Apparently there was some law written, when Ma Bell was alive and well, that allowed small companies to bill things connected to your phone directly onto your phone bill. Verizon is allowing the same and apparently it is legal. Understandably, if you make calls from a hospital bed or watch TV and bill it to you home phone, that bill can be added, as can collect calls made to your phone from little Podunk places. However, it seems some greedy people are pulling some interesting tricks.
For example, I noted that I was billed $14.95 plus $.75 for miscellaneous transactions a month ago. I phoned Verizon's customer service and told them I had not authorized any additional services. I talked to a very decent woman who said she would take it off my bill and block further bills...I should see it taken off my next bill.
Not surprisingly, the next bill showed nothing taken off and the same charge re-appearing. This time it was marked transaction clearing charges...naturally giving no indication what was being charged to clear. It listed: Messages from Transaction Clearing
Tax & Fees
All tax and fees are authorized by Federal, State or Local Governments. Fees are explained by selecting the icon by the term. (There was no icon by the term).
Note that there is still not an explanation about which Verizon could enlighten as to what was being billed. The service rep pointed out that I had missed a toll-free number which I could call about the charge. I called and learned that I had presumably signed up for voice mail, a free trial, that I would have to cancel within a month or pay the charge. I have never had a need for voice mail and 800 numbers and know that I could not have signed up but somehow I may have looked at an ad and in making an inquiry to understand it, I was grasped and reeled in without my knowledge. I was told I should have called before the 30 days was up and the representative had difficulty understanding that one cannot call in to cancel something they don't know they have and have never used.
Fifty minutes of wasted time later, I was given a confirmation number that I had canceled whatever it was someone thought I ordered, from a place I do not recall having ever been to, for something I have no real idea as to what the 'product' really is. However, I made clear that I would refuse to pay, that Verizon already had it listed as being contested, blah-blah, woof-woof. The company is supposed to be Eversave (read Neversave) for Walgreen's, billed through Supreme Vm Monthly Fee. If you want to avoid the cram trap, steer clear of these names.
The upshot is that there are more sneaky ads and tricks to pull an unsuspecting window shopper or internet troller than we are prepared to outwit. And that, dear readers, is how America sees that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
THE WALK THROUGH FIRE TO BECOME A SUPREME COURT JUDGE
In order to confirm an appointee, the Legislators have a field day of asking questions which seem to be directed more to gain favor with their constituents than answering anything important. Since the legislators are lawyers, doctors, business men, and all sorts of professional backgrounds as well as, it seems, many fools, they often do little more than just embarrass themselves. The AlterNet staff has written The 10 Dumbest Things Republicans Have Said About the Sotomayor Hearings. It is a fairly long read but enlightening to those who wish to know their Republican legislators better.
We have some funny rules left in our country. According to our Constitution, wiki.answers.com says requirements are minimal to be appointed as a Supreme Court judge. You do not have to be a lawyer, but you do have to have thorough understanding of the Constitution. Thus, writes wiki: "While Article III of the Constitution does not specify the qualifications required of a Supreme Court Justice, or specify the size of the court, it does empower Congress to create legislation or make collective decisions that result in de facto requirements.
Because members of the Supreme Court must be experts on the Constitution, Constitutional law, and federal law, all past and present members of the Supreme Court have been attorneys.
Those who were commissioned before the mid- to late-19th century learned the law by studying and apprenticing with more experienced attorneys; states didn't mandate licensing until the 20th-century.
Of the 110 Supreme Court members, only 45 have held degrees from accredited law schools; 18 attended law school, but never attained a degree; and 47 were self-taught and/or went through an apprenticeship.
The first Justice to graduate from law school was Benjamin Robbins Curtis, Harvard class of 1832, appointed to the bench in 1851.
The last sitting Justice without a formal law degree was Stanley Forman Reed, who served from 1938-1957.
