Aug 20, 2014

Geraldo Rivera: Giving a Voice to The Working Class

English: Geraldo Rivera at a Hudson Union Soci...
English: Geraldo Rivera at a Hudson Union Society event in September 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
from the ronnie republic radio round-up........

It has to be said, for a conservative news/talk radio broadcast Geraldo Rivera gives a chance for the average working class individual to have a voice--to speak and be heard.

"I appreciate all of my calls today because they have been so thoughtful and heartfelt."

Seriously, this is unheard of in right wing radio and television news.

Good job to WABC Radio New York and Geraldo Rivera and his partner Noam Laden for letting the average guy get their ideas out there.

Well done.

Aug 17, 2014

Why the F*** Did I Just Buy This Car?????? Subaru of Wichita: Hello

Blogging a real bad case of buyer's remorse........Hello:  Subaru of Wichita--Sam and Jessie........

Hey....did you ever say that to yourself?

What was I thinking......Why in the world did I even listen to the salesman.....Sam......Jessie.

What I still don't understand is why they brought out a car I had said i was not even remotely interested in.....and then went on about it forever.......

Seriously, it was such a great buy...so magnificent......just look at it....they just got it in...they do not know the price but it's going to be amazing......it's just such a fabulous car......yes, they do excitement well.

What are you suppose to do when the buyer is basically surrounded....you practically have to look at the thing unless you are going to forego polite conversation and walk off when the thing is sitting right in front of you.

No, I should have left....I did not....yes, I hate myself in the morning......the problem is the thing most likely will not make it to where I am going.....it won't make it to see the world....why did I buy it......I'm insane.

Will I give the salesperson, Jessie, an awesome write-up--everyone else has......probably not at this time.

I said to the people millions and millions of times.......many times......over and over again....I do not want a car I have to put belts on right away....I have to drive back and forth from Wichita to San Diego...yes I am on a budget and do need an economy car....or that's what they said.....personally I wanted the Volvo.

So what did I buy.......a Ford Focus with 102,000 miles on it....that needs belts...it has not had the belts replaced so it needs belts....right.

Oh, they were just so worried about me and my happiness--my comfort.

Am I dead yet.   Do I have buyer's remorse.  Can I write this blog.  Am I stupid.

Mother said maybe I can find someone to buy it on the way to San Diego....I can find a guy to sell it to that works on cars.......
Mother is 97 and recovering from hip surgery.....I have often complained about mother but apparently she is a lot smarter than I am.

Questions and comments accepted....saga to continue......yes the car drives really hard, waivers on the road, feels unstable, I'm afraid to drive it and sounds like it is going to blow up......but they thought it would be a good car for me.......remember they only are concerned about my happiness.......


They were so worried about me having to make repairs......so concerned about my well-being........but the Volvo already had belts.


ride home happy--ride home crying

Car Buying Articles

Can You Return the Car You Just Bought?

