Anything and everything I wanna talk about!
Politics
Running from left, to right, to the right of center; Political madness on every end; Parties hijacked by the extremists; Annoyance builds. My thoughts.
Sep 18th
It seems I can’t get away for the Republican label, which around here (DEEP South Texas,) seems to be a bad word of sorts. Being a stubborn person, I tend to stick to my guns, and usually just try to ignore people who view my politics in an un-friendly manor. Those folks usually spend time trying to explain to me how I’m so wrong about everything. Needless to say, it gets old. I can open up to them about the things I hate about MY party (the Republican Party,) but that’d be opening a can of worms. I could go off on THEM and their liberal, borderline socialist views –but that might be too much for people to handle. I could explain the type of Republican I am –but that might take too long. So, now –I blog.
As a kid I grew up a Democrat, and from an early age everyone around me seemed to paint the political parties in a black or white, rich or poor way. Democrats help poor people, and the middle class; Republicans are all rich white people who only help their selves! –Two concepts that I bought into for the first decade of my life and never questioned. And then at the ripe age of 11, I realized there was more to it than folks had led me to believe.
During the 2000 elections, being a kid (Yes, I’m really THAT young,) I really had no political view. I supported George Bush because I thought he’d been cool as Texas’ governor, and because it was fun to play devils advocate (one of my favorite pastimes,) with the other kids, during their in-school mock elections. At some point I got darn curious, so I got online and read everything I could about what each party stood for. Education, abortion, taxation, and national security, as I took a closer look at what each party was trying to accomplish, I felt I was more in line with the Republican party. It was just that simple, from that point onward, I was a Republican; a quiet Republican. The terrible attacks of 9-11 only solidified this for me during the months ahead –national security got a bigger chunk of my awareness, and will always be the most important aspect of my political views.
By 2004 I remember being in my history class, and being asked who I supported during the democratic primaries. My answer of “George Bush” took my teacher and class by surprise; my first taste of liberal hate. (‘Liberal hate’ tastes a bit bitter, and pretty moist –which I attribute to drinkin’ haterade.)
Little has changed since then, I usually try tell them (the haters) why I lean right, and why I support the candidates I do, but they rarely listen. I also try explaining that I will vote for a Democrat if they are the better candidate –which is completely true, but they dismiss. So then I ask if they’ll ever vote for a Republican, and I usually get a “No!” or “Hell no!” –So much for open minds. If I have time, I tell them how I came to my position on the political spectrum. But it’s a long story, and at some point I’m usually interrupted before I am done.
Meanwhile, as time goes by that story gets longer and longer. At this point, I’m officially a Republican, but my views aren’t in line with those heading up my party, setting the agenda, and making MY party less inclusive instead of more. Years ago when I ran from the far left, I ran to the far right; while there, I realized it wasn’t the place for me. At this point, I’m just annoyed.
I’m annoyed at the way that my country, my party, and my vote aren’t what they should be. I’m annoyed with my new president, I’m annoyed with congress, and I’m annoyed by those in my party who only play inside party lines, as well democrats who do the same. After an elections dominated by promises of hope, change, honesty, and openness… almost no one is rising to the occasion. I’m frankly saddened by our government getting deeper and deeper into all of our lives, and all the bureaucratic nonsense to come. Like I said, the annoyance is building as our political parties are hijacked by the extremists.
5 Customer Service Mistakes that Absolutely Tick Me OFF!
Mar 16th
Everyone has had a terrible experience with a business or organization. There’s no way to avoid them, but some of them are quite common. Here’s the top five customer service mistakes that absolutely tick me off.
1. Exaggeration.
Dealing with companies/organizations that exaggerate their knowledge and success, is really a quick way to a horrible experience. When you constantly stump those who are supposed to be fully knowledgeable, it quickly turns into a hectic scene. I’ve personally dealt with a few of those types of companies that bloat what they think they know, and then have no answers to my questions. No business should claim outstanding ability if they don’t posses it; moreover, they should all be honest about their limitations.
2. Language barriers.
Calling a company and getting redirected to the other side of the world is almost always unpleasant. When you’re calling a local place language barriers can be just as intimidating and annoying, they can cause people to avoid certain brands and products. Walking into a store and realizing no one knows a lick of English is also very unpleasant. Unless you receive clear and concise answers customer service is useless.
