Move Your Money to Credit Unions!

OK, TWKB - Now, we come out fighting! Bank of America - you suck and therefore cannot hold my money any longer. We must get out of our comfort zone and support the credit unions who support us by operating as a not-for-profit entity - who keep their promises to us by not raising interest rates on credit cards, who support their member base by offering financial products that far outweigh the big banks.

IF WE DO THIS TOGETHER-IF WE ALL-EVERY SINGLE PERSON, DO THIS TOGETHER, WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!

We are not heard by our governing parties- we do not have lobbyists who sway the vote to the highest bidder. This is a move that we can make with no effort except a trip to your nearest credit union. It cannot be blocked, voted down, put up for a consensus or sent to committee.

Tomorrow, Monday, January 25, 2010, we will close all six accounts at Bank of America I will use my last miles on my BofA Visa and close it by the end of February. I will move every account to Patelco Credit Union - this is my vow to you.

Please join us - ACT NOW - and move your money from Wells Fargo, Citibank, Bank of America and Chase Bank. This is OUR LOBBY - make it count!

... Dawn

Bank of America paid back the 45 billion in aid they received from us by way of the government so that they could get out from under what they considered oppressive regulation. They then spent 3.6 million in lobbying in 2009 to sway votes to keep them from being regulated.

When the banking industry received bail out funds, they shored up their bottom line then stopped lending. They made new loan restrictions impossible to achieve, cut credit card limits every time we made a payment (not to mention increasing our rates to usury levels) and dropped our equity lines. As they used our tax dollars to survive, they broke the circle and stopped any money from getting to the people and small business, the backbone of our country.

The banking industry created the exotic loans that people eventually defaulted on. Loan brokers, appraisers and other outside support sold or worked with these loans as that was the available product . HVCC, SAFE... regulations are arriving that if left in place will eventually kill these outside vendors - again, independent small business owners.

Now the court says there are no longer limits on how much they spend on campaigns. We can not afford to spend 3.6 million on lobbyists and we are limited on our campaign contributions.

Vote with your dollars. Close your bank accounts and open with a credit union. Credit unions are already more restricted than banks. They are limited on rates they charge, they are operated as not-for-profit and the profits they do enjoy are shared with the members.

... Donald

Gay marriage

Marriage is a legal construct; you get a license then sign a contract. Allow gay marriage and allow churches to opt out. If an individual is against gay marriage, then they need not marry someone of their gender.

Let's Star With an Easy One - Bring Troops Home

This must have been how it went one year ago - OK, we're here!!! Let's get started, everyone. First things first...bring our troops home. What? What's that you say? World tyranny, religious fanatics, gender inequality, economic meltdown with little hope of recovery? Yes, they say. We MUST stay to fix them - to help them - to protect ourselves from Nigerians with jockey bombs. Oh. Well, I guess I see your point but shouldn't we just leave it in their very capable hands? No, they say! We must send more and more to continue to help - give it a few years - they'll come around. We are They Who Know Best. Okay.

Here is the solution - Do not make this any harder than it needs to be. Pull the plug. Make the call and bring everyone in to the office and tell them - it's over - we're done. Bring them home. That's phase one.

Phase Two: The billions of dollars that were being spent to keep an American presence in parts of the world where they are not needed or wanted will be spent to educate and train the soldiers. The excess will be used to create jobs where they can apply these new skills. Create the need - fill it. Simple rules of success.

Living Room Chatter to Solve World Problems

Almost every weekend for as long as I can remember, we have solved the problems of the world with about two pots of coffee - in between reading the paper and watching Sportscenter. The simple solutions that are put forth are examined, debated, analyzed and either added to the arsenal of "Simple Solutions to Complex Problems" or discarded to the Complex Problem pile for solving next weekend.

Monday through Friday, we leave problem solving to Those Who Know Better, so that come Saturday, our pile will be smaller and more manageable. What we discovered this first Saturday of 2010 was that the pile that we were so expectantly looking forward to shrinking because of the new administration, of whom we were and are great supporters, was not only NOT shrinking but growing by leaps and bounds.

Our Simple Solutions blog is begun today to help the Monday through Friday Those Who Know Better. We realized that we have not been sharing our solutions with Them (our bad) and will rectify that oversight immediately. This will be done slowly as too much information can be as bad as not enough. Oh, and to TWKB, you're welcome.