The American Injustice System
This article discusses my experience in the American judicial process for a crime I never committed, from the events leading up to my arrest, my arrest, time in jail and court, and my release.
Here is a very brief history of my life before this experience:
After high school, I joined the military. I did four years from November 2000 to November 2004. I did two deployments to the middle east and served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Since then, I’ve acquired my associate’s degree and am currently working on my bachelor’s. I am a 100% disabled vet for injuries I sustained while on active duty. Since my recent experience with the injustice of being framed by a couple I lived with, I have put off my life, including my education, until I am able to move far away from these people. The events discussed here happened in Washington state, where I currently live. I am awaiting the court’s permission to move to a different state.
The worst crime I have ever been guilty of is jaywalking. Everyone who has ever known me, including all my family and friends, would only give positive feedback to my law-abiding lifestyle.
Events that happened shortly before my arrest:
This past year (2010) has probably been the worst year of my life. In the beginning of the year I was renting a room in a family’s house. There was a bad flea infestation they refused to get rid of that led to the death of my cats. Shortly after, I moved into a new place, which I was sure was going to be better. My PTSD has been increasing in severity since I was in the military, and the recent experience I had with this family and death of my two cats led to a mental breakdown and I wound up committed in the psychiatric ward at the VA hospital in July. This was within a week of me moving into my new place. The people living in the new place seemed to understand, and I would think probably were all for it considering I’m paying rent and not adding to the cost of their utilities.
I was in the hospital until the following month, and was released in August. Due to a bad reaction to my medications and problems adjusting to life outside the ward, and my car breaking down, I ended up in being escorted back to the psychiatric ward, where I was committed once again. This time I was only there for about a week and half. Toward the end of this inpatient experience, I told the doctor I was not ready to leave, and threatened to the other patients that I was going to kill myself if they let me go.
Toward the latter half of August, I was discharged, and within two days I attempted to hang myself. Toward the end of August, the people I lived with evicted me illegally. They threw out my stuff without notice and without eviction papers. Luckily, my father and brother visited me and got my stuff and took it to my storage unit. Keep in mind that rent was paid. I had no problem paying it on time. The security deposit was also paid in full. I was not working but I received federal disability that covered my basic bills (at this time I was a 60% vet).
In early September, while still an inpatient in the ward, I was served domestic violence restraining order paperwork from the people who evicted me illegally. Every single word on that order was a lie, except for me trying to hang myself. They mentioned on the order that I threatened to kill them and their two little kids. Such words were never spoken, and would never be spoken. This was total and complete defamation of character. The hearing for the restraining order was dated two weeks after I was served. At that time I was still an inpatient, so I was unable to attend. I wrote the judge and asked to extend the hearing date well in advance. I left my contact information. They made no attempt to contact me. I had no idea what the hearing was about, as I’ve never dealt with restraining orders before.
Note that during this stay in the hospital, I got an award letter from the VA. All this time I was supposed to be a 70% vet but was only receiving 60% payments (a glitch on the VA’s part). At the same time they corrected this payment, my appeal for a higher disability rating was approved and I became a 100% vet, and I received some nice backpay before my discharge.
After my discharge, at the end of September, I was homeless. I did have some money though from my backpay. My car had broke down and my father sold it on my behalf during the latest hospital stay, so I was not only homeless, but without a car. The first thing I did was acquire a new used car. My credit was bad so I made a large down payment and got a good newer looking used car that I would finance for the next year and a half.
Within the first couple of weeks of being discharged, I had enough money left to make it to the end of the month living in a hotel if I had to. I had a friend of mine (a roommate at the place I was evicted who had moved out since) hold on to my money as a temporary payee, so I would be extra careful on spending it. This girl I was friends with stole my credit card and charged it for $145 at some nail salon without my permission. Shortly after I broke off the “friendship” and filed a police report against her. At the same time, I filed a police report against the people who evicted me illegally (who filed the restraining order against me) because a lot of my stuff turned up missing during their eviction of my property while I was hospitalized.
My arrest, jail, and court:
Within days of filing the police report, the police came by my hotel room and arrested me on two charges (a total of three accounts) of violating the restraining order, which never happened. All of my belongings were in the hotel (which I still had half a week paid in advance) and my new used car that I was financing was parked in front of my hotel room. I was taken to jail where I spent the next month. Luckily, my brother came by and picked up my keys, grabbed my belongings and my car and took it to his house.
Jail was a bad experience for me, as I think it would be for anyone. The food was disgusting, there was a lack of good hygiene, lockdown is just under 18 hours a day, and you have to put up with a lot of bad people. Not to mention there’s not at all much to do. I contacted my temporary payee the day after I was booked and he said he would be their the next day to bail me out. He never came and, to this day, never paid me back my money. I got ripped off by someone I thought to be a friend.
My original plea was not guilty. I was assigned a public attorney who, for many weeks, never contacted me. I finally contacted him. He told me someone had signed a document saying I was served a permanent restraining order the day before I got arrested. Nobody ever came, and to this day, the only restraining order I was served was the temporary, two-week order I was served while in the hospital. He also said the two adults I lived with (aside from my roommate) swore to the judge that I violated the order. They also told their two young children (who were both under 5 years of age) to cry at the mention of my name while in court. My character was destroyed. My lawyer told me I need to take the plea with the prosecutor, and that I would be released if I did so, otherwise I could be looking at a maximum of 2 years (1 year per violation).
I did know that, if I stayed in jail, I would lose my car, as I would not be able to make the payments. Not only this, but a representative from the VA visited me and told me I would lose the 100% disability compensation (almost three grand a month) which, as you know, I was just awarded, and it would revert to only 10%, which is just over a hundred dollars a month. The VA rep told me that the VA takes away your disability if you are incarcerated for more than 60 days, regardless of whether or not you’ve been found innocent or guilty yet. As many of you may know, starting a new disability claim from scratch with the VA usually takes many years to finalize.