3. Long wait times due to lack of customer service reps.
Being put on hold for 30 minutes isn’t cool; waiting for a representative in person isn’t either. Waiting minutes and minutes on end to simply chat with an online representative can also prove to be tricky, and when email responses take days to get, that option isn’t much fun either. Most of my grr-moments can be attributed to lack of CSRs, businesses sometimes forget or can’t expand their customer service abilities as their company grows –not cool.
4. Runaround when canceling services.
Time and time again lists of the worst companies tied to companies they simply avoid having you cancel their services. AOL is the most notable and has gained a reputation for being so pushy when annoying when someone calls to cancel their service. Allot of companies seem to fail to fully realize that if they can’t do something as simple as discounting a service, chances are it’ll be the customers last time dealing with them –ever.
5. Being rude.
Everyone has dealt with at least one simply rude CSR. They say “EXCUSE ME BUT—” and really mean “shut up I’m going to do what I want,” or so it seems. There is absolutely no excuse for rudeness. Customers and clients won’t stick around if this is the case.
GOP: GOP Elephant Family helps fight for sound policies in Washington
Dec 9th
The GOP seems to be a little too obsessed with these damn stuffed elephants; Max, Maxine, Patrick, Sam, Victor and Nick. Words cant describe how annoyed I am with the fact that I get more email from the GOP pushing junk than email with actual value. Oddly enough, it’s times like this that reminds me how out of line with my “party” I actually am.
Feel free to checkout the GOP store for an elephant, calendar, t-shirt, key-chain or simply, a laugh.
My New President (Elect)
Nov 5th
Barack Obama is my new president, and It sucks. John McCain was the better choice and I feel sick to my stomach about having him lose. He was the strongest, smartest, and most patriotic. He gave up so much for this country and the country couldn’t look past the mans party and see the man and what he’s given for all of us. Un-liked by his party, loved by almost no one –a true maverick.
Now I suppose nothing can be done. I hope that Obama can rise past being the most partisan and liberal senator and realize that he represents a diverse and CONSERVATIVE America. John McCain said our best days were ahead of us, I know he is right. I’m just not sure our best days will be within the next four years.
I’ll stand by our president as I’ve stood by Bush and I’ll be optimistic, but with the same breathe I’ll speak up when I feel he’s wrong and I’ll talk to people about him. This year I got a handful of LIFE TIME Democrats to vote for a Republican –there are others out there who will do the same.
Now I’m left feeling empty but with a sense of urgency to seriously figure out if I should follow my true passion in life –and enter politics.
Live Results and Insight
Nov 4th
It’s just about noon here and I’ll be starting my live blogging in a moment and once again it’s sure to be fun. Through the night there are a few key states I’ll be paying more attention to. Pennsylvania is at the forefront with its 21 electoral votes that can make McCain – Palin victory or simply make it even tougher. There are other states I’ll mention during the night like Ohio, and Florida but to keep things simple on here I’ll talk about it later. So now, I’ll be waiting and hoping for McCain to win knowing fully well that this is too tight and simply anyone’s guess.
I already feel the tension building up and it’s bitter-sweet. If Obama wins the world isn’t going to end, I’m not moving to Canada and the sun will shine tomorrow, but frankly –It’ll suck. McCain has a shot and I’m going to be watching the numbers all night and blogging live.
From the White House in DC to out elected officials in the RGV –I’m covering it tonight. McCain – Obama. Cornyn – Noriega. Cuellar – Fish. I’ve got it covered.
[To catch-up on the last thing I posted refresh your broswer and this post will reflect the updates]
Synthpop, McCain, Obama and Sleep
Oct 26th
I’m up late again, as someone who has had trouble getting to bed at the same time every night since he was about 5 –this isn’t new. Sleeping has always been annoying and falling asleep a pain in the ass. So here I am, awake at 6AM with no signs of getting to bed soon but I have to be up at around 10… in other words, I ain’t sleeping tonight –which also isn’t new. I actually went to work sleepless on Friday, and to class sleepless on Tuesday… heh.
Meanwhile, I’m listening to Erasure. I don’t know why synth-pop gets such BS from everyone. The argument is usually “thats so dated,” “that sounds weird,” or the “what is that? kinda slow techno?” I just can’t let go of my music. I like tons of stuff and ehh, idk. I just don’t get MY OWN generation. Bastards don’t know what music is.
