Posts by Sam Ramos85

Michael Roberts7 said:The truth is, the media is always spinning things, whether it’s refugees, floods, car crashes, or mass shooters.
If they can focus on the elderly or children, they will.
When you watch footage of recent flooding—water pouring onto balconies and into homes—you mostly see kids and seniors. It’s simply because those images pull at our heartstrings more. Besides, a young man isn't exactly going to sit on a balcony watching the water rise when he could be inside trying to save something his 90-year-old grandmother isn't strong enough to protect.

It’s hardly a mystery that most refugees from Syria are men of military age. But here's the kicker: they know that just like back in certain parts of the US during the 1940s, you might end up being drafted to fight for the people who arrived first. We've seen plenty of cases where family members ended up on opposing sides because they had to pick a side once a conflict finally hit home.

When it comes to "economic" migrants, the pattern is even more obvious. Who gets sent off to earn money and provide for the family? The strongest ones. Look at how, around fifty years ago, it was mostly single men traveling alone from places like Turkey, America, or Italy to move to America. Some brought their wives over after a few years, while others never did.

My parents are actually up in Germany right now, and they’re telling me that none of these able-bodied men Angela Merkel has been taking in lately are even looking for work—they're just wandering around aimlessly.

Jack Hammer said:Even the German ABC finally admitted what all those so-called "obscene right-wing portals" and that "junkie" Bujanec have been shouting about for ages.

I think I’ve already mentioned here that eventually, once certain media outlets scrape up enough courage, they’ll actually start reporting objectively and admit how much they've manipulated the news.

Turkey might be an economic miracle right now, but you've got all these refugees fleeing Turkish camps just to head toward the North America, hoping they can eventually dig their way into Germany or England...

melloworca6 said:Hey.

So, I’ve been sitting here thinking about this, and honestly, it makes me wonder... just how many gynecologists has everyone actually seen in their lifetime? I mean, I'm curious, but also a little skeptical about the whole thing. How many times have you guys actually gone in for an exam? 😬

Look, I’ve personally been through this twice with my wife, and honestly? She went through way more than I did. We basically lived through a total nightmare with gynecologists and the quality of care they provide, so if you think I don't have a right to weigh in on their services, you're dead wrong. I feel like I’m more than qualified to speak on this whole mess because of what we actually dealt with.

So, I’ve been sitting here thinking about wolves. Honestly, it’s one of those topics that people just don't seem to get right, and it really gets under my skin. People talk about them like they’re either some mystical creature from a fairy tale or just mindless killing machines, but neither of those takes really captures the reality of it. It's more complicated than that, I guess. Maybe I'm being too intense about it, but there's something about the way we perceive these predators that feels incredibly shallow. You have to look at the whole ecosystem, the way they actually function in the wild, rather than just reacting with fear or romanticism. It’s frustrating how much misinformation is out there.

Lisa Young83 said:You've got a point there. I guess you're right. 👍 Honestly, you just gave me a massive idea—maybe we should just move this whole laboratory business over to... The local News Corp newsstands.So, picture this: you’re sitting there, reaching for the morning paper with your right hand, while your left arm is shoved through some little service window just so some lady can draw your blood. It’s honestly ridiculous. These people have already mastered everything from banking and retail—handling everything from groceries to household goods—to postal services, credit processing, currency exchange, transit ticketing, and even high-speed photocopying. Seriously, they run every single business imaginable, so I guess pulling blood should be a total piece of cake for them at this point. Honestly, selling medication probably wouldn't even trip them up, much less running those super discreet, lightning-fast surveys about emergency contraception... you know, where they just whisk the patient behind a newsstand to ask the questions. It's all just one big, messy blur.

Za Walmart stores. Honestly, if it were up to me, I’d just scrap the whole thing. I’m talking about completely walking away from all those outpatient services—you know, the stuff handled by primary care doctors, ophthalmologists, dermatologists, neurologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, and all those other non-surgical medical practices. I guess I'm just done with it. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like the entire system is broken beyond repair.

U Super Walmart I mean, you’d basically be running laps between specialists all day—we're talking cardiologists, OB-GYNs, physiatrists, radiologists, gastroenterologists, rheumatologists, immunologists, and pretty much every other kind of internist out there. Not to mention you'd probably have to deal with dental services on top of that whole mess. It’s just... a lot.

