Mark’s Soap Box

It’s not the phone people who are the problem, it’s your attitude. We don’t want your stinking shamnesty program.

RNC has fired the phone staff due to the ineptitude of the Bush administration to get a frikin clue.

“This was not an easy decision. The first and primary motivating factor was the state of the phone bank technology, which was outdated and difficult to maintain. The RNC was advised that we would soon need an entire new system to remain viable.”

Horse hockey!

“Everyone donor in 50 states we reached has been angry, especially in the last month and a half, and for 99 percent of them immigration is the No. 1 issue,” said the former employee.

Exactly! Get a clue you pinheaded freaks.

Oh and the phone equipment is NOT that expensive. I have installed phone systems and they are no where near as bad as these people make out.

Tags: rnc, republican, Republican+National+Committee, libertarian, bush, gwb, dubya

UPDATE BELOW – 1655 PDT

I decided to purchase a new camera. After debating and researching, I decided on Adorama as I felt they were more reputable than others at the same price point.

Even though they were slightly higher priced than another store that I was considering purchasing from; I was swayed by a photog I know, and they have an affiliate program that I wished to join. So I figured hey, if I want to others to buy from them, then I should also.

Glad I did. Now I know. They are horrible. And to think it started all so well.

When I first ordered my camera, I realized that I mistyped my expiration date on my credit card. So I called and had it corrected, and Franny was great. She said she would handle it on Thursday when the order shows up in her system. Sounds good. Well Franny did what she said she would do.

That’s when it went down hill. I receive an email (see below) first thing this morning.

Hi Mark,Your Order is being held for the following reason. Thanks for your order- Your order is being held for verification of the shipping location. We need the listed telephone of the shipping location we need the NAME of the person the phone is listed. Do you have another telephone number which is NOT a cell phone? OR the name of the business at the shipping location. For verification– did you buy from us before?– previous address? Please respond to us as soon as possible. Thank You

Tobias <xxxxx@adorama.com>
Adorama Camera Inc
42 West 18th St. New York, NY 10011
Tel# (800) 223-2500 Ext# xxxx or (212) 741-0052 Fax# (212) 463-7223
www.adorama.com

I redacted his email and extension. It’s not Tobias’ fault, so I don’t want him getting hammered. Adorama on the other hand…

They were unable to verify my address. What? Have you people heard of Google Maps? How about the UPS or FedEx verification that comes with your accounts?

So I responded by email stating that my address is the same as the Amex I used, and that I have both a home phone and cell phone. The home phone is NOT listed.

An hour later I receive a call. I later found out it was not due to the email.

They wanted to know who lived with me, too. My word that they have never ordered from them was not sufficient for Adorama. In order to ship my order they demanded I fax them an Amex statement so they could verify my address.

Oh hell no! Fax my Amex bill so you can have info you don’t need? I think not.

What really hacked me off was the attitude of the customer service rep. It was not friendly. Oh two occasions he became quite rude. Well gee whiz, sorry that my order was a measly $700. The fact that I would need accessories, lenses (one on backorder is $1000), and possibly print services seems to have escaped the NY’er with an attitude.

I can assure you that my photo-blog will cover this. I am still steaming, and it’s been almost 6 hours since this happened. I have ordered from another company, and hoping for a verification by this afternoon and shipping to happen on Friday.

UPDATE:

I just received an email saying that my order was shipped at 1943 EDT from B & H Photo’s warehouse!

Life is good! B & H Photo has a new customer.

UPDATE 2:

Based upon my experiance, get your gear here:

Tags: adorama, nikon, d40, nikon+d40, canon, olympus, camera, digital+slr, minolta, kodak, film, beach+camera, photography, boybott, leica, minox, b+&+h+photo

It’s not enough they invade our country. It’s not enough that their government is teaching them how to invade our country. It’s not enough that they suck our hospitals dry. It’s not enough that they freely walk about with protection from the Mexican military. It’s not enough that they have drivers licenses. It’s not enough that some even vote. They even have the audacity to boo our Miss America.

No, none of that is enough. Now they want more.

Mexico to help Illegals get Health care they have no right to get.

First came the Mexican consular photo identification cards that closely resembled U.S. driver’s licenses and allowed immigrants, including those in the country illegally, to establish credit and apply for government services.

Then the Mexican government worked with the Treasury Department to make sure the U.S. banking system remained open to immigrants.

Now Mexican consulates in the U.S. are taking on an even more formidable challenge: the healthcare system.

A program called Ventanillas de Salud, or Health Windows, aims to provide Mexican immigrants with basic health information, cholesterol checks and other preventive tests. It also makes referrals to U.S. hospitals, health centers and government programs where patients can get care without fear of being turned over to immigration authorities.

Unbelievable. They should be scared to death to even walk out of their homes!

“Being undocumented, we thought we didn’t have the right to certain things,” said Rosalba Hernandez, 26, who came to the U.S. two years ago and lives in Panorama City. “We were scared to ask for information.

You should be scared. This is ridiculous.

“Health-related issues are a very important absent piece of information,” said Ruben Beltran, Mexican consul general in Los Angeles. “We’re filling the blanks…. The consulate is the prime location to disseminate that information to the Mexican community.”

No you are lining the pockets of the corrupt Mexican authorities. This really pisses me off!

“This program is free,” Alanis said to the group, holding up a flier about WIC. “Many people don’t use it, because they think that they aren’t permitted. It’s to have a healthy baby and a healthy woman.”