On the McCain side, things aren’t looking too good. They could be worse, and as a matter of fact, they SHOULD be worse. He’s doing his best but his campaign mistakes (multiple messages) just seem like too much. He has a little over a week to prove what he’s got and to prove that the O’ will screw up everything further.
Obama on the other hand… seems to be doing everything right, besides keeping Biden’s mouth shut. Biden went off stating the OBVIOUS for no obvious reason. Biden said at a Seattle fundraiser:
“We’re about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember, I said it standing here, if you don’t remember anything else I said: Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.”
If there was video to accompany the audio you’d be seeing this way more… total stupid move, but true.
There is OBVIOUSLY something bothering the American people in terms of Obama. In a political season so geared against the Republicans who are taking a lot of the blame for things (which isn’t always fair I might add,) Obama still manages to lead within the margin or error in some polls and slightly ahead in others. Its crazy!
And finally, I’ll be live blogging on election day/night. I like many others will be glued to my television and although I was McCain had an extra week or two to show the country he’s the right guy to lead… I just want this to be over. Win or lose.
I’m a Marketing Major, Damn it! Some thoughts on life, Politics, and even Paul Newman.
Sep 27th
For years and years I was the go-to guy for a lot of peoples PC problems, I honestly can’t get away from people thinking I can fix their problems. Don’t get me wrong, I can fix just about anything and I’ve been able to take apart or build a pc with my eyes closed since I was 12, but that’s besides the point. I don’t like doing it, I don’t wanna spend time doing it, and it bores me to death. This brings me to my next point;
People always ask what my major is, when I tell them I’m a marketing major they tend to look at me. They stare and say something along the lines of, “why not something with computers?” with a puzzled look on their face. It seems like I can’t get away from people second guessing my career choice! 
It gets annoying but I deal with it. But I do wonder what they’ll do if I go through and actually go for a double major –the other most likely being journalism or poli-sci. Yikes!
Meanwhile I missed the first presidential debate last night, (long story involving pre-syncope, ha!) But I caught the end and after debate coverage along with the C-Span rerun. I honestly thought McCain and Obama did well. McCain should have and could have hit harder (not that he was easy on O). Obama was too text-book sounding and as always, was hesitant when things were trying to made as clear as possible –AS ALWAYS. With no clear winner, Obama is the winner simply for not being knocked the hell out of the ballpark.
So today, Paul Newman died. He’s been such a part of American culture for so long it really sucks. I hated his politics, especially his support of Ned Lamont against Senator Joe Lieberman in ‘06. But he did a lot of good during his golden years, so he was cool in my book.
And finally, I end with a question. When will people wise up? There’s more to politics than rich and poor, Republican and Democrat, Red and Blue, and right and left. I’ve been a Republican for a long time (be-it a somewhat liberal one as far as Republicans go.) But I still get people looking at me as if I’m an idiot. The fact of the matter is I know more about politics than most people who I talk to on any given day. I can identify just about every big-shot political player by looking at them, Republican or Democrat. I know a lot of bills major senators have passed in recent years and I know what they are for. I don’t open my mouth based on bullshit or what I’ve been told to believe, after all I come from a long line of Democrats. I’m simply doing what I know is right and supporting who I believe is right for the ever important job of representing me. I invite any one to debate me on any political matter just don’t demonize me, call me a “traitor,” “hater,” snob, jerk, or idiot. All of which are popular lately. Substance is everything. 
It’s official and it’s Joe Biden
Aug 23rd
Barack made what has to be one of his smartest moves so far; he has officially announced that Joe Biden is his VP choice like I mentioned in my previous post.
Officially news broke about 10 minutes ago. Un-officially news somewhat got broken when ABC found out that the secret service had been dispatched to Biden’s home at bit before midnight eastern time.
I cant help but feel that letting the cat out of the bag at 2:30AM wasn’t the plan and someone just said “screw it, lets do it!” and the site and text went out considering the media had already broke the news and so that the Obama supporters can still feel a little more important. In any case its official, it’s exciting and I knew it’d come earlier than expected.
Obama’s campaign is going to make an official statement shortly which I’m looking forward to receiving.
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