Never Take Crap from Out of State Corporations that are trying to baffle you with Bull Shit!

On a whim, after reading their web page, I subscribed to MLB-TV...it said it would do everything i wanted, but turned out to do nothing, since every Giant's game is blacked out in the Bay Area...So I called all their customer service numbers and went up the chain and they all basically told me to eat crap.  So, I wrote them this letter:

I hereby demand a refund of my premium MLB-TV subscription fee pursuant to California Civil Code section 1723, which states that refund policies must be displayed as follows:

“ The policy must be displayed either at each entrance to the store, at each cash register and sales counter, on tags attached to each item, or on the company's order forms, if any. A return policy printed only on a receipt, for example, is not sufficient.

If a store violates this law (California Civil Code section 1723), the purchaser can return an item for a full refund within 30 days of purchase.”

MLB-TV clearly violates this California law, as this 5 day refund policy you have claimed is not clearly displayed on the front of your website.  And therefore, your stated reasons for refusing my refund are totally illegal in this state.

In addition, you falsely claim in bold print that:

MLB-TV works with Apple TV’s—not true

MLB-TV works with IPHONEs---not true, unless you buy the application in addition to what is claimed on your web page

Watch Every Game live with your broadcasters-Not true, every game is blacked out

I requested this refund on April 13^th, 2011, and this was refused.  I subscribed on March 31, and have not used the service since that day, since it provides no benefit to me in any of the ways described on your web page.

I am and will take any and all legal steps to get this money back.  In addition, I am notifying the local media consumer advocates to make this travesty well known.

If you wish to avoid this heap of trouble and media embarrassment that I am very capable of causing, refund my fee now.

Sincerely,

George M. Martin

c/c:

Attorney General’s Office

California Department of Justice

Attn: Public Inquiry Unit

P.O. Box 944255

Sacramento, CA 94244-2550

Then, the next day, this is the response I got:

Dear Valued Subscriber:
Your request for a refund in connection with your 2011 MLB.TV Premium Yearly Subscription subscription has been approved and a credit in the amount of 119.99 will appear on the statement of the credit card to which you were being billed.
Please allow your credit card company 5 to 7 business days to process the refund. If your credit does not appear after 7 business days or should you have question about your account please contact Customer Support toll-free at 1-866-800-1275.
We thank you for your patronage.

Sincerely,
MLB.com

 Yeah!  Victory for the people!  P.s.  MLB is a NY corporation, they don't know what they are messing with in California!

COMMENT HERE & share for the World Record! (We have already gone beyond the 50,000 needed - let's get 100,000!!) (8)

COMMENT HERE & share for the World Record! (We have already gone beyond the 50,000 needed - let's get 100,000!!) (8)

Let's start a movement...no driving, no power 1 time per month.  sign up here!

 From Our Friend Emma--Her Uncle Pete has ALS.  Here is what she wrote:

 

Hello,

I'm not good at asking for help (let alone donations), but this is for a man who truly inspires me because he is fighting everyday to live. How many of us take that for granted everyday? This is for my Uncle Pete. It is a fun outdoor event and a great way to contribute a little bit to a man who means a whole lot to me and my family. This run might not be for everyone, but if you would like to learn a little bit about him and/or help in a non-athletic way please visit my uncle's website at www.petehinojosa.org.  Thanks for taking just a moment to read this, I really appreciate it. Please feel free to pass this along, invite your friends!

With Love,
Emma Hinojosa



Hi,

As many of you know, our friend Pete Hinojosa was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) two years ago. Although he has lost the use of his muscles, he can communicate with his eyes and still continues to strive to enjoy life to the fullest. Pete requires full-time care so we are raising money to help his family cover these costs.

How can you help? It's easy. Sign up now for the Great Race and and you can help raise money for Pete's care. The Los Gatos Rotary Club will donate $5 for each person we sign up. Pete can't run, but you could "run for Pete!" 

The Great Race is a casual 4 mile run that begins in downtown Saratoga and ends in downtown Los Gatos. It is being held on Sunday, April 17 at 9 am. In order to register follow these simple instructions below. Just remember in the box that asks "Are you running for Pete?" say yes! This is how the Rotary Club will track our registrants. 

