Business Sucks and Government is Great...WHAT???

On the Heels of the president’s speech about putting everyone to work, I would like to take a few minutes to embellish on a post I read.  Below was a reply (obvious liberal lover) on why capitalism is bad and government is great. Please read and I will rebuttal, because I see this way too often and I can’t stand this single sided argument.    

“Private enterprise is by its nature sociopathic and interested only in the benefit of the few people who autocratically control that enterprise. I do believe that having faith in capitalism to "save us" or to act in any way other than the enrichment of the few at the expense of the many is naive to the extreme. I am happy to look back at our history during simpler, better times when there was less regulation and we were free to pollute without restriction, utilize child labor, and benefit from slavery. By all means, let’s go back to those good old days. How dare the government take those things away from us?”

Ok, why is it every time somebody wants less Government intrusion the pundits always go back to the cave man days.  All or nothing doesn’t work.  Below is a great rebuttal and reflects my views exactly.

Nice try - but your attempt to suggest that advocating less regulation means advocating no regulation is spurious and deceitful, and frankly proof that your argument holds no water. Try going back 30-years when we didn't have slavery or child labor or rampant pollution and look at the mindset and policies that prompted two decades of unprecedented growth.

Your position that enterprise is by its nature sociopathic defies logic and facts - but certainly reveals your bias and speaks for itself in terms of any credibility you may have.

Business survives by creating value for others. Those firms that seek to serve only a few, by definition, cannot survive - unless they are insulated by government and regulation. You also ignore the fact that business is responsible for the vast majority of philanthropy and innovation that makes our lives better.

Yes, we should have regulations that prevent monopolies from forming and yes we should have laws that punish fraud and enforce contracts. This is a far cry from either abolishing government or looking to it to solve all our problems.

Government is the prime example of diminishing returns ... just because a little is good, doesn't mean that more is better.

Or perhaps you'll relate to a George Carlin quote: "If you smoke dope, don't smoke dope when you're high ... you won't get any higher, you'll just get lower on dope."

Where do you stand??? 

Goodbye my Friend

I grew up in a house devoid of pets.  Always wanted a dog, but the closest I came was two turtle's happily named "Mertel and Gertel" One thing I know is that I absolutely, bombastically, catastrophically, did not, could not and would not own a cat! They shed everywhere, meowed all the time, and made me cough and sneeze.  I once lived with a friend of mine for the summer who had 3 cats and I was miserable. No cats end of story!! Or so I thought.  I started dating the first lady 4 plus years ago. Six months later she moves in with me and talks me into letting her cat become part of the family.  I insisted the cat stay in the computer room and was never allowed in the bedroom, litter box changed hourly, and if I hear one meow it was out the door.  That's when I met Magna (we called her Maggie).
 Maggie was a cat that was rescued from the human society.  I don't know what happened to her but she did not like people very much.  I remember the day she came home, we had bought a pet carrier and put in a nice towel for her to lay on and introduced her to her new home.  After 10 minutes of being skittish, she finally went in and laid down.  Soon after number 1 and 2 found the new arrival and picked up the pet carrier and started shaking it violently trying to get the cat to come out.  She never returned to that house.
 Maggie spent the next year hanging out in the computer room and getting to know the house better.  Once in a while we would have to look for her and her new hiding spot.  I often said if it wasn't for the littler box no one would know we had a cat.  Slowly she took up more real estate and before I knew it she was sleeping in her bed in our room.

 Her favorite pastimes had become sleeping under the covers with the first lady, taking a stroll out on the deck Sunday mornings when we would have breakfast outside, and her nightly runs threw the house.  Four months ago we noticed a lump and discovered cancer.  We decided since Maggie was 12-13 years old that treatment would only hasten things.   We decided to instead be her champions and for the past months have keep her spirits up while giving her lots of love.  As I write this she is curled up next to mom and enjoying her last night with the family.  Tomorrow her journey with us ends and her new journey awaits.  Her final resting place will be under our nice shade tree where the kids can stop by and say hi from time to time.  Her biggest accomplishment was changing a stubborn old man into a sappy ole' cat lover.  She has brought more joy to me than I ever could have ever imagined.  The little brown cat named Magna...thanks for being part of my life. I will miss you!!

