WHAT HAPPENED TO AMERICA?

Boooo. Thought I'd start Halloween early. But first I believe I'll ask a generic question. I notice many of my blog friends do not have ads on their pages. Others do. Of those that have them, does anyone ever click on these ads? (I'm thinking about taking them off so my "deathless prose" fits better.) There has been a well published incident where a sweet little old lady (also a tough old broad) had an issue with Comcast Cable and took action into her own hands. Her name is Mona Shaw and she had had enough of the inconsiderate crassness of Comcast Cable Company. She and her husband had been sucked in by Comcast advertising promising her a telephone connection, high speed internet and cable TV (at a ridiculously high price, but then that's the power of advertising). The cable company men did not show up for their appointment on the scheduled day. (Why they should need a day for this relatively simple hook up baffles me.) They did show up two full days later and then did half the job and left. To add insult to injury Comcast cut off all her services two more days later. Comcast is the company that a respected trade publication (Advertising Age) had already written an editorial about pointing out that Comcast should spend less on advertising and more on customer service. Interestingly, a web site had sprung up some time before this incident, called ComcastMustDie.com and it's loaded with complaints from angry consumers. So, Mona and hubby asked to speak to the manager at the Comcast office and are told to have a seat. They wait. And wait. TWO hours later, a receptionist pokes her head out and says the manager has gone home. They should come back another day. I'm sure they were furious. So the two of them stewed over this exceptionally rude treatment for the weekend. (My guess is that the manager had a hot date and didn't want to have to deal with a couple of "Old Farts"). The following Monday, Mona gathered up her husband and a claw hammer and they descended on Comcast headquarters. Hammer time: Shaw storms into the company's office. BAM! She whacks the keyboard of the customer service rep. BAM! Down goes the monitor. BAM! She totals the telephone. People scatter, scream, cops show up and what does she do? POW! A parting shot to the phone! The cops handcuffed this 75 year old woman. Apparently, the brave police officers were afraid of this older, small woman. She started hyperventilating and they called the EMTs for help. They put her on a gurney and got her to the lockup safely. She got a three month suspended sentence for disorderly conduct and was ordered to repay $345 in damages to Comcast. Oh yeah, she has a year long restraining order barring her from the Comcast office. Oh, and yes, Mona and Don have their telephone now. With Verizon. The link to whole story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/17/AR2007101702359.html So what does this have to do with the header? I see it as a symptom, not an isolated incident, of a debilitating change in the very spirit of America. A further widening of the gap between the different classes (and, yes, America has classes) A typical big business attitude has been both fostered and promulgated by various political stratagems and the greedy attitudes of a minority of Americans. The majority of Yanks do not like this country the way it is now. It is not the country they were taught to believe in. There are erudite articles pointing out that money equals power and that gathering power is all that will satisfy this minority. (The header will take you to such a well written article.) We've had a bout of being lied to by our powerful politicians and presidents. Memory recalls Richard Nixon lying about his knowledge of Watergate. Bill Clinton lying about whether he had sex with a female, other than his wife, in the White House. Dubya lying about WMDs. Senators and Congress men lying about where their funds come from. I am willing to vote for anyone, who is NOT an incumbent. They can't be anymore incometent and dishonest than what we have now. I'm trying to figure out how to get the rest of America to try this.