I’m going to spend this time to rant about the evil corporation known as Time Warner. Time Warner has done a superb job of having a near monopoly on local cable television and Internet services. They are quite aware of the stranglehold they have on the market; their terrible customer service reflects this. I ordered my Internet service from them three weeks ago, and I still don’t have any service. They’ve been to my place twice and unsuccessfully installed my Internet. Why not? No clue. Now they’re telling me that they won’t install it until October 25^th. That’s a MONTH from when I completed my order! This is what happens when you eliminate competition from the marketplace: abuse of power. Why should Time Warner focus on customer service when you have very little choice to use their services? There is no need to please the customer when they have nowhere else to go. However, there comes a point when the customer service is so despicable that you don’t mind settling for a lesser product. I bet AT&T U-Verse receives half of its business from disgruntled Time Warner customers. They are about to get one more. If there is just one city where Time Warner shouldn’t be screwing around, it’s Kansas City. Google Fiber is introducing their insanely fast Internet service here in KC. It’ll be up and running in my area next fall. All Google needs to do is not be a complete douche to their customers. If they manage that much, Time Warner’s Internet service is going to plummet in Kansas City. Imagine what will happen when Google Fiber goes national! History has shown over and over again that ruling with an iron fist because you possess ultimate rule eventually leads to your demise. Eventually, someone with purer intentions will come along, and everyone will jump on board. Google is the Trojan Horse that will end this war on Time Warner…and sell all of your personal information to other corporations and governments. As long as I get gigabit Internet, I’ll consider it a draw. No Internet at home has made it a little more difficult to do research for THIS WEEK’S ROUNDUP!

Hey, Arkansas. What. The. Fuck? You know how we give you shit for being uneducated inbreeds and whatnot? Well, you’re politicians aren’t helping your cause—under the assumption that you disagree with the stereotype. There were THREE separate examples of Arkansas’ ass-backwards way of thinking just last week. First, Rep. Jon Hubbard of Jonesboro called slavery a “blessing in disguise.” Yes, he’s a Republican. I’m not sure Democrats are allowed in Arkansas. To Republican’s credit, they were quick to distant themselves from Hubbard. Then again, they did the same with Todd Akin, and he’s still fighting the good fight. Not to be outdone, Republican candidate Charlie Fuqua endorses the death penalty for rebellious children in his book. It’s hard to explain—as it should be—but essentially, he uses cites the Bible to support the need to kill children who defy their parents. Don’t ask. And to top everything off, Rep. Loy Mauch took Hubbard’s pro-slavery stance and raised him a MILLION. This wasn’t just one gaffe. How many? Per The Arkansas Times:

            Dec. 20, 2011 The economic fallacy of mercantilism is that the public must be intentionally miseducated in economics for it to survive, which has been a work in progress ever since the Federal Reserve usurped our constitutional monetary system in 1913. The Republocrats are now partners in crime with a guaranteed monopoly in theft by majority vote and rule with the illusion of liberty that our Founding Fathers would have called abject slavery.

July 11, 2010 The 14th Amendment completely destroyed the Founders’ concept of limited government and was coerced on this nation by radical people and in my opinion was never legally ratified as required by Article V of the Constitution. It was essentially a Karl Marx concept and would have never come from the pen of Madison or any of the patriots from Virginia.

Jan. 8, 2009 … If slavery were so God-awful, why didn’t Jesus or Paul condemn it, why was it in the Constitution and why wasn’t there a war before 1861?The South has always stood by the Constitution and limited government. When one attacks the Confederate Battle Flag, he is certainly denouncing these principles of government as well as Christianity.

Feb. 27, 2007 I would like to thank this newspaper’s editorialist for publishing the tribute to Abraham Lincoln as well as his second inaugural address so that the readers can see for themselves what a fake this neurotic Northern war criminal truly was.

Sept. 16, 2005 Krishna Thiagarajan has written about the most imbecelic letter to this newpaper that I have read in quite some time where she compares Robert E. Lee to Hermann Goering. …To those of us who actually know our history, Lee will be mentioned in the same breath as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, while Goering will be equated with Lincoln, Josef Stalin and Karl Marx.