Wells Fargo Sucks

Here’s my story. I like technology and if anyone has used Quicken you know there are benefits but everything is still a manual process. I discovered Mint.com and was impressed how the website linked to your account and pulled all the information into it making checking and budgeting a snap. I was able to link to all my credit cards and loans and bank account, I was in virtual heaven. 6 months later the bank decided to change their security and now the link is eternally broken, whoa is me! Finally last week I decided to open a checking account at Wells Fargo for the convenience of online banking with Mint.com. What a stupid move that was!!!

I opened the account online and had them take a hundred bucks out of my other account. I figured I would do this in steps and move things a little at a time (This turned out to be a very bright idea). A couple of days later I signed up for online banking and to my surprise the money was not in the account yet. ( I didn’t think too much of this at the time) The band did a gig downtown and I decided it would be convenient to run over to the bank to cash the check and give the guys cash.

HOLD ON a minute little whipper snapper!! You want to cash a check that has your name on it at a bank that you do business with, or at least trying? Forget that!! After 30 minutes of being told why they wouldn’t cash the check I decided…”the hell with you then, close my account.”” We can’t close your account you have no money in it.” After 5 days still no funds and I have record that they took them out.

Now comes the fun part. 2 days later I get a letter telling me they have closed my account and will not be doing business with me. WTF is that!!! I call up “Wells Fargo” and try to explain I they have a hundred bucks of mine and I would like it back, “ahhh your wrong mister we don’t have your money its your other banks problem.” I would have choked the rat basted right there. Then I explained if I have the bank research this they will charge a fee, the jack ass tried to tell me they don’t charge fees for research and other things. BULLSHIT!! If you go use the restroom in a “Wells Fargo” they charge you a freekin’ fee. Clearly this was the dudes first day on the job. (Btw that was after I was transferred o the phone three times.)

I ASSUME (with a capital ASS for me) that I will see a check for a hundred smackers soon. If not by Monday (2 weeks later) I guess it time to file papers in court. I’m just flabbergasted that a company could act like this and get away with it, and people keep banking there. I guess I’m not the only one with a beef, check out the website below.

http://www.wellsfargosucks.com/

I’ll let you know the outcome.

Mike Monkey takes you on a Tour of his Hotel Room.

Hey Ya'll, check out this new hotel I get to stay in with Brian.  I got to take my first plane ride and now I'm at the Homewood Suites in Oxnard CA.  (Just north of the urban jungle L.A.) Ohhhh Boyyyy this is sooooo coool!  This place rocks like a banana tree in the wind.  Let me show you the room.  Below is the bed and ohh so comfy.  There are 6 pillows dressed in white with the biggest bed I have ever seen.

Next I wanted to show you the shower.  This thing is so big. I can't wait to use it in the morning.

The Sink and mirror are by the closet.  Check out all the drawers in this thing.  I have a place for my banana tooth brush, banana deodorant, banana tooth paste, and banana cologne.  Lucky me!

The desk is real nice, I'm doing the blog there right now, I love the groovy lamp.  Makes me feel like swinging.

Here's the couch on the other side of the room, turns into a bed in case I need more room for my other furry friends.

Check out the kitchen area.  They have a complete kitchen with silverware, plates, microwave, dishwasher, and the burners I'm sitting on.  I'm getting warm up now!!  oo oo oo oo oo  little joke for ya'll!

Finally there is a full size fridge. Of course I stocked it with my favorite beverage.  "Diet Pepsi"  you thought I was gonna say banana juice...

