Payday Loans= Most Evil Possible Thing in the Universe

So today when I made a payment to my Bank of America credit card I decided that I would purchase nothing for myself this month. This will enable me to move the $100 for 'shopping' into 'debt reduction.'
This is because I want to pay off BOA as soon as I can so that I can discontinue my tacit support of payday loans.

According to the National Consumer Law Center's report: Utilities and Payday Lenders: Convenient Payments, Killer Loans both of the banks which hold my two credit accounts are the owners of exploitative lending centers.As you can see on this cute little chart. (Should expand if you click it. Via consumerist.com)



In case you are saying to yourself, caveat emptor, I would like to remind you heartless bastards that the interest rates on these loans are about 390% to start.

Here is a breakdown of these ridiculous loans via All Financial Matters:

Let’s say times are tough and Jack needs $100 to fix his car. Jack goes down to the local payday loan company and they agree to give him a loan. So Jack writes a check for $125 and gives it to the payday company and they give him $100. Two weeks later, Jack gets paid and the payday loan company cashes Jack’s check, closing out the deal.

Now, take a wild guess as to how much the APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is on Jack’s loan…

How about 651.79%!

Here’s how that’s figured:

APR = i × (365 ÷ n)

where…

i = periodic interest rate, which is 25% in this example ($25 fee ÷ $100 = .25 or 25%)
n = time period of the loan, in this case 14 days

Filling in the numbers, our formula looks like this:

APR = .25 × (365 ÷ 14)

APR = .25 × 26.0714

APR = 6.5179 or 651.79%

OUCH!

Here you will find a payday loan branch manager telling the fine folks at The Center for Responsible Lending about tricking poor people into exploitative loans.

And, lest you forget, as was discussed before (and in Congress, and on TV, and on every website ever) payday loan centers target the poor and those on fixed incomes, most specifically: soldiers and their families, minorities, recent immigrants, the elderly, the infirmed, and of course single mothers.

Finally, if after all of this, you need a fuzzy story to make you not hate the universe and all in it- here you go: a man described as the "internet batman."

With liberty and justice for American born citizens only.

Slate has two interesting articles out today about the state of the rights for non-Americans in the power of the American government.

The Birth of a Torture Program.

Did Bush Repeal the 5th Amendment?

I've said it a million times, but if the price of my freedom is the loss of freedom for others- especially the most basic of freedoms: to own and retain property and to not have your nuts hooked up to car batteries- then the cost is too high for me.

I love what America supposedly stood for, but I'm ashamed of what we're doing. America was created to be the home of liberty, justice, and the respect for the individual. How can we talk about justice when we grant none to others? How can we claim to respect individuality and product liberty when we hold people with no trial; when we break the Geneva Conventions; and when we overthrow foreign governments to make political and financial capital?

How does it feel to be the bad guy? How do you feel today? I feel pretty shitty.

Freedom shmeedom, that's what I say.

Congress Caves via Slate

Alternative title:
Democrats are huge pussies.

Goddammit.

I would feel better if the 'leader of the free world' wasn't wearing socks with plastic sandals.

from The Top Socialite

Who killed the electric car?

Answer: rich guys.

Saturday night I watched Who Killed the Electric Car with my friend Dawn and we were upset- but not, I regret to say, shocked. I had a very serious 'I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore moment' and then I had snack and got over it. (Which is why there is no change in America: "Ding-dongs, 300 channels, and free internet porn? What was I mad about again?)


Aside the first:
My cousin Sean (soon to be 13 years old) and I enjoy the discussion of two different scenarios:

1. Zombie Outbreak

2. Taking over the world/ ruling it with an iron fist/ subjugating the populace

Now on the issue of taking over the world, we've decided that we could completely effectively control our 'citizens' with the following plan:

1. Sundae Sunday- free ice cream sundaes every Sunday.

2. Universal health care, including free birth control.

3. State funded cable.

Back to the discussion at hand: There is just SO much wrong with America these days (as in the past, no doubt). If you want to have a complete 'sode about oil (and war and the environment and unelected fat guys running the country from their wallets) watch this movie.

