Either They're Agenda Driven or Just Plain Stupid

I've heard the usual murmurings from the Left that seem to occur anytime a Conservative Grown Up wants to do anything remotely close to reigning in spending, cutting waste, and/or limiting the scope of government.

With the copious amounts of examples not only form human experience, but history as well as examples from our own day, and common sense, it should come to no surprise to anybody remotely willing to think the Welfare State does not work. On the contrary, not only does it fail those it claims to help, but has adverse affects on society at large. Allow me to site an example.

At my previous job, I was an adjuster for Illinois work comp. It was my job to review claims, and pay those deemed work related. As part of my job, I was also responsible for paying those whose doctors took off of work; this was called Temporary Total Disability or TTD. There was only one problem. IL, as other states is very liberal in its work comp policy. The claimant can choose their own doctor, so long as they don't go over two choices, and unless the company sends the claimant to an Independent Medical Evaluation, which we almost always did, we had no choice but to pay the claimant for being off of work.

Many times, the IME would tell us the so called injured person could work, at which time, they almost always hired an attorney, which meant us paying a settlement, even though they could work with little lasting affects.

Which leads us to the problem. Those who abused the system were given no reason to not do so, while those who were rightfully injured and owed settlement were forced to have their cases drawn out while we were investigating possible bogus or exaggerated cases.

With so many companies having to pay little more that what could be called shakedowns, said companies left IL in droves. Per the attorneys we hired, IL's economy is in shambles since no industry will go there to do business. Those who do, are subject to draconian Work Comp regulations.

This was something I saw everyday where I worked, and led me to the obvious conclusion. If you make it easy for people to sit on their rear ends and not work, people will do so. Again, I'm not talking about actually hurt, I'm talking about those abusing the system.

This is but one example and with it and others, I am left with only two conclusion about the Left.

1. Either they are completely stupid, devoid of learning from the mistakes of other countries around the world who so foolishly bought into the Socialist lie, history, common sense, or human nature or.....

2. Beginning with Barrack, and his Merry Band of Marxists, the Left doesn't give a rat's butt about the "poor" but instead is wiling to allow more and more people to become slaves to the government so advance their agenda of more government.

Not many other options.

Been a While

I was going through some old bookmarks and came across this blog, and frankly, didn't realize how long it had been since I posted. To be honest, I wanted to, but with time and such, the posting was just put off longer and longer.

It also didn't help that in December of 2009, I started a new job, which, to my dismay was not much of what I thought it would be. The commute was long (I was aware of this)and the hours and workload expected were much larger than I anticipated. Frankly, because WW and me both took a job at this location, we both would come home from work and just veg because we were so tired from the stress of our chosen line of work. Thankfully, those days are gone as the both of us have found new employment. The pay may be much less, however, the stress level is NOTHING compared to the last job, plus, I NOW HAVE A LIFE which means, God willing, I will have time to blog. Oh, and lest I forget, the new work seems to have much more room for advancement, and the benefits kick the previous' employeer's "benefits, out of the ball park.

A lot has happened since my last post. I have gotten back into cycling, which I have done off and on over the last twenty or so years, my wife and I took a trip to another country, I have been the victim of a crime, switched churches, and last but not least, both of us have taken on career changes.

Provide I learn to manage my time, more posts will be forthcoming.

Stay tuned.

Computer Woes (What I learned from Best Buy)

So what did I learn from all this? Several lessons really.


1. Companies must be kept accountable. That is why I named Best Buy. This wasn't meant as slander. I appreciate the assistance the executives gave, but why did I have to climb their corporate ladder? Why did I have to employ the help of a local news station?

2. Sometimes it's necessary to take a stand. Folks it's simple. There are times in life when one must stand up for one's self. Maybe nothing will be done, but you don't know until you try. Whether it's an unnecessary river tax, amnesty for illegal aliens, or a company giving a customer the run-around on a defective computer, the powers-that-be sometimes want us simpletons to shut up. Only by raising a little h-e-double-hockey-sticks will those in authority be held accountable. Oh, yeah, and the more who raise said hockey sticks the merrier.

3. Don't waste time on those who can't help and pick your battles. During this ordeal, some words or actions said or did by Best Buy, I just let go. Stand your ground when you know it will help, and if somebody can't help you, go to the person who will. That's why WW and I enlisted the help of Channel II.

4. Don't be afraid to ask for what you feel you deserve. When I talked to the executive, his first offer was not enough to fully compensate for a similar laptop. Had I not asked, I would not have gotten the amount I ended up getting. I'll say it again. You won't know what you'll get if you don't ask. Remember, all they can say is 'no".

5. Know when to accept. Or, know when to say when. As much as I wanted a cool, '17 Blue Ray playing computer, the fact was I was not going to get one. Truth is, I shouldn't have as I did not buy a laptop that expensive. Be fair but be firm, and learn to figure out when you have a good deal and accept. By the way the BB executive spoke ("Letting me know I could pay for any difference in the computer costs") was a big enough hint for me. Oh, FYI, the offer he gave me WAS generous. It was enough to cover the cost of the computer and extended warranty.

Thank You Channel II in helping me get this issue resolved.