BULLSH** I am paying for this, as are ALL real U.S. citizens.

How much more proof do you people need that the Mexican government is aiding and abetting an invasion, and bilking of our country?

Tags: mexico, miss+america, miss+universe, illegal+alien, illegal+immigrant, reconquista, counselar+matricula, bank+of+america, california, los+angeles, Ventanillas+de+Salud

She most likely couldn’t afford to keep paying for lawyers. Seems hubby Halverson is a bit of ne’er do well, and she is a dead beat.

Judge’s Husband has Long Rap Sheet – hat tip to Stephen

District Judge Elizabeth Halverson has made a career out of serving the law. Her husband has spent half his life breaking it.

You just can not make this stuff up!

Mr. Judge Elizabeth Halverson – the one person
parole does NOT appeal to.

So you think your wife is bad, try this:

Empty oxygen tanks lined the front porch, where a steel security door and video camera welcomed visitors.

Yea, that down home feeling!

Some employees alleged the judge insulted her husband in front of them and once had him sworn in so that she could grill him, under oath, about whether he had cleaned the house for her mother’s visit.

Someone has some issues.

She also blamed her husband when county officials cited the couple for their junk-filled front yard. Elizabeth Halverson, who uses a motorized wheelchair and oxygen tanks, told the Review-Journal that she couldn’t move the trash and that her husband refused to help.

Bravo! for him. She needs the exercise.

At the Halversons’ southeast valley home Friday afternoon, the debris that once cluttered the front yard had disappeared. Two large white tents stood in the driveway. One was empty. The other concealed miscellaneous equipment and a broken motorized wheelchair.

Someone hired a PR firm. Must have been Dominic Gentile. Halverson is not clever enough to handle things.

Although the checkered history of the judge’s spouse wouldn’t be enough to force her from the bench, “as a matter of taste and appearance, it’s not great,” said Jeff Stempel, a law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

When a UNLV Law Professor can figure it out you would think any reasonable person could also. Yes UNLV has a law school. It seems that (Queen) Carol Harter and other “notables” labored under the impression that UNLV was a real school; as opposed to a training ground for future NBA fodder and mid level minions for casinos.

The 49-year-old judge, through a spokes-woman, refused to comment on her husband’s past. Edward Halverson could not be reached for comment

No phones after 9pm in the big house.

In 1986, Las Vegas police arrested him three times on a fugitive warrant out of New Mexico for illegal possession of a firearm by an ex-felon. Local authorities dropped the fugitive charge the first two times before extraditing him to New Mexico after the third arrest, according to police records.

See now this is why we need law and order. Imagine the pain he would have been spared if they had not been giving him numerous chances. You have to crack down on these people. Then again, he is married to her. Kismet?

Two years later, authorities in Dallas County, Texas, arrested Edward Halverson on a cocaine possession charge.

Texas?! Why is he running around Texas? Does anyone not keep up with their felons?

 Less than two years later, authorities charged him with violating probation because of missed check-ins with his probation officer and skipped restitution payments. An arrest warrant was issued, but he had apparently left the state for Colorado, where he found himself afoul of the law once again.

He must have some killer frequent flyer miles.

Edward Halverson was on parole when he married Elizabeth LaMacchia, a District Court law clerk, in 1998. They wed in San Francisco, where LaMacchia had lived before moving to Las Vegas in 1995.

Wait, she was a law clerk in SF as well? She must have been a clerk for over 10 years!

Edward Halverson has apparently steered clear of new legal troubles. His wife, however, owes more than $42,000 to her former San Francisco landlords to cover their legal fees after a drawn-out court battle over rent increases at her apartment. She hasn’t paid any of the court-ordered judgment since she lost her case more than two years ago.

He owes the State of Colorado $28,000, and she owes $42,000 in legal fees from a court battle. She clearly lost. Nice start to a career. Why did none of this come out? Where was the vaunted RJ then?

Stempel said Elizabeth Halverson’s narrow election victory in November might have turned out differently if voters had known about her husband’s past. She won by 1,908 votes.

Hell just knowing about her would do it. For Pete’s sake!

I found it! Tax Revenue for Schools!

Yes amazingly in Carson City Nevada (the State Capital) they have found a “windfall” of 12 million dollars. Ironically this money was found AFTER the “no new taxes” budget was past. Yea, I am so buying into that b.s.

Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus said today that an unexpected $12 million windfall in sales tax revenue to the public schools will allow for an increase in teacher pay in the first year of the budget to cover increases in retirement contributions.

Teacher raises in the first year will hit 2.375 percent instead of just 2 percent.

The money will flow to the schools budget because one of the projects originally thought to be included in the sales tax exemption for green building construction, the Fontainebleau project on the Strip, will not qualify for the benefit under the new green measure on its way to approval this session. The revised green construction tax break takes away the sales tax benefit for all but a few projects. The Fontainebleau was originally thought to be one of those that would continue to receive the exemption.

So the environment takes it on the chin so the under-worked can get a pay raise. Boo!

But Titus said legislative fiscal staff have determined that the project will not be eligible. As a result, sales taxes that would not have been collected on the project will now flow to the schools, she said

In other words they couldn’t get the tax raise so they screwed Vegas, and a project they don’t like. Pathetic.

Amazingly “no new taxes” is considered a victory. It should be standard.