So, basically, I would lose everything I own and my income for the next many years, including my car and all my property in my storage locker (as I would not be able to make payments) if I didn’t take the plea. Not only that, but my public attorney basically told me I would be found guilty no matter what because of false witnesses and false testimonies. There was absolutely no solid proof against me whatsoever, but this is apparently how the very affective American injustice system works.
I took the plea. I had no choice. I took the misdemeanor, but I did tell the judge the circumstances, which is what I just explained to you. Now I have a misdemeanor on my record, which, in Washington state, takes a minimum of five years before I can apply to have it expunged. I have heard that expungement is not a guarantee.
After my release:
So, basically, I got screwed over by the judicial system. I was told by my public attorney, who has been practicing for decades, that it was either take the plea or be found guilty when it goes to trial. The plea included one charge being dropped. My sentence was 365 days with 365 days suspended, and a $5,000 fine with $4,700 suspended, and 3 days of just under one month in jail covered the $300 fine ($100 per day).
Since I have been out, I have been on edge. I am extremely paranoid of this happening to me again. I will never feel 100% safe from injustice in this country. And to think the American judicial system is the most effective judicial system just because it’s American is ignorant. It might or might not be. All I’m saying is to do your own research on the subject.
While in jail I was told by other inmates that this is how the system is, that people will get screwed. I am now fully aware of how a judicial process works, from arrest to trial to conviction. These people who framed me are, by the way, leaches off society, meaning they have done nothing to contribute, and have since been accused of and found guilty of welfare fraud, check fraud, and mail fraud. From what I understand, there is nothing I can do to change my conviction, because that is how the system works.
Injustice in America
Many people have been sentenced for crimes they were later found to be innocent. Don’t think for a second this is not how it still is. The just recent discovery of DNA exonerated people who were found guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt”. If they didn’t do it then there must have been a reasonable doubt. The term “reasonable doubt” is open to interpretation. You should also be aware that many people have been executed in this country who were later found to not be guilty. One case of injustice does not make up for ten cases of justice. It does not make up for fifty, or a hundred, or a thousand. Injustice is the worst crime of all, because if the American judicial system allows injustice, then that is a crime against all Americans. As long as it continues, no typical American is safe. It is guilty until proven innocent in this system, not the other way around.
I can name many cases of injustice, but it’s not necessary since it’s all over the TV and internet. If you watch real-life forensic shows (such as Forensic Files and The Investigators), you will see they occasionally talk about injustice that has happened. What happened to me is nothing compared to what has happened to some. Imagine yourself in the shoes of someone who is wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death. You spend years in prison for a crime you didn’t do, and now the date of your execution has arrived. The family of the victim has come to watch you die. Imagine how aggravating that is. And then, you die. It is impossible to recreate this scenario in your mind. As I asked before, how many cases of justice make up for one case of injustice?
I wrote a short blog article discussing a hypothetical situation in which you are the judge and presented with ten cases of people accused of a crime deserving of either life in prison or death, nine of which are guilty, but you don’t know which one’s which.
http://michaelchihuahua.wordpress.com/2010/12/26/hypothetical
If you have any comments or suggestions, let me know.
Sketchy Ways to Make and Save Money
Disclaimer: Many things discussed in this article are very useful and may apply to you. Do not do anything that is illegal. This article may apply to anybody, though anyone who practices everything discussed here is unethical.
This article is separated into four main sections: A) Ways to make money, B) Major ways to save money, C) Little ways to save money, and D) Relating to medical coverage
A) WAYS TO MAKE MONEY
Disability compensation
The two major payouts of disability compensation among Americans are social security disability and VA (federal) disability. As a disabled adult, you can qualify for Social Security disability or Supplemental Security income. There are links at the bottom of this section that will explain these programs in more detail. If you have a disabled child, he/she can qualify for benefits as well. The VA gives out disability compensation from 0% to 100% in 10% increments. Any disability comes with free treatment for this disability at your local VA hospital. As of 10% and above, the coverage includes not only treatment for the condition, but monetary compensation. Social security and VA disability usually go up every year per cost of living.
If you get denied whatever it is you are claiming as a disability, you will have the option to appeal the decision. Appeal it over and over again until it’s approved. You will receive back pay from when you applied when you finally get approved. Whatever medical treatment you receive, be sure the organization (social security administration of VA) has access to those records. You’d normally have to sign a medical release form. Also, call them on a regular basis to check the status of your application and to see if there’s anything you can do to help expedite the decision (very important). Treat it like a job interview–don’t ever let them leave you in the dark.
http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/rates/comp01.htm (VA disability)
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10029.html (Social Security disability)
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/11000.html (Supplemental Security Income)
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10026.html (Social Security benefits for children with disabilities)
Lawsuits
Whenever you get the chance, sue. Whether it be toward a business, the government, or a person, sue. If you trip on a sidewalk because of a piece of cement sticking out, and hurt yourself, sue the city. If you trip on a store’s wet floor, and there was no sign, then sue them. If you’ve experienced medical malpractice in any way, sue the doctor. If you want to be rich, then sue at every opportunity you get as long as it’s not frivolous (without a chance of winning because it’s trivial or lacks merit). If you file a frivolous lawsuit then you and everyone involved may be fined. I know a person that claimed to have filed and won over 80 lawsuits. If you ever file a lawsuit that is more than a small claim, hire a lawyer. Any reasonable person can represent themselves in a small claim, and determine whether or not it’s legitimate. An example of a frivolous lawsuit is the following:
Quoted directly from http://www.personal-injury-info.net/frivolous-lawsuits.htm:
“The television show ‘Jackass’ is being sued by a Montana man for plagiarizing his name, copyright and trademark infringement and defamation of character as well. In 1997, this Montana man legally changed his name to Jack Ass in order to raise public awareness about the perils of drunken driving. Mr. Jack Ass is seeking $10 million in damages”
http://www.lawsuitinformation.info/a1067955-whats-the-difference-between-a-frivolous.cfm
Online games
Online games, especially World of Warcraft (WoW), are very popular these days. People pay real money for accounts as well as in-game currency. You will spend many hours playing to create a strong character or to make a lot of in-game currency and get very little in actual money for your investment (if you successful sell the account or currency). You will more than likely not even make a dollar an hour. There are some programs that will play the game for you (such as Glider for World of Warcraft), and build up your character and gather gold. However, this goes against the game’s rules you must agree to in order to play as it hurts the in-game economy. Using such an external program and getting caught will result in the suspension of your account. This is not at all worth it to me–mainly because of the risk of losing money. I knew someone that did this and made a couple hundred dollars a month (multiple accounts and multiple computers). I wonder, though, how much was invested in the account subscription as well as energy usage of having your computer(s) on 24/7. If you’ve tried to make money this way, let me know if you were successful and whether or not it’s worth it.
