Companies Pass Exorbitant BBB Membership Fees Along to Customers

Think You're Being Smart by Shopping an A+ Rated, BBB-Approved Comopany? Think Again!

BBB Membership Dues (the Only Criteria for Acceptance or Rating) Drive Up Prices Among Members of Extortion Club

By: Fat Lester (FREE Consumer Advocate)

You’re proud of the fact that you need a herd of other sheep surrounding you in order to make decisions? You’re proud that you’re a big enough sucker that you gave $400-$500 to a gang of wanna-be mobsters who aren’t cool enough to have guns and wouldn’t know what to do with them if they did just so they wouldn’t make fun of you?

Wow Jason! That’s pretty pathetic!

Is the feeling of acceptance you get hanging out with a bunch of parasitic dweebs who didn’t move out of their mom’s basement until they were in their 40′s and even still managed to avoid getting a real job worth the $500 you take away from your little girl’s education fund each year so that you can remain a member of the lamest club on earth?

What would you do if someone were to tell you that your buddies will in all likelihood be indicted before the end of 2014 on charges of fraud, racketeering

and extortion? Would you fear for your own safety or would you become psyched by the opportunity to be one of the “inner circle” of ‘mid-40′s-but-still-not-self-sufficient dweebs’ by default if the current group of super-sized maggots were to be sentenced to a federal prison term?

I got news for you Jasey… Your mom’s the only person who thinks you’re cool. Paying $500/year to be a member of a fake-club wherein the club’s upper-echelon agrees not to make fun of you of call you names if you pay them doesn’t make you cool. It’s still not the same thing as a fraternity (which aren’t cool either — just a less uncool group of conformist twits). The difference between someone like you and someone like me is that you’ll shell out big bucks for approval, whereas I go out an earn mine through my work and my character.

Then again, I don’t expect you to know anything about that… Character and the doofuses who make up the BBB are mutually exclusive. I’d rather be among the former (someone with character and principles) than a wanna-be tough-guy gangster only fat from drinking too much beer on mom’s sofa any day of the week.

Good luck in federal court… I hope you all get at least six months. What I’m really looking forward to though is the class-action civil suit that’s going to issue divine comeuppance to your oversized kindergarten class full of adult twerps.

You might as well let mom know what’s coming, as your snarky little badge means nothing to anyone aside from you, mommy and the other twerps who have convinced each other that you actually did something besides pay someone smarter than you (smart enough to get you to pay $500 for a $0.30 badge) three days salary so you could pretend to be important with the other manboys in the little clubhouse.

Better Business Bureau: Criminal Extortion Racket

Better Business Bureau: High-Ranking Members May Face Charges

The Better Business Bureau, often mistaken by ill-informed consumers for a "consumer protection" agency, is under fire in the latest chapter in a series of flare-ups involving irate small business owners who are becoming increasingly vocal in expressing their unanimous belief that the BBB and the individuals who grow rich charging businesses for "protection" are guilty of the felonious crimes of fraud, extortion and racketeering.



 Many of the small business owners whose companies have been the subjects of BBB bullying and fraud are joining together to present a united front against the criminal enterprise in hopes of amassing sufficient lobbying power to have federal prosecutor issue a blanket indictment against hundreds of individuals on whom the working class believes it has proof of criminal association based upon their Better Business Bureau ties.

"Essentially, the BBB is a criminal enterprise consisting of parasites of men who don't work for a living, opting instead to target those who do work and threaten to lie and besmirch their hard work, hopes and dreams if they refuse to hand over their wallets in a 'pay for protection', traditional Mafioso-style extortion scheme," ~ Fat Lester - GoDOTyourself Enterprises

Many with common sense and the ability to think independently of a herd are the most adamant that anyone and everyone with recent BBB affiliations go to prison racketeers and extortionists who don't care about honesty or credibility so long as there are suckers out there dumb enough to think they're anything but a criminal racket and cowardly enough to succumb to their threats/extortion.




Entire national organization should be under indictment with plans to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law any member past or present who (obviously won't be testifying against them in either criminal or civil court) and who has ever taken part, either directly or indirectly in an extortion scheme involving the deliberate spreading of lies, distortions and/or falsehoods with respect to a privately-held company in order to coerce the owner of said company to grease the pockets of those spreading said lies as a means of offering incentive for them to cease harassment of a given victim-organization.

When criminals band together and claim to be acting in the best interests of the consumer, those are some of the instances in which the consumer had better either run fast or bend over, grab the ankles tight and brace himself because what comes next is neither pleasant nor believable, but it is real.

ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis): Letter From a Man with ALS

A Random Letter From a Victim of ALS

By: Fat Lester

The following are the contents of an email that a friend and colleague passed along to me. He is raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) to help find a cure for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis).

Out of nowhere (he does not know this man - hence the anonymity - nor does he know how the man obtained his top-secret email address. That said, he found the letter quite the motivational tool to summon his best efforts in attempting to solicit donations from family, friends and social media contacts, and as one of those whom he asked to help spread his message, I was given his permission to publish the contents of the letter he received from an actual ALS victim provided I keep the gentleman's identity private and include no information that could lead to his identity being tied to the substance of the message itself.

Without further adieu, here is the letter minus the greetings and signatures:

Dear Peter,

On January 25, 2012 I was diagnosed with ALS. From that evening on-my life has changed drastically. I have always been a very active person but due to the progression of the disease, my activities are limited. I left work shortly after finding out I have ALS to spend more time with my family and to acquire much needed rest. My symptoms were, and still are, muscle aches/twitches, headaches, stiff neck, noticeable muscle loss in my chest/back, cramps in my legs/feet and general fatigue.

My upper body is my weakest and biggest problem at this time. It is now getting difficult or impossible to do some of my everyday activities because I can barely raise my arms. Shaving, bathing, dressing, getting in and out of the bed are all a challenge and require assistance.

The people at MDA of Greater New Orleans have been a Godsend. They are so helpful and are always willing to help you with any issue you face. The staff at the MDA clinic that I go to every 3 months is also wonderful – they are friendly, knowledgeable professionals that will do anything to help.

I have a very supportive family and close friends that are always there for me no matter what my needs are. My wife and I have met some great friends, other pALS (People Living with ALS) and their wives. We get together often for dinner and other activities and find that these are the most wonderful relationships. We are all dealing with the same struggles, even though we are at different stages with ALS, but understand what each other is going through. This group bond that we have as made a huge difference in our lives.

If it weren’t for organizations like MDA I would not have had the opportunity to meet these pALS and receive the help we need. I know there are more hard situations in the future, but with all the support I have, I will get through it all.

Thank you for supporting the Covington Lock-Up, MDA and my family.

Since we're keeping the author of the message anonymous, there will be no signature or goodbye message included here. That said, if that does not touch upon a soft spot in your heart, one must wonder if you even have one.

That disease (ALS) is among the most debilitating and torturous illnesses in the history of mankind, and my heart goes out to everyone and anyone who has ever suffered from it, God rest their souls.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

The friend posted a blog about ALS, why he is motivated to help find a cure and why he feels that you and anyone else reading his blog should donate to the MDA Lock-Up event Thursday, May 23 in Covington, Louisiana. The friend will be "arrested" as a "repeat offender" and will need to post "bail" (your donations) in order to be granted release from the makeshift holding cell at the restaurant at which the event is being held.I will ask all readers of this blog though to please consider donating anything you can --- even if its just a single dollar --- to his "bail bond" as finding a cure for ALS is about as good a cause as one could conceive of to financially support.
If you can afford to help out, please do so, and know that his company, EGAN Medical Equipment, will be matching each and every dollar donated up to $1,000.

Mississippi Gulf Coast: Great Beaches, Better Prices

Mississippi Gulf Coast: Great Beaches, Better Prices

As those with whom I am closest are already aware, in early 2012 I made a fairly significant move from Covington, Louisiana to Long Beach, Mississippi. The move was motivated by a desire to reside literally ON the beach, and have the luxury of walking outside and fishing, sunbathing, etc.

For the first six months or so following the move, I was commuting to-and-from Covington from Long Beach, a round-trip that comes out to approximately three hours per day.

Needless to say, it wasn't long before I'd grown weary of the excessive drive time, not to mention all of the lost productivity that comes with it. I decided within weeks of the time I began residing along the coast that I would eventually be taking my talents and my business interests to Long Beach. A little over half a year later, that process is well underway, a commercially-zoned piece of property secured in downtown Long Beach to go with the beachfront condominium in which I've been residing was the missing piece. I am presently in the process of moving all of the inventory and equipment from Covington to my new "home town".

Long Beach is everything I had hoped it would be and then some. While the fishing isn't always great, it's not altogether bad either. There are days when the fish are biting and days when they're not.

Likewise, there are days when the beaches are full of local talent (and/or tourists), and days when the only females on the beach are their with their husbands and/or children.

The change has done me some good. The increased sun exposure has led to significant weight loss on my behalf, which is likely the result of increased testosterone levels, a little-known side-effect of men soaking up the sun's natural rays on a regular and consistent basis.

