Tuesday, January 06, 2004

Letter to Ernie


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Dickie,
I just received a posting from Tekiah and it reminded me to contact you and say "hi". I enjoyed our conversation at the Tekiah Hanukah event.

Hope all is well with you. I plan to make it to the January 25th Tekiah event. Stay in touch if you want to, Ernie. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
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Hi Ernie,

I thought perhaps this was a letter from a beautiful women I had met at that party. But then, sadly, I remembered that I didn't meet any beautiful women. Or at least any beautiful women who seemed to want to contact me. In fact, I don't even think I met an ugly women who wanted to contact me. It was quite a depressing failure for me. Somehow I suspect you fared better than I did, although I do not want to know the details, as I am a very jealous person.

I appreciate your conversation that night, as it served to mitigate the disaster. (And also, you were the only person I seemed capable of holding a conversation with.) I think that I am somehow growing apart from my fellow Jewish brothers and sisters, that perhaps I should shack up with a nice shiksa and produce uncircumcised children that eat pork and believe in Jesus. No. On second thought, forget the kids, but I do want a nice blond, blue-eyed shiksa. I'm tired of being kicked around by nice Jewish girls.

For a guy that's afraid of XML, you sure got some high-tech e-mail going for you? PGP? That is like nerd rocket science. Even I am afraid of PGP and don't know how to use it.

I will swap you knowledge. I teach you XML. You teach me PGP. A fair trade. No?

I will be away in Florida, during the January 25th Tekiah event. I would not make it otherwise. I am a member of Tekiah. I give them money. I believe that their cause is just. But some times I really wonder if there is any pay off. Whether they are actually changing anything. Don't let me stop you though. You need to form your own opinion about Tekiah. I really don't know a lot about them.

I'm going away on the 21st of this month. Will be back in February.

Perhaps we can hook up before then, or after.

I will soon have in my possession, the greatest propaganda movie made of all time: I AM CUBA. If you don't know about it, it was a joint Soviet/Cuban production. I think you would like it. Anyone sane should like it. If you know of any movies at the box office that aren't crap, or are at least only partly crap, we could do that to ... or whatever. I don't have your phone number. Here's mine:

617-555-5555

Talk to you later.

Dickie

Monday, January 05, 2004

Dear Blograins,

As part of our ongoing effort against fascism, I present you with a letter to the imposters at the good ole Department of Telecommunications and Energy.

If Mary Cottrell writes back, I'll let you know what she says, but I cannot legally publish the words of a postal letter.


Dickie Richards
Georgytown, USA
5 January 2004


Mary Cottrell, Secretary
Department of Telecommunications and Energy
One South Station, 2nd Floor
Boston, MA 02110

Dear Secretary Cottrell,

On 11 November 2003, I called the Department of Telecommunications and Energy for your assistance with a problem I was having with Comcast. I spoke to Beverly. I told Beverly that Comcast was billing me for a custom ring telephone number that I had ordered from Comcast when I set up the account with them, yet the custom ring telephone number was never activated. I also told Beverly that I had brought this issue up with Comcast on several occasions, and they had failed to rectify the problem.

Beverly got back to me shortly afterward, and dictated to me something which seemed to have been written by Comcast. I say this, because what was being dictated to me, was essentially the same statements that Comcast had made to me. When I told Beverly that I was not satisfied with her response, that she was merely repeating to me what Comcast was saying, she told me that "This is what I needed to do." (Referring to the statement she had dictated to me). In response to my statement that I still am having a problem with Comcast, she stated that "If you have any further questions, you need to take them up with Comcast."

I also asked Beverly for a copy of what she dictated to me. Beverly refused to comply with this request, and went on to tell me that your department does not fulfill such requests.

On 20 December, Comcast finally delivered the service that they had been billing me for, for several months. I have not yet received full reimbursement, which includes the cost of reinstating my old Verizon telephone service in order to transfer the custom ring number over to Comcast. Comcast has told me they would reimbursement me, yet they seemed unwilling to put this in writing. I have recently submitted the Verizon bill to Comcast.

Although my issue with Comcast has not yet been fully resolved, this is not why I am writing you. I am writing you because I was deeply troubled by my experience with your office.

After my last conversation with Beverly, it left me feeling as though your department, which, from my understanding is supposed to make sure that the utilities do not abuse and exploit their monopoly advantage, is doing just the opposite -- that your real function is to validate the contemptuous way in which the utilities treat their customers. Whether this is true or not, I cannot say, because I cannot make sweeping statements about your department, based on my experience alone.

What I am deeply disturbed about -- what has motivated me to write this letter, is your department's abject refusal to turn over to me, records pertinent to my case.

You are a government agency. What right have you to withhold from me, information that a regulated utility has stated in defensive of its failure to provide me the services I had paid for? I assert that your department has no right whatsoever! And if you can come up with this right, I'd like to see where you got it from.

If we are to call our system a free and open democracy, we cannot have Government departments withholding information from citizens. Otherwise the Government is no longer governing, but aiding and abetting criminals.

I demand that you make available to me, all records pertaining to my complaint against Comcast, including any statements made by Comcast about my complaint.


Sincerely,




Dickie Richards

cc: Representative Kay Khan
cc: Senator Cynthia Creem






Sunday, January 04, 2004

Dear Blogbrains,

This is a letter I wrote to my Public Housing Office. They did not respond. I asked them if they got the letter. They answered affirmatively. That they were working on it. (My ass.) I did not press the matter. Did not want to make waves. I have changed the names in the letter out of fear of reprisal. I just wanted to show you how the fat cats running the Welfare State, couldn't care if the house burnt down.



Georgy Groupie
Georgetown, GA
4 January 2004

My Public Housing Authority
The Executive Director
Anonymous Public Housing Authority, USA.


Dear Mr. Public Housing Athority Executive Director,

I am a resident of Anonymous Housing. Two weeks ago, I called the Housing Authority office to report a problem with my stove. As I was using the stove, I was alarmed to see and hear two loud sparks, complete with flashes of light, which I suppose were short circuits in the wiring of the stove controls. After the event, one of the burner indicator lights would not shut off, even when the burner was completely turned off, and not producing any heat. I unplugged the stove’s power cord and called Anonymous Housing to see if they might be able to look at the problem.

Jimbo came shortly afterwards. As always, Jimbo was courteous and professional. He plugged in the stove, assured me that it still worked, and indicated that if I had any more problems with it, I should contact Anonymous Housing. The stove continues to function, and there have been no more short circuits. Nevertheless, one of the burner indicator lights remains on twenty-four hours a day.

I am writing because I am concerned about this problem for a number of reasons. First, I worry that it may be an indication that the wiring in the stove has deteriorated to the point that it represents a fire or shock hazard. I also worry that someone, including my elderly mother, who needs to be supervised when she comes over to visit me, might end up getting burned because of the confusion over which burner is on.

For the safety of my mother, as well as the elimination of a possible fire hazard, I would be grateful if you would please fix the oven so that the indicator light accurately indicates whether the burner is on or off.

Sincerely,




Georgy Groupie