Over all the Room is a real banana.  The pool is nice and warm, there are BBQ grills to use, I look forward to a long stay.  Talk to you next time. 

Mike Monkey.

Back to the Disney Vacation

OK, sorry for the interruptions.  Lets get back to Disney and booking the hotel.  First I will tell you what I did and second I'll tell you what I would do different.  Our family booked the Disney All Star Movies Resort, which has two sister hotels about the same right next to each other.  The major reason we went cheaper than high price is that everyone said you would spend little time in the room so why pay extra. Well the concept seams right but WOW the rooms are tiny.  If you have a little size to you the micro full size beds will definitely make you feel as though you gained 20 pounds on the flight.  The beds are hard and very uncomfortable.  TV is the old 19" tube TV and half the channels are Disney.  (what else would you expect) The girls liked the theme and the pool and, well they are 6 and 9 and this is there first big trip so let just say they liked everything. After landing at the airport expect to wait an hour for the bus if you use Disney transportation.  If you have two bags or less, carry them with you because waiting for the delivery will be at least 3 hours.  If you want to get started right away, having your bags is a big plus.  After your bus picks you up you get to the hotel and if you pre-checked in everything is ready to go.  You room key is your credit card to the kingdom and you admission tickets to the parks. We spent 2k on rooms and tickets for 6 days at the parks and 8 days at the resort.  Disney gave us the meal plan which was a bonus and a curse at the same time. (more on that later) The one big drawback of the budget resorts is that EVERYONE stays there.  "EVERYONE"!!  So if you plan to eat, swim, take a bus, or just use the can, prepare to wait in line.  You will have to plan this into your strategy.  Overall the Hotel is a 5 out of 10.  The service is a 9, even though it is crowded they do work hard at doing the little things that make your stay special.  The maids would rearrange the kids toys everyday and have them hanging off wall lights or tucked into bed.  #1 and #2 looked forward to that every evening so that was a nice touch.

What would I do different?  I would spend a little extra and stay in a nicer room.  You will be in the room 8 hours a day so you might as well be comfortable, plus the higher price resorts are closer to the action.  Transportation and waiting will save you time and time is money, so buck up to the next level.  If you get a free meal plan with your stay then it includes a sit down meal everyday, not a bad perk.  So book your plane tickets thru the airline, pick the best days to travel and spend a little extra on the room.  Oh, I forgot...no matter where you stay buy the most comfortable shoes you can find your feet will thank you.

What it feels like to be "Half" a Customer??

I will get back to the Disney stuff for those that are interested but I have to write today about what it means to be a valued customer. CRAP!!! If you ever bought a car at Snell Motors in Mankato this is what you should expect. (Since they are a big car company and their logo is red, I thought I would extend the courtesy in my post.)  OK let me tell you the story and you form your own opinion. I purchased not one but three cars at Snell Motors in Mankato. Lets go back 5 years. My 2nd daughter was born and having a sports car was not a great idea. They are hard to get in, short on room, and not real safe in the winter. I decided to get a SUV, and since I had purchased 2 cars at Snell motors of Mankato I thought this would be a good place to start. After test driving quite a few vehicles I decided on a GMC envoy with about 30k miles. I signed the paperwork which included somewhere in the fine print the agreement to pay the difference in the balance of the loan if they didn't figure it correct. Well of course the finance people at Snell motors in Mankato can't add and we ended up with a $400 bill after everything was signed. This only came to light a year later in a collection notice from a gutter shark. “Fine way of doing business” I say. I told the grub digger that I would not pay this bill since it was part of the original loan and I was never made light of money that was owed on this contract. (They also tried to keep $1500 on the rollover extended warranty, but this is another story)