Online surveys
Some online surveys do offer an award for filling out surveys. The legitimate ones require a lot of work from you, and you will definitely have to earn the award. I’ve never heard of a site that promises money actually pay out. It’s possible they exist, but since there are so many fake ones, it’s not worth my time. If you know any, please share. This isn’t worth devoting a lot of time to, since it takes many hours worth of work to make the equivalent of a dollar. I’d only recommend it if you’ve got nothing better to do.
http://www.mypoints.com/emp/u/index.vm
B) MAJOR WAYS TO SAVE MONEY
Government assistance
You need to look into benefits that apply to the place you live. Some benefits I’ve known about and researched are:
-food stamps
-low-income housing (including Section 8)
-energy bill assistance
-phone bill assistance
-cash assistance
-disability (discussed later)
-job training
-low-income assistance
-medical, including prescription drugs (discussed later)
-rent (and possibly mortgage) help
-free grants
-free legal advice
-home repairs
-free debt and credit counseling
The benefits just listed refer to benefits offered by the government. Some benefits can be acquired through non-government resources, and will be discussed again later on.
Note: the amount of money you have and income you make apply to what can be proven. If you make money from a source that no one knows about and no one can prove, then why would you hurt the benefits you can otherwise be entitled to by disclosing this information? For example: If you are a millionaire and all your money and income is in someone else’s name, then you may qualify for low-income food stamps since their is no money or income in your name.
http://www.benefits.gov/
Military and veteran benefits
Many of the benefits I’ve discussed have programs specific to members of the military and veterans. You can get a discount on car maintenance at places such as Jiffy Lube, discounts on movie theater tickets, assistance in housing, and many more things. The rule to know is always ask any business you’re about to give money to if they offer a military or veteran discount. Most times I’ve noticed they won’t even ask for an ID to prove it. I’ve been out of the military for years and still get a military discount on movie tickets.
Don’t buy anything new unless necessary
This applies to most things, from clothes to cars. Things it doesn’t apply to are obvious, such as bandages or tampons. You save a lot of money on vehicles if you buy one that’s a little used as opposed to new. As many of you may know, the value of a new car decreases as soon as it’s driven off the lot. This applies to clothes as well. As soon as new clothes are bought and taken out of the store, they are used, and clothes that are just as good could have been bought at a second-hand store such as the infamous Good Will. Don’t buy new dishes. You can get used dishes at second-hand stores as well. Don’t buy new televisions or new computers. You can get good computers and HD TVs at a second-hand store or on a site like craigslist. Even if you’re rich and you can afford buying new things, why do so when you can get things just as good for a lot less money? And why buy a new computer for $1,500 when you can get one six months out of date, and almost just as good, for $500? If you’re the kind of person who likes to one-up others, then think about the fact you are one-upping them not by wasting a ton of money on something new, but by saving a lot of money.
http://www.nwsource.com/shopping/guides/thrift_stores.html
Charity organizations (including churches)
Soup kitchens and some churches offer free hot food on occasion. Why not eat there for free and save a couple dollars? Bring family. Many churches also give out free food, like a food bank, to anyone in need. I have never heard of them verifying you are truly in need–they take your word on it. Some also assist you on bills. Whether religious or not, it is free to be a member of a church and befriend people who are more than happy to help you when you say you are in need. Do not ask for too much too often, as you don’t want them to catch on to what your true intentions are.
http://4homeless.hypermart.net/soup_kitchens.html
Food banks
Food banks are different from churches and some soup kitchens. Rather than relying on charity, they rely on funding, including government funding. I’ve never known food banks to verify you are in need. They are not going to waste time, resources, and money to see if you are lying to them. Food banks are different. Some will give you a supply of food no more than once every couple weeks. It is good to tell them you have dependents. Some food banks will ask you to verify you live in the community by bringing a letter addressed to you with a local address. If you want to go to multiple food banks in multiple cities or counties, find a friend in that city whose address you can write to with your name as the recipient. You can go to multiple food banks every month and always be stocked up on food. With a combination of food banks and soup kitchens, you might not ever have to pay for food. Food stamps is something extra on top of this you can utilize if you’re claim of being low-income can’t be disproved.
http://feedingamerica.org/foodbank-results.aspx
Discounted/free transportation
Some cities/counties offer discount transportation for qualifying low-income and disabled people. I’ll give the Pacific-Northwest in Washington state as an example (with Pierce Transit, Metro Transit, Sound Transit, and Washington State Ferries). As a disabled veteran, if you bring your award letter to buy your ORCA card (re-loadable bus pass like a credit card), you can get a discounted monthly bus pass rate. Some veterans can then get a third-party organization to pay their monthly rate for them. This will allow them to have free transportation on regular bus routes. If you don’t qualify for the assistance, a disabled person (with proof) can still get a disabled rate.
