Daily PUMA Column - Commentary by Alessandro Machi

Showing posts with label unfair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unfair. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Just What does it take to be a PUMA?

As time goes on, the PUMA movement appears to be simultaneously expanding, and also dissipating.

DailyPUMA thinks it is important to review and remember what the original PUMA flash point was that caused many different but formerly democratic support groups to declare themselves PUMAs, albeit their own unique brand of PUMA.

In my opinion the flash points that created PUMA were generated by media bias against Hillary Clinton. The media, led by Keith Olberman, Chris Matthews, MSNBC, Arianna Huffington of Huffington Post, Daily Kos, and then in rapid succession, Time Magazine, Newsweek, The Atlantic Monthly, Move ON, Media Matters, CNN and most definitely a few others as well, began slamming Hillary Clinton with crazy accusations while simultaneously not vetting Barack Obama.

The media consortium mentioned above ALL began putting a decidedly pro Barack Obama slant on their news reporting, while also creating an anti Hillary Clinton slant as well. Money may have played a really big role in the media bias against Hillary Clinton as the Barack Obama campaign was able to dole out a lot of money to the media and the internet in the form of advertising revenue.

Unfortunately, a certain, significant percentage of Barack Obama's donations may have been illegally gathered. Besides Barack Obama's campaign spending gargantuan amounts of money all over the media and the internet, the ill gotten donations were also used to entice SEVERAL DOZEN high profile politicians and celebrities to strategically give their support to Barack Obama even as Barack Obama's numbers were sliding over the final 10 weeks of the democratic nomination contests.

PUMA's were outraged that democratic political higher ups and the media would choose to "pre-favor" one democratic candidate over another, especially when the newly "unfavored" candidate (Hillary Clinton) had waited for her chance and patiently absorbed a couple decades of political interactions in such an amazingly divergent set of surroundings.

Does anyone recall ever hearing the media reporting that celebrities and democratic icons wanted the american people to choose with their vote the next democratic nominee?

All I remember hearing and seeing from the media was the pomp and circumstance of the next celebrity or politician being trotted out in support of Barack Obama. Many of these endorsements were timed to give the media an excuse to IGNORE significant Hillary Clinton primary wins.

Being married to Bill Clinton and an active participant in his political career had made Hillary Clinton uniquely qualified to view how political processes worked on a state level, and then on a federal level as well. Then to round out her own qualifications, Hillary Clinton served in the senate as well.

What was most painful for myself to witness was Hillary Clinton actually winning more delegates than Barack Obama from all of the democratic primary contests, even when the the votes of Florida and Michigan were excluded.

Knowing that caucus contests use 88% less voters to determine each delegate, and that the caucus contests appear to be easier to both cheat AND also keep away certain demographics, is something I will not forgive the democratic party for, since it flies in direct opposition to the stated democratic tenet of "fair reflection".

So more than a year later, where does that leave all PUMAs? PUMA's now support so many diverse beliefs and causes that it would probably be difficult to get them to agree to any one thing in mass.

However, I believe that it is important for anyone who believes they are a PUMA to at least agree on a couple of key points, the biggest key point being that Hillary Clinton was both unfairly treated by the media and the democratic party in 2008, and that we should STRONGLY consider peace based retribution against those who really had no business trying to derail Hillary Clinton in 2008 but did so just so they could grab their moment of glory and possibly better position themselves for some kind of business or financial reward as well.


If anyone on the list were to ever to publicly admit to putting financial gain or business opportunities as the reason they backstabbed Hillary Clinton, then they could be removed from the "don't support list".

It's really that simple.



Thursday, April 16, 2009

Van Nuys Post Office, April 15th Deadline, Some People get Unfairly Penalized for being late when they are not.


The headlights were on but nobody was home on Sherman Way in Van Nuys California as about a dozen cars were temporarily abandoned while the drivers turned sprinters made a mad, but hopeless dash to get their income tax returns officially in by midnight, April 15th, 2009.

I think the Van Nuys Postal station does an excellent job overall of getting last day income tax filers accommodated, but the final 1/2 hour before midnight is when things start go wrong and some people get unfairly penalized even though they actually were on time.

Here's what happens as the IRS tax day clock approaches midnight, people start arriving who didn't finish their income tax papers but wisely realized getting to the station before midnight is just as important as arriving late with their return already completed. These unfinished income tax filers pull up just past where the drop off point is and park their car while they finish their return! These stop, fill out, and clog traffic filers end up penalizing those who already finished their income tax returns and just want to drop them off and go.

Factor in that others will park on Sherman Way just past the outside mail drop off point and then go inside the building to drop off their return, once again clogging the same drop off area and causing the line of cars on Sherman Way to unnecessarily back up.

To make matters worse, some of the streetside postal employee stations are being shut down prior to midnight because traffic flow does lighten up a bit from 11::30pm onward. The one outside drop off position that was still going strong in front of the Van Nuys Station included a postal worker heroically trying to help keep the line of traffic moving by asking motorists to honk their horns at the cars idling just a few feet in front of them. This postal employee probably helped some filers make it on time with her car honking strategy.

I would advise that when some of the outside mail drop off stations shut down before midnight that an employee or two shift to traffic control to help ensure traffic not clog up just past the one remaining pick up station in front of Van Nuys.

I don't know if IRS rules do not allow anyone standing in line inside a postal building to be considered on time even if it is after midnight, but they should. By extension to that rule, anybody still in line in their car, on the street, should be allowed to have their return be counted as on time as well.

I observed all of this after dropping off my envelope and then holding my protest signs against Chase Bank (
CHASE BANK, KEEP YOUR WORD! and promoting Daily-Protest.com I made sure I was not a distraction to the street line of filers so I positioned myself after the drop off station. That was when I started to notice the late minute filers clogging up the street.

Suggestion for the Post Office and the IRS, allow a post office issue "Midnight Stamp" to be used on those who clearly were in line when midnight happened, but were victimized by those clogging Sherman Way just past the drop off point. The Midnight Stamp serves two purposes, it allows the Post Office not to lie about whether something was posted by the midnight deadline, and it provides some fairness for those who would have been on time if not for traffic bunching up on Sherman Way just past the drop off point.

Let us not judge why some people came at the last minute, lets just be fair.

Best Quality VHS to Digital Transfers

Best Quality VHS to Digital Transfers
Serious Customers Welcome.

Share Gadget

10,000 Dollar Grant! Another Great Find from FABULOUSLY40.com

10,000 Dollar Grant! Another Great Find from FABULOUSLY40.com
Would this be a good way to win funds for Louisa's Law ?