Under Some Circumstances, a Dealer Might Take a Car Back


  • Void Contract Picture
    Void Contract Picture
    You might wish you could void your purchase contract and simply give the car back to the dealer. But unlike other consumer products, it's not easy to return a car. | October 18, 2012 
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It's the morning after your big car purchase and you wake up with a knot in your gut. The car you bought suddenly seems like too much car for your needs, the monthly payments are high and you bought an expensive warranty. Long story short, you want to return the car.
Most stores let you return clothes and products if you change your mind. But that's almost never the case with cars, where return policies and laws are notoriously strict. Nevertheless, car buyers with buyer's remorse ask us all the time: Can I unwind the deal?
The answers are "no" and "maybe."
Your legal rights can be summed up in the one sentence that's posted on the wall of many dealership sales offices: "There is no cooling-off period."
There is a federal cooling-off rule, which is primarily meant to protect consumers from high-pressure door-to-door sales tactics. It doesn't apply to automobiles. If you signed the sales contract, you own the car. And the law is on the side of the dealer.
So, what can you do about that knot in your gut? Here's where the "maybe" comes in. Essentially, it is up to the dealer's discretion whether to unwind the deal. While business owners clearly want customers to be satisfied, undoing a car purchase is a costly headache for a car dealer. But there are times when it's the right thing to do. That's the viewpoint laid out in "Unwinding a Deal," an article in a dealer publication, F&I Showroom. The author is Marv Eleazer, finance director atLangdale Ford in Valdosta, Georgia.
Addressing other car-selling professionals, Eleazer writes: "There are situations where we must swallow our pride and endure the hassle of unwinding a deal." He goes on to address several specific situations: if the car doesn't perform as promised, if the buyer has misrepresented his credit score and if the salesperson has over-promised and under-delivered on the deal.
Obviously, unwinding a deal is a gray area, and the buyer must carefully approach the dealer with such a request. While each situation is different, let's look at three common scenarios.
"I Have Buyer's Remorse"
In recent years, some manufacturers such as Chevrolet have offered car-return programs. But the vast majority of dealers have no written policies allowing vehicles to be returned. This means that your only recourse is to plead your case. You can say that you have discovered that you don't like the car or that it will stretch your budget and put you in dire financial straits.
If you have buyer's remorse, you can call the salesperson first as a courtesy, but be prepared to contact someone higher up the dealership food chain, such as the sales manager, general manager or owner. It's in the dealer's sole discretion to undo the purchase.
"I Got Ripped Off"
In "Confessions of a Car Salesman," undercover car salesman Chandler Phillips recalls that a couple appeared in the showroom yelling and waving their sales contract. A group of sales managers surrounded the two and escorted them to the back of the dealership.
Apparently, they had bought a car the day before, Phillips writes. They went home and reviewed the contract and felt they got ripped off. "I heard one of the sales managers say: 'Buying a car is like going to Vegas — sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.'"
This is a harsh response that is probably not indicative of what most dealers would tell a customer. But it does underscore how difficult it is to get a deal reversed just because you think you paid too much.
If, however, the salesman didn't keep his promises, or you suspect fraud, you might have a case. But don't make wild, unfounded accusations. Instead, use any documentation you can find. If you feel you paid way too much, reference Edmunds.com True Market Value (TMV®) pricing as proof of an acceptable price.
Consumers who cry foul on price are at least partially to blame. Perhaps a pushy salesman exploited their lack of knowledge. Preparation and research are essential for such a large purchase and, clearly, these two were unprepared to enter the arena. Once at the dealership, they should have simply walked out rather than buying the car and then arguing — after the fact — that they'd paid too much.
"I Bought a Lemon!"
It takes time, and repeated visits to the service bay, to legally establish that a car is a lemon. However, buyers may quickly feel their car is defective and want to return it or exchange it for a different one. This is particularly true in the case of used cars.
In situations where there is a clear problem with a new or newly purchased used car, the dealer will probably fix it under warranty. If no warranty exists, as with many used cars, you can still lobby to have the car fixed. The dealer's incentive is that by doing so, he'll build good will and attract repeat customers.
The Dealer's Perspective
It's helpful to understand the dealer's point of view to reach an acceptable solution to this problem. Responding to Edmunds questions by e-mail, Marv Eleazer writes, "There is no problem that can't be resolved when people take a mature approach. Dealerships really are looking for repeat business and make great strides to create an environment that promotes long-term relationships with their customer base."
He adds: "The best way to resolve these misunderstandings is to simply return to the dealership and ask to speak to the manager in a calm tone. Drama and shouting does not impress. Asking for help does."
In cases of buyer's remorse — perhaps if a person bought too much car for his budget — Eleazer writes that the dealer might be willing to place him in a more affordable car. But dealers are "under no obligation to do so either legally or morally."
If You Still Don't Get Satisfaction
If your grievances are deep, or you complained to the dealership to no avail, there are still a few things you can do. Obviously, you can hire a lawyer and sue the dealership. But this is costly and time-consuming. So let's look at other options.
You can register a complaint against the dealership through local and state agencies. Go to the Web site for your state's department of motor vehicles to see if there is a way to file a complaint.
Your state's attorney general's office is another place to look for information on how to file a complaint against a car dealership. The attorneys general Web site for your state will provide information on local laws and the complaint process.
Another avenue is the Better Business Bureau. Ideally, the time to check the dealership for consumer complaints is before you buy a car. The same goes for Edmunds.com's Dealer Ratings & Reviews and other online reviews such as those posted on Google or Yelp. But after the fact, you might be able to get the BBB to bring some pressure on the dealership to resolve a dispute. Short of that, threatening to write a nasty online review or give the dealership failing grades on a manufacturer's post-purchase survey might carry some weight.
While a consumer might be able to force a dealership to take a car back, it's far better to avoid such difficulties in the first place. When we buy cars for the Edmunds long-term test fleet, we usually ask to have the contract faxed or e-mailed to our offices before we take delivery. This gives us a chance to review the contract and all the prices. We plug the numbers into our owncalculators and make sure everything adds up correctly.
When the responses to your plea to unwind a deal are likely to be "no" or "maybe," it's best to never put yourself in the position of asking. Avoid the unwind bind by being a prepared car buyer who knows a car's pricing, reads the sales contract carefully and fully inspects a new or used car before taking ownership.