http://www.orcacard.com/ERG-Seattle/p1_001.do
http://metro.kingcounty.gov/tops/bus/fare/orca.html
C) LITTLE WAYS TO SAVE MONEY
Free or free trial malware cleaning programs, including virus and spyware cleaners
What would you say is the life of a computer? Not the amount of time it can last–which can be indefinite–but the amount of time you own it before it’s replaced. I’d guess around two years. There are many virus cleaning programs and spyware cleaners that offer free trials. Let’s say there’s about 20 of them (for example) and each has a free trial that goes anywhere from one to three months. You can install one virus cleaning program and use the free trial until it expires, and then uninstall it and install a replacement virus cleaning program and use its free trial, etc., until you replace the computer. Then when you get a replacement computer, you can do the same since it’s a new computer–just be sure to give them a different name and different e-mail address, so they don’t recognize you as having used up that free trial already. There are also freeware programs that do virus, spyware, and registry cleaning.
http://www.malwarebytes.org/
http://free.avg.com/us-en/homepage
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/home/index.html
http://www.superantispyware.com/
http://download.cnet.com/Webroot-Window-Washer-2011/3000-2144_4-10017839.html
http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/?lng=en
Libraries that have free internet, computer usage, and low cost (and sometimes free) printing
I’ve known libraries that allowed you to print 50 free pages a week on their printers. Every library I’ve known made a limit to the amount of time you can spend on the computers (such as 2 hours a day). But you might be able to go to a different library of the branch and get an additional 2 hours on the internet. I’ve used 3 libraries in the same county (all within 10 miles of each other) and got a total of 6 hours of free internet in one day. Some colleges/universities have libraries and internet open to the public (they never said non-students were not allowed at the places I’ve been to).
“Returning” items to stores for money, store credit, or exchanges
There are some stores, like Wal-Mart, that will return anything. If you have the receipt, you can return it and get money back. If you don’t have the receipt, you can return it and get store credit. If you ever receive a gift from someone and you don’t want it, and it’s returnable, then try and return it to a local store without the receipt. One time Wal-Mart told me they never carried such an item, so they couldn’t return it. I simply told them it must have been bought elsewhere. My point is you don’t have to worry about getting arrested for attempting to return something.
You can get a broken item replaced for free. Let’s say you buy a GPS at an auto supply store, and about two weeks later you accidentally ripped the car charger end out of the car charger, destroying it. If the auto supply store doesn’t replace it, then you may find another store that would replace it without the receipt (the receipt in this case being from the auto supply store and no good). The store to replace it will only do that–replace it–they wouldn’t give money back because you don’t have the receipt. Simply tell them you bought it like this and haven’t had a chance to return it until now. To make them more likely to accept the returned item, try and make the broke part of unnoticeable. In this case, you might be able to glue the ripped part shut.
Online payments, coupons, and discounts
If you ever pay for any product or service online, check to see if you can get something extra for doing it. For example, if you want to sign up for NetFlix, do it through another legitimate website that will offer you points toward an award for doing so. If you sign up for an eBay account where you will buy or sell, see if you can do it through another website. I always check through mypoints.com, as it does offer such ways to accumulate points (on top of surveys).
http://www.mypoints.com/emp/u/index.vm
Always look to see if there are coupon codes you can enter for a discount off the price of anything. Any website that mentions “promo code”, look to see if you can find a code on the internet.
http://www.currentcodes.com/
http://www.promotionalcodes.com/
Smoking doesn’t have to be an expensive habit (this is for smokers and non-smokers)
I smoked off and on for about twelve years. Most smokers I have known, including myself, bought brand name cigarettes, and one common topic of conversation between smokers would be how expensive cigarettes are. Within six months of quitting, I learned of a new way of smoking tobacco. I’ve always known that you can buy straight tobacco and role your own cigarettes with zigzags, or smoke pipe tobacco, but I found neither of the two worth it. Smoking tobacco out of a pipe was never as enjoyable. Rolling your own cigarettes with zigzags was never fulfilling like a real cigarette. I then came across the concept of blank cigarette tubes, which I never heard of before.
You can “pack” your own cigarettes. You can buy a basic machine for less than ten dollars, where you put in tobacco and put a blank cigarette tube on the end and pack the tobacco into the cigarette. You will need to buy a bag of tobacco and a box of cigarette tubes. I had a machine that worked with 100mm cigarettes, so I bought 100mm cigarette tubes. Pipe tobacco is cheaper because it’s not as finely cut, and packs and smokes just fine in a blank tube, not to mention it comes in different flavors, including regular and menthol, with different companies.
There are more advanced machines you can get that will make the cigarettes faster, but with this cheap machine (the cheapest they offer), you can roll a cigarette in less than two minutes when you get good at it. Cigarettes nowadays go for about $9 for a brand-name pack of 20. If you do as I started doing, and buy a bag of Golden Harvest and a box of Gambler tubes, you can turn a $250/month habit (about a pack a day) into less than $70, because the cost for 20 cigarettes just went from about $9 to about $2. I would also recommend getting tobacco and tubes from a local Indian reservation if you can, as it tends to be cheaper.
I ended up turning an approximate $250/month habit to less than $50 a month by selling my cigarettes to cigarette bums (people who ask you for a cigarette). Since cigarettes aren’t cheap, people tend to ask for about 40 or so cents a cigarette. I’d ask the same. The packed full-flavored cigarettes I smoked cost me less than 10 cents each, so I’d make a profit selling them for 40 cents a piece. You can potentially make the cost of your habit nothing, or make a profit, by doing this. Hang out at a place where there’s a lot of people (and potential smokers) and smoke, or befriend smokers, so you can sell them cigarettes. Many people don’t want to spend the time in making cigarettes, so you can make money off of it.