1. Go to http://www.active.com/running/saratoga-ca/great-race-2011

2. Click Register Now button on the right.

3. Register for the Great Race.

4. After you enter your address, there will be a series of questions. The last one asks if "You're running for Pete?" Enter Yes. 

5. When you're finished with that page, you can click the Continue button, enter your payment information and you're registered! And the Rotary Club will donate $5 of this fee to Pete.

And if you'd rather fill out an actual registration form (paper) please let me know and I will mail one to you. It will be color coded so the Rotary Club knows to donate $5 to Pete.

Even if you can't make it to the Great Race, you could make a donation to Pete by visiting his web site at www.petehinojosa.org.

Thanks for your thoughts, prayers, and continued support!

If you have any questions, please let me know. 

Lisa Elliott

-------------

Pete Hinojosa, August 2009

Dear Sister

Sarah Clary Martin, M.D. left this world gracefully at her home in Napa, October 24, 2010, surrounded by her loving family.

 

Sarah Clary Martin was born to George and Pat Martin in Los Angeles, California, February 15, 1943. She lived most of her childhood in the old family house at 629 S. Grand Avenue in Pasadena. She attended Arroyo Seco Elementary School.

 

 

Sarah graduated from UCLA in 1967. She graduated at the top of her class from the UCLA School of Medicine in 1971, where she delivered the keynote address. She completed residencies at Harbor General Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Orange County, California. To the benefit of countless children, she chose to specialize in Pediatrics.

 

Together with her beloved partner Kurt Stutzman (who preceded her in death), she gave birth to their dear daughter, Katherine Patricia Martin-Stutzman in 1985.

 

Dr. Martin had a long and interesting career as a physician. Before starting her own successful practice in Anchorage, Alaska, she worked in the Neonatology department at Oakland Children’s Hospital, and then took a position in the heart of Appalachia. In 1989, she moved to Napa, where she continued her career with Kaiser Permanente until her retirement in 2005. As a young woman, Sarah learned Spanish while living in Mexico. This allowed her to really connect with and serve the wide diversity of patients whom she cared for with expertise and love. Families would frequently run up to her with hugs, smiles, and updates when she was out in the community. Highlights from her Kaiser years involved the development of reading programs, childhood obesity awareness and prevention, and conducting workshops for Kaiser physicians on improving communication skills.

 

During her 34 years in Medicine, Dr. Martin was greatly inspired and moved to social action as she witnessed the difficulties of low-income families who often had to choose between buying medicine and food.

 

After she retired, she found a second calling as a facilitator for the Awakening the Dreamer Symposium, a part of the Pachamama Alliance.

Sarah was committed to “Bringing forth an Environmentally Sustainable, Spiritually Fulfilling, and Socially Just Human Presence on this Planet.”

She traveled all over the US, Canada, and Mexico to share her passion for this work with hundreds of people.

 

Sarah was a lover of life. Her favorite place to be was outdoors; hiking, or walking with her standard poodle, Ghandi. Her knowledge of birds and flowers was endless! She had a serious interest in photography and, always adventurous, was taking a digital imaging class at Napa Valley College. She loved to play music and sing in her beautiful, clear soprano voice.

 

Sarah Clary Martin, M.D. will be greatly missed by her daughter, Katie, her brothers and their wives; Bill and Susan Martin, George and Kerry Martin, her nieces and nephews, along with a huge web of wonderful friends.

 

All are invited to a Celebration of Sarah’s life, Saturday, November 27 at 131 Valley Club Circle in Napa from 1-4 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made to The Pachamama Alliance, Jungle Mamas program or wherever you feel it will do the most good.

 

 

 

From Robertreich.org
We’re falling into a double-dip recession.

In the longer term, we need a new New Deal that will bolster America's floundering middle class. Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and extend it up through the middle class. Finance that extension through higher marginal income taxes on the wealthy, who have never had it so good.