Today, nominees are judged by the quality of the law school attended and the extent of their experience on the bench. Twenty-two of the 47 degreed candidates graduated from Harvard or Yale, while a number of the remainder graduated from other T14 (Top 14) schools.
On the current Court, five Justices went to Harvard, two to Yale, one to Columbia and one to Northwestern.
Credentials have become so important over the last 50 years that, when Richard Nixon named Mildred Lillie and Hershel Friday as potential nominees for the Court in 1971, the American Bar Association objected on the grounds that they were unqualified for the position, and their names were withdrawn from the pool.
Public service and political connections also factor heavily into the nomination process. For example, all but one appointee, George Shiras, Jr. (served 1892-1903), has held public office or been a judge prior to nomination, and three-fifths of the nominees have been personal acquaintances of the President who nominated them.
While the Constitution stipulates no minimum or maximum age for judicial service, most nominees are under the age of 60, to help ensure a long tenure on the court. Most are in their 40s or 50s when appointed. The youngest Justice ever seated was Joseph Story, at the age of 32, in 1812; the oldest at time of appointment was Charles Evan Hughes, who was 67, in 1930.
Most of the 110 Supreme Court members have been white, male, protestants. The first Jewish Justice was Louis Brandeis, commissioned in 1916; the first of only two African-Americans was Thurgood Marshall, commissioned in 1967 (the second being Clarence Thomas, who replaced Marshall); the first of two females was Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, commissioned in 1981, and retired in 2006 (the remaining woman on the bench is Ruth Bader Ginsberg).
On May 26, President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor, to replace the retiring Associate Justice David H. Souter. If confirmed by the Senate, Sotomayor will become the first Hispanic, and only the third woman in history to join the Court."
We have some funny rules left in our country. According to our Constitution, wiki.answers.com says requirements are minimal to be appointed as a Supreme Court judge. You do not have to be a lawyer, but you do have to have thorough understanding of the Constitution. Thus, writes wiki: "While Article III of the Constitution does not specify the qualifications required of a Supreme Court Justice, or specify the size of the court, it does empower Congress to create legislation or make collective decisions that result in de facto requirements.
Because members of the Supreme Court must be experts on the Constitution, Constitutional law, and federal law, all past and present members of the Supreme Court have been attorneys.
Those who were commissioned before the mid- to late-19th century learned the law by studying and apprenticing with more experienced attorneys; states didn't mandate licensing until the 20th-century.
Of the 110 Supreme Court members, only 45 have held degrees from accredited law schools; 18 attended law school, but never attained a degree; and 47 were self-taught and/or went through an apprenticeship.
The first Justice to graduate from law school was Benjamin Robbins Curtis, Harvard class of 1832, appointed to the bench in 1851.
The last sitting Justice without a formal law degree was Stanley Forman Reed, who served from 1938-1957.
Today, nominees are judged by the quality of the law school attended and the extent of their experience on the bench. Twenty-two of the 47 degreed candidates graduated from Harvard or Yale, while a number of the remainder graduated from other T14 (Top 14) schools.
On the current Court, five Justices went to Harvard, two to Yale, one to Columbia and one to Northwestern.
Credentials have become so important over the last 50 years that, when Richard Nixon named Mildred Lillie and Hershel Friday as potential nominees for the Court in 1971, the American Bar Association objected on the grounds that they were unqualified for the position, and their names were withdrawn from the pool.
Public service and political connections also factor heavily into the nomination process. For example, all but one appointee, George Shiras, Jr. (served 1892-1903), has held public office or been a judge prior to nomination, and three-fifths of the nominees have been personal acquaintances of the President who nominated them.
While the Constitution stipulates no minimum or maximum age for judicial service, most nominees are under the age of 60, to help ensure a long tenure on the court. Most are in their 40s or 50s when appointed. The youngest Justice ever seated was Joseph Story, at the age of 32, in 1812; the oldest at time of appointment was Charles Evan Hughes, who was 67, in 1930.