Feb. 15, 2003 Nowhere in the Holy Bible have I found a word of condemnation for the operation of slavery, Old or New Testament. If slavery was so bad, why didn’t Jesus, Paul or the prophets say something? This country already lionizes Wehrmacht leaders. They go by the names of Lincoln, Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Custer, etc. These Marxists not only destroyed the Constitution they were sworn to uphold, but apostatized the word of God. Either these depraved infidels or the Constitution and Scriptures are in error. I’m more persuaded by the word of God.

July 21, 2002 Angi Taylor’s guest column about Juneteenth is well intended, but predictably goose steps with the cult of Lincoln….The part of her article that says “Lincoln was for a legal system based on integrity” is hilarious. How can any elected official who swears to uphold the Constitution, then proceeds to commit premeditated murder upon it, be acknowledged [for] having integrity?

Oct. 7, 2000 I’m very proud my ancestors stood up to Northern aggression. The Confederate flag to me is not only a symbol of our brief period of independence and our loyalty to the 1789 Constitution, but also a symbol of Christian liberty vs. the new world order.  

Yep, ALL of that happened. Then again, when you like this…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…what did you expect? C’mon, Arkansas. Get your shit together!

Are you out of shape? Are you looking to get healthy and look great? Good news! A new fitness book by a renowned health and fitness guru is in the works. More specifically, Sarah Palin is writing a fitness book. Why? Who the fuck knows. People criticized Dr. Phil for writing a nutrition book since, you know, he’s a goddamn psychologist. However, at least he’s a doctor of some type. Palin writing a book about, well, ANYTHING is re-goddman-diculous! This is the culture we have created, folks. Legit writers and journalists are no longer writing books. Instead, publishers are drafting lucrative book deals to whoever is in the tabloids. You want to become a writer? Forget about college. Go suck a rappers cock on camera and make sure it gets leaked to the media. BAM! Instant book deal. Once the book comes out, CNN or the New York Times will hire you as their “Sex and Relationship” advice columnist, because, you know, no one is more qualified to talk about healthy relationships than someone who got Tiger Woods’ cum on their face. Jesus-titty-fucking-Christ, we are dumb.

Speaking of becoming a writer, another job posting on Craigslist seeks writers for slave wages. In addition to possessing “‘excellent’ research skills, an ability to meet deadlines, and ‘excellent grammar and an engaging voice,’” writers are expected to pump out 30-60 a week. That’s a quite a workload for any journalist, but a really great writer could make it happen. Alrighty then, what would a highly qualified, professional writer expect to earn for such a highly demanding job? “Between .009 and .02 per word!!!!!”* According to Gawker, one would have to write over 1,000 words an hour just to earn the livable wage of $9.42/hr. As Gawker also pointed out, the ad points out that anyone who replies with content “CONTAINING INAPPROPRIATE, INFLAMMATORY, OR HATEFUL CONTENT WILL BE FLAGGED, SUBMITTED TO THE APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES, AND PROSECUTED ACCORDINGLY.” This means that he or she has been getting plenty of such emails. Listen, when you receive overwhelming negative responses to whatever it is you said or did, chances are, you’re an asshole. The good news is that if this is a just world, this person’s publication will tank due to lack of quality work. No self-respecting writer will work for those slave wages. Publications like the New York Times would never screw over their writers…

* The exclamation marks are my own.

…or would they? New York Times Staffers Walk Out Over Contract Negotiations. Well, shit. At 3:35pm last Monday, around 400 employees of The New York Times walked out for about 10-15 minutes to protest contract negotiations that have been in the works for 18 months. Essentially, they’re not getting paid enough and their health benefits are not good enough. Pensions are being frozen and many have taken a five-figure salary cut to reduce cost. It goes without saying that journalists who work for The New York Times are among the best. It’s one of the top news publications in the country and perhaps even the world. When top-tier publications start offering salaries that do not represent the talent being hired, then we have a major problem. Journalism is extremely important. More specifically, journalism that holds accountability is important. At the rate we’re going, our news and information will be coming primarily from bloggers and freelance journalists. Unedited and raw journalism is both a great and terrible thing. On one hand, there are no editors and corporate interests to get in the way. On the other hand, there is entirely way too much room for false information, corruption, bias information, etc. I have always been neutral about unions, but in the field of journalism, it’s clear that a union is needed. If REAL journalism dies, you can be damn sure our government will take advantage of it. Think about THAT.

