and that they're ruining the good name of a good teacher.  More outrage as well from the general public.

Third round of story:  same as before except now this named teacher "forcibly" removed the kid from the line and out of the ceremony.  Now the principal (who is unpopular) and another named teacher are involved.  Those two supposedly knew about this, and did nothing.  Now people are up in complete arms, ranting about people putting hands on kids, etc.  The mom is now screaming about how they stole this precious moment from her high ranking son, who is much better than most of the people in the school, which she disparages.  She goes on a rant about the principal, and then the teachers and how they're suspended but allowed to attend the ceremony, so why not her kid.  I wonder to myself if the kid was involved in this prank.  This time, more kids step forward, saying that they were standing right next to him, and this never happened.  NO ONE put their hands on him.  The principal and one teacher were nowhere near.  They also pointed out that the kid had a cap and gown, so he knew to show up for fitting (he'd also need that for Tech graduation as they wear Home School colors).  They said that information was all presented together.  Another kid points out that as a class officer (and I'm not sure how he's a class officer if he's not at school all day) he would have been in on planning meetings, etc.  And some say that he was present at times when this information would have been handed out.  Mom is indignant, still shopping his story around, and letting it get more grandiose, encouraging others to make it go viral, and demanding to be heard at a school board meeting.  Some made up excuses, saying you don't need to rehearse how to get a diploma and walk, and others saying the rehearsal was inside and the service was outside, so it shouldn't matter (the inside was in case it rained).  A few rightly point out that rules are rules, and if this situation involved another kid, the mom would probably feel that rules are rules, and need to be followed.  Someone screencaps her personal page where she shares something politically charged about how rules must be followed (I'm hesitant to get in to the crux because politics, but to suffice it to say, it was extremely hypocritical).

I don't doubt that communication is poor between schools, and I'm not sure how to remedy that, and it's something they can work toward.  This kid got one graduation ceremony, and he got his high school diploma - he just didn't walk.  I have a strong feeling that he knew ahead of time he effed up, and he either didn't tell his mom, OR he did, and mom told him to show up anyway, thinking they wouldn't turn her superstar kid away.  A few kids in my class (about 127 - we were a small school - the school in question is larger) didn't graduate at the last minute - one was a somewhat friend.  We had a class that everyone was required to take to graduate, and some failed it multiple times.  They were all told ahead of time.  One showed up for grad practice and was told to leave.  Two showed up at the actual ceremony, and were told to leave.  I'm sure their parents were there.  The school mailed registered letters telling parents this, but they likely intercepted them.

I should have provided a link to the article I saw this morning where a business successfully sued a university for them distributing flyers that said they were racist against students and to not go there, based on a lie a student told, who was later arrested for trying to rob the place.  Making things go viral can, and should, have consequences.

I did laugh at the people who said that life isn't fair, and as soon as this kid learns that, the better.

Edited June 10, 2019 by funky-rat

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

20 minutes ago, funky-rat said:

This kid got one graduation ceremony, and he got his high school diploma - he just didn't walk.  I have a strong feeling that he knew ahead of time he effed up, and he either didn't tell his mom, OR he did, and mom told him to show up anyway, thinking they wouldn't turn her superstar kid away.

I'm a big rule follower type and IMHO these days people don't think the rules apply to them and if they scream and carry on enough, the rules will be bent/broken for them. If the ceremony was important enough, he would have shown up for rehearsal. Sorry, buddy, but things are NOT going to get any easier for you in life. Your boss isn't going to care that you missed your meeting and showed up for the presentation - you'll just be fired. At the risk of sounding like one of those cranky get-off-my-lawn old farts, it's bitter pill to swallow but somehow everybody else managed to get to rehearsal. 

[funky-rat]

14 minutes ago, ItsHelloPattiagain said:

I'm a big rule follower type and IMHO these days people don't think the rules apply to them and if they scream and carry on enough, the rules will be bent/broken for them. If the ceremony was important enough, he would have shown up for rehearsal. Sorry, buddy, but things are NOT going to get any easier for you in life. Your boss isn't going to care that you missed your meeting and showed up for the presentation - you'll just be fired. At the risk of sounding like one of those cranky get-off-my-lawn old farts, it's bitter pill to swallow but somehow everybody else managed to get to rehearsal. 

Agreed, and thankfully there are people speaking out against him, but not enough.

[zillabreeze]

Well, us Okies & Texans has discussed ad nauseum about JJ being preempted every time it rains hard...

Guess what folks!  In North Dallas yesterday, pitch black outside, fences, roofs, trees breaking flying everywhere!  65 mph wind.  Dish out.  Internet down

I switch to antenna.   Check the 4 major networks.  All running sports. Two had ZERO mention of weather.  Two had little crawlers.  Not ONE single live weather dude telling us what's happening!  Not one!  Shame on them!  Not pissing off the sports viewers was more important than providing serious information!  

Looks like a war zone around here.  Thousands of people with no power maybe for another day or two.  

ALL 4 networks should have to answer to the FCC for not doing their job.😠😠😠

Rant over.

[Brattinella]

1 hour ago, zillabreeze said:

Well, us Okies & Texans has discussed ad nauseum about JJ being preempted every time it rains hard...

Guess what folks!  In North Dallas yesterday, pitch black outside, fences, roofs, trees breaking flying everywhere!  65 mph wind.  Dish out.  Internet down

I switch to antenna.   Check the 4 major networks.  All running sports. Two had ZERO mention of weather.  Two had little crawlers.  Not ONE single live weather dude telling us what's happening!  Not one!  Shame on them!  Not pissing off the sports viewers was more important than providing serious information!  

Looks like a war zone around here.  Thousands of people with no power maybe for another day or two.  

ALL 4 networks should have to answer to the FCC for not doing their job.😠😠😠

Rant over.

Same here.  We didn't get all that damage, but the same storms were headed our way.  They would NOT cut into their precious NBA game to even give a crawl!  Makes me sick.  Makes me hope bad weather is visited on THEM.

[zillabreeze]

I worried about all the elderly folks with nothing but OTA antennas trying to figure out what the hell was happening.

I'm not elderly, but if I had to go find an AM radio (and maybe batteries) in a hurry, I'd be screwed!

[Brattinella]

21 minutes ago, zillabreeze said:

I worried about all the elderly folks with nothing but OTA antennas trying to figure out what the hell was happening.

I'm not elderly, but if I had to go find an AM radio (and maybe batteries) in a hurry, I'd be screwed!

Maybe you could contact your local AM radio stations and get them to donate AM radios to old folks.  Or maybe Walmart.  We have an AM/FM radio for emergencies and an NOAA radio too.  We keep them both very handy.

[Byrd is the Word]

6 hours ago, ItsHelloPattiagain said:

I'm a big rule follower type and IMHO these days people don't think the rules apply to them and if they scream and carry on enough, the rules will be bent/broken for them. 

I’m a follower of rules because most of the time they favor the right party and allow order. But I’m also a proponent of respect and doing the right thing. Sometimes rules needs to be challenged to see if they are indeed (or remain) what they were intended to be. Lots of rules have  changed in our lifetime. Some for the better and some not.  Don’t forget that Germany had lots of rules in the 30’s and 40’s. 

Edited June 11, 2019 by Byrd is the Word