Please look into your local laws regarding the reselling of tobacco. From what I understand, you need a license to do so everywhere in the United States. Of course, someone buying a single smoke off you for 40 cents shouldn’t count as reselling. I would think the license is mainly necessary if you turn it into a business. You can make money off this even if you don’t smoke.
http://liq.wa.gov/tobacco-new/license.aspx
Don’t pay for condiments or toilet paper
You can save a lot of money in the long run. If you need ketchup, mayonnaise, honey, butter, or any other kind of condiment, do not buy them. Simply go to a local fast food restaurant. The toilet paper is there for the taking in the bathroom–so why would you buy it at a local store? KFC gives out free honey and butter. Fast food burger joints give out condiments like ketchup and mustard. Fast food hot dog joints (like Wienerschnitzel or Dairy Queen) give out mayonnaise. Do not buy what you can get for free.
DVD rentals
Many people don’t know this, but many local libraries offer free DVD rentals (not a very big selection though). The DVD rental industry is very competitive, and you can get DVD rentals for very cheap. The one I like the most is Red Box, which is a DVD vending machine where you can rent movies for 24 hours for one dollar. You always use your credit card. That way if you’re late, you will be charged more. This beats high-priced DVD rental businesses such as Blockbuster. There are also unlimited DVD rental businesses like Blockbuster or Netflix, where you pay a flat rate every month. I paid about $15 a month for unlimited rentals through Blockbuster, three DVDs at a time, and you do everything online where your next rentals are queued and sent as soon as your old ones are scanned in by the mailman. The return shipping is paid for already. I quit Blockbuster as they sent me three scratched up non-working DVDs in a row of the same movie, which I suspected to be the same exact DVD.
Going to the movies for free
Some places have low-priced movie theaters of movies that have just arrived on DVD. This is a way to still see it on the big screen if you haven’t already. One movie theater in particular I know about is $2 every day at all times and only $1 on Tuesdays. Since the tickets are so cheap, extra staff to check your ticket as you walk into the auditorium are not working, making sneaking in the theater free. You can get free entertainment this way.
To sneak into a regular theater to watch movies that just hit the big screen, you can lie at the ticket counter and say you lost your ticket. You can say you bought your ticket earlier that day (and mention the previous shift so they can’t catch you in a lie). They will asked if you paid by credit card or cash. I did this once and mentioned I paid by credit card. They asked for my credit card and went to see if a transaction was ever made on that card. They said there was not. I mentioned I must have paid with my other card but I left that at home. They then awarded me a free pass. I saw a new movie for free. I saved about eight dollars, which is significant in my eyes. I would recommend doing this only once in a great while at each of the theaters within whatever distance you think is worth it to travel. I know of about 5 theaters within distance from where I live.
Eating out for free
There are ways to do this and get away with it. No matter what, be sure you have enough money to cover the meal, just in case they don’t allow you to have it for free. It is not worth getting arrested.
If you are at a restaurant where you pay for the food before-hand, go ahead and order, and partway through eating, put a dead fly or a couple hairs in the food, and make a complaint. Demand for your money back. Your bill will probably be refunded and you might even be offered a free replacement, to be used then or another day. Similarly, if you’re at a sit-down restaurant where you pay for your food afterword, do the same thing. The manager will more than likely void the bill and offer a free replacement. I have never heard of an incident where someone who tried this got out of paying.
A fast-food restaurant will replace an order they screwed up on. It is good to make note at what times of the day a particular fast-food restaurant is extremely busy, and cannot keep track of every face that has ordered in or come through their drive-thru. Go into the restaurant and tell them they screwed up on your order earlier. Pick something that was probably ordered during the rush hour. I will give an example. Go into McDonald’s at around 3:00PM, before the dinner rush and after the lunch rush, and tell them you ordered a #1 with extra mayonnaise at around 12:15PM and they forgot your fries. They might give you some fries, even without a receipt. To make it more affective, call beforehand and talk to the manager about your missing fries (or whatever your claiming was wrong). If the manager gives you the acknowledgment over the phone to undo the wrongs of your order, you can give them a name and come in to claim your “replacement” food. To guarantee things, look through the garbage outside and find a receipt for an order that was in fact placed that day during the rush hour.
Free sodas
If you ordered a soft drink at a local fast food restaurant, keep the cup and use it to get free sodas other days. I’ve done this and got many free sodas. You can also order water and, though they usually give a unique cup for water, you can still pour soda if they’re not looking. This only works at fast-food restaurants where the soda fountain is accessible by customers. Some restaurants have the fountain behind the counter and is not worth it to even attempt to ask for a refill.
I tried something like this at Burger King. I ordered a whopper and a water. I used the cup of water to fill a soda, but I got caught, and the manager came to my table in the lobby and grabbed the soda from me. So I wouldn’t recommend filling soda in a cup designed for water, as it’s very easy to get caught by either a worker or a snitch customer.
Being homeless
If you are in a situation where you are homeless or may soon become homeless, there are many organizations and people that can help. There are homeless shelters and soup kitchens that can offer you food and a place to sleep. As a veteran, you can apply at your local VA hospital’s homeless program, where you can have a place to live for six months (this is one homeless program I know about at a specific VA hospital in Washington State). Even if you are not homeless, you can take advantage of these programs. Just become homeless so you can qualify to live rent-free somewhere. It’s not something I would do, because I prefer to have a place of my own, but it is certainly a way to save money. This particular program has a waiting list though. As a veteran, a way to get immediate shelter is to have a mental breakdown and check yourself into the VA psychiatric ward, where you are given a place to sleep and three square meals a day, and free medication. If you are homeless with no where to live, get a gym membership so you have a place to take a hot shower every day.
