Sunday, August 28, 2011

NEVER MIND THE TEA PARTIES: NETFLIX CAN GO TO HELL


Back in July, Netflix announced that it was changing its pricing structure, segregating those who rent on the Internet from those who rent by mail.  The result was that fees for those who do both went up by 55%.  Netflix refused to budge at the resulting consumer uproar.  Now, as an additional slap in the face of the consumer, they are advertising an attractive “Come on back” offer for $7.99 a month, $12.00 less than previously charged.  But, when you read the fine print, that’s only for Internet rentals.  If you want the DVD mail service as well, add another $7.99 on a temporary promotion and if you want Blue Ray, that’s another $2.00.  So, they’re offering you exactly what their last gimmick offered and telling you that another rate increase from that is just around the corner.     

COMMENTS:
I called them when they started this and their answer was, essentially, “We’re the ones in charge and if you don’t like it, tough.”  I’ve been without Netflix for over a month now and am certainly suffering no withdrawal symptoms.  It is this type of gimmickry that the politicians employ in Washington. Shoddy business practices should hopefully lead to their bankruptcy.

TODAY’S QUERIES AND ANSWERS:
Q. Iran is warning the world not to let Syria’s Assad to fall, saying that such an event will stir up all kinds of “problems” in the region.  Iran is the only ally that Syria has left and they are feeding Assad arms and munitions to help him mow down the rebels.  Are we or NATO going to get involved in this, like we did in Libya?  (Cory ~ Scottsdale, AZ)
A. If we do, Obama will have to ignore Congress again and claim imperial rights to do what he wants.  I suspect that would mean impeachment charges coming out of the House.  I’d say, “That’s great,” but the Senate would never vote for impeachment and we’d just have another six-month long drama with the Washington imbeciles. 

Q. Biden came back from France saying we need another stimulus.  What does that portend?  (Clarice ~ Hayward, CA)
A. All of these leaks and blabs coming from various Obama cronies are just testing the waters to see what might fly with the American people when Obama makes his economic plan, which he still hasn’t written, public.  But, Biden is not the only crony to make this suggestion, which means to me that Obama is in fact going to ask for another $500 billion or so for another stimulus.  I don’t know about you, but he can kiss my royal behind if he thinks the American public will go along with another assault on our deficit. 

Q. The hurricane reminds me of the Gulf oil spill that the media is covering up.  What is going on with that?  (Shasta ~ Seattle, WA)
A. A federal judge has just allowed hundreds of lawsuits again BP and others involved to go forward.  The latest news on the cleanup itself, from April of 2011, is posted on the only website I found information on,  http://www.restorethegulf.gov/  And, of course, there’s still that big, subsurface blob of oil with millions of gallons of oil in it that no one is talking about. 

TODAY’S QUOTE:
I think we should take Iraq and Iran and combine them into one country and call it Irate. All the pissed off people live in one place and get it over with. ~ Dennis Leary

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