BWC is Now The Law of the Land!

While Congress and our so-called leaders debate who caused what or who spied on whom or who can we blame for whatever we don't agree with corporations are continuing to rape American consumer any way they see fit!  And while this goes on the charade that is the Republican Majority in the House of Congress will once again try to repeal the health care bill aimed at helping the average citizen!
A perfect example came today in my cell phone bill from AT&T which included a slight increase, as always!
I decided to have an on-line chat with an AT&T agent about this latest slap at a long time moron, I mean customer.
What appears below is that chat.  Please read it and see if it rings true with your experience dealing with impersonal corporations these days.

Thank you for your patience!

Your AT&T Representative will be with you shortly.

Welcome! You are now chatting with 'I removed the name lest the person be fired for possible honesty' 

BRUCE M RESCH: Hi AT&T Person

AT&T Person: Hi Bruce, I can help you with the charges on your account.

BRUCE M RESCH: My bill has been $197.82 for ages and while it's way too high for the actual service provided at least it was a constant.  Now the bill is over $200 and it looks as though the rise was merely a BWC increase.  Is that true?

AT&T Person: I can have that check for you. Let me review your bill.

BRUCE M RESCH: ok

AT&T Person: Please give me 2-3 minutes to run through your bill.

BRUCE M RESCH: sure

AT&T Person: Thank you for waiting.  Upon reviewing your account, I found out that your monthly bill is always $197.99.

AT&T Person: The reason why your bill went up to $200.70 is because of the additional fee that was being charged to each of your line.

BRUCE M RESCH: An additional fee for what may I ask?

AT&T Person: If you will take a look on your bill, each line has a corresponding surcharges and other fees.

BRUCE M RESCH: yes I see that

AT&T Person: The additional fee that was added on each line was the Administrative fee which costs $0.61.

BRUCE M RESCH: So I was right, It's a BWC

AT&T Person: What is BWC?

BRUCE M RESCH: BWC stands for "Because We Can!" It's a fee charged by all large impersonal anti-human corporations to make even more money for doing nothing and causing those of us who must go along with their greed to suffer. In other words, bullshit!

AT&T Person: I understand you. But the the Administrative fee covers a small portion of certain expenses AT&T incurs, including but not limited to: Charges AT&T or its agents pay to interconnect with other carriers to deliver calls from AT&T customer to their customers Costs and charges associated with cell site rents and maintenance

BRUCE M RESCH: Did you actually type that with a straight face? Forget it - I cannot beat you guys. But when I decide to leave because your inane unfair extra fees are too much you will NEVER get me back no matter what you do.

BRUCE M RESCH: It's truly a crock of shit! The small increase of which you speak in AT&T costs could easily be covered by the unbelievably high rate you charge for nothing! I am speaking of texts etc. which cost you zero! In fact you had to invent a way to keep track of texts just so you could charge for them! But as I said I can not win & I realize it is not you personally who is at fault so I'm done here - Have a nice life.

AT&T Person: I understand where you're coming from. That's the initial reaction of most of our customers when they learned about this fee.

BRUCE M RESCH: I wonder why!

BRUCE M RESCH: Most Americans have not gotten a raise in years but AT&T & others like you continue to raise fees and make more profits and hand over our hard earned money to a bunch of useless shits at the top of the corporation who think only of how to make even more money on the backs of the customer. As I said - This is not personal but THEY are criminals!

AT&T Person: I understand you. We all work hard to earn money and who does like to have their money wasted? No one. I understand how you feel.
BRUCE M RESCH: enjoy the weekend - I'm out of here - Have to think about this situation further. Thanks

Note the line about having to pay increased costs due to connecting with other carriers.  Of course those carriers are using that same bull shit line to collect their own BWCs.

The collusion is on all sides of the equation and the only ones being hurt are the customers!

If anyone cares to add all the bills they pay and track the changes in each of them since we handed control of the country over to the large corporations who now own Congress I believe they will notice the same trend toward new BWCs.

Can we stem the tide of corporate greed?

Can we get Congress on the side of the people who actually vote them into office?

Can we make it through a month without House Republicans attempting to repeal the ACA aka Obamacare?

Sadly I feel the answer is a definitive NO WAY!

But still I rant and still I complain and at least in a small way I am a thorn in the side of corporate hypocrisy.

