Corporations Given Full Control Over Consumers By Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court has now made it basically impossible for Americans to receive justice as a group for a company's shoddy products and services.

In a 5-4 decision, the right wing justices which are puppets of the major corporations have ruled that arbitration clauses in agreements take precedence over any class action suits.

In other words, when you sign a cell-phone contract with AT&T, and you and hundreds of others receive shabby service, you can no longer put together a class action suit to sue AT&T.
If you have a problem, you as an individual must implement single arbitration action (which will cost you up to $500.) to meet with representatives of the company to try and work things out.

When they don't show up at the arbitration hearing (which is what will happen) you will get no relief and have no other further recourse.

When you signed the contract, you agreed to deal with any problems through an arbitration hearing. That contract now nullifies any attempt for you and others to file a large class action lawsuit against the company.

The champagne bottles are coming out all over America at corporation headquarters.

It wasn't enough that the Supreme Court recently ruled that corporations can make unlimited amounts of contributions to political campaigns, they have just taken away any power consumers have.

Paul Simon Not So Crazy After All These Years

Bob Dylan was the musical minstrel to a generation of baby boomers.

Paul Simon was the musical poet to them.

Almost 70 (and there are ironic lyrics about that in one of his songs)
and sounding as distinctive as he did almost 50 years ago,
Paul Simon played a show in a much smaller than normal venue in
Los Angeles tonight.

This was a Paul Simon show and not a Simon and Garfunkel show.

Other than "Sounds of Silence," it was a retrospective of many
different aspects of his career. All songs he wrote over almost
50 years with the exception of an Elvis rockabilly number and
George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun."

He sounds wonderful. And with an 8-piece back-up band, he was able
to recreate the range of his exotic beats which extend from Gospel,
Blues, Cajun, African and now Spiritual.

Yes you heard right. Somebody told me that he has a new album
and its filled with some highly spiritual compositions, similar to
when Bob Zimmerman became a Christian (at least for a while).

They were right. It's new uncharted territory for Simon and one
can only imagine what he's going through personally in his life.

He's one of the most famous performers in the history of the world and
apparently he has decided to pay thanks to a higher power.

As usual, his poetic lyrics are penetrating and visual.

Just as long as he doesn't team up with Billy Graham.

You Can Thank A WWII Vet Anytime While You Still Have the Chance

I was in a store this weekend when I saw a man who I figured had to be in his late 80's or early 90's. I noticed he was wearing a WWII Veteran's hat with medals and other decorations.

I went up to talk to him. I asked him where he served.

He was delighted and said, "I was 18 years old in Okinawa with the Kamikazes coming down on me."

I told him that I couldn't even begin to comprehend what he went through and that my generation (and we're all near or over 60) have great appreciation for what he and his generation accomplished for us during World War 2.

If you don't know what a Kamikaze is--look it up. You'll be quite shocked.
Tens of thousands of Americans died and were injured because of them.
The photo above is seconds after a Kamikaze attack which also destroyed dozens
of U.S. vessels.

If I'm so against America's involvement in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, how can I pay tribute to a WWII veteran? Iraq and Afghanistan are about oil, and access to gas and oil lines. We're in this situation because the oil companies made sure there has never been any successful alternatives to oil on the market place. Vietnam was for the enrichment of major corporations that supply military hardware. Vietnam was not winnable because of the constant flow of materials and support from Communist China--our delightful number one trading partner.

WWII was different. A psychopathic madman wanted to be King Of The World. Had the United States not entered the war, you would all now be Sig-Heiling every minute to pictures of the Great Leader.

Something I noticed about the fathers, grandfathers, uncles and others who went through WWII as I was growing up--was they never talked about it. They went, they served, and they came back to start their lives over again.

Gramps and Great Gramps won't be around much longer.
This is the time for you to stop watching "American Idol" and go talk to the people who should be the real idols in your life.