Monday, October 12, 2009

Catching up.

Like my fellow GoGers, I haven't been bitten by the blog bug lately.   Today I have remedied that with my Columbus Day post and this one which will cover several topics.
 
1. WalMart.  The bastion of evil as I like to call them.   I've noticed lately that there has been a major marketing campaign by the Corporate Ghouls at WalMart, Inc to flood the airwaves with commercials.  Lot's of commercials, like two to three WalMart commercials per show.   Their new slogan is "Save More, Live Better".  I despise WalMart, I really do.  They weren't content with just being a Discount Department store, no no no.  They had to become the all encompassing, give us all your money, place.  They roll into town and ruin all the local shops.  Thank God back home in California they are smart enough to tell WalMart that if they want to come into a certain town, they have to be a regular WalMart only.  Thus the reason there are few WalMarts in California.  Out in Tennessee, these places are a dime a dozen, and they are the SUPER WalMarts.  Oh yes oh Lazy Housewife who Home Schools her kids, you can go to one place and get clothes, toys, cleaning supplies, groceries, you teeth checked, your hair done, your eyes checked, pay your bills, get some jewelry, cash your paychecks and other checks (this till throws me....who doesn't have a bank account in this day and age?  Seriously....do you like paying someone part of your paycheck so they can give you money instead of having the whole amount deposited into a bank account?) and get the car repaired all in the same store.  Why you might as well move on in, or better yet, get a job here.   We will pay you minimum wage and ask you to work overtime but not pay you for it because it wasn't authorized.  Their commercials are so deceiving too.  They start off with some kind of scenario; i.e. lunch for working adults.   They come up with some number they got from somewhere that makes you think that by buying lunch everyday you are wasting your money, but if you shop at WalMart and buy some of their lunch things, lunch meat, bread, lunchables, etc you will save X amount of dollars a month.   Okay, I have an even better way to save money each month, it's called LEFTOVERS!  When you make dinner the night before, make extra.  That extra you put aside in a separate container and take it to work with you the next day for...wait for it....LUNCH!!!!!  Or make a damn sandwich and put it in a paper freaking bag.  Eating out every single day does get expensive, that's the only part of the commercial that's true.  I know I can get the same price if not better with coupons and sales at Kroger than what WalMart claims.   Most of their crap is priced about the same as Target and K-Mart, although listening to their commercials will lead you to believe they have the "lowest prices in town".  The only time you can get a real deal their is if you bring in a print ad from another store and show them that the other store is charging less.  They will match the price.  Good example: we just bought Wii Fit Plus at Target.  I've seen it priced the same everywhere; 19.99.  At WalMart they have it priced at....drum roll please....19.96! OMFG 4 WHOLE CENTS CHEAPER...LET'S GO GET IT NOW!!!!!!!!  In this State with our almost 10% sales tax, that .04 ain't going to make a whole hell of a lot of difference.  Yes, I have shopped there (yesterday actually) but that was because there is no Target in Cookeville and we needed to get my Grandson a surprise.  Hey it's Nanu's job to spoil him, when he gets older he gets money.  
 
2. The GOP and their utter disrespect for the President.   It's getting appalling actually to listen to it.  The Democrats the past 8 years were more respectful to President Bush than the Republicans are to President Obama.   He hasn't done anything wrong yet but they are constantly manufacturing shit that he's "going" to do.  They can't even give him kudos for winning the Nobel Peace Prize.  Folks like Liz Cheney has to say "he should send the mother of a fallen soldier to receive the prize because if it wasn't for that soldier there'd be no peace."  Um Liz, STFU okay?  Why don't you and Penis...I mean Dick go hunting somewhere in the woods and do the world a favor and don't come back.   He was given the prize because of his attempts to mend the rift between the US and the  WHOLE FREAKING WORLD that Bush built  8 years ago.   We are part of a global economy, and if we don't start playing nice we will be left behind.  Hell the Europeans are already kicking our asses with the Euro and the power of the European Union.   We suck compared to them.  These asswipes can't even find anything good about the President winning the prize, just another excuse to bash him and bring up his "lack of proof of citizenship" like Rush Oxycotin did this morning.  He said "this is the second Kenyan to win a Nobel peace prize".   God, I pray to you, please give Rush Oxycotin testicular cancer.  Please?  I don't want you to kill him, just leave him ballless like he already is.
 
3. Tennessee County and State Government.  Corruption and sneaky, under handedness at it's best.  Back home in California, when there was an election coming up, your mailbox was flooded with sample ballots, campaign flyers, etc.  Everything you needed as a registered voter to prepare yourself to exercise your constitutional right to Vote.  Not in Tennessee.  Oh no, by State law all they have to do is announce the vote coming up in the newspapers.  That's it.   They usually advertise these things in the throwaway papers that litter your lawn/driveway until they become a wet soggy mess that you end up regretting you let it get to said state before throwing it away.   Unlike back home, car registration is done by county out here so the charge and whether or not you need a smog test is determined by the County you live in.  In Wilson County we pay a 25 dollar wheel tax on top of the 25 dollar standard State registration fee.  Not sure what this Wheel tax is for, and I don't think anyone else does either.  We also have to get a smog test every year.  My total registration is normally 60 bucks: 25 State Fee, 25 Wheel Tax and 10 for Smog.  A lot of the cities in this county are growing and need better schools. Mt. Juliet managed to find the money to build a brand new High School, but Lebanon (where the County Seat is) can't seem to find the money to re-build/refurbish their's which is literally falling down.  The County Seat, where there is a lot of money can't seem to find anyone willing to pay for a new High School that most of their kids will be going to.  They waited until the last minute to have a special election to add another 25 dollar wheel tax that would be in affect for 25 years and in that time they'd have enough money to build a High School.  The only way I found out about the election was from the morning news.  I rushed to the polls that night to vote.  The tax was defeated, but only by 1,000 votes.   Now, what gets me is that their solution to the immediate need for a new High School is to impose another tax for 25 years to be able to make the money to build one.   You need a school NOW, not 25 years from now.  I remember something else that was supposed to be temporary, a fee that was only going to be paid until the product was paid off.  Both of them actually.  One was built in 1936, the other in 1938 and I'm sure they've been paid for 1,000 times over but we are still paying for.  That's right, I'm talking the Bay Bridge and the GGB.   Here's my big issue with this whole thing: A. My kid doesn't go to school in Lebanon, nor do I live in Lebanon.  If Mount Juliet asked Lebanon to help pay for our new High School they'd have laughed us off as morons.  B. A 25 year plan is the best you collection of talking apes can come up with?????? Seriously?
 
That's it for now.

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