Customer Service?

You know what I really like? I like to be able to order things on the internet. I like to get things and not have to worry about receiving my order.

Know what I hate about ordering things on the internet? When I agree to something and the company doesn't live up to their end of the bargain.

I guess I should have known better because my friend had the exact same thing happen to him. I decided to try Major League Baseball's games online. You pay for the month or season and you can watch or listen to games online.

Well, I agreed to ONE month. I didn't know how well it was going to work with my internet speed so I didn't want to be stuck with anything I wasn't going to be able to use. So I agreed to the one month and unchecked the little box that said something like "Yes, I want to automatically be renewed." Call me crazy, but if you don't check the automatically renew box doesn't it seem like it shouldn't automatically renew?

So what happens? Bet you can guess. I look at my bank account and sure enough, there is a second charge, one month later, for MLB.com. Gee, wonder what I was billed for.

I called their customer service line and was informed that they are open from 6am to 3 pm Pacific time. I don't know about you, but when I first wake up I don't think, "What do I need to cancel on the internet today?" I go through my normal day at work and such and then when I get home and online I think, "shoot, I need to cancel." But of course, it is past 3pm. So I will try tomorrow to remember.

But the cancel thing isn't even the issue. I shouldn't have been charged a second time at all. I am in the Army and have been away from home for training for just about a month. So if I didn't have access to my bank account how would I have known that I was even charged?

Companies should be required to live up to the same agreements that they hold customers to. My friend warned me that he tried the MLB gamecast last year and was charged month after month. He called and cancelled multiple times. Yes, he got his money back, but it should never have gotten that far.

I am all for companies doing business. I know companies are there for profit. I just think that when you make an agreement with a customer it is time and money saving to live up to your end of the bargain. I should demand to have a full refund since they took the money without approval the second time.

I will post if that flies.

Mormons, Christianity and Politics

I read an article today from the Los Angeles times about Mitt Romney and his Mormonism. The author goes on to discuss the "darker" side of Mormon history including the Mountain Meadow Massacre, polygamy and Warren Jeffs (who she states is "Mormon.")

First of all, when you want your information about Mormons, maybe you should talk to a Mormon or read about them from an author that is Mormon. Right now you are doing that. I was born and raised Mormon, served a two-year church mission to Taiwan and I am a practicing Mormon. Now, if you say, well, this guy has never been outside of Utah or the "Mormon cult," you would be wrong. I have done things in my life that are outside the scope of Mormonism. I am not proud of all my actions but no one can tell me I don't know what it is like "out in the real world." Among the things I have done that exposed me to the "real world" would be my enlistment and deployment in the US Army. I was part of the Military Police corps that was in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and currently serve as part of a unit near Houston, TX. I also lived near New Haven, CT for four years. But regardless of my past history, there are a few things people need to know about the Mormon church:

1-The name of the church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. So if you are paying attention you might notice that the name of Jesus Christ is actually part of the official name of our church. In other words...

2-Mormons ARE Christians. We believe in the miracle of Jesus' birth to Mary, in his crucifixion and literal resurrection. We believe in the God of Abraham, Moses and Adam. Yep, we believe in the same God and Savior that all the other Christian churches do even if some of our more specific beliefs are different. (But isn't that the definition of having different churches to begin with?)

3-Polygamy has not been practiced or authorized in the Mormon Church in over 110 years. If you were to try and enter a polygamist marriage you would be immediately excommunicated from the church.

4-Warren Jeffs is not Mormon. He is a leader for the RLDS (Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.) The difference is the current LDS church believes Brigham Young was the prophet after the death of Joseph Smith, Jr. and the RLDS believes that the leadership should have stayed with Joseph Smith's offspring. (If you understand religion it is actually easy to compare this split with the Sunni/Shi'a split in Islam.)

5-The Mormon church generally stays out of politics. Yes, they back some bills that they consider harmful to the society as a whole such as the gay marriage act of some states but the church does not tell you who or what to vote for. In fact, before every election there is a letter from the leadership of the church that is read on Sunday in every ward (congregation) that states the church does not endorse any individual running and that it is simply the duty of church members to carefully consider who they should vote for and do so out of civic duty.

I could go on but if you get to this point you should have a pretty good idea that Mormons aren't that different from everyone else. We might not drink or smoke but those are good things, right? We teach that we should follow the golden rule and treat others how we want to be treated.

And just to make it clear for those who didn't quite catch it: WE BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER AND IN HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST.

So if someone tells you they won't vote for someone who is Mormon, just remind them that JFK ended the litmus test for voting for someone or against them because of religion.

Taxes and Gas

OK, so gas prices are up over $3 per gallon and everyone is complaining. I don't like it either since I drive an SUV that gets 16 mpg in the city when I drive very carefully.

But do I get mad at the oil companies? No.

Do I get mad that the oil companies made record profits? No

This is free market society. Read this article http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/06/why_is_profit_a_dirty_word.html

There is a very simple reason that gas prices are up: supply is outracing supply. China is demanding more oil, the US needs more oil, Europe is using more oil. But there is something else that is not being put out there...refineries are not converting the oil into gas quickly enough because there are many refineries that are damaged and not running at 100%.

There hasn't been a new refinery built in the US since Garyville, LA in 1976. So every refinery working in the US is at least THIRTY years old. Why no new refineries? Can you say environmentalists? I knew you could. They are the same people who say no to nuclear power because it is dangerous then bitch and moan that there is too much reliance on products that produce CO2. Uh, you mean like burning coal for electricity? So you can't have a nuclear power plant which has close to no emissions but you can burn coal that adds to the so-called "greenhouse" effect.

OK, so no new refineries and no nuclear plants. Hmmm. OK, so what is the average person going to do about the price of gas? Well, first and foremost we need to stop driving like maniacs. Driving your car at 65 mph wastes 15% more gas than at 55 mph. Can't do that? How about keeping your vehicle in order with things like tune ups and correct tire pressure? But most importantly don't be an ass and drive like you are part of NASCAR. You don't need to race off the line when the light turns green. You don't need to get from your home to the market by driving fast and furious when you probably saved 30 seconds by driving like that.

So when everyone is doing the right things with their cars and the gas prices are high because the oil companies are doing something illegal or price gouging, then complain. Until then, just suck it up.

Mitt Romney and the Economy

The majority of Americans think they know all about the war in Iraq. They also think they know about economics, free trade and how the President's policies can affect the economy.
Well, if you want America to return to leading the world economically, maybe you should see this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoBKgmnVkrc
If you don't know who Jim Cramer is, you can read his bio, but the short of it is he was a successful Wall Street Trader who wanted to do something different. His show is on MSNBC and it is a cross between a financial and morning radio show.

One thing you have to understand about Mitt Romney is that the guy is brilliant when it comes to money. He was a venture capitalist, so he put other peoples and his own money into start up companies and made money that way. In case you missed the financial reports, Romney is worth at least 250 Million. So you know the guy is good with money.

Some will go after Romney for his "flip flops" but lets be realistic. Could he ever have been elected as Gov. of Mass if he didn't keep some of his political options open? He has shown that he is not set to any one idea to the degree that if the position turns out to be wrong he can't change. He wants smaller government, responsibility for spending by the federal government and things like abortion to be at the state level. (Don't forget, the Constitution states that anything the Constitution doesn't cover should be dealt with at the State level. Maybe the Supreme Court forgot that...)

So if you want fiscal responsibility, vote for Mitt Romney and if he does win the Republican nomination lets hope he chooses someone like Ron Paul as the VP.