Editorial: One more time: Vote no on Proposition 16

Why can this company use the profits they earn from selling us back our natural resources, to trick us into voting for a lying, thieving, Bull Shit initiative.  Are we a democracy, or are we just a Plutocracy, or oiligarchy, and we are serfs paying homage to our lords on the hill?

The Mercury News spells it out very clearly today:

http://www.mercurynews.com/editorials/ci_15189938

Some Serious Evil is going on with big oil:

This seems highly disturbing....we know the oil companies are bigger than big brother, here's a glimpse of what I'm sure is the tip of the iceburg:

Gulf Oil Spill: Media Access 'Slowly Being Strangled Off'

PG& E Busted on Baloney Proposition 16

PG&E’s Prop 16 campaign tactics declared illegal

May 4, 2010 3:34 am

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) was warned on Monday to stop using illegal telephone and direct mail tactics in their $35 million campaign to pass Proposition 16. (Los Angeles Times]
The warning letter came from the  California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) as PG&E continued to press for passage of the voters initiative on the June 8 primary ballot. Passage of Proposition 16 would make it harder for local governments and citizens to form nonprofits to provide electricity by requiring approval from two-thirds of the voters in an election.
The official warning stems from alleged PG&E behavior in Marin County, which is set to launch a public power service. PUC Executive Director Paul Clanon advised top PG&E executives that they were in violation of state law with such “aggressive moves.”
Clanon said that PG&E may not use its own phone banks to call customers and then transfer them to customer service after convincing them not to affiliate with the Marin project.
The PUC head also called recent PG&E mailers “misleading” and said that the utility must refrain “from sending any mailers of this nature in the future.”
PG&E officials said they were reviewing the letter and would respond this week.

From:  http://calcoastnews.com/2010/05/pges-prop-16-campaign-tactics-declared-illegal/

Life Changing Film

Not a great movie,
Not a great cast,
But this is a Great Movie

http://www.dirtthemovie.org/

Yeah!  Avatar

http://www.politico.com/click/stories/1004/camerons_climate_of_denial.html

and the state of U.S. denial

Garbage

We are burying ourselves in plastic.  Must switch to things that will degrade.  A must watch:  Charles Moore at the end of David Letterman...The best interview I've seen, this is what media is supposed to do:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zfNSeSPCA8&feature=player_embedded

Sunset Planet Alert


March 31, 2010: The solar system's innermost planets are about to put on a beautiful show.
This week, Mercury is emerging from the glare of the sun and making a beeline for Venus. By week's end, the two planets will be just 3^o apart, an eye-catching pair in the deep-blue twilight of sunset.
The best nights to look are April 3rd and 4th. Go outside at the end of the day and face west. Venus pops out of the twilight first, so bright it actually shines through thin clouds. Mercury follows, just below and to the right: sky map.
Right: Venus and Mercury converging over Saitama, Japan, on March 30th.

more at 

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2010/31mar_sunsetplanets.htm?list1350340

Why is there a debate...AP Article

Disputed isle in Bay of Bengal

disappears into sea

 

By NIRMALA GEORGE, Associated Press Writer Nirmala George, Associated Press Writer – Wed Mar 24, 9:29 am ET

NEW DELHI – For nearly 30 years, India and Bangladesh have argued over control of a tiny rock island in the Bay of Bengal. Now rising sea levels have resolved the dispute for them: the island's gone. New Moore Island in the Sunderbans has been completely submerged, said oceanographer Sugata Hazra, a professor at Jadavpur University in Calcutta. Its disappearance has been confirmed by satellite imagery and sea patrols, he said. "What these two countries could not achieve from years of talking, has been resolved by global warming," said Hazra. Scientists at the School of Oceanographic Studies at the university have noted an alarming increase in the rate at which sea levels have risen over the past decade in the Bay of Bengal. Until 2000, the sea levels rose about 3 millimeters (0.12 inches) a year, but over the last decade they have been rising about 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) annually, he said. Another nearby island, Lohachara, was submerged in 1996, forcing its inhabitants to move to the mainland, while almost half the land of Ghoramara island was underwater, he said. At least 10 other islands in the area were at risk as well, Hazra said. "We will have ever larger numbers of people displaced from the Sunderbans as more island areas come under water," he said. Bangladesh, a low-lying delta nation of 150 million people, is one of the countries worst-affected by global warming. Officials estimate 18 percent of Bangladesh's coastal area will be underwater and 20 million people will be displaced if sea levels rise 1 meter (3.3 feet) by 2050 as projected by some climate models. India and Bangladesh both claimed the empty New Moore Island, which is about 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) long and 3 kilometers (1.5 miles) wide. Bangladesh referred to the island as South Talpatti. There were no permanent structures on New Moore, but India sent some paramilitary soldiers to its rocky shores in 1981 to hoist its national flag.
The demarcation of the maritime boundary — and who
controls the remaining islands — remains an open issue between the two
South Asian neighbors, despite the disappearance of New Moore, said an
official in India's foreign ministry, who spoke on condition of
anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on international
disputes.
Bangladesh officials were not available for comment Wednesday.

