Frontiersman, May 2005

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Frontiersman, May 2005

Tar Baby AOL
Sam Aurelius Milam III
I have an associate, Jeffrey, who's been having difficulty discontinuing his AOL service. He reports that every time that he tries, the AOL customer service representative refuses to discontinue the service and, instead, grants him free service for a month. If, at the end of the period of free service, Jeffrey neglects to try again to discontinue the service then AOL resumes billing Jeffrey's credit card for the service. Jeffrey claims to have been attempting to discontinue the service for six months now, without success. He searched for comments by other AOL customers who are having similar problems and found the following statements available through his CableOne service provider.

I tried to quit the Mafia AOL,but they would not stop billing me...Still 8 months without AOL and Im getting charged $28.72 a month...How to stop it,well if your going to sign on to free AOL,don't do it..Pass it on tell a friend..AOL ripoffs everyone who cancels there services.They will get there money by checks,credit cards,and phone bills..They have the power to do it..And by us siging on to AOL,I guess they (have the right) to keep billing us..I just didn't read the fine fine print,when I gave my credit card to Mafia AOL...All I could say be carful,and good luck....

I see I am not the only person trying to delete AOL. There has to be some government agency to block them from billing other sources other than the credit card info. (By the way, I canceled that credit card account. I hope it works!) If anyone knows some agency that guards the consumer from AOL's slimy, and probably unlawful, practices. Please email me at neegavelek@juno.com Thank you.

I tried to quit AOL, and was talked into taking the "free 60 days" because I felt sorry for the girl at AOL. And I insisted it would be stopped after 60 days. They switched my account to a "pay by the hour," and didn't cancel the account. I received charges to my credit card of almost $200 before I realized what was going on. My son hadn't known to stop connecting to the internet at school with the number that was AOL. After all, I had cancelled it, right? So I protested with my credit card, and the charges were removed. I just received a collection account notice for the amount, after about 6 months. Does anybody know if there is a class action suit against these jerks?

Getting rid of AOL is stressing me out! It's like that friend that doesn't know when it's time to go home...they just want to keep drinking up your beer and eating up your food! What can you do? I guess i'll have to close my credit-card account. So much for customer service. I think I know what AOL stands for now.A-- ----- on line? If anybody has a quick fix for these outlaws let me know...please

In the Stray Thoughts column of the October 2004 issue of this newsletter, under the heading Corporate Claptrap, I published a statement that was critical of a different AOL practice. The problem reported by Jeffrey is far worse than the one about which I complained in October of 2004. As of the present writing, Jeffrey hasn't been able to discontinue his AOL service. I suggest that each AOL subscriber who wants to discontinue his service should call conscientiously every month, demand termination of the service, and then use the free service forced upon him in lieu of cancellation. Eventually, such a large number of subscribers will be using AOL for free that AOL will have to change its policy. Meanwhile, don't enter into any transaction that requires a credit card number as a prerequisite. Any such requirement suggests that the company is a den of thieves.

May 2005

Frontiersman, 1510 North 22nd Drive, Show Low, Arizona 85901
frontiersman@pharos.websiteallies.com
Also see Pharos at http://pharos.websiteallies.com/

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Serial Taxation
Sam Aurelius Milam III

The economic process presented in this article has been simplified and idealized so that the principles and consequences illustrated by it will be easier to understand. However, the results apply just as well to larger and more complex real-world transactions.

Suppose that you're paid $10 for doing a job. If you pay a 10% income tax on the $10, then you'll have $9 remaining. If you spend the $9 in a store and pay a 5% sales tax, then you'll spend only $8.55 because 45¢ was diverted to the sales tax. If the merchant pays a 10% income tax on the transaction, then he'll have only $7.70 left from your purchase. If he uses the $7.70 to pay an employee and diverts 20% of it to the various taxes associated with having an employee, then he'll pay the employee only $6.16. The employee will have to pay a 10% income tax, leaving him with $5.54. When he spends the $5.54 and pays a 5% sales tax, he'll be able to spend only $5.26 because the other 5% went to the sales tax. The reduction in the usable residue of the original $10 is exponential and, in theory, won't reach zero. However, it will be quickly reduced to a useless amount. Is it any wonder that people can't live within their incomes and are forced instead to live on credit?

When you consider that all funds are taxed at least once per transaction, it's amazing that anybody has any funds at all. With such a large proportion of our funds being siphoned away as taxes, one has to wonder how replacement funds enter the economy. I suggest my essay, They Can Fool Too Many of the People Too Much of the Time. It's available in printed form upon request or on my website in Essays about Money, Taxes, and Corporations.