Panhandle
Beg people for money or other types of assistance. Claiming you are a veteran of a certain war may get more sympathy for you. If you aren’t a veteran of a war, then be sure and look the age of a veteran of the war you are claiming to have been in–for example, if you are 25 years old, then don’t claim to be a Vietnam veteran. Claiming you are disabled may get you more money as well. Dress like you are a homeless, dirty person. Be sure to look sad and hungry. Using the phrase “God bless” on your cardboard sign may entice people to give you more, but, at the same time, it may deter some from donating. I can’t find any studies ever done on this. No matter what–no matter how people treat you–be nice. You don’t want to make any enemies. If you do drugs or smoke cigarettes, then don’t do it in front of the people you are begging money from. If I see a homeless person begging for money and smoking, I will not donate, because I can see where the money is going. I’ve heard of people making pretty good money panhandling.
D) RELATING TO MEDICAL COVERAGE
Medical
This was referenced earlier. Low cost to free medical insurance is offered to certain people of low income depending on things such as health conditions, family size, income, etc. Certain veterans get free health coverage. There are ways to sign-up for a co-pay with medications. With the VA hospital, certain veterans prescribed a medication that’s for a non-service related condition are charged an eight dollar co-pay, regardless of how much the medication actually costs. I’ve known a medicare recipient who was charged a three dollar co-pay for an anti-depressant prescription refill. From what I understand, social security disability recipients have medical insurance automatically deducted from their disability check. This does not apply to VA disability checks.
Life insurance
As a VA disability recipient, you can qualify for life insurance through the VA that is deducted right from your disability check. I recommend life insurance for every non-wealthy person with dependents, regardless of your age. I assume you do not want to leave your dependents struggling without you. Of course, if you’re like me, you would be weary of someone wanting to kill you to collect on your life insurance. I have no reason to believe that would happen, but I am naturally paranoid. If you don’t care if your dependents will struggle without you, because you’ll be dead, then don’t waste your money.
Psychiatric wards
I mentioned this under the homelessness section. If it’s free for you to utilize and you have just become homeless, take advantage of psychiatric wards. It’s a place to live and three square meals a day. The VA has psychiatric wards available to qualifying veterans with any serious enough emergency psychiatric needs, such as suicidal ideations and tendencies. Keep in mind, though, that being in a psych ward for a certain number of days may result in your 2nd amendment rights being taken away, for obvious reasons.
Free condoms and STD checks
If you are sexually active and use condoms, do not waste your money on buying them, as they are handed out for free at sexual health clinics, some schools, and your local Planned Parenthood office. If you absolutely need a specific kind that is not free such as ultra-thin or flavored, then that’s your choice, but it’s your money.
There are clinics that offer STD checks and won’t turn you away because of an inability to pay. Though many of them charge, you can apply to have another organization pay your bill, so in the end it is free. VA hospitals give qualifying veterans free STD checks.
http://www.hivtest.org/
Influenza (flu) shots
Some of these work like STD clinics. They may cost money, but if you can prove you are unable to pay, there are other organizations that may cover the bill. I recommend getting your flu shot every year to prevent catching the flu. Why not when it’s free? Like STD checks, this benefit is free at VA hospitals to qualifying veterans.
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Let people think you are broke. If you are always broke, then not much will be expected from you, and people will be more likely to help you. If you are known to have money, then you won’t qualify for assistance as much as those who are truly in need. Convince yourself you are in need (even if you’re not). Be deceitful.
What’s the ethical choice in this hypothetical situation?
Keep in mind there is no middle ground at this point… You cannot collect any more evidence or place anything on hold, and all 10 people swear they’re innocent, and you cannot use a lie detector as they are not absolute. You have seen all the evidence. It’s one of two choices. Also, if you let all of them go, then anyone who commits an offense in the future and is caught can get their inevitable fate.
I believe we should let them all go. The one case of extreme injustice to one person isn’t right under any circumstance, even if it means 9 cases of justice. We should not knowingly allow one innocent person to spend the rest of his/her life in prison. I think by letting all 10 go and prosecuting them later if they commit future crimes (and possibly connecting those crimes to one of these) is the ethical decision. This will put dangerous people back in society, but the government should never permit injustice. If the government were to knowingly allow injustice, then no one is ever safe.
“Happy Holidays” is the unbiased phrase to use
It’s one of those things where you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. If people start to say Merry Christmas again, some will get offended. If people continue to say Happy Holidays, it will make others angry. I think saying “Happy Holidays” is the unbiased phrase to use because it is equal to everyone and acknowledges the freedom of religion.
On top of this, when it comes to Christmas, it’s a holiday celebrated not just by Christians but by many. While I was growing up, my family would celebrate Christmas, but we did not practice any religion. I think Christmas originated in religion, but it has changed since then. It’s kind of like marriage. I think marriage started with religion, but it’s changed since then and is practiced by people of no religion as well. Christmas was originally about a man named Jesus Christ, and to Christians, it still is. But to people who celebrate Christmas but don’t acknowledge Christ, it is a holiday about family. And to some, it’s mainly about presents.
I say Merry Christmas to people because that’s how I was raised and that’s the holiday I’ve always celebrated. If I represented a group such as a news reporter or business owner, I would either say Happy Holidays or I would say nothing at all.
To me, I acknowledge Christmas was a holiday made to celebrate Jesus Christ, because I believe Christ was a man in history that is very famous today. Since I am agnostic, I celebrate Christmas by spending time with family, and, when I can, I like to do the traditions of the tree in the house, presents, and stockings because it reminds me of my childhood and how much I love my family and brings back memories.