Most of the 110 Supreme Court members have been white, male, protestants. The first Jewish Justice was Louis Brandeis, commissioned in 1916; the first of only two African-Americans was Thurgood Marshall, commissioned in 1967 (the second being Clarence Thomas, who replaced Marshall); the first of two females was Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, commissioned in 1981, and retired in 2006 (the remaining woman on the bench is Ruth Bader Ginsberg).
On May 26, President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor, to replace the retiring Associate Justice David H. Souter. If confirmed by the Senate, Sotomayor will become the first Hispanic, and only the third woman in history to join the Court."
Thursday, July 16, 2009
EVERYWHERE YOU GO SOMEONE WANTS MORE OF YOUR MONEY
It used to be possible to dial 411 and get a phone number without charge. Then it seemed that people who were too lazy to use the book were caught onto so over a certain number requests in a month, the user received an additional fee on their bill. Seniors seemed exempt. Long distance information service was also free.
The other day, a friend asked how to look up a phone number for free on the Internet. I suggested 411.com or Yellow Pages. Since I rarely call people for whom I don't already have a number, the world seemed to have changed without my noticing. Do all these services now require money...and not just a little, but a lot?
Choosing to check this finding out with another name, I had no problem getting 411 and Yellow Pages to give me complete address, zip, and phone number of an acquaintance in CA. That left me totally confused as to what it was about the name given me to look up by my friend, so I again checked his with the same results.
People search lists itself as a free service. It finds the person, tells the age, and lists the people who share the residence but if you want an address or phone number, you will be charged. If anyone has URLs that still look up names, phone numbers or addresses, please comment.
The other day, a friend asked how to look up a phone number for free on the Internet. I suggested 411.com or Yellow Pages. Since I rarely call people for whom I don't already have a number, the world seemed to have changed without my noticing. Do all these services now require money...and not just a little, but a lot?
Choosing to check this finding out with another name, I had no problem getting 411 and Yellow Pages to give me complete address, zip, and phone number of an acquaintance in CA. That left me totally confused as to what it was about the name given me to look up by my friend, so I again checked his with the same results.
People search lists itself as a free service. It finds the person, tells the age, and lists the people who share the residence but if you want an address or phone number, you will be charged. If anyone has URLs that still look up names, phone numbers or addresses, please comment.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
SOTOMAYOR'S CONFIRMATION HEARING DAY 2
Having spent a great deal of time during my long life listening to Congressional hearings, more than ever I question how the quality of legislator seems to have diminished. The only other possible explanation is that I have just gotten so much more perceptive and discriminating. 
Keith Olbermann on Countdown, MSNBC, commented that it sounded as though the Republicans were hearing only about every third thing asked or answered. Worse than that, in my mind, is that the questions many were asking were totally irrelevant to whether she should be appointed to the Supreme Court.
Randy Sly is the Associate Editor of Catholic Online. he lives in the Washington, DC Metroplex and covers many events in the Nation's Capitol. His column, written for Catholic Online, fails to see the irrelevancy of adding agendas not indicated by the task at hand. Many "pro-lifers" see nothing wrong a battleground for overturning Roe vs Wade.
The woman who had been the 'Jane Roe' in Roe vs Wade has now converted to Catholicism and is making her life work to prevent abortions. It seems a wasted life to me.
Keith Olbermann on Countdown, MSNBC, commented that it sounded as though the Republicans were hearing only about every third thing asked or answered. Worse than that, in my mind, is that the questions many were asking were totally irrelevant to whether she should be appointed to the Supreme Court.Randy Sly is the Associate Editor of Catholic Online. he lives in the Washington, DC Metroplex and covers many events in the Nation's Capitol. His column, written for Catholic Online, fails to see the irrelevancy of adding agendas not indicated by the task at hand. Many "pro-lifers" see nothing wrong a battleground for overturning Roe vs Wade.