Let’s flash forward 5 years to today. I got a notice in the mail from a Cow Crapin' Shit Slinger that I never paid the bill. Do these people listen, take notes or even have ears? I thought this was a dead issue. I decided to call Snell motors in Mankato to put the disagreement to bed for the last time. I spoke with a lovely lady who read me the terms of the contract. I told her plain and simple, "I don't care what the contract says, what are you going to do to keep me as a customer in these tough times, especially since I might be in the market for a new car”. I would think that for a car company like Snell motors of Mankato they might say, "we value you as a customer and am very sorry for this overage on our part. We see this has been mistake for a long time, and will forget the amount owed and hope you make Snell motors of Mankato your choice for your next vehicle" WOW that would have been awesome! Sucking up $400 is a big deal to me. BUT...That is not what happened. Instead the nice lady at Snell motors of Mankato said they would pay for half. So as the customer I still have to pay for the mistake? Keeping me as a customer didn’t even ring in her head. She even brought it up to the president and he agreed to stick it to me. So I have to pay for “HALF.” So as a “half” customer is Snell motors of Mankato going to sell me half a car? Fix half my engine when it breaks? Clean only the back seat of the car when I use their new wash. What is the price of customer service and doing the "RIGHT" thing? I gave Snell motors of Mankato the chance to do the right thing and they choose to do "half." I guess Snell motors of Mankato will find out what "HALF" means when only half of their customers show up to buy only half their products.  Please re-broadcast this post. I think Snell motors of Mankato needs to know how their “half” customers feel!!

I Interrupt this Disney Experience for an Important Announcement

I just went to the new burger joint in town and wanted to update everyone on the experience.  5 Guys burgers and fries! That's what you get.  The place reminds me a waffle house on the inside, all red and white.  Menu is very simple, 5 big burgers 5 small burgers and 2 types of fries.  That's it!!!  If you need desert there is a DQ at the mall.

To the food part.  I ordered a bacon cheese burger with lettuce, pickles and BBQ.  Large cup of original fries, and a cheese burger for the first lady. She is still working so I will await her response when she gets home, (I hope she reads this blog and starts drooling) Burger was everything a burger should be, 2 greasy slabs of goodness with crispy bacon smothered in American cheeeeeeeese.  Killer burger done just right.  No California crap like Gouda ,Avocado, French Italian seasoned mayo with chapatti chips. Meat, cheese and bun...DONE. Fries were in a cup, skin on and chewy, not crispy, with plenty on sea salt.  Reminds me of the fry that sits at the bottom of the bag and ages to perfection before being consumed. There wasn't one thing healthy about this meal and I loved every minute.  Everything came in a plain brown paper bag.  What no branding??  Did they miss the marketing meeting?  NO.  The food says it all.  10 minutes after I ordered I was out the door with my to go bag, grease just starting to leach though the side of the bag. Oh btw they have peanuts to eat while you wait, ahhh don't, let the hunger build a few more minutes.

Thank you 5 Guys burger and fries for making Mankato your home.  This is and will be my restaurant of choice for now on, or until we get a waffle house.   

Planning: Stage 1

Before going or doing anything, I always do research.  I don't go shopping for groceries without doing research.  Most big purchases require a years worth of research.  Disney was different.  I think I spent one night on the Internet looking and booking and 2 weeks drooling and yelling at the first lady to come look at this cool thing we can do.  The kids were in my mind the perfect age, 6 & 9, still young enough for the innocence but old enough for the rides.  Matter of fact our family was made for Disney, 2 children, 2 adults.  It seams everything revolves around a family of four, finding a deal should be easy.  Guess what?  It was!!  I had been told by several people to expect to spend 4k and to use a certain travel agent, nope...didn't do it.  I was told to go to this web site and that web site and ask for "Disney package number one" or "Book the perfect getaway" nope, didn't do it.  Didn't use sky miles, credit card points, gold bond stamps or Sunday circular coupons.  I booked the trip, 7 nights, 8 days round trip airfare from MSP to Orlando, meals, hotel, and 6 days of tickets for under $3K. Here is how to start the magic.  Book thru Disney direct.  Wow, you didn't see that coming did you.  Booked the flight directly thru Delta also.  Boy that was a punch to the gut huh!  Think about it, everyone else has to tack on some sort of commission and they aren't booking anything that you can't.  Did I spend a year doing this, No! Go on the Disney site and look for a promotion, ours started as a reduced hotel price and ended up as a free meal plan.  (Free meal plan I will explain later, that was a deal).   

