These Scammers of the Elderly Deserve An Especially Harsh Place in Hell

Scams targeting the elderly have always been a scourge and it will never go away.

Usually, the victims are pressured into buying something they neither want nor need.

According to Consumerist, one outfit is even worse: They bill elderly targets for something they never ordered, with or without pressure, and use hardball, scary tactics to collect the money the victims don't owe.

The FTC says it's on the case against what it
says is among the worst of scammers targeting the elderly. 

The Federal Trade Commission is going after the (alleged!) crooks at the company called Instant Response Systems.

According to the New York Times, the company called tens of thousands of elderly targets, including many who were on the federal Do Not Call list, which bars unsolicited telemarketing calls.

When victims try to dispute the charges, or cancel checks or put a stop on credit card payments, the company just tried to scare them into paying. The bills were often $1,000 or more.

One woman got this letter from Instant Response Systems:

"You gave us your banking information by telephone and authorized us to use it to collect your promised payment. However, when we submitted the payment to your bank, it "bounced'...
You have embarrassed us and damage our reputation. We had to pay bank fees, in addition to accounting, manpower, and other costs. We will NOT absorb these cost or pass them on to our paying subscribers
We suggest that you consult an attorney and ask about the criminal and civil consequences of bouncing checks."

So far, I haven't seen any responses to the allegations from Instant Response Systems.  But if what the Federal Trade Commission says is true, the people who run this "company" deserve a special place in hell.

Let's scam money away from elderly people on limited, fixed incomes and then terrorize them if they don't pay us. Most people would not sleep at night if they did something like this, but I guess the world is also full of psychpaths.

Let's hope for once, so called white colllar crime leads to long jail terms if people with Instant Response Systems are indeed guilty of these misdeeds.

Seal Pups Vs. Wind Surf Board Makes Us Winners

Perhaps you've seen this video, but it's another one of those animal clips that make you smile, and make you want to watch again and again.

Someone along Puget Sound in Washington State set up a GoPro camera on an old windsurf board at the edge of the water.

Harbor seal pups kept trying to get on it to bask and rest. But it had rained, and the board was slippery. So it was a lot of work to get up there on that board.

It almost seemed like the seals positioned themselves to get the best, most fun angles for the camera. I also love the music the videographer chose for the seal pup adventure.

Bet you can't help but smile at this. We're dying of cuteness:

World's Worst Song and Music Video From Czech Republic Delightfully Awful

The nomination for the latest, worst music video and song comes from the Czech Republic. Somebody named Nicky sings something called "Rich Boy."

I use the term "sing" loosely, as the blonde young woman who um, performs the song sounds like an asthmatic woodchuck.

The incredible Nicky performing "Rich Boy" in this still
from her video. 

I think the tune, which I found highlighted this morning on Buzzfeed,  sells her attributes to some mythical rich boy she wants to hook up with. The lyrics stunningly entice said rich boy. Some choice examples:

"I'm cute and clever
For now and forever.
I have big tits
And I like politics.

AND:

"I'm not a bitch
I want to be rich.
I will not work
I will not eat pork"

AND

"Here is my phone
6029481600000"

Either she's got it wrong, or Gawd they have complicated phone numbers in the Czech Republic. In any event, according to Digital Spy, the number she gives is not her real number, as she says she is not stupid.

The video had gotten more than 750,000 hits as of March 13, so it's turning into a phenomenon. Some say it's just a parody, others say it's the real deal. I don't know. You decide.

You don't get the full force of this incredible music video unless you watch it. It's right here, brace yourself for a real experience.

 

We Hate Sex Offenders, But Trying to Make Them Disappear Off the Face Of The Earth Without Killing Them Doesn't Work

Count me among those who hate, hate, sex offenders. Seems like an obvious opinion that most people hold.

Anyone who victimized others like that deserves punishment, and our disgust, as I again act like Captain Obvious here.

Is making sex offenders homeless making us more safe or less safe?  