Mega Walmart It would basically be the go-to choice for all those major, high-stakes surgeries—you know, the heavy hitters like heart surgery, brain operations, or anything involving the spine... That maternity ward... I mean, seriously, what is even going on there? It’s honestly unbelievable.

I mean, honestly, these massive Walmart locations provide such incredibly sterile environments, and I really don't see any better place to conduct medical practice than within their facilities. ☕

Look, you might think I'm just being funny or making jokes here, but honestly? The facts are exactly what I laid out. I guess if you want to take it as a joke, that's on you, but the reality of the situation remains just as I wrote it.

I don't even want to get into a massive debate about the absolute state of the gynecological clinics at our local community health centers and hospitals. I mean, seriously, you have doctors working late shifts performing exams and procedures on these rusted-out, ancient exam tables that look like they haven't been updated since the early 60s. It’s honestly depressing. At this point, I guess even the meat department or the deli aisle at Walmart feels like a more dignified setting for those kinds of procedures than what we're dealing with in those clinics. 😵

melloworca6 said:Come on, let’s be totally honest here—how many of you would actually go to a Walmart to get blood drawn just because it’s maybe 10-$$6.75 cheaper than, say, at the Sun clinic? Personally, I wouldn't touch it. I’d either go see my doctor for free or just pay the extra cash to go to a proper clinic where things are done right.
:

Me? I’d definitely do it. I’m talking about using those deals, kind of like how seniors get discounts on Tuesdays with their cards, or how I used to go to the pharmacy counter to get my blood sugar checked—though they don't allow that over the counter anymore...
Plus, since I collect points through the Sun program, I get an extra 10% discount on every checkup, or I can just rack up the rewards...

So, honestly, this whole reputation regarding the conditions for blood draws is such incredibly hypocritical nonsense in this day and age. People love to twist the story, but let's face it: most local clinics are as sterile as a public restroom. And I’d bet anything that those specific rooms built just for testing inside certain Walmarts were actually way better maintained than some run-down community health center or a rotting lab where the tiles and grout are literally peeling off the walls. 🙄

You want to talk about hypocrisy from the Department of Health? Give me a break...

If you could see the absolute state of things where my wife had her blood drawn at the local community clinic. She’s stuck working on a desk cluttered with printers, keyboards, stamps, and pens, right in the middle of the chaos. You've got a constant stream of people passing by all day, brushing their hands against her workspace while they hand over their insurance cards, all while sitting at furniture from 1967 that looks like it’s been rotting away for decades...

And then, out of nowhere, some kid shows up carrying a portable cooler to toss the blood vials into, while he's literally eating a pastry in his other hand! Then he hauls it off to a lab that’s probably just as much of a sanitary nightmare...

I’d bet anything that the technical and sanitary standards over at Croesus are miles ahead and actually fit the 21st century compared to these places. It just seems like they haven't greased the palms of those folks at the Department of Health lately, but I'm sure that'll get sorted out eventually.

Look, when you're operating as a business entity, you definitely have that extra layer of credit available to you, but let's be real—it doesn't come for free...

Sam Ramos85 said:If you admit 🙄

I mean, seriously—if you don't even acknowledge that you own a TV, how are they supposed to prove you have one in the first place to justify charging you those fees?

I’m still sitting here waiting for someone to explain how they actually prove you own an audiovisual receiver in court if you just flat-out deny having one in the first place.☕

slycyclist342 said:Well, if you claim you possess it—even if you argue it belongs to a corporation as others suggested—you’ve essentially made a confession.🙂

If you admit 🙄

I mean, seriously—if you don't even acknowledge that you own a TV, how are they supposed to prove you have one in the first place to justify charging you those fees?

Go ahead, try to legally prove in court that I actually own a TV or a smartphone for private use at home.

How does that kind of thing even get proven in our legal system?

slycyclist342 said:My phone doesn't have a dedicated radio tuner, but I listen to the radio through it just fine... modern miracles, I guess. 🙂

As far as I'm aware, they stream the full radio programming 24/7.
And even if they didn't stream everything, it wouldn't change much.
There’s nothing in the law stating that if you can only catch half the program, you only pay half the fee—or none at all.
If you have the ability to listen, you pay.