Lets start with the airfare.  I recently booked a flight to Washington DC and looked at Cheapo air (usually the least amount of money) What I found was that the Delta site was less money.  So I started with Delta. I found the time I wanted to go and started matching flight days.  I found Tuesday to Tuesday the cheapest.  Matter of fact dirt cheap.  $170 per ticket. I then went to some different sites and compared, nothing came close.  I know what yours saying and this was a direct flight.  Point A to Point B no connecting flight in Genoa Nebraska, bang get on get off, done. 

OK lets do the math for you sceptics that think you can drive everywhere and save money.  At least two days down and back, that is 75 bucks a night for a cheap hotel with plywood mattress and birch bark sheets.  Next food.  Have to eat, so budget $40 a meal, two meals a day and I will even throw in a cooler with bread  and cheese for loose meat sandwiches.   Where does that leave us now $640.00.  So now we have to buy fuel.  Yes you have to come back.  I Drive a van for comfort, 25 mpg which equates to 130 gallons round trip at ...drum roll please..$3.50 gallon and we have $455,  plus wear and tear on the vehicle, stopping every 20 minutes to visit every bathroom , 4+ extra days of vacation, and the kids asking every 5 minutes, "What town are we in now?"  Fly!!! and you may live long enough to blog about your experience.  I spent a total of $850 for 4 tickets, baggage fees, and rental car to and from MSP. I think I've made my point.

Next up, Booking thru Disney and getting the right tickets for your stay.

The Whole Disney Truth

I decided to write a multi part blog on what to expect when you take a family of four to Disney World in Orlando Florida.  Since I took this trip recently I feel most qualified.  I spent hours researching everything! (ask the first Lady) I wanted to get the very most out of my trip.  So I prepared by listening to others that have been there before I.  I read blogs, posts, articles, hotel reviews, referrals, just about everything. Here is a real accounting of a real world experience.  I'm gonna lay it out for those who might follow and let everyone know how to get even more out of their vacation.  Don't expect a watered down, pillow under the head, I love Santa Clause version. Your gonna get the whole enchilada, soup to nuts, the plain HARD truth.  No political correctness here; no lobbyist for a safer vacation in my capital.  Here it is, down and dirty, pig in the mud, nose so dry it feels like a triscuit version.  Are you ready?? Can you take the heat?  Feel the burn, stomach the haggis in a bag truth and nothing but the truth so help me judge Judy version.  I'll start the show tomorrow and will update with stories, observations, pictures and little secrets nobody will ever tell you.  I'll get you my little pretty, and don't forget that stupid little dog!  

Rylee, Reagan and the Chipmunks

Sometimes you don't have to say much just let the video do the singing.

Not in This House!!

The "First lady" is a big Garth Brooks fan.  If she had her way I would be dressed up in a cowboy hat, wrangler jeans and headset mic.  Now I wouldn't say she is compulsive, there are no life size cardboard cutouts in the bedroom, or 24 x 7 Brooks music on the radio, but if she had the chance to met him that would reign pretty high on the bucket list.  Here's the story.  I picked up #1 and #2 from grandma's today and #1 started talking geography.  (For some reason the girls at 8 and 6 feel the need to travel out state.) #1 asked if I had been to Stillwater, and not the one in Oklahoma. How would she even know about that??? Well anyway I said, "Do you know who is from Oklahoma?" "Who?" she asked.  Garth Brooks I said.  I really don't know what response I was expecting but what I got was "Who's that?".  I guess there is an education coming to some young girl!