Okay, I got my blog back, but how did they get into it in the first place

History of the Past, by George Martin

Back in the past, there was history.  All sorts of things happened back then.  Yes, that was then, and here we are now.  Back then, well, it was happening, but only for awhile.

 

Now that is all behind us now.

From george

There are plenty of good five-cent cigars in the country. The trouble is they cost a quarter. What this country needs is a good five-cent nickel.
  - Franklin P. Adams

 

Some Healthy Things for the Brain and Soul

 

http://www.chalquist.com/unplugging.html

From george

If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.
  - Abraham Lincoln

 

The 00 Decade

Here’s a good summary for this decade:

 

Bottom line, difference between 1999 and 2009:

 

1.        Dow was and is  10,000

2.       Houses are worth less-in many places drastically less

3.       Basically 0 increase in job creation—the first decade in history private sector employment actually declined.

4.       By 2007 household income was flat, and it’s only gone downhill since then.

5.       Republicans want to fix everything by lower taxes and reducing regulations, which they just finished doing for 9 years last year,  the democrats are too wimpy or too dumb to come up with any strong ideas on what to do going forward. 

6.       In general, an observable un-ability to learn from our mistakes, so the 00’s decade =zero

 

From:  “The Big Zero”  by Paul Krugman, December 27, 2009

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/opinion/28krugman.html?_r=1

 

 

 

 

See Your Future, Today

If you are one of those who has doubts about the dangers of a growing world continuing to be powered by fossil fuels, or wonders if the idea of man-caused climate risks is a load of hooey, please read the following:

 

“Last year, the U.S. Embassy ..(in Beijing) installed an air monitor on the roof of one of its buildings, and every hour it posts the results to a Twitter feed, with a score ranging from 1, which is the cleanest air, to 500, the dirtiest. American cities consider anything above 100 to be unhealthy. The rare times in which an American city has scored above 300 have been in the midst of forest fires. In these cases, the government puts out public-health notices warning that the air is “hazardous” and that “everyone should avoid all physical activity outdoors.” As I type this in Beijing, the Embassy’s air monitor says that today’s score is 500.”

 

From Green Giant, by Evan Osnos, The New Yorker Magazine, Dec 21 &28, 2009

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/12/21/091221fa_fact_osnos#ixzz0aTLWrRMu

,

 

I don’t see how anyone can spin this.  Rush Limbaugh broadcasting from a coal power plant on Earth Day, and the rest of the entertainers don’t have much to work on with this plane, simple observed data.  And if that’s not enough, call up someone in Beijing, or talk to someone who went to the Olympics.

 

China started years ago to address their appetite for oil and coal, and is probably the leader in non-fossil fuel energy technology now.  As long as we here continue to be held hostage by a Senate dominated by the scarcely populated but more than equally represented coal states, we probably will sit by until a good wind will have nowhere to push the ‘smog’ away. 

 

If our leaders, the media, and the business community won’t push back on the fossil fuel economy, who will?

 

George Martin

December 22, 2009

 

 

At least 2009 will not be a complete loss, we found Some Water on the Moon

Copenhagen, Historic Failure

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/18/copenhagen-negotiators-bicker-filibuster-biosphere