And if you really want to flip out, watch this movie and then watched Maxed Out, another documentary about corporate America (this time banks) bending the rest of us over a table.

5 monkeys- angry ones, throwing poo, for both of these provocative documentaries.

This leads me to two bonus asides:

1. Michael Moore is a biased, rude, and generally unpleasant character who could learn a lot from the makers of Maxed Out and Who Killed the Electric Car- of even from The Future of Food. Additionally, he can bite me.


2. Freakonomics Blog is reporting that:
"On August 6th, 1941, the U.S. government imposed a nightly curfew on gas stations to reduce fuel use in anticipation of entering World War II. By the way, oil sold at the time for an inflation-adjusted $12.75 a barrel."
Incidentally, I love this blog- even if I don't always agree with it. It has a very high level of discourse.

Hello Kitty: shifty and not to be trusted.

Just like Thai cops, but pinker and kittier.

As a new punishment, Thai cops will be forced to wear pink armbands in a demerit-like punishment system. This should work great. I know that if I were a Thai citizen, I would like the authority of my police force to be enforced by the added weight of Hello Kitty.

Article: Hello Kitty to punish bad-boy Thai police

Nature: biting the hand that feeds it.

I'm gonna getcha!

I've always said that pandas are number two on my list of cutiest animals that can rip of your arm. (#1= polar bears)

Not so cuddly: panda attacks zookeeper
Alternate title suggestions:

Idiot puts arm in panda enclosure.

Local zookeeper says, "arms are for losers"

Panda rejects humanity's reconciliation attempt. Surprise!

Local blogger too tired to think of smarty-pantsness

So cute, so extremely cute!

Multi-ethnic Cousin Squad to the rescue!

Here is a not very good picture of us cousins (and Steve) at the field last Wednesday. (FYI- Steve is the giant lumbering hulk standing awkwardly on the far right.)
(FYI- I'm the one with boobs.)

Boring news for boring people

You should love it.

Squirrels hate small business owners, like chocolate
Squirrels are dirty little thieves, stealing up to two Kinder Surprise Eggs per day.
Excerpt:
"It removes the foil carefully, eats the chocolate and leaves the store with the toy," Irene Lindroos said.
I guess it's nice to know that someone enjoys the chocolate on a Kinder Surprise Egg.

Man Field Tests Those Ricockulous Wheel Shoes
Unravels the mystery behind the allure of these confusing shoes: they make mundane things slightly less boring.
This appeals to me. I hate boring things and people. I believe that everything I own, down to my toilet brush should be interesting. I believe that friends should challenge, intrigue or in some way divert you. Why shouldn't shoes be fun?

Slate's Explainer: Can you survive in space without a space suit?
Super-fascinating, if you're super-nerdy. Which I am.

Not really the news, but really an awesome video if you own a carpet and a dog-door. I'm just saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Be vigilant.

I don't care if he's crazy, I would still totally hit that.

There is a great article on Slate about the increasingly amusing comments being made by Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners. Formerly closemouthed, he has blossomed forth with a slew of perplexing comments including the following, which utterly convinces me that I indeed would hit that, but was also carried in the national news:

"To tell the truth, I'm not excited to go to Cleveland, but we have to. If I ever saw myself saying I'm excited going to Cleveland, I'd punch myself in the face, because I'm lying."

You and me both, Ichi.

My entire family attended the game last night between the M's and the Angels and it was a fascinating game. The Angels could neither catch nor retain a hold on the ball and the M's really took advantage. The game went into extra innings and was quite exciting. More significantly I got to watch Ichiro do his little butt-wiggle; the excitement of this should not be underestimated.

A marginally related side note: Dude, what is up with M's fans? Maybe it was that I hadn't sat in the 300 level in a couple seasons, but it seemed like there was a lot of uncalled-for booing. Chill out guys! Quit booing everyone all higgildy-piggildy. It is poor sportsmanship to boo either the opposing team OR your home team. Booing is for nefarious behavior, bad calls, and A-Rod.

50 raccoons per square kilometre

Damn Quebec, you just hit the very end of the list of places I'd like to visit- you're straight behind Trenton, NJ and Darfur.

