Karen’s Opinion

Does it bother anyone else that President Obama felt he had the time to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno? It bugs me to think that he has time to jaunt around the country at the tax payers expense when so many people are worried about losing their jobs. He should be working with our congress men and women. Maybe if they took the time to really work on their proposed stimulus plans, they wouldn’t be full of loopholes that only help the businesses who are failing because of greed.

Another thing that really sticks in my craw is what was said on Leno. Our dear Mr. President, who should know first hand about stigmas and prejudices, should be more considerate of all our citizens. That includes the citizens with special needs. My friend Val said it better than I could ever blog. You can read her post at An Apology Isn’t Enough.

As a leader, President Obama needs to set an example. Sure, mistakes are made. He made a big one and he needs to publicly apologize.

A sports star in New York was awakened by his fiance’s cat. It angered him so much that he beat the cat and killed it. The news went on and on to describe what the man did to the cat. I won’t repeat it here. It was disgusting. It makes me wonder if he did that to a cat, what he would do if angered by a small defenseless child.

Aside from the horrific deed, what angers me is that the court, or I should say a court appointed jury, let him remain a free man. According the the story in the Star Tribune, the baseball player says he acted in self defense. Give me a break. He should have received the maximum punishement for this felony charge — aggravated cruelty to an animal — which carries a penalty of up to two years in prison.

Part of running a business is taking the backlash from competitors. I have learned to ignore what is said and let our expert installation and reputation stand for itself. It is when unfair practices are taken that I think people need to speak up and let the truth be known.

Such is the case with the Lifelock Company. Experian is saying that they are losing money because of LifeLock. Because of the extra service LifeLock is offering it’s customers, more and more people are using their service. Experian is trying to discredit LifeLock by saying that credit laws do not provide for a third party to place fraud alerts on behalf of a consumer. Such tactics are only done to discredit LifeLock. LifeLock prides itself on their excellent customer service and the products they provide. I am sure that they are doing so well is what Experian has a problem with. I hope they don’t feel the need to get into a peeing contest with a skunk and use the law to show that what they do is proper and for the best of their clients. LifeLock is the specialist in identity theft protection services. LifeLock is the industry leader in the rapidly growing field of Identity Theft Protection and that has some crying foul.

Have you tried to sell textbooks? I think the amount of money that students have to pay for their textbooks is awful. I also think it is a scam. They tell students that they will be able to sell the books back to recoup some of their hard earned money only to find they are offered a small amount of money. It is ridiculous the amount of money they are offered for a book that has hardly been used.

The text books are another sore subject with me. Do you think that colleges receive a kickback for choosing a particular book?

We were in Florida many years ago and bypassed Epcot all together. I never understood what the hoopla was all about. I could go to a museum at home. That is what I thought Epcot was, an information center. It might have been back then but today it is a fun and amazing place to visit.

We were shocked to be pitched a sales line when we got up to the ticket counter. It was definitely an upgrade pitch that cost a fortune. Perhaps, if you lived in Florida, it would be advantageous to spend $400 for hopping passes or whatever they are called but someone who comes to Florida every 5 years or so, it wasn’t a great deal. I think they should hand you a price brochure, after you pay $11 to park. When you get up to the counter you should be able to pay an entrance fee and be on your way. It was not fun to stand 30 minutes in line and then listen to a sales pitch.