Larry Mendte WABC Sunday Night: Love to Agree and Disagree With Larry--from The Ronnie Republic Radio Round-Up




Black Leaders in Ferguson would like AL Sharpton TO go away! He just makes things worse. I will be talking about this tonight on 77 WABC. Listen in your car, online or on IHeart radio/

copied from the The Larry Mendte Show facebook page........

Dear Larry:  I have to tell you....we disagree on so much but apparently we really agree on a few things, too.  I listened to you on Geraldo this week and enjoyed your program showing both sides of the issues on the police and the recent events in New York.  It is so easy to be angry with the police but we have to remember they are people with emotions and families doing an extremely hard job.  It is a complicated situation.Should there be more public education about how citizens and the police should act when they want to arrest or question someone....because right now both sides are suffering. What about the idea of helmet or chest cameras.  I do not know the answer.

Here in Wichita the police came under fire for shooting a dog, a pit bull mix, who turned out to be a fine individual....but then I read a story 2 days later about a Grandma's dog that killed the baby......so how are the police suppose to act going into the situation...they lose either way......which dogs are killers and which are loose pets?

I happen to really like Al Sharpton and I have found his words to be soothing on many occasions.  If I was a citizen of Missouri I would want him there to represent me.  We can't keep gunning down our kids...I do not want the police to be a militia against our children.  All the kids act up but they should not die for it......yes, mine have  acted up, too.

I really wanted to say I appreciated your show about Robin Williams....I have always thought he was a genius but he was just too much for me.  Everyone loved him but to me he was angry and I was very angry with him for his final action.  So many people have been hurt and affected by his actions.....again, it was just too much and your show was actually very helpful.  Having said that Mrs. Doubtfire was the funniest movie I have ever seen in my life.    He was so complicated....so over the top......I shared many of your thoughts.

Keep up the good work........always listening to the radio....cl

Aug 10, 2014

Dan Talks Ann: Dan Borchers from Coulter Watch--Ann Coulter’s Xenophobic Anti-Gospel of Hate