Terminology Stolen
Sam Aurelius Milam III

Over the years, I've had a few friends who were homosexual. Personally, I don't approve of homosexuality but I recognize that, in principle, another man's private behavior isn't any of my business so long as it isn't imposed upon me against my will. However, I am critical of homosexuals as a group for usurping the word gay. They already had several monikers. They didn't need another one. Furthermore, there wasn't a good synonym for gay. There were a few words (lively, vivacious, blithe, convivial, festive) that had variously similar meanings but none that gave the same sense as the original meaning of gay. Thus, the homosexual's usurpation of the word has left us without a good way to describe our mood when we have a feeling of cheerful and lighthearted excitement or merriment. Gay was the only word that precisely described that mood.

You can decide for yourselves whether or not you believe that homosexuality is a civil right, a disease, a preference, an abomination, or whatever else somebody wants to call it. However, there isn't any doubt that homosexuals, as a group, have needlessly ruined an otherwise perfectly useful word. I'm taking it back. At least in this newsletter, they're not gay. They're homosexual.

Terminology Abandoned
Sam Aurelius Milam III
I'm sometimes critical of the deplorable behavior of Christians, past and present. In response to my comments, some people declare that the people who engage in such deplorable behavior aren't really Christians, because they aren't "Christ-like". By that standard, nobody is a Christian. A fundamental point of Christian doctrine is the universal failure to measure up to the standards of the Nazarene. So, either they're all entitled to the name or none of them can use it. The fact is that anybody who calls himself a Christian must bear the cross of the behavior of those with whom he shares the name. Anyone who isn't willing to do that should do what I did — divest himself of both the name and the association with the group.
You don't need to call yourself a Christian in order to live a proper life. You don't need to go to church when your body is already a temple of God. You don't need to acknowledge a clergy when you're already made in God's image. You don't need Sacraments if your life is a prayer. A religious tradition with such a long history of brutality and repression as Christianity doesn't deserve the reverence of good people. You're already made in God's image. Make your life a prayer and you can be more Christ-like than any Christian you've ever known.

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Frontiersman, 1510 North 22nd Drive, Show Low, Arizona 85901
frontiersman@pharos.websiteallies.com
Also see Pharos at http://pharos.websiteallies.com/

May 2005

A White Man's Notes
Sam Aurelius Milam III

Bologna — Did you know that there's a National Society of Black Physicists? Yes, it was mentioned in a report on All Things Considered (NPR) on Monday, April 11, 2005. If I tried to start a National Society of Caucasian Physicists, then I'd be castigated as a racist and a bigot, yet the Negroes can get away with all of the bigotry that they want just by calling it civil rights.

Letters to the Editor
This message is regarding the article "Simplicity Lost", on page 1 of the April issue.

— editor

On page 1, the footnote #2 is a little unclear to me. What did he warn us about? That people would have a choice to buy complex stuff?

— Lady Nancy the Enchanting

That footnote might have been a little obscure. Vance Packard was addressing the aggressive marketing techniques that were being developed to manipulate people's attitudes. The marketing practices in use today have developed directly from the ones that he reported in his book. To the best of my memory, the book was published sometime in the 50s or 60s. I remember reading the book and going to a lecture on it while I was (I think) attending San Antonio Junior College during the middle 60s.

— editor

Dear Sam

We are being bombarded by the media, (books, T.V., Newspapers, etc.) about the danger of steroid use (enhancing "our" bodies performance) by those in Baseball (& other sports?). I even learned something new — that baseball is EXEMPT from the Sherman "anti-trust" Act. So, baseball is a "commercial MONOPOLY", a business, NOT a sport! Are our children taught this in school? This is why Congress can "subpoena" the players etc. to their hearings and FORCE the "rules & regulations" on those involved. ALL this hoopla will expose a lot of TRUTH, and I pray that the people WAKE-UP! It is ALL about CONTROL — PEOPLE CONTROL, and it's not just the players, it's EVERYONE. They (the Gov't) control (FORCE YOU TO ABIDE BY THEIR VIEWS) the children, the parents, the schools (K-12 & colleges), businesses and employers, etc. and even though it's about "steroids" now, let's explore the near future.

Plain Jane — intelligent, in HS or college, great voice, wants to "cut a record" or song she wrote but is refused because she's not "American Idol" material. So, she sues the company and a lot of related businesses because she's denied her chance (millions of $ in lost (denied) income), (sponsors), etc.

So congress then steps in and says "Breast Implants" (BI) are illegal because they "enhance" a girl's chances of becoming a singer or movie star. (Oh, who are we kidding? — Without the BI, collagen, botox, etc., one does not become a star, Hooter's waitress, or multi-million $ singer!!) Or, the other side of the coin: A naturally beautiful girl with "talent" (i.e. doesn't need BI, liposuction, plastic surgery) doesn't get a "job" because some Plain Jane with all the "enhancements" got it — sues for "discrimination". So, does Congress have the right to hold "hearings" on why movie stars, or singers with "enhancements" shouldn't give up their Oscars & Grammy's?? Yes! (Unless they are Gov't "approved" enhancements on which all taxes, kick-backs & political contributions have been paid!) because it's a business!! This is your communistic Gov't at work, so be good slaves and follow all your master's rules, and don't forget to pay the exorbitant "ticket fee" to participate in your favorite "business"!