About a month ago, a beautiful girl came into my life from literally out-of-nowhere, and as much as I tried to fight it I fell in love with her immediately. She couldn't help but comment repeatedly during our first couple of outings together that the physical attraction she felt for me was unlike anything she's ever experienced. While I may otherwise overlook such remarks as pure flattery, I've seen myself in the mirror lately and quite frankly I can see where she's coming from.

The sun exposure coupled with stress and a lot of exercise has me in the best shape I've been in since high school, and the combination of factors has me as happy as I've ever been in my 30 years on earth. I just thank God for the past six weeks (and in a more general sense the past 7 months), and hope and pray that the string of recent blessings continues.

Oh, one other thing worthy of mention is the fact that Long Beach is effectively a ghost town where the pre-Katrina homeowners cannot give away their property, so anyone looking to snatch up a nice house, apartment or condo on or near the beach may want to take a close look at Long Beach. I did, and as of today it ranks among the very best decisions I've ever made.

Fat Lester Formally Endorses Newt Gingrich

The campaign of former House Speaker and current GOP Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich received a major boost today when internet / social media extraordinaire Fat Lester officially endorsed the former Congressman from Georgia.

Fat Lester, whose real name is Peter Egan, had not previously endorsed a candidate, citing favorable views of numerous candidates early on in the GOP nominating contest, along with the fact that he personally knows more than one of the candidates originally in the race as reasons for refraining from issuing an endorsement.

(Newt Gingrich consults with NOLA Tea Party leaders including Fat Lester)

However, when Herman Cain announced that he was suspending his campaign in light of a series of frivolous, racially-motivated attacks by several women on the left who were allegedly paid millions combined in exchange for levying the false and defamatory charges. Needless to say, these women were acting on behalf of the Obama Administration/Campaign (they're one-in-the-same), including at least one Obama Administration employee and the next-door neighbor of Obama's speech writer, it left Gingrich as the only candidate in the race with whom Lester has spoken with at length and in person regarding the challenges facing the country and the solutions required to get the nation back on the right track.

(GOP Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich and Right-Wing Conspirator Fat Lester)

That said, personal affiliation with a candidate was not the sole criteria upon which Lester based the decision. Lester is also a strong supporter of former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, and identifies with Santorum's views on most issues, in particular the one nobody likes to talk about: the "A-word".

(Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich introduces himself to the VRWC)

This conflict made endorsing a candidate difficult even after Cain, whom Lester had helped raise funds via a Tea Party Rally with over two thousand attendees (back before he'd even announced he was running) at which Cain was the keynote speaker; announced that his campaign was effectively over and that he (Cain) would be endorsing Gingrich. However, after three states have held their nominating contests, with Santorum's victory in Iowa failing to translate into momentum going forward, Lester decided Gingrich is the candidate most likely to defeat Obama in a 1-on-1 match-up due to his unnaturally high IQ (he must have 50 IQ points over Obama and no less than 120 over former Speaker Nancy Pelosi) as well as his superior debate skills.

(Naturally, the media was not invited to the closed-door session)

While Fat Lester had speculated back in June that Gingrich may ultimately represent the Republican Party's best shot at victory in 2012, he had withheld making an endorsement so early on in the campaign for obvious reasons, some of which are stated above.

Lester is not going to merely informally endorse the former Speaker by issuing a public announcement on one of his blogs. Rather, he will be putting his money (something he has very little of) where his mouth is, and will be making a financial contribution to both Gingrich and Santorum's respective campaigns, with Gingrich receiving roughly twice the amount that will be given to Santorum. Should the latter win any more states or do anything else that results in his building of momentum with the majority of states yet to vote, he will likely receive additional funding from Lester proportionate to any progress he makes in terms of gaining ground on Mitt Romney and Ron Paul.

(Newt Gingrich thanks Fat Lester for his advice and endorsement)

Fat Lester would like to encourage anyone and everyone reading this who cares about the general welfare of the United States of America to do likewise and make a donation to the Gingrich campaign using the link below. He would like for you to do this regardless of who you are, what your party affiliation is or which candidate you're supporting. Anyone can donate, regardless of one's income.

DONATE TO NEWT'S CAMPAIGN

America's Next President Poses with Fat Lester's Sister

If Fat Lester can come up with $100 spread out over a few months, so can you. It's time we take our country back, and we're going to need everyone to chip in whatever they can in order to save the nation.

The most important people were seated closest to the candidate

Another four years of Obama holding the office of the Presidency, and the United States will look more like Cuba than the prosperous one-time superpower where anyone who was willing to work hard could achieve success not attainable in most places throughout the world.

