Mail–Junk Mail

I can almost remember when most of the mail I received was something I wanted, aside from bills. It was not 90%+ JUNK. Today’s mail was 100% junk, and, with the exception of one item, I recycled them.

The one item that did not get recycled was a solicitation from a professional organization to which I once belonged to purchase accidental death and dismemberment insurance for $2.00/month. Right. Hmmmm . . .

The USPS (United States Postal Service) is losing money. Many, if not most, of us now use e-mail and pay bills by computer instead of mailing letters, invitations, thank you cards and checks. This cuts down on the volume of first class mail delivered by the Post Office.

I am able to filter out much, if not all, of the “spam” I receive in my e-mail accounts, but I cannot seem to do the same with my USPS mail–even when I attempt to opt out of things like credit card solicitations from banks and others. This appears to be about as effective as the Do Not Call Registry is for robo-calls and the like.

Therefore, I am going to increase, on an organized basis, my outgoing USPS mail.

BRM–Business Reply Mail costs the same as regular US postage plus a fee for the company that owns the BRM permit. That company pays nothing if the reply envelope is not used but pays full cost+ if it is used, even if the envelope is empty. If I send two of these back per week, this generates more than fifty dollars/year in additional revenue for the USPS.

There are some 120,000,000+ households in the United States.

Let’s see $50.00 times 120,000,000 = $6,000,000,000 — I believe this would go far in reducing the seemingly perennial USPS monetary losses with no increase in cost to us. It might even get businesses to change how they operate–no more (or maybe just less) junk mail.

If you wish to push up the cost even more, put something in the envelope–NO, not sand (that’s probably illegal anyway). Put all, or part, of the advertisement in the BRM envelope–where it won’t clog your trash/recycle bin. It’ll up the weight of the envelope and raise its cost. You might even get creative–put a Guy-co ad in a Prfoessyve envelope or send in a half-dozen coupons from one of those super-duper coupon envelopes.

All those BRM post cards? Send those too and don’t bother to fill them in.

If we all do our part, maybe, just maybe, we can help return the Post Office to the profitability and admiration it enjoyed in 1947. 1947? Why 1947? Because that was when the movie Miracle on 34th Street came out. (If you still don’t understand, please, watch the movie–the original version: 1947.)


The Letter

By Thomas Bailey Aldrich

Edward Rowland Sill, Died February 27, 1887

Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Thomas Bailey Aldrich

I held his letter in my hand,
And even while I read
The lightning flashed across the land
The word that he was dead.

How strange it seemed! His living voice
Was speaking from the page
Those courteous phrases, tersely choice,
Light-hearted, witty, sage.

I wondered what it was that died!
The man himself was here,
His modesty, his scholar’s pride,
His soul serene and clear.

These neither death nor time shall dim,
Still this sad thing must be–
Henceforth I may not speak to him,
Though he can speak to me!

California Politics—Follow the Money $

Money in Politics

Mid-Term elections are coming up in another week—Tuesday, November 4th, 2014 and we are currently being bombarded by, what seems to me at least, an obscene number of ads. These ads appear on almost every street corner, in newspapers and magazines, on radio, television and the internet. All of these ads take money. This money is contributed by individuals, organizations and corporate entities.

Seal of California
Seal of California

These individuals and others do not contribute money out of the goodness of their hearts but because they hope to get something from that contribution.

Many individuals spend their own money to get elected. Why? Ego? Impose their own standards/beliefs upon others? Think they’re better/know more than others? Gain an economic advantage by voting for things that they think will help them and those like them? (Yes, I know I’m a bit cynical, but haven’t you ever had these thoughts about, at least, one politician?)

Organizations, through their individual members, contribute money to further their own aims. The Democratic and Republican parties funnel millions of dollars to election and re-election campaigns in every state and (nearly) every election. Unions (teamsters, teachers, electricians, etc.), associations (nurses, doctors, dentists, etc.), the ACLU, LLPs (limited liability partnerships-many of them lawyers), etc.

Sometimes you will find an organization contributing money to opponents running against each other. Perhaps, the organization wants to influence the winner, no matter who that is? (Yeah, I know, more cynicism, but can you really believe they do it out of the goodness of their hearts?)

“California” Money

For the current election in California the California Secretary of State’s (Debra Bowen) office maintains a website delineating those organizations and individuals who have spent a large amount of money trying to influence the November 4th, 2014 election. This is the Cal-Access website. It contains quite a bit of information on who and what groups are spending money trying to influence the election.

By clicking on the link to the Top 10 Contributor Lists you can find the Top 10 Contributors to Statewide Ballot Measure Committees and the Campaign Finance Data for All Ballot Measure Committees as well at the same data for individual candidates.

Proposition 1 – Water Bond. Funding for Water Quality, Supply, Treatment, and Storage Projects.

&

Proposition 2 – State Budget. Budget Stabilization Account. Legislative Constitutional Amendment.

18 individuals and groups listed for supporting and none listed for opposing the above propositions. (Remember, this does not mean that no one opposes these propositions.)

Proposition 45 – Healthcare Insurance. Rate changes. Initiative Statute.