For starters, even the internet doesn't always travel through wires anymore. 😉

Besides, the law doesn't specify that the fee applies only to devices reproducing audiovisual programs via wire, wireless signals, or whatever else... it covers everything. The law is pretty straightforward.

If they prove you own a laptop or a smartphone, I'm fairly certain you'll be stuck paying the fee.

At the end of the day... even if you try to argue the distinction, do you really think a judge has a degree in electrical engineering and will actually care about those technicalities?

Whether the laws in America are logical, moral, or fair... well, that's a different conversation entirely.

Off-topic, but look at this: some high-profile guy gets sentenced to a year in prison for damages worth millions, and then they just swap it out for community service.
One day of jail becomes two hours of work.
That's how American laws work... moral, fair, and always looking out for the little guy. 🙂

Look, saying they "can" prove it is basically the same as saying nothing at all, unless you're some kind of criminal who actually signed something😉

How on earth am I supposed to prove anything?

What, am I supposed to have some undercover investigator show up and swear under oath that he saw it with his own eyes?🙄 I mean, we're talking about digital property that could vanish in the blink of an eye

What are they gonna do, film me or stalk me?
If they try that, they'll have more than enough evidence for a massive countersuit to get you fully compensated☕

Ashley Anderson7 said:Hi everyone, good day to you all,
I’ve been scrolling through everything here, searching and searching, but I just can't seem to find a straight answer to my problem. So, two collection agents came by regarding my TV receiver registration, and since they noticed I already have a Comcast connection, they told me they’d "meet me halfway" and only charge me $160. The thing is, I didn't sign anything at the time, yet they still sent me a bill for that exact amount. Given that my initial registration was perfectly valid and timed right alongside when the TV was gifted to me, I find this whole situation completely baseless and frankly quite rude—and I absolutely DO NOT WANT TO PAY. Honestly, I'd be willing to sue the collector personally for falsifying information if I had to, since I actually have his details; an agent helped me out online and gave me the info on who would be coming to finalize the paperwork. To back me up, I have their SMS messages where they said they'd come to settle the fee based on the registration, followed by another text saying they'd send me a $160 bill to pay. Since they showed up at my door before that happened, the whole ordeal has left me feeling incredibly uneasy.
So... does anyone happen to have an example of a formal complaint, or does anyone know exactly where I should direct it? I’m planning to mail it to the standard appeals address if one exists, and I'll probably send copies to at least two board members via certified mail just to be safe. It makes me so angry to think some arrogant jerk is out there earning a commission just by intimidating people.
My second question is, are they actually allowed to pull data from Comcast to see exactly how long I've been using their internet? From what I've been reading, it seems like companies have a lot of access to that kind of stuff.
Thanks! Please, let me know what you think, because I believe I only have five days to file an appeal—though, of course, that deadline isn't even mentioned on this shady bill they sent.
Best,

That’s just nonsense.
What do you mean an agent? If you filled out the form online, there shouldn't be any "agent" involved.

Since you already submitted everything through the portal, nobody needs to show up at your house to finish the job. You gave them all your details and that's it. Period.

If they want to mail you the payment vouchers, fine. If they don't, they don't ☕ and honestly, they should just be grateful you even bothered to sign up and offered to pay the fee in the first place.

If you're having issues with collectors or random people showing up at your door claiming to be from some government agency, just call 911. There are way too many scammers and identity thieves running around these days.😉

slymason51 said:Honestly, you might want to think twice about that online registration thing. I did it myself and now I'm kind of in a mess... everything is laid out on their website, which is great, but then they can demand receipts from the actual date you bought your TV. Like, you have to prove exactly how long you've owned it. If you can't prove it, they'll charge you starting from the day you registered. I told them I just got a used set as a gift, and now I'm dealing with the fallout...

They could just as easily demand $100 right then and there on the spot🙄
seriously guys, get real

I mean, public broadcasting isn't some high-level security agency or the FBI. You don't even have to hand over personal info to the cops if you don't want to, let alone these people.☕

Looking at some of the posts here, I'm seeing this massive, almost ridiculous fear of collectors coming to the door. I bet if they sent out reps from Fox or ABC instead, 90% of people would probably just fold and agree to pay for airwaves they aren't even using...