The woman who had been the 'Jane Roe' in Roe vs Wade has now converted to Catholicism and is making her life work to prevent abortions. It seems a wasted life to me.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
LASER EYE SURGERY TO RID THE CATARACT LENS OF THE FILM IT HAD DEVLEOPED ON THE BACK.
In my perpetual pursuit to maintain my senses in working order, I underwent a bit of laser surgery to my right eye yesterday. It seems that epithelial cells begin to form on the back of cataract replacement lenses on some of us. Apparently these grow more quickly in the young, but given my familial genetic makeup those little suckers were piling up so fast I was going to go from twilight to dark all too soon. The exact name is a medical term my anxiety-ridden brain at the time didn't file it in proper long term storage.
Despite being told by many, who perform the surgery and those who have undergone it, telling me it is simple, I had to experience it to believe it. The total procedure couldn't have been easier. First a technician took my blood pressure, noted that it was a bit higher than she would have considered normal, as I informed her that it is usually within normal limits but I hadn't eaten since breakfast (it was now after 4:30 PM) and I was anxious about the surgery scheduled it was likely higher than usual. She gave me drops to dilate my eye and told me she would seek me out in the waiting room in a few minutes to put some other drops in my eye to comfort and heal. Finally, about a half hour after I had been in delightful conversation with anyone who happened in the waiting room, Susan, the doctor's assistant, checked my eyes for dilation and ushered me to the room where the procedure was to take place. I had more drops added to numb my eyeball.
The laser contraption looked like the one in an optometrists office, chin in the groove and forehead resting against the metal the checks for glaucoma, peripheral vision, etc. Apparently that configuration has many uses. After filling my eye with goop and plugging in a miniature eye-glass/microscope-like-monopod resting on my eyeball, the doctor looked through the eye piece and gave tiny, frequent bursts of laser, widening the clear space on the back of the lens to prevent the cells from reattaching. The condition he was correcting is called posterior lens capsule opacification
At no time did I feel pain or any discomfort. Since my left eye had not been dilated, I was permitted to drive myself home. Fortunately the 2 miles home was in the opposite direction of the sun, making the trip free of difficulty. Before I left I was given an appointment one month hence, at which time I would have this eye checked and the second eye lasered. The brightness of that which I was seeing in my right eye was markedly more brilliant. I played, covering alternating eyes, to check which was giving more brightness. The eye just lasered won hands down! My vision has moved from twilight to sunrise.
Despite being told by many, who perform the surgery and those who have undergone it, telling me it is simple, I had to experience it to believe it. The total procedure couldn't have been easier. First a technician took my blood pressure, noted that it was a bit higher than she would have considered normal, as I informed her that it is usually within normal limits but I hadn't eaten since breakfast (it was now after 4:30 PM) and I was anxious about the surgery scheduled it was likely higher than usual. She gave me drops to dilate my eye and told me she would seek me out in the waiting room in a few minutes to put some other drops in my eye to comfort and heal. Finally, about a half hour after I had been in delightful conversation with anyone who happened in the waiting room, Susan, the doctor's assistant, checked my eyes for dilation and ushered me to the room where the procedure was to take place. I had more drops added to numb my eyeball.
The laser contraption looked like the one in an optometrists office, chin in the groove and forehead resting against the metal the checks for glaucoma, peripheral vision, etc. Apparently that configuration has many uses. After filling my eye with goop and plugging in a miniature eye-glass/microscope-like-monopod resting on my eyeball, the doctor looked through the eye piece and gave tiny, frequent bursts of laser, widening the clear space on the back of the lens to prevent the cells from reattaching. The condition he was correcting is called posterior lens capsule opacification
At no time did I feel pain or any discomfort. Since my left eye had not been dilated, I was permitted to drive myself home. Fortunately the 2 miles home was in the opposite direction of the sun, making the trip free of difficulty. Before I left I was given an appointment one month hence, at which time I would have this eye checked and the second eye lasered. The brightness of that which I was seeing in my right eye was markedly more brilliant. I played, covering alternating eyes, to check which was giving more brightness. The eye just lasered won hands down! My vision has moved from twilight to sunrise.