Ann Coulter’s Xenophobic Anti-Gospel of Hate

Ann Coulter is on a roll. Her commentary is becoming more deplorable by the week. Yesterday’s column hit an all-time low.[1]
Ebola Ann
Ann Coulter, meet Dr. Livingstone.
Dr. Livingstone was not a fake Christian. He lived out his Christianity, taking to heart the apostle Peter’s admonition, “you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 2:5).” As a renown explorer and missionary in Africa, Dr. Livingstone’s motto was “Christianity, Commerce, and Civilization.”
I suppose that Ebola Ann Coulter would also have chastised medical missionary Albert Schweitzer and the selfless humanitarian, Mother Teresa, who lovingly devoted herself to the “least of the least.”
None of these people were deterred by, as Ann so delicately put it, “medieval diseases of the Third World.” Nor would they have shirked their divine calling based on risk factors “listed by the Mayo Clinic.”
Highlighting the absurdity of Coulter’s theology, Erick Erickson remarked, “St. Thomas should have never gone to India and Jim Elliott should have never gone into the jungle. Sigh.”
Regarding Dr. Kent Brantly’s trip to Liberia, Coulter asked, “What was the point?” Her having to ask the question suggests she would not understand the answer.
Coulter’s essay title, “Ebola Doc’s Condition Downgraded to ‘Idiotic,’” tells us exactly where she stands! Anything she doesn’t understand or agree with is automatically “idiotic.”
Christian Narcissism
From the onset of her discourse, Coulter impugned the motives of Dr. Brantly – and other Christian missionaries – suggesting pride and self-interest in enduring the hardships of overseas missionary work. Ann, this is just plain silly. But then, Coulter does not mind defaming innocent people.
Coulter began her column asking, “I wonder how the Ebola doctor feels now that his humanitarian trip has cost a Christian charity much more than any services he rendered.”
She then detailed some of the costs to his charities and alluded to, of all things, Obamacare. (I don’t recall Coulter complaining about the extensive cost – to the American people – of search and rescue operations to find her boss and one-time mentor, John F. Kennedy, Jr., in 1998.)
Coulter asks, “Why did Dr. Brantly have to go to Africa?” Following up with, “Can’t anyone serve Christ in America anymore?”
According to Coulter, overseas missionaries 1) seek the rewards of feeling and being perceived as “heroic” and 2) are really cowards, fearful of combating political correctness and engaging in the culture wars at home.
Coulter’s conclusion: all of these overseas missionaries are guilty of “Christian narcissism.”
(I would submit that the narcissist is Coulter herself.)
The whole matter of self-sacrifice seems, too, to be foreign to Coulter. But aren’t Christians supposed to live a sacrificial life, to die daily to oneself as Jesus put it? Yet, when Christians sacrifice for what they believe God has called them to do, Coulter goes on the offensive. Why? Because they are what she is not.
False Gospel
For well over a decade, Coulter has preached a false gospel, calling herself “a mean Christian” and declaring “being nice is an incidental tenet of Christianity.” Never one to promote the compassionate course of action, Coulter also eschews the principled course of action.
Coulter is at war with Christians and conservatives! (Yet, she claims to be a Christian conservative.)
In yesterday’s assault on principled, compassionate Christians zealous to do God’s work, Coulter distorts the gospel to achieve her ends. Coulter claimed that countries are “like your family” and, of course, charity begins at home. But then her thesis seems to be that it should also end at home.
Coulter wrote, “The same Bible that commands us to ‘go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel’ also says: ‘For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, “You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.”’”
Naturally, Coulter conflates Old and New Testament theology. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus made it pretty clear that everyoneis our “neighbor.” Moreover, the Samaritan reached out to help what many would consider a helpless “foreigner.” Also, in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25), Jesus commends those who have helped what Mother Teresa called “the least of the least” as if they had helped Jesus Himself.
But for Coulter, none of that matters.
Only America Counts
Typical Coulter, xenophobia fills her Ebola column. Nativism at its worst. Coulter, however accurately, observed, “America, the most powerful, influential nation on Earth, is merely in a pitched battle for its soul.” Coulter accurately detailed aspects of that “pitched battle.”
Coulter boasted, “America is the most consequential nation on Earth … If America falls, it will be a thousand years of darkness for the entire planet.”
A millennium of darkness will engulf the Earth if America falls? A bit hyperbolic, what? Yet, I suspect Coulter doesn’t think she is exaggerating.
In order to save America – and thus the planet, too – Christians “need to buck up, serve their own country.” (Actually, Christians need to serve their Lord and Savior – wherever He leads them. Moreover, Coulter appears to see America as the Savior of the world, instead of Jesus, whose very title is “Savior of the world.”)
The worst epithet Coulter could say about soccer was “It’s foreign.” Her hatred of immigrants (legal and illegal) stems from their foreignness. Now the future of mankind is at stake – get rid of all the foreigners!
Let Them Hate Us
Coulter’s metric for one’s spiritual state of being has been – for over a decade – whether one is hated and the depth of that hatred. Consider Coulter’s words:
“[Christians need to] remind themselves every day of Christ’s words: ‘If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.’”
Well, yes, Christians are often hated because they are Christians. But some Christians (or fake Christians) are hated because they do not behave as Christians should behave. Sin and hypocrisy breed hatred and contempt.
Coulter has for so long worn the hatred of others as a badge of honor that she now sees herself as righteous because others criticize or hate her. Could the criticisms be called for? The hatred be earned? Wherein does Ann’s righteousness really lie? If she in in Christ, then it is in Christ alone.
Is Ann Coulter displaying the righteousness of Jesus or the self-righteousness of Ann Coulter?
The really sad thing is that Coulter thinks she is taking the high road!


copied from the facebook page of Daniel Borchers....CoulterWatch