Socialization.....

Last I checked we were a Capitalist society. When did that change? We apparently missed the change, I know I did. It seems the government we elected is changing things to socialization. They talk about taking money from the wealthy but these bailouts and stimulus packages mean they are taking money from all of us. They are socializing the losses. The banks that are failing should fail, the car companies that can't make cars people want should fail, and the home owners who made bad decisions should lose their homes.

I have tried to make all the right decisions. I live within my means, buy a house I can afford, and I don't buy BMW's and such just to look cool. In the long run I am the one that is going to pay for all of these people making bad decisions. It is a little depressing. I know they are lowering the fed so people will borrow money and buy houses and such. One side effect of this is when I try to save money my interest rates are awful. There is no good way to save money right now except buying gold.

It is depressing. I feel our government has become an aristocracy, they are now a ruling class above the rest of us. The approval ratings for these bailouts are below 20% yet they still pass them. The government was supposed to rule with the consent of the governed. I don't think they have any real idea what the governed want anymore.

I think we need term limits in congress both state and federal. Lobbying money has gotten to too many of these congressmen, they owe too many favors to really represent us.

It is very disappointing but what can we do, too many people don't pay attention. All is forgotten by election time.

Later,

Middle class Joe.

Worst IMAX EVER!!

I went to see The Watchmen in IMAX format the other day. I liked the movie enough, I was happy I went to see it, my biggest problem was the theater. I have been to two other IMAX theaters, one at the Maryland Science Center and the other in Las Vegas. These are both great theaters, I can't seem to find a good link to the one in Vegas but it was awesome. The screen was like 70 feet tall. I saw the second Matrix movie there, I left the theater amazed at the experience they locked you into your seat like you were on a roller coaster.

The theater at White Marsh Mall in Maryland left me feeling like I was kicked in the balls. It was no bigger then any of the other large theaters. It only seats 500. The screen was nothing to be amazed at, the picture was good but it just was not the same. The price of the ticket was 13 dollars. I have a 60 inch High definition tv at home with 5.1 surround sound. I am perfectly happy watching the movies at home. We spent 50 dollars when it was all said and done. It just is not worth it.

I sent an email to the IMAX people letting them know I felt the implementation at White Marsh was degrading to the IMAX name. I have not heard back from them. I tried to send an email to AMC, the owners of the theater, but their site says to direct any complaints to the manager. I felt like that was a big load of bullshit.

Go try it out for yourself but the theater is a joke. If there was any actual information about the theater online I would link to it but there is not.

Baltimore's Energy Crisis....

It is so frustrating living in this area sometimes. In the last year or so there was some sort of legislature saying the electric company cannot shut of service during the winter months for people that have not paid their bills. The story I just read in the Baltimore Sun mentions the fact that 84,000 people could potentially have thier electricity shut off come April 1st when the moratorium ends.

Just the other day I was reading an article in refferring to the panel that is researching why there has been an increase in electricity and natural gas prices. It does not take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that the electric company has the right to be paid for their service. They are passing on the fact that 84,000 people are not paying for power to the rest of us. The Sun paper does not make that correlation, I don't think it is really a reach.

You wonder why the very liberal newspapers are all going under. I remember when the reporters use to report the facts in an unbiased opinion and they used to think. That era has apparently ended.

PSL's what a sham...

Here I am looking at my Raven's season tickets bill, wondering why I keep paying the ridiculous prices. When I got the season ticket 10 years ago it was 35 bucks. Art Modell never raised tickets more then 7 bucks in one season. Then the money grubbing ass bought the team

Steve Bisciotti became the majority owner of the team 5 years ago. My season tickets were 48 bucks a game and things were good. His first year he raised the tickets 25% to 60 bucks a game. I was not happy it was a ridiculous increase. Two years later he raised the ticket prices 33% to 80 bucks a game, a 20 dollar a game increase is even more ridiculous then the first increase.

Finally this year he raised them 12.5% to 90 dollars a ticket. This includes the 180 dollars I have to pay for 2 pre-season games when nobody I care about plays. Not to mention the games are on Thursday afternoon half the time, who the hell is going to take off for a pre-season game. The moral of the story is my season ticket prices have gone up 87% in five years.

I am a big worrier, with the economy the way it is, its hard to pay for the tickets. When the season ticket prices go up so do the tailgating tickets and the beer prices. I think I have reached my level of understanding when it comes to how much is too much.

I would like to say I will get rid of my season tickets but how can I? Back to the title of the post, the PSL. When I bought my tickets I had to pay 750 dollars just for the right to buy tickets every year. This is how they screw us. I lose the PSL if I let my season tickets lapse. I can try to resell my ticket but that is next to impossible with only one ticket.

I am feeling screwed by the Baltimore Ravens organization and everyone else involved. I am not going to buy anything inside the stadium any more the prices are outrageous.

Hopefully, we see some games not sold out this season. Maybe when the Orioles see record lows in attendance this year something will sink in.

I love football but I can watch it on my tv and enjoy it almost as much as I do there.

The Oscars

The Oscars...

Anyone watch the Oscars? I love movies and will probably post some reviews here and there between rantings. It always interests me to watch the Oscars and I am always left unhappy with the results. This year it was pretty much predictable who would win and they followed suit. I am ok with the results for once, at least I am interested in seeing the movie that won. Some years the movies look utterly dreadful.

I know it is art, but I still like movies to be fun and unrealistic. I don't necessarily want to see too many movies about alcoholics or people dieing of some terminal illness. I live in the real world, movies are supposed to be an escape. I like bad guys and good guys. There are too many movies that exist in the gray. I guess on the flip side, there are too many sequels and remakes being made too.

I don't know where I am going with this. I think the state of movies is not very good right now. If Paul Blart Mall Cop can make over 100 million anything can.

I am looking forward to The Watchmen next, at least they didn't play it safe to get a PG-13 they went right for the R. It should be interesting.

Following the straight and narrow....

I got an email from a friend the other day reminding me of something that is really bothering me. The friend asked if he was "being a dick" because he does not feel sorry for anyone who is having problems with their mortgage payments. I told him he is not a dick.

I am a frustrated member of the middle class. I am someone who has spent within his means and did not invest in a big huge house I could not afford or bought cars I did not need. I do not run up credit card bills, the only thing on our credit cards is my grad school tuition.

I hope there are a lot of people that fall in the same category as I do. This means there are not as many broke people as the media portrays. I think the media has been doing so much fear mongering that the situation seems worse then it is.

We are all getting screwed royally. What is in it for us with this bailout plan, or this stimulus plan? The answer is nothing. I am in a large group of people that is paying for this mess. It is so frustrating. In my opinion people who bought houses that they can't afford should lose them, and businesses that made bad decisions should go under. Is that too simplistic? I know it is but if we keep socializing losses in this country the rich will get richer faster, the poor will continue to be subsidized and the middle class will keep getting told to grab their ankles.


BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Do I sound bitter? I am.

Worst Song Ever

I live in Maryland and listen to channel 104.3 all the time. Most of the time I love the station, it plays exactly the type of music I like. There is one song that I can't stand, it makes my skin crawl every time I hear it. The song is listed as their number one on the station on their top 20 and I can't sit through a second of it.

The song is Kings of Leon "Sex on Fire". I don't get the song. It is horrible and it sounds like some bad 90's song pre-grunge era. When it comes on the radio I have to change the station. The song feels out of place with the rest of the stations playlist. I can't wait to hear their next release. Just awful.

I know this is my first post and there is not much to it, most will probably be short. I just plan on posting rants about everyday things that bother me. I know there are a log of people that feel the same way.