Monday, July 13, 2009
TO CHENEY: IT'S ABOUT TIME, THEY'RE GETTING CLOSER
Many of us quickly realized that it was not GW Bush running the country in areas close to Cheney but that he, in fact, was calling most of the shots...no pun intended about his poor hunting skills. Cheney was certainly for the war in Iraq and got Haliburton contracts in what appeared to most of us as rather unethical fashion with no bids. Cheney would only make us look bad with the rest of the world. Is there anyone with sufficient denial of reality who still thinks that the rest of the world doesn't understand American politics better than most Americans?
Outing Valerie Plame was so typical of the sneaky, sleazy way he tried to bully her husband. I'm sure he bullied his way through the entire eight years and was so successful he is attempting to continue his practice of it. However, if there is a strong spine and a full sack of testicle left in Washington, Cheney's crimes and bullying should not be kept quiet. He should be made to own up to his actions and be a model for the next generation... that you can't get away with behavior such as his in the USA.
Al Jazeera is certainly making its readers aware as are other countries' Cab drivers I met in London, most of whom were from Iran, clearly delineated opinions of the American people, versus media.
Outing Valerie Plame was so typical of the sneaky, sleazy way he tried to bully her husband. I'm sure he bullied his way through the entire eight years and was so successful he is attempting to continue his practice of it. However, if there is a strong spine and a full sack of testicle left in Washington, Cheney's crimes and bullying should not be kept quiet. He should be made to own up to his actions and be a model for the next generation... that you can't get away with behavior such as his in the USA.
Al Jazeera is certainly making its readers aware as are other countries' Cab drivers I met in London, most of whom were from Iran, clearly delineated opinions of the American people, versus media.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
UNUSUALLY, BONDED FRIENDSHIPS
It is difficult to understand why some friendships are just so much closer than others. A woman friend of mine, whom I saw far less frequently than many others, was always a closer feeling person than other friends. If I didn't talk to her for years and we spoke on the phone it felt as though I had just hung up from a previous conversation. She is the only woman friend who, when I had picked up the phone to call her (with no particular reason) her voice was on the open end of the line (no ring heard)as we both said, "Hello" at the same time.
Only one other time did I experience that same kind of ESP coincidence, this time with a male whose brain seemed so connected with my own that we seemed to always be together in thoughts; when scheduled to meet...we always arrived together, simultaneously, even though a specific time had not been set and we came from two different directions. A thought about the other person and the phone then would ring from their call. It seemed uncanny, but my psychiatrist at the time assured me there was no such thing as ESP and that it was just my wish that I could somehow be magical.
Whatever the reason, both these people have been taken from my life by death. Today I saw the woman's daughter whom I have seen only once in the past 43 years. I experienced a similar reaction as I did to her mother...that this woman and I had a special affinity. There is no pretense to understanding the phenomena, but it does make me wonder if there really is something to ESP that we will someday understand between humans.
Only one other time did I experience that same kind of ESP coincidence, this time with a male whose brain seemed so connected with my own that we seemed to always be together in thoughts; when scheduled to meet...we always arrived together, simultaneously, even though a specific time had not been set and we came from two different directions. A thought about the other person and the phone then would ring from their call. It seemed uncanny, but my psychiatrist at the time assured me there was no such thing as ESP and that it was just my wish that I could somehow be magical.
Whatever the reason, both these people have been taken from my life by death. Today I saw the woman's daughter whom I have seen only once in the past 43 years. I experienced a similar reaction as I did to her mother...that this woman and I had a special affinity. There is no pretense to understanding the phenomena, but it does make me wonder if there really is something to ESP that we will someday understand between humans.
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