Employees at the The New York Times have plenty to complain about, but at least they have health insurance. Darden Restaurants is cutting hours to avoid offering health insurance. The company owns Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouses, to name a few. In a test run in response to healthcare reform, a handful of locations are reducing the hours of their employers to avoid paying for their health insurance. Darden hasn’t decided whether or not to expand the practice, but it’s safe to assume that not paying for health insurance will save them a shitload of money. According to the new healthcare reform—which will take into full effect in 2014—employers are required to provide health insurance to any employee working 30 hours or more. Darden plans on keeping their employees at 28 hours a week. This is the America we now live in, folks. Let’s thank our parents for a job well done. In fact, the Millennial generation is supposed to be the first generation that will NOT do as well as their parents. Can’t see why not! It’s not like the older generations are more worried about a profit return than ensuring employment and healthcare. If you thought Olive Garden and Red Lobster sucks now, wait until the only people working for them are those okay with no insurance and under 30 hours a week, i.e. someone desperate for a job. When you own a huge corporation like Darden who hold a lot of social responsibility, whether you like it or not. It seems like the only way to run a corporation is to turn your human employees into a number on a spreadsheet. It’s easier to fuck over a random number than a human being with a family. This whole thing is sick…sick and no insurance, ZING!

I apologize for bumming you out with these apocalyptic stories about the economy. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. For example, there is one segment of the workforce that is seeing an increase in pay: Wall Street Pay Is On The Rise. By the way, that light is not at the end of YOUR tunnel. In order to stay competitive, Big Financial companies need to hire the best talent out there. In order to that, they have to pay them huge salaries. In order to offer huge salaries to the talent, Big Financial companies are firing everyone else. This is how capitalism and the free market works. After reading the book Unintended Consequences—a Bain Capital executive explaining the Financial Crisis—I have learned a LOT about the economy from the perspective of the 1%. Long story short, everything the 1% does is based on sound logistics. Unfortunately, the logistics used to increase productivity and profit margins comes at the cost of 90% of the American people. When Big Financial succeeds we do in fact reap the rewards…assuming we have a job that doesn’t pay slave wages. If we, the 99%, want a better economy for us, we have to allow the 1% to make MORE money. It’s a double-edged sword that neither the 1% nor the 99% can agree on. Capitalism and the free market have reached a tipping point. I’m convinced that the 1% is trying to improve the economy for all of us, but the conditions to do so are very unappealing to the average American. If Romney wins the election, everything that I read in that book will probably be implemented. Keep this in mind: it will sound insanely pro-1% and anti-99%, but it may very well work. The bad part: no universal healthcare, no rights for people who are not white males, and other social blunders. Republicans are good for the economy progression; Democrats are good for social progression. How awesome would it be if the two joined powers and created a utopia? Teamwork = un-American.

Since I’m on the topic of social progress and Republicans, let’s check in with the Republican party and there views on rape: A Wisconsin Lawmaker Claims ‘Some Girls Rape Easy.’ LOLZ!

What To Look Forward To On “Episode 112: Ganging Up On God” of Soundtrack of the Week:

• A Listener’s Rebuttal Of Episode 111 (Part I)
• Jerry Sandusky Blames Victims (Part I)
• The Gospel of Kirk Cameron (Part I)
• Websites Exploiting Your Mugshot For Money (Part I)
• New York Court Considering Labeling Street Gangs As Terrorists (Part I)
• 20% of Americans Not Religious — SOTW Explains Why (Part II)
• The SOTW Gang Talks About Their Religious Experiences (Or Lack Thereof) (Part II)

 

For more news and commentary that doesn’t “rape easy,” listen to Soundtrack of the Week on www.soundtrackoftheweek.com, iTunes, and on your smartphone via Stitcher Radio (Twitter page at @SOTWpodcast). Also follow Ty on Twitter at @TySOTW. If you don’t, Time Warner and the 1% wins…somehow…don’t ask how, just go with it.