Balloon Boy was a hoax, but his parents’ cluelessness and fame addiction is very real.

For me, watching the parents in the interviews (with the sound off) was  looking into a void of nothingness.  Empty, grasping, stupid, shallow people who don’t mind their child vomiting on television (twice) if it furthers their goal of achieving any kind of fame, even the desultory kind.  I can’t even be sad anymore that the parents are such simpletons who breeded;  just happy that it’s not me taking that sleazy ride on the fame express.

Balloon boy hoax driven by quest for fame and fortune [The Globe and Mail]

P.S. The US media continues to prove why it should die in its current state.

Linkarrhea, March 21

This is a major  sign that a fake socialite should drink at home. [GofaG]

A man who needs an ark of  Ativan. [Crooks & Liars]

This AIG mess is never going to end.  [CNN]

Does anyone working at Fox have any integrity? [HuffPo]

Funny, I call bankers welfare queens too. [The Daily Beast]

I wonder how many people will stop shopping at Whole Foods because of this story. [Gothamist]

Bono leaves so much to be desired as an activist according to Dave Marsh. [Counterpunch]

Excerpt:
In the wake of the New Depression generated by Bono’s tutors in world finance, it’s hardly necessary to issue a point by point refutation of his statements about how the world works,. Based on Bono’s response to criticism of U2’s tax avoidance, he plans to carry to the grave the ardently stupid globalization orthodoxy of Forbes, the Wall Street cheerleading rag he co-owns. Can there be anyone else who’s ventured a deep thought in the last several months who still believes that the only path to change involves bending the knee to the powerful?

Pic via.

It is beyond odd that a state would think its unemployed could afford to pay fees associated with an unemployment check.

From CNN:

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) – If you’re out of work like Steve Lippe, who was laid off from his job as a salesman in January, you know you already have problems. But looking at the fine print that came with his new unemployment debit card, he became livid.

“A $1.50 [fee] here, a $1.50 there,” he said. “Forty cents for a balance inquiry. Fifty cents to have your card denied. Thirty-five cents to have your account accessed by telephone.”

He was quoting fees listed in a brochure that goes out to every unemployed person in Pennsylvania who chooses to receive benefits via debit card. He was given the option when he filed for jobless payments: Wait 10 days for a check or get the card immediately. Like most of the 925,000 state residents who received unemployment benefits in February in Pennsylvania, he chose the debit card and only then, he says, did he learn about the fees.

“I was outraged by it,” he told CNN. “I was very noisy about it. I just couldn’t believe it. An outrage is just too weak a word. It’s obscene.”

I have a word for it, too. Psychotic.  So Pennsylvania’s state government couldn’t negotiate a better deal with banks so its unemployed citizens aren’t squeezed for money they desperately can’t afford to pay?  Or why not be upfront about the fees when offering someone the choice between the card and the check?

This is the penalty paid for not being a winner in today’s hypercapitalist society, right?  Because if these ‘losers’ didn’t need unemployment, they wouldn’t have to worry about being nickeled and dimed by some bank that needs to make money no matter what, right?

Of course, the state can’t be expected to pay the fees because well the state doesn’t have the money.  But  clearly unemployed people do.

What happens to the little people, indeed?

Amputee, doctor of poor faces losing home [CNN]

Excerpt:

Luis Caplan served the poor of the South Bronx for decades out of a small medical office. His leg was amputated after a bout with cancer in 1990, yet he continued to work for another five years.

Now, his savings have nearly been wiped out because of the economic crisis. At the age of 71, he faces losing his apartment if things don’t change soon. The government bailed out the big institutions, but “what happens to the little people?” he asks.

“What happens to the real middle class? What happens to me?” he says, choking back tears. “It’s awful. It’s really awful.”

I’m sure the GOP Taliban isn’t thinking about Luis Caplan as they tout tax cuts as the only way to restore American economic solvency.

The romance con story keeps getting written…

the details may change — 20 years ago it was the face to face romantic con job, today the con is made a bit easier with the Internet but the outcome is the same. A would be lover left broken in wallet and romantic spirit due to someone’s expertise in thievery. An excerpt from CNN story on rom cons:

Patrish Giocolo is a moderator for RomanceScams.org. She’s also a victim of romance fraud.

“Most people have this picture of this lonely old woman surfing the Internet, but that’s not the case,” Giocolo said. “These con artists are intelligent, kind, and people are losing their hearts.”

Among the members of RomanceScams.org, the financial loss doesn’t resonate as strongly as the emotional toll, Giocolo said.

Through the Yahoo Personals dating site, Giocolo met a man from California who had traveled to Ghana to build roads. At least, that’s what he told her.

“He said he won a contract in Ghana, but when he got back, he’d like to meet me,” Giocolo said.

After the first month, they started chatting on the phone. Giocolo says she had her suspicions, but after some light research, everything seemed legitimate. “I did an Internet search, and sure enough, they were accepting bids in Ghana for building roads.”

After a few months, Giocolo’s Internet friend started to make requests. “He said someone had stolen his workboots, so I sent him a new pair.” Then, it was $500 to help pay his men.

When the man asked for another $500, Giocolo hesitated. She was strapped for cash herself and sent only $150.

Then, after the man claimed that he had been in a car accident and asked for more money, Giocolo got a sinking feeling.

“I literally stumbled on this Web site on romance scams, and boom, there was his picture. Your heart sinks. There was no contract job, no car accident — it was all lies,” she said.

I’m sorry that Giocolo lost her money but I’m also sorry she was so willing to give it away. $650 could have gone into a money market account with a much better return on the investment. $650 could have paid for a self empowerment course. $650 could have been sent to me so I could explain why you don’t send money to men you’ve met over the Internet.

Okay..for the die hard romantics who would say to me,

‘But Tallulah, what if this was her last ever chance for true love?’

I would answer:

‘If that man was into her and not her wallet, she doesn’t need to send him money, liquor, food, anything. He would have found a way from Ghana to be on her doorstep. That’s what men do when they want something. They make it happen.’