Never sign anything and never let anyone into your house. Even the police can't just barge in whenever they feel like it, yet some people are letting complete strangers walk through their front doors just because they're flashed some ID from a public TV station. Honestly, in this day and age, you really can't trust anyone.😲

Here’s a little look at the NPR Act that just passed through Congress and got the blessing from President Jospipović

steelpanther6 said:I'm curious, how can you actually verify if this "inspector/collector/whatever" is an actual PBS employee?

Also, if the old device was already deregistered, then a new one was picked up a year later without being registered—what’s the cost for re-registering (if that's even an option)? Is it that infamous $160 the inspectors always demand you pay right there on the spot? 🤷

Thanks.

Why do you even care if they work for NPR?

I mean, you aren't seriously going to trust every random person knocking on your door and sign whatever they tell you to, right?🙄

Just go online and register for the license fee and be done with it. If some sketchy guy shows up at your doorstep flashing various IDs, feel free to call 911 and report that someone is being aggressive and you suspect they're impersonating an official.😉

slymason51 said:He showed up claiming we were behind on payments... which is a lie because we haven't signed a single thing. He tried to say my online registration didn't count because I submitted it on February 8th, but he claimed he caught us on February 7th. He didn't even step inside the house or look at our TV or anything...

Honestly, he’s just gaslighting you.

Get in touch with PBS using the info from his ID—just copy down his full name from his PBS badge😁

and tell them they're disputing a valid online registration. Also, if having him loitering on your doorstep bothers you—which it does for me—feel free to let him know he's got two seconds to clear out before you call 911.

And seriously, don't be intimidated by these collectors, Jehovah's Witnesses, or those Zepter cookware salespeople. Just don't sign anything during a visit. Ever. If you actually want to pay the fee, give them your info, but otherwise, keep your pen in your pocket.

If you handle everything through the website, there’s absolutely no reason for some collector to show up at your doorstep...

What is wrong with you people? Seriously, everyone here seems so incredibly gullible, almost like you're living under a North Korean regime where you just sign whatever garbage gets shoved in your face... I mean, honestly.

When one of those rude collection agents showed up at my house, I told him straight up that if he didn't get off my porch immediately, I was calling 911. On top of that, I sent a formal complaint to Chase Bank stating I'd be filing a lawsuit for harassment.

James Hayes6 said:I’m sitting here listening to the radio, and apparently, the government is planning some massive layoffs in the public sector. And get this—the interview with the official sounds like they’re just picking numbers out of thin air. "We’ll cut 14,000 janitors, 5,000 maintenance workers, 3,000 cooks..."
They act like if we just trim enough of these people, we'll save billions.

It’s like they think the janitors and the kitchen staff are the ones responsible for the economic crisis. Even the politicians don't talk like this. If they were being honest, they'd say, "We're getting rid of directors, managers, supervisors, inspectors..."
Those 1,000 high-level execs make as much as 30,000 working-class employees combined. But no, they’ll just fire the people actually doing the work because they're "redundant." They never say, "I'll step down" or "The bosses will go." It's always, "We'll make sure *they* go."
Absolutely pathetic!!!!!!

From what I can gather, they aren't actually going to get fired; instead, they'll just be moved over to the private sector so they aren't hanging off the taxpayer's coattails anymore...

For instance, if a private corporation takes over the cafeteria at a hospital, everything keeps running exactly as it did before, except it’s way more efficient, and at the end of the month, you don't have two tons of meat going to waste.😁

Patrick Moore3 said:Once someone hits you with a massive bill from HOK or an Adriatic provider... you’re gonna be thinking about us!

It doesn't matter.

I got hit by some guy insured through Euroherc, even though my car is covered by State Farm...
I couldn't get on the same page with the damage estimate Euroherc came up with, so—on the advice of a buddy over at the repair shop—I just went to my people at State Farm. They handled the assessment and fixed the car, and then they just went after Euroherc themselves to collect the money.

I honestly had no idea you could do things that way.