Nothing but negative experiences with Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless (hereon referred to as VW) was my first cell phone company. I signed up for them while I was in the military, in the year 2001. I had them all the way until 2010. I have had multiple bad experiences with this company, and would highly recommend to you to choose a different company if you don’t want to be scammed. To list all my negative experiences:
1. Altered contract by sales associate
Shortly after first getting a new cell phone and contract with VW, I tried to cancel within a few months as I was going on deployment. VW informed me I signed a two-year contract. I have no recollection of this because I would have remembered making such a commitment. I asked them to send me a copy of the contract, as I could not find my original to disprove this. They did send it to me and I read the contract and the checkbox next to two-year contract was checked. I was stuck paying the monthly bill throughout deployment. At the end of deployment, I was rummaging through my things and came across my original contract. The checkbox was NOT checked. I took the copy of the contract they sent me and the original and compared them. This was irrefutable evidence that I’ve been scammed. This costed me a lot of money. At the time I was a lot younger, and I let myself get pushed over, and I did not pursue this. Oh, what a field day a free military lawyer would have if I presented this case to them.
2. Old chargers not compatible with cell phone upgrades
Every phone I had came with a new house charger. If you use a car charger, as I have with every phone I’ve had, you have to buy a new one for your new phone. None of the old chargers are compatible with a new phone. This is a way for VW to make a lot of extra money. To give VW some credit, a lot of other cell phone companies have done the same thing.
3. Cannot retrieve contacts from an old phone
Getting a new charger for an old phone was not easy. A few years and a couple of phones later, I was wanting to retrieve my phone contacts from my old phone. I called VW customer service and told them what I was trying to do, and they told me that though they no longer carry this charger, I should have no problem finding it on the internet, and they assured me that when I do I will be successful at retrieving my contacts. I found it on the internet and ordered it. I believe it costed me around $20 for a used one after tax. I plugged the old phone into the charger I just got, excited about retrieving old contact numbers from old friends. When this phone turned on, it automatically downloaded all my new contacts into it without prompting and deleted my old contacts. This is bad design and was a total waste of money plus a disappointment, not to mention a lie from a VW representative.
4. Unlimited texting scam
I was not big into texting for the first seven years of being a VW customer, and always signed up for a limited texting plan, where you are charged extra if you go over. I’ve went over maybe once or twice without realizing it and was charged appropriately. VW did not give the option of sending you a warning text if you’ve went over. They do keep a record of how many texts you have sent that month, but you have to retrieve it.
When my texting started becoming out of control, I asked customer service to upgrade me to an unlimited texting plan. They said it would be an additional $5 a month. I agreed to this and thought it was a great deal. After the first month of feeling comfortable of not going over on my texts, my bill showed that I went just over $90 over my monthly allowance. I was upset and contacted VW. The representative told me I signed up for unlimited Verizon to Verizon texts, able to text all I want but only to people who have a VW phone number. This was a lie, straight up–the VW customer service representative lied to me, and she knows it. I did not write her name down. I talked my jaw off arguing with VW, and they refused to lower the bill. They did say, however, if I sign up for unlimited Verizon to everyone plan, meaning unlimited texting, for an additional $5 a month, that they would give a $20 credit toward this month’s phone bill. I was in a contract at the time with VW and wanted unlimited texting, so I took them up on their offer. It was altogether an additional $10 (not $5) to have unlimited texting, as I originally requested. Once again, I was scammed.
5. Unlimited internet scam
I just got a new VW Envy phone, which was the first phone I ever had that had the option for internet. I was excited to be able to access the internet, so I contacted VW and asked them what the cost was. After reviewing my plan, which was about 450 minutes plus unlimited nights and weekends, I was told every minute I spend on the internet counts as one minute toward my plan. I then asked if this meant I can use the internet all I wanted during my unlimited minutes time without being charged extra, and they confirmed that yes, I can. This worked out perfect considering I had a desk job that worked graveyards and had a good 6 hours of an 8 hour shift where I can goof off. I browsed the internet for many hours every shift all month until the end of the month when I received my bill. I went approximately $200 over on “data charges”. What is data? A hidden charge? I contacted VW and asked them what the deal was with this. I told them the conversation I had with the last representative that assured me this wouldn’t happen. They said I must have misunderstood the conversation. This was an insult. I had been scammed again. I confronted this representative about all my negative experiences with VW up to this point, and she apologized for the “inconveniences I seemed to be having” with their company. She then offered to reduce my bill by $70 if I sign up for an unlimited data plan, which was an additional $20 or so a month. I wanted to have unlimited internet, so I took them up on the offer. I was, once again, extremely upset.
6. Enormous unlimited everything plan
By the time it was all said and done, I finally seemed to have one flat bill per month. It was approximately $139. This is outrageous and I have never heard of anyone with an unlimited plan this high. At this point I decided to read into other people’s experiences with this company, and I came across similar (and some the same) experiences. This company gets you to sign up for a contract and then if things change and you want to upgrade service, you are forced to pay an outrageous increase for the service you want, or to not upgrade at all. VW knows most people are going to upgrade if they want the additional service. After all, for something like unlimited texting, it’s only $10 a month, which is 33 cents a day. But you need to compare these prices to other companies.
7. Outrageous taxes
It wasn’t until I changed cell phone companies that I noticed a huge change in the tax percentage. My new cell phone was a flat sales tax. VW had multiple taxes, which was a higher percentage than just sales tax. This was something else they do not mention to their customers, for obvious reasons. I always assumed the additional taxes were unique for all cell phone providers, like the additional tax for hotel rooms in Washington State.
8. Inferior voice mail menu
With both my cell phone companies, as well as everyone else’s, you can access your voicemail from any phone. Normally you’d press “#” and then your pin, and then you can access your voicemail or change features. A very long time ago, one of my old military buddies whose number I lost attempted to reach me. I was in the gym and my phone was off, so he left a voicemail. With every VW phone I’ve had, your phone must ring in order to save the phone number of the caller. This was one of the people whose number I attempted to retrieve from my old cell phone. He left a message and asked to call back, but he forgot to leave his number, and I never heard from him again. I contacted VW customer service and told them what happened and if there’s any way to retrieve the number, and they told me it was impossible. It wasn’t until I got a new cell phone company that I realize this was unavoidable and another flaw in their design. Now when someone calls me when my phone’s off, I can check my voicemail and it will tell me the number that called me. In fact, every voicemail that’s saved keeps this number, which would have been very handy if VW had it, as I could have rekindled an old friendship.