I wonder if we would have invaded Iraq if we didn't have all those technological "enhancements"?? Maybe your readers can find a few more "examples" — Keep on keeping on!

Well Sam, being an (ex) licensed auto & aircraft mechanic, I totally agree with your assessment of our car designs! I used to use aircraft parts & fittings in my cars, but it was to make it work more efficiently, not more complex! i.e. bored & stroked, balanced, chromed, clean, etc. (65 Mustang!). Then they brought in "metric screwdrivers" and that was the beginning of the end!

—an inmate

If they ban performance enhancing drugs then they should also ban performance enhancing equipment, clothes, diets, and training. That's the rule, right? Anything that enhances performance should be prohibited? How about shoes, contact lenses, shoulder pads, a good diet, a good trainer, quick reflexes, skill?

— editor

Why does OUR species fight wars against itself? (humans against humans)— Karl; Windsor, Connecticut

May 2005

Frontiersman, 1510 North 22nd Drive, Show Low, Arizona 85901
frontiersman@pharos.websiteallies.com
Also see Pharos at http://pharos.websiteallies.com/

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Frontiersman
1510 North 22nd Drive
Show Low, Arizona 85901

A government will always
declare its own use of force to
be lawful and any use of force
against it to be terrorism.

Repression and censorship are far more indecent than nudity.

Acknowledgments

My thanks to the following: Sir James the Bold, SantaClara Bob, Lady Jan the Voluptuous, and Frank, of San Jose, California.

— editor

Buck Hunter Shoots Off His Mouth
Dear Buck
We're trying to restore bat populations where they've been depleted. Will you make a contribution?

— Chiroptorist

Dear Chiroptorist

I don't play softball anymore so I've sent my entire collection of softball bats to your address. Glad to help.

Amish Spring Break Activities
Original Source Unknown. Forwarded by Don G.

• Drink molasses 'til you heave.

• Have a wet bonnet contest.

• Stuff as many guys as you can into a buggy.

• Have a buttermilk kegger.

• Blow past the Dairy Queen on a really rad Clydesdale.

• Get a tattoo: "Born to raise barns".

• Cruise the streets of Belleville shouting insults at people with zippers.

• Sleep 'til 6 AM.

• Drive over to Allensville and kick some Mennonite rear.

• Churn butter naked.

Frontiersman

Cancellations — If you don't want to keep receiving this newsletter, print REFUSED, RETURN TO SENDER above your name and address, cross out your name and address, and return the newsletter. When I receive it, I'll terminate your subscription. You may also cancel by letter, e-mail, carrier pigeon, or any other method that gets the message to me.

Back Issues — Back issues or extra copies of this newsletter are available upon request.

Reprint Policy — Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this newsletter in its entirety or to reproduce material from it, provided that the reproduction is accurate and that proper credit is given. Please note that I do not have the authority to give permission to reprint material that I have reprinted from other sources. For that permission, you must go to the original source. I would appreciate receiving a courtesy copy of any document or publication in which you reprint my material.

Submissions — I solicit letters, articles, and cartoons for the newsletter, but I don't pay for them. Short items are more likely to be printed. I suggest that letters and articles be shorter than 500 words, but that's flexible depending on space available and the content of the piece. I give credit for all items printed unless the author specifies otherwise.

Payment — This newsletter isn't for sale. If you care to make a voluntary contribution, you may do so. The continued existence of the newsletter will depend, in part, on such contributions. I prefer cash, U.S. postage stamps, prepaid telephone cards, and so forth. For checks or money orders, please inquire. For PayPal payments, use frontiersman@pharos.websiteallies.com. I don't accept anything that requires me to provide ID to receive it. In case anybody is curious, I also accept gold, silver, platinum, etc.— Sam Aurelius Milam III, editor

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Frontiersman, 1510 North 22nd Drive, Show Low, Arizona 85901
frontiersman@pharos.websiteallies.com
Also see Pharos at http://pharos.websiteallies.com/

May 2005

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The New Colossus
(Inscription on the Statue of Liberty)
by Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land,

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Ozymandias
Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal these words appear:

'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings;

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away."

Lost Colossus
by Sam Aurelius Milam III, September 1993

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: "A vast and fallen metal arm

Lies on an island. Near it in the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose brow,

And lips, and eyes, and broken crowning band,

Tell that its sculptor well that wisdom read

Which yet survives, stamped on those lifeless things,

Those fragments left by people now long-dead.

Inscribed nearby is this, and nothing more:

'Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!'

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and endless waves roll far away."

Sam Aurelius Milam III, Tuesday, April 9, 1991

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