Rabies outbreak along Quebec border contained
Updated Wed. Jul. 18 2007 5:50 PM ET
Canadian Press

MONTREAL -- Quebec wildlife officials say they've contained a stubborn rabies outbreak emanating from the United States, trapping it in an area around a small town along the Quebec-Vermont border.

One phase of a ground operation to trap and kill raccoons and skunks was set to end Wednesday but conservation officers will resume the effort next month in the area along the southeastern border with Vermont.

They will also drop more cookies laced with oral rabies vaccine around St-Armand, near the Quebec-Vermont border. Officers in Vermont are running a similar campaign.

Quebec natural resources spokesman Pierre Canac-Marquis says infected animals from the United States are spreading rabies into Quebec. With 50 cases of raccoon and skunk rabies reported in the first six months of 2007 in Vermont, Quebec knew it had an outbreak heading its way.

"It's really the first time we've had this kind of intense outbreak,'' Canac-Marquis said.

Wildlife officials have 700 new samples to analyze, but the ratio of animals infected has considerably improved, he said.

At the height of the outbreak, conservation officers found one-in-15 raccoons on the Quebec side of the border area had contracted the disease. Those numbers have improved to one out of 45, according to Canac-Marquis.

"So far, the results we are getting is that we were quite successful in containing the outbreak,'' he said.

Rabies, which can be fatal if left untreated in humans, attacks the nervous system and is spread from animal to animal through saliva.

No humans have been infected in the latest outbreak, said Dr. Jocelyne Sauve, public health director for the affected region.

Thousands of traps have been set in the area 85 kilometres southeast of Montreal. Some animals have been euthanized as a precaution.

The main objective is to create a barrier or eradicate the outbreak altogether so it doesn't enter more heavily populated areas, including Montreal.

Canac-Marquis says the threat to the Montreal area is very real. American studies show that the virus can spread up to 40 kilometres in a single year.

Montreal officials estimate there are as many as 50 raccoons per square kilometre on Mount Royal, the wooded park in the heart of the city. With a large number of domestic animals, officials say an outbreak in the city could be a disaster.

Quebec's first case of raccoon rabies was reported in 2006 but it could take years of operations to really get a handle on the virus, Canac-Marquis said. Quebec is following in the footsteps of Ontario, where a raccoon rabies outbreak in 1999 was stopped by 2006.

It is believed the Ontario virus came north via New York State. Advanced testing this year showed no sign of rabies infections in the area.

Generally, once rabies is established in an area, it can be very hard to get rid off, said Dennis Slate, national rabies co-ordinator with the United States Department of Agriculture.

"When you're dealing with rabies, it's hard to say how long it will take,'' Slate said. "Right through the winter, we found rabid animals (in Vermont). That was pretty indicative of a hot rabies outbreak.''

The last reported case of human rabies in Quebec was in October 2000, when a 9-year-old boy died after coming into contact with a rabid bat.

So, what I'm hearing is that if you see a cookie on the ground in Quebec you can pick it up and eat it. And then you won't get The Rabies. Right?

Well, maybe that changes my travel plans.

I've got my dad's eyes, my mom's chin, and my aunt's weird.

Example 1: My not-aunt Laurie and I were out shopping and she came across a square waffle iron and declared, “I’v been looking for a square waffle iron for ages! I can’t stand round waffles.”
“Yes,” I cried excitedly, “otherwise they are not conducive to proper topping distribution!”

Example 2: Later we were driving past a beggar just off of Union Square in San Fran and Laurie made her daughter roll down the window and give him 5$. We’d passed countless beggars and when we looked at her questioningly she responded, “He’s missing a leg.” This theory of giving is perfectly in line with my less delicately put theory on begging, which I call, “Show me your stump.”

Vacation Round Up

I had a great time in Cali with the family. Spent most of my time thrifting, eating fatty foods, frolicking with horses and dogs, and museum visiting.