9. “A Ferrari with a Volkswagen engine”: A VW customer service’s quote on why to not change cell phone providers
After my first bill of the unlimited everything plan, my friend told me about the Smart Phone offered at Wal-Mart, which was unlimited everything for only $45 a month plus tax. My friend has had this phone for a couple months and verified there are no hidden charges. I was sick and tired of VW and decided to call them for the hell of it to hear their explanation of why other cell phone providers are cheaper. At first I told him about the Smart Phone and explained the plan. He said he never heard of this cell phone provider and even questioned its existence. I know it’s not just a local cell phone, as the Wal-Mart where I live as well as the Wal-Mart on the other side of the country where my friend lives sells it. I do not believe he never heard of this phone. I asked him why I shouldn’t change cell phone providers. He told me that VW phones and service area were superior, and that having this phone would be like driving a “Ferrari with a Volkswagen engine”. He mentioned that it looks nice, but its features were inferior. One thing didn’t add up. If he just now heard of this cell phone company, how would he know the design of their phones were inferior? I called him out on this, and he explained there is no cell phone company that is better than Verizon, and if there were, it would be popular enough to where VW would have heard about it.
10. “Opt-out” of your contract
This is something VW is reluctant to mention. It wasn’t until the last year of being a VW customer that I knew about this. Apparently, with the VW contract I had, in order to “opt-out” of the contract, it would cost me $175 minus $5 per month into the contract. I was shortly after I heard about this and opted out of the contract (details below).
11. Coverage area not worth it to most people
During the last conversation I had with the VW sales representative, he mentioned the additional cost VW charges is due to the superiority of their phones and coverage area. Competitor cell phone providers cover major areas just as well, and if you are not the kind of person to drive to a small mountain town, paying the additional cost for the additional coverage is not worth it. Even then, there are some places where their competitors have coverage and they do not (something they don’t tell you). I have had my new cell phone with a new company for six months and have never been out of a coverage area. When it comes to having a Ferrari cell phone with a Volkswagen engine, the cell phone I have now is the best I have ever had. VW might have the best cell phone on the market–I don’t know. Assuming they do, why would you pay a ton more for additional feature you don’t need? I don’t need a mobile computer. I need a cell phone. The one I currently have calls, texts, browses the internet, streams videos, takes pictures, and records videos. Keep in mind, also, that cell phones are like computers–they become outdated fast. Assuming VW is superior as they claim, I’m not paying an unlimited everything plan with a slightly better phone and possibly slightly better coverage for almost triple what I pay with the company I’m with.
12. One last month’s charge after I opted-out
After I asked them to opt-out of the contract, they said it would be $150 (5 months into my contract). The customer service representative confirmed to me that I’ve been opted out, and I will receive a confirmation letter. I waited a week and noticed this letter never arrived. Instead, another month’s bill arrive. I called them and asked them why I wasn’t opted out and still being charged a monthly bill. They told me my bill had to be paid before I was allowed to opt out. I was absolutely furious. VW took one final stab at me. I have learned at this point that talking to them is pointless.
13. Ridiculously high final bill
My final bill, which included two months, an opt-out fee, a late fee, and taxes was almost $500. I argued with them to void the second month, as they told me I was opted-out the month before, and they refused (as I suspected they would). I have not paid this and have no intention to. It was sent to a collection agency and is now at about $550. I will not let a company that has scammed me numerous times to make a fool out of me with one final scam.
My 9-years of experience as a VW customer makes me a very credible source if you are considering either being a customer of Verizon Wireless or changing cell phone providers. I highly recommend staying away from this company. The only exception would be if you live in an area where there is no other service provider, and you absolutely need a cell phone. I have concluded the customer service representatives are trained to be deceitful and even straight up lie to the customers. They are trained to do whatever it takes to get and keep customers.
I am currently a customer of Boost Mobile. I have never been out of the coverage area, and not once have I had a dropped call. I have been out of the coverage area with VW, and have had my call dropped numerous times. Since I signed up with Boost Mobile, I’ve been charged a flat $50 a month for unlimited everything with standard sales tax. There are no hidden charges or additional taxes whatsoever. I’ve encountered no deception or lies from any of their associates. There are no contracts that make it difficult to quit–this is a prepaid phone you pay in advance of the month you want the service. This is excellent because if you disagree with an increase in your bill, you can cancel immediately. The service will end if you do not pay. From recent advertisements I have seen, Boost Mobile has a new offer that can’t be passed up. If you make your $50 plus tax monthly payments on time for 6 months, your bill will be $45. After another 6 months, it will be $40. After an additional 6 months, it will be $35. Even without this plan, Boost Mobile blows VW out of the water. This just makes it better. My unlimited everything plan with VW was about $139/month, and currently my monthly bill with Boost Mobile is $54 and some change. The $35 plus sales tax in my state (Washington) is $38 and some change. If VW unlimited plans stay the same, then in less than a year and a half I would have been paying about a 3.66 times higher monthly cell phone bill than Boost Mobile if I stuck with VW.
To sum everything up, stay away from Verizon Wireless! If only one of these experiences happened and no other, then I would blame the associate for being ignorant, but this is not the case. I have been scammed, deceived, and lied to many times, and Verizon Wireless IS at fault.
Please feel free to comment on your experiences with Verizon Wireless, whether good or bad, and to comment on what I’ve talked about.