Once they've served their prison time, sex offenders have to live somewhere.

True, we don't want them living near us, especially if said people were child molesters and we have kids. But the fact remains you can't cross your arms and blink like I Dream of Jeannie and make them go POOF! off the face of the earth.

Many communities are trying anyway. Many states have laws preventing sex offenders from living X number of feet from schools or playgrounds or parks.

According to the New York Times, some towns are getting sex offenders out of towns by building little parks on small lots, so that any offender living within that X number of feet of the new park has to move. 

OK, they move. But if everybody makes them move away, where do they go? Many become homeless, because there are simply no buildings where they can legally live. All the buildings are too close to schools, parks and such.

Yes, there are lasting consequences for people who commit such horrible offenses as sex crimes. But the question the New York Times article raises, is, does moving sex offenders away from all neighborhoods everywhere make us safer?

The answer, according to the Times is least, is probably not. Homeless people are more likely than people who have places to live to feel like they have nothing to lose, so they're more likely to re-offend.

It seems the people who push the opening of these little parks say that the offenders need somewhere to live. They just don't offer any suggestions on exactly where that is, or how it will happen.

I don't either. I wouldn't want a sex offender living near me, and I'm a fairly burly guy and so is my husband, so we'd be more likely to be able to defend ourselves, and less likely to be the target of such a crime. But I wouldn't want a homeless sex offender wandering around either.

So what's the solution? It seems like there are no good answers.

Dancing Nana, 88, Says She Can Dance All Fxxxing Day

The video in this post has gone totally viral in the past five days, making this 88 year old "Nana" as she called, almost as world famous and as beloved as the beyond compare Betty White.

And why not? A relative comes to pick her up for a car trip. The song "Runaround Sue" is blasting on the radio, and Nana, on her way to the car, dances all the way. Her attitude is infectious, for sure, and you'll feel good watching it. Better than pharmaceuticals, I have to say.

When the song finishes, she wants it played again. The young woman in the car complies. When it ends again, Nana tells us, "I could dance all fucking day." Listen to it, near the end of the video, if you don't believe me.

Anyway, here's the delightful video:

Winter Is Ending, Which Is A Relief After Watching These Videos

I've come across two videos very recently that demonstrate that winter is out to kill us.

True, the people in both videos were out in the middle of nowhere, in rugged mountains, by people doing some pretty extreme, adventurous sports.

But the videos do want me to take a leisurely nap on a summer beach. (But not in the water! Stay away from the sharks!)

Happy spoiler alert: Everybody lived in the two videos you are about to see.

The first video shows some mountain climbers at someplace called Canale Holzer in Italy. It shows a big avalanche bearing down on them. I'm sure they got quite a scare:






The next video shows an ice climber who seems to have been attacked by an itty bitty chunk of ice falling off the mountain. That glorified ice cube set off a cascading set of problems.

The guy in question was wearing a GoPro camera, so we have the unfortunate ice climber's point of view as his ice climbing excursion goes seriously wrong:

If you're a lawyer who advertises in a newspaper, complete with your picture, it's probably not a good idea to get arrested.

Screen grab of the mugshot, and the ad, of
lawyer Thomas Lee Edwards in the Gainsville Sun
(click on image to make it bigger)

I say that because the Gainesville (Fla.) Sun, in its online edition, had the mug shot of one Thomas Lee Edwards, arrested for drunken driving, leaving the scene of an accident and other alleged misdeeds.

On the same page as the smiling mug shot of Edwards under arrest, was an advertisement for his law firm, Schackow, Macadante & Edwards, according to Gawker.

Well, at least he got his mug in two places on one page, I guess that increases the advertising saturation for his firm. Or not.

When I checked late Monday morning, I saw that the ad for Edwards' law firm had been removed from the paper's mugshot web page.

While preparing for a defense, at least Edwards has an advantage. He can act as his own lawyer, thereby avoiding all those pesky attorneys fees.