Some vacation inspired thoughts:

Harry Potter made me compromise myself.
The airport was selling HP for 30$ at 20% off. Said I, “har har.” I bought it for 18$... at Walmart. My shame is great, but my aunt (who is actually not my aunt but my cousin once removed- I think) had to pick up something there. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Re: HP7, I am simply glad that I cannot be held hostage by this series any longer. I am satisfied with the ending, although the epilogue was crap. (And that is all I want to say about HP7- although I am consumed by the thought that HP is braver than Jesus; though I suppose being made up probably helps.)

Spent some time with the horses and began to wonder, how is it that when I try to give my cousin’s sheltie a milk bone it nearly eats my entire hand, but a horse can eat baby carrots out of my palm?

After wandering the Cartoon Art Museum I began to think that Calvin and Hobbes did everything that Peanuts did, but smarter. And with tigers.

SFMOMA was pretty cool, but I didn’t leave with any piece floating in my head; although I did like their Jackson Pollock better than SAM’s. Which brings to mind an only marginally related story.
Most interesting interaction with stranger at SAM: I was staring at the drip art Jackson Pollock and stepped closer and closer until I was an inch from the case, scrutinizing it carefully when a guy (my age or a bit younger) came over and joined me. He too stepped close and said, “What are you looking at?”
“Is that kitty litter?”
After a pause, “Yes, I think it is.” Then we both wandered off.

The picture below is my thrifting haul (well almost all of it):
(Please note that there is a wooden vulture wearing spectacles next to the pile of vintage fabric.)

Just when you thought it was safe!

I picked up my cell at work and it was Crazy Neighbor. Gosh, I was excited. She wanted me to go out to the street and see if her car is still parked there- otherwise it is _dum dum dum_ stolen!!

“Didn’t you move out?”

“Yes, but I went on vacation shortly after and left my car.”

“Ok, I’ll check when I get home from work.”

So I’ve got some good news, bad news. I don’t think that her car is there- but the good news is that when she calls back later to discover that her car has been stolen (Zoinks!) we’ll get down to the bottom of the mystery! It wasn’t a ghost panda after all, but my nefarious apartment manager who has been after her from the first- who would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for us no-good kids!

Then I will shuffle together a stack of Baconator sandwiches and eat them in one bite!

The Real Reason I Believe in John McCain

To quote Stephen Dubner: "If there were an Olympic event for Candor, I think McCain would win it every time."

Is it wrong of me to just desire truthfulness or at least effective lies based on things believed to be the truth?

Interestingly I see this same quality in John Edwards.

Questions for Senator John McCain
Race to the Finish
Interview by DEBORAH SOLOMON
Published: July 29, 2007

Now that your presidential campaign is falling apart and approaching bankruptcy, the consensus is that you’re finished. But some of us have faith in your ability to reinvent yourself. Well, thank you. I appreciate that.

Especially since the other Republican candidates don’t exactly stand out. Don’t put words in my mouth, darling. Listen, I’m sure that in the fall, when people are focused, I’ll out-campaign them. I can do the town-hall meetings, the kind of campaign that wins elections.

Might you consider borrowing, say, $5 million from your wife, Cindy, an heiress to an Arizona beer-distribution fortune? I would never do such a thing. I don’t think it’s the appropriate thing to do.

Why not? You’d consider it an insult to your masculine pride? No, it really isn’t masculine pride. It’s more that I think getting small donations is part of campaigning. It’s part of whether you can succeed or fail. I think that’s going to be the key to our success in the future, whether we can get the small-donor base.

I’m sure you’re aware that your rival Mitt Romney just tapped into his personal savings to self-finance his campaign. Yeah, $9 or $10 million or whatever. I am not criticizing anyone else’s decisions, but I should be able to raise my own money from contributors or take matching funds according to the law, not dip into my wife’s assets.

Did she ask you to sign a prenuptial agreement when you married her? Yes, yes. That was 27 years ago. We were married in 1980.

Well, maybe you will strike it rich with your coming book, “Hard Call: Great Decisions and the Extraordinary People Who Made Them.” How did you have time to write a 450-page look at history? Mark Salter, my co-writer, did it. What we usually do is use a tape recorder and we talk back and forth, and then 90 percent of the hard work is done by him.