Never turn your back on these criminals and do not let them get away with what they do without at least complaining.  Who knows, maybe one day the meek really will inherit the Earth.

And by the way, when we do I'm going to hit all the bastards of the former corporate world with so many BWCs they heads'll fall off!

Wishing and Hoping and...

There is an old saying that we must be careful what we wish for lest we get it!
The Republicans have attained half of what they wished for in that they have control of the House of Representatives.  Only their stupidity in having total fools run in a few of the Senate races stopped them from realizing their entire wet dream - control of both houses.
The second part of their agenda can now go forward with an increased confidence in that they have chosen the winning path.  That goal is to ensure President Obama does not win a second term and they have made that their job one!
Of course the rest of America wishes them to focus on a different job one, that of getting more jobs for others but since when does a leopard change its spots?
But hidden within the race to the top for the party that has become synonymous with blockage is the responsibility of actually having to govern the country, or at least chip in.  And that may turn out to be a bigger pitfall than they had bargained for.
You see the Republican rhetoric has revolved around replacing the Democrats for so long that they have forgotten what it means to actually do the job they so coveted.  And many of the lies and false complaints they fed their partisan commentators for propagation across the right wing networks will come back to haunt them!
For example every time one of them wished to make Majority Speaker Nancy Pelosi look bad for spending too much money while doing her job they pointed out that she was using a private jet!  They said she would galavant around the country on this expensive tax payer luxury and waste our money left and right.
But the truth is the House's majority speaker being third in line for the Presidency has by law a Secret Service entourage and the use of an official United States Jet aircraft.  And even so Ms. Pelosi often eschewed the use of it when she felt it unnecessary.
Now Republican John Boehner will become the speaker and with the title all the incumbent perks.
And rest assured John of Orange will not only use the thing to fly everywhere but may have his tanning bed placed on board for those nasty 2 hour flights he will take to the golf course.
And of course the right wing media picked up on a phony and unsubstantiated story out of India of all places that President Obama was throwing away hundreds of millions of dollars on a trip to Asia this week as another example of his wasteful spending.
The numbers are of course a lie and with the possible exception of a woman who seems to be incredibly stupid, Michelle Bachmann, they all know it.  But even if the numbers were correct would we not wish to have our President safe while making trips to foreign lands and staying in hotels which were  bombed by terrorists earlier this year?
Would they have wanted Bush to go without security?
Well maybe in his case but not generally.
So do we expect the Democrats to point out the new speakers' wasteful use of taxpayer cash?  Of course not!
The Democrats didn't even announce all the good things they did during their all too brief hold on the majority of Congress and the White House.  In fact many of these modest morons ran away from their accomplishments as though they were ashamed of finally doing the right thing for the average American citizen.
All the tremendous spending that the Republicans claimed the Democrats did and always do will now be scrutinized and stopped now that the other party has control, right?
Not on your life!
Most of the wasteful spending is in Defense!  Mr. Boehner and his friends are even greater lovers of that industry than you can imagine.  So do not expect a penny to be pulled from any defense program.  In fact most of them want the wars to continue and grow so that defense contractors may make even more money!
Social Security and Medicare are hot button issues and the Republicans will never tell you what they have in mind, basically because they don't have anything in mind!  Oh they will continue to call it 'entitlements;' as if that's a bad word.
But let's face it, we work all our lives and some of our money goes into Social Security.  Are we not ENTITLED to get that money back?
There are a few other programs and initiatives that cost money but they fall far from the expense of the major ones so let's not dwell on them now.
So enough specifics for the time being.
As we head toward the end of November let's talk turkey.
The next session of the House of Representatives will open with the Republicans in charge.  They will have a Senate that is just slightly and precariously leaning toward the Democratic side of the aisle.  They may also be greeted by a conciliatory President fresh from a self proclaimed whooping at the polls.
So I ask the new leaders, "What up?"
Are you going to continue to block any repair of the country in your search for the Holy Grail, total domination in DC?
Will you waste time trying to repeal a health care bill that should in fact be made stronger?
Will you look into reining in Wall Street and the large banking institutions just a bit so that they don't do again what they did under President Bush?
Remember, the 2012 election season starts now and the people are already asking, "Hey Mr. Boehner, where are the jobs?"