Fat Lester believes Newt Gingrich is the candidate with the best chance to take in 57+% of the vote required to win after the millions of fraudulent votes that will be cast by democrats are accounted for. In swing states, the real number needed to win could reach as high as 63-64%. In order to win this election, we will need to get 100% of the eligible voters in this country who want to preserve the freedom, prosperity and opportunity for which America was founded and will always be remembered (in the event Obama wins and the nation is disassembled or integrated into a North American Union). In order to do that, we will need to contribute whatever we can without losing our homes or failing to put food on our respective tables.

Please donate to Newt's campaign. If you support Ron Paul or Rick Santorum, donate to them as well. Fat Lester will be donating $120, $80 to the Gingrich campaign and $40 to the Santorum campaign. Please make one sacrifice on an item you can live without (as long as it's not something you're considering buying from Fat Lester or his affiliated businesses ;-), and instead use that money to help defeat the great American Saboteur-in-Chief.

---

On a totally separate note, it appears Mitt Romney's got some problems on the horizon:

Fat Lester: The Novel

I received a spam email from Ebay the other day announcing some contest in which a participant (presumably the winner) could have a character in an upcoming novel named after him or her.

I deleted the email, as it did not interest me in the least. However, it did get me thinking. It's about time someone wrote an entire book about me. Yes, you read that correctly.

It is my humble opinion that an entire book should be written about me. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if opportunistic author were to publish an account of my unusually interesting life, it would constitute a grave travesty and a great disservice to the world.

Imagine if you were to combine Ferris Buhler's Day Off with Forrest Gump, substituting a remarkably good looking guy with a freakishly high IQ in place of Tom Hanks, that would in effect be the story of my (now close to 30 years of) life.

A country boy, son of an Irish immigrant who came to America having taken a vow of poverty as a Catholic priest, who got away with literally everything imaginable while in high school and college, only to rub shoulders with the likes of world leaders, professional athletes, embattled politicians and a list of other famous people way too long to list here - achieving great success and miserable failure all in a span of a couple of years.

Well, that's what would be written on the back of the book cover anyway.

From a financial standpoint, I'm quite poor, and my family came from literally nothing. I live in a remote, rural area that almost no one in the public eye (save for John Goodman, who has a house about 20 miles away) has even heard of - much less had any reason to visit. Also, there's not much about me that really stands out or makes me any more important than any other average Joe (hence the Forrest Gump comparison).

Despite my handsome appearance, women don't seem to be particularly fond of me (I guess I come across as weird --- working on a computer for 14 hours a day will do that to you). Despite the fact that I work 80 hours a week, I'm still pennyless. That said, I have had a couple of near-misses, any one of which would have made me a multi-millionaire had God, nature, the Devil and/or bad luck not intervened.

For example, I was due to sign a contract with the Planet Beach corporation, a worldwide tanning salon franchise corporation, that would have guaranteed me almost two million dollars for about six months worth of work, on August 29, 2005. That wouldn't have been a big deal had both myself and Planet Beach been based out of New Orleans, LA. August 29, 2005 was the day the levees broke, flooding the warehouse that contained all of the $4 million of merchandise the company was going to allow me to sell at a 50-50 split. To add insult to injury, the lady with whom I had negotiated the contract did not return to work after the storm.

Less than a year later, I had built an online empire selling medical equipment via an Ebay Store, had achieved the #1 overall ranking in all of the major search engines for my primary and dozens of secondary keyword targets, and was poised to seize control of the online retail market for the medical equipment industry, only to watch the business fall apart after selling WAY more than the company for whom I was employed was able to handle, both infrastructurally speaking as well as from a personnel standpoint. Once again, I had to postpone my target age for retirement from 25 to 30 - a number that in less than two months I will again have to adjust, this time probably to 35. If I'm not a multimillionaire by then, there's a good chance I'll just give up and try to reinvent myself as a 21st century John Galt.

That is why when looking back on it, I find it so remarkable that I've literally met hundreds of people, any one of whom most folks would consider themselves lucky to shake hands with. I don't particularly relish these opportunities as would most, and I certainly do not go out of my way in the slightest in order to facilitate these meetings. Yet, nonetheless they happen, and with an inexplicable degree of frequency.

In any case, if anyone reading this happens to know any author(s) who'd like to make a novel out of a true story of a normal dude who has lived more in 30 years than most people would in several lifetimes, please put them in touch with me.

My story is just too good not to be told and preserved for all to see long after my time here has ended.

Wishful Thinking: The Anti-Soros

The Emergence of