Why bother to bring out a book if you’re not going to write it yourself? Well, we had an editor, Jonathan Karp, and it was his suggestion and idea.

He probably didn’t realize how apt the phrase “hard call” would turn out to be for you this summer, not least because of your support for the surge in Iraq. Obviously, it’s an unpopular stand. But General Petraeus ought to be given a chance to succeed. We confirmed him in the Senate knowing what he was going to do.

Do you ever look back and think, God, was I dumb to support the surge? No. You got to do what’s right.

Your youngest son, Jimmy, who is 19, joined the Marines last year. Has he been deployed to Iraq? Marines either go to Iraq or to Afghanistan, and they go back more than once, as you know, because that’s just the nature of the Marine Corps.

So where is he now? We don’t really talk about his schedule. Cindy and I think it’s a private family situation.

As a retired Navy captain, are you decisive in everyday matters, like choosing what to have for dinner? I usually ask Cindy what’s for dinner and then comply with her.

What if you’re buying a shirt? Can you make a decision without deliberating in a department store? I rely on Cindy. She has good taste. I admit freely that I do not.

You don’t have taste? In clothes, no. I think it’s got to do with my military background.

Why? Uniforms are very handsome. Yeah, but you don’t have much of a choice.

Sometimes the most difficult choice a person can make is to quit. I would agree.

Will you cut your losses anytime soon and quit the presidential race? No, no. That’s not a hard call. We’re staying in. I’ve had a lot tougher days than these.

101 Things in 1001 Days: Plastic Sundae Cup Edition

I am looking for these cups by Deka in any color. Have any of you guys seen these? Let me know!

Funny things my Grammy says: even funnier when taken out of context

Grammy: I’m cancelling my HBO; there is nothing good on it anymore.

Me: Well what about Big Love? That show is great!

Grammy: I’m sick of those Mormons and their weird ways!

Going back to Cali

So I leave for California at the crack of dawn tomorrow for a week-long 3 prong vacation (during which you will likely be update-less).

My cousin and I are starting in Lake Tahoe at her parent's lake house, then spending a bit of time at their ranch outside of Sacramento to ride horses and visit relatives, then to San Francisco to see my cousin's new apartment and do the museum thing.

I am very interested in the Cartoon Art Museum... which happens to be located quite close to Beard Papa's Creme Puffs (though I hear one is opening soon here in Seattle). I also hope to cross a few things off of my 101 List while I'm down there, so that should be a good time.

I would be remiss, however, if I failed to mention that I am utterly stressed out about this trip because I have to fly.

I'm not scared of plane crashes or anything- I just hate the whole rush to get there, then wait, getting checked in, dealing with getting luggage into bins I can't reach using 1 working arm and 1 with no sensation and limited strength, sitting by strangers, and getting out of the airport. I'm terrified of not packing the right things, sitting next to a smelly or a chatty, missing my flight, or getting bumped.

Worst of all is the pitifully ineffective but incredibly inconvenient security. Inevitably I am searched. I must be on some list or perhaps I'm just traveling alone while looking vaguely ethnic-ish. I always get hand searched and my luggage always gets turned before it gets on the plane because when I arrive my stuff is always all mangled and occasionally missing.

The second I am out of the airport, luggage in hand, I will be zen- until the day before I have to return.

Sweet Sweet Nelson Fan Club News Action

New band finds representation:

SCRAP METAL, a who’s who of multi-platinum lead singers and front men, include Kelly Keagy of NIGHT RANGER whose number one rock hits include “Sister Christian”, “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me”, and “You Can Still Rock In America”; Eric Martin of MR. BIG whose number one hits include “To Be With You” and “Just Take My Heart”; Gunnar Nelson and Matthew Nelson the twin sons of Rock’n’Roll Legend Ricky Nelson, of rock group NELSON whose pop/rock number one hits include “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection”, “After the Rain”, and “More Than Ever”; and Mark Slaughter of SLAUGHTER whose penned number one hits include “Up All Night Sleep All Day” and “Fly to the Angels”.

Don't judge me.