For: Consumer Watchdog Campaign, California Nurses Association, Kathryn Taylor, Consumer Watchdog, Thomas Steyer

Against: Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Wellpoint, Inc. and affiliated entities, Blue Shield of California, Health Net, Inc., UnitedHealthCare Insurance Company

Follow the money: could it be that the healthcare/insurance industry doesn’t want the state Insurance Commissioner to veto their increases of rates and charges?

Proposition 46 – Drug and Alcohol Testing of Doctors. Medical Negligence Lawsuits. Initiative Statute.

For: Consumer Attorneys of California and its sponsored committees, Kabateck, Brown, Kellner, LLP; Brian S. Kabateck, Robinson Calcagnie Robinson Davis, Inc., Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, Shernoff, Bidart, Echeverria, Bentley, LLP

Against: Cooperative of American Physicians IE Committee, The Doctors Company, Norcal Mutual Insurance Company, California Medical Association Physicians’ Issues Committee, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., and The Hospitals

Follow the money: maybe the lawyers do want more lawsuits for larger amounts of money and higher fees, and the doctors and insurance companies don’t.

Proposition 47 – Criminal Sentences. Misdemeanor Penalties. Initiative Statute.

For: American Civil Liberties Union, Inc., Open Society Policy Center, Hughes, B. Wayne, Atlantic Advocacy Fund, Munger, Molly

10 individuals and groups listed for supporting and none listed for opposing the above proposition. (Remember, this does not mean that no one opposes this proposition.)

Proposition 48 – Indian Gaming Compacts. Referendum.

Against: Table Mountain Rancheria, Brigade Capital Management, LLC through affiliated entities, Chukchansi Economic Development Authority, United Auburn Indian Community of the Auburn Rancheria, Riva Ridge Recovery Fund LLC

10 individuals and groups listed for opposing and none listed for supporting the above proposition. (Remember, this does not mean that no one supports this proposition.)

Follow the money: could it be that other Indian tribes (and maybe Nevada casinos) don’t want the competition?

Other Information

There is a tremendous amount of information available on this site. All state-wide offices, the Board of Equalization (what a name), the State Senate and Assembly are included. For much of that information you have to dig through several layers, but, if you are interested in following the money, it is well worth the effort.

Be sure to read the fine print.

There is plenty of information about the contributors cited above on the Cal-Access website. Other information is available if you just copy the name and past it into your browser or search engine.

Please, if you are going to vote, cast an intelligent ballot. Do not just rely on television advertising or on the biases of others (or your own biases). Vote to bring about the greatest good or the least harm.

California Flag
California Flag
In the interests of openness:
  • I am a lifelong Democrat, who on occasion votes Republican
  • I am liberal to moderate on social issues
  • I am conservative on most economic issues
  • I was a teacher in California public schools for forty years and, for most of those years, I was active in my local union
  • I am retired

POLITICS, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage. (From The Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce)

Advertising—Door Hangers—Trash

A couple of days ago in the late morning I was greeted at my front door by trash advertising. You know, those annoying door hangers. It isn’t enough that we get bombarded by advertising in radio, TV, billboards, email, etc., but people come on to our property and right to the front door and attach it to the door knob. Dirty word, dirty word, dirty word.

Let’s see what we got:

  1. Super Sale – Vinyl Gates – $594.00 installed www.americraftvinly.com
  2. Affordable Floors Inc.
  3. Rainbow Environmental Services
  4. Michael Gates for HB City Attorney
  5. Concrete Ideas – Driveway Special – www.concreteideas.us

I abhor this kind of advertising. Trash at/on my front door. This is worse than the throwaway newspaper and advertising supplements that are thrown on the driveway.

This kind of advertising tells a thief, or potential thief, that I am not home. Please, come and rob my house.

I have an extra bone to pick with three of the above trashers.

  1. Affordable Floors Inc. A simple black print on white, no pictures and a folksy beginning: “Hello, thank you for taking a minute to read this. I’m your neighbor – . . . at 1624 Sandlewood Ave.” Intimating that he is nearby. I live in Huntington Beach; his address is in Fullerton, which is halfway across the county. Neighbor? Bullfeathers!!!
  2. Rainbow – These people collect trash. On their hanger is an ad for Clean-a Can.com . We have to separate our trash: garbage, recyclables, yard waste. OK, we use three cans. Clean-a-can will clean these cans for me: “Up to 3 Trash Cans for only $9.99 per month.” Ten dollars a month (One hundred twenty dollars per year) to clean trash cans? What a rip.
  3. Michael Gates for HB City Attorney: Gates4HB.com . It isn’t enough that we have obscene numbers of signs and posters on almost every intersection of the city for the upcoming elections, but we now have candidate trash left on our front doorsteps. “My Promise to Voters, I will…
    • Protect HB Taxpayers (From what? An elected politician, like he wants to be, who will hurt me by spending my tax money?)
    • Allow Only Constitutional City Ordinances (Like someone else will allow unconstitutional city ordinances?)
    • Eliminate Waste (What kind of waste? Trash advertising waste that he leaves at my front door?)
    • Defend the City of HB (From what? Santa Cruz trying to be Surf City?)
    • Restore Professionalism (You mean the current City Attorney is not acting professionally. I beg to differ.)

Ahhh, well. There you have it. Rant, rant, rant. Rave, rave, rave.

Oh, yeah. Of the above only the one from Concrete Ideas was actually on the door knob, attached with a rubber band. All of the others were just tossed on my welcome mat.