Tonight I was watching tv and an advertisement for Al Franken came on. He's running against Norm Coleman for Senate. The commercial started by saying Franken failed to pay taxes in 17 states--but then overpaid it in his own home state. (He had followed his accountant's instructions and paid the taxes in his home state rather than in the state where the money was earned, but this wasn't in the ad.) He's working to make this right. The commercial then went on to say how Coleman is accepting money from big corporations--and is accused of unethically paying below-market-value rent for his DC apartment (a bedroom and living room in the basement of a friend--no kitchen). The point of the ad is that Franken admits he made a mistake and is working to correct that mistake--but Coleman apparently, deliberately, is accepting bribes and other gratuitites in an abusive nature.

That was a good ad.

A few minutes later, an almost identically-formatted Coleman ad came on. It declared Franken had failed to pay taxes in 17 states--and refused to release his tax records prior to 2003. No mention of his attempts to make the tax error correct.

I think the political ad season has been launched in earnest! To me, paying $650 a month for a bedroom and a living room (no kitchen) is absolutely highway robbery--but the ad hints that it is really cheap and bribery is at work. And the other ad is true but totally misleading since it doesn't clarify the full facts surrounding the non-payment of taxes. Rhetorically speaking, these ads are great since they both work to persuade the audience. Personally speaking, both advertisers are misleading and neither deserves my vote.

Now, I have to ask, when two such similar ads come out, one right after the other, what (or who) happened to allow each party to know the kind of ad the other was going to present? I suspect there is a leak in the parties somewhere, and I suspect these two commercials are now generating more insults...about the other party's actions in creating the commercials.

Aren't we lucky to live in such a country where political speech is protected and the advertiser does not have to be accountable to the audience for the integrity of their words?

My head hurts tonight. It's been hurting on and off for a few days, but tonight it's just kind of nudging itself into my awareness. It's like someone is thrusting a nail in the back of my skull on the left side near the base-and it's thrusting upward toward my left eyebrow--and somewhere in the middle it's getting numb, just hurting on each end of that nail. Tonight it started like one big jab, and then it just starts coming and going--and kind of leaning a bit toward the right temple once in a while, but mostly just that upward thrusting.

It was back to work today, and that may be some of the issue. On Friday I kind of pushed back some and let management that they needed to do something about my position and it's place in the newly-merged company. Today, it seemed that it is just mushrooming and the uncertainty is reaching more people. I finally just sent an email upwards toward upper management--and had two managers stop to advise me they are glad I wrote the email since they, too, were getting concerned about the situation. But as I await a response, I have to deal with these customers that have no idea of the situation--and I am not going to be the one to tell them that there is no plan for servicing these specific customers as we go forward. We'll see how it goes....

And then I didn't get my paycheck from my second job. I'm not sure why and won't know until tomorrow, but I think a manager didn't get my paperwork in time, so it all gets delayed a week. This lady is known for being late with everything, and I'm only just beginning to figure it out. I like to be patient, but my paycheck is not something I can afford to be patient about. I'll make some phone calls tomorrow and find out what exactly happened.

Tomorrow will be a better day.

I have been advised by my landlady that I need to move. It is not a good feeling. There may or may not be time to find a place. This is less than good.

Apparently, she has received a letter from the Planning & Zoning people that says the septic system for this place is not good and she needs to fix or replace it or stop using it. She has until next spring to do so. Knowing it will cost over $10,000 to fix it, she has elected not to fix it. So, I have to move before next spring--sooner than later if something goes so bad that we absolutely cannot use the septic system.

Knowing my job is done in three months and that I have to move, there isn't much stability in my life right now. But maybe this is the perfect opportunity to get going on gaining some stability in my life. I will certainly try to do so, and I am going to try to think positively as I go forward.

As I see it, the only way to go now is straight up or sideways, and I think that looking up looks pretty good right now.

I am flabbergasted. As an employee, my employer asked me to take a trip involving airline tickets, both ways, and three nights in a hotel--plus meals. All to be charged to my personal credit card and then reimbursed by my employer. No one seemed shocked by this, but I am totally flabbergasted.

Maybe it's because I don't have a credit card. I got into trouble with one in the past, and it took me years to pay it off. I'm not going to do that again. So, I just told my employer I didn't have a credit card--so a fellow traveler was asked to charge my airfare and hotel fee to her card, and--to my total amazement--she agreed!

I then did some research on the internet, and I discovered that most people didn't mind doing this as long as the employer immediately reimbursed--and as long as they got the frequent flyer miles. Others, though, realized that even when a corporate credit card is used, the actual person doing the flying gets the miles. Another mentioned the auditing requirements and need for a papertrail--but they all have to know that papertrails are going to be left whether it's with a corporate or a personal credit card. To me, there's just a lot more work with the personal card.

The truth is, the employer wants employees to use their own cards because employees are less likely to splurge if they use their own cards...and if there's some reason an airline ticket has to be canceled, unused, then the only reimbursement the employee might get is any the airline MIGHT offer. So, if on the way to the airport an employee got in a car accident and can't cuse the non-refundable ticket, that's tough luck to the employee.

I read of another instance where an employee charged their card, maxing their limit, and then they had a family emergency and couldn't access the card for their own needs. It's horrible!

In my opinion, if the travel is not important enough to be charged to a corporate credit card, then it's not going to be important enough to be charged to my personal card, either. Even if I had a card, I think I'd tell my employer I don't have one.

I just got home from my weekend job, where I watch tv quite a bit. A FreeCreditReport.com commercial kept coming up where this guy says he wished he had checked the site before getting married since he now lives in his wife's parents' basement instead of a nice neighborhood--but, amazingly, if he had checked this site before getting married, he would now be a bachelor with a dog in a good neighborhood.

Being someone with very bad credit, I am probably somewhat biased, but this whole commercial insulted the idea of love and marriage and family and even good neighbors. First, that a person living in a basement of a house cannot live in a nice neighborhood is not a mutually exclusive idea. I think that is an insult to the wife's parents. Then, to think that the man would not be married because of a bad credit report is something that should not be assumed--because sometimes love conquers all. And, sometimes, there are reasons for the bad credit. But a bad credit report should not exclude marriage; it should encourage communication.

I am not married, and a large part of it is due to my financial status. But to think that a dog and a nice house would replace me in a fiance's life is not something I would want to believe.

I like the commercials this company puts out. They have a catchy song in every one of them...but the ideas behind them are hateful and I steer away from anyone who would use that site just because of the ideas they put out. I also know from word-of-mouth that there are other similar sites out there that don't put out such horrible messages. I don't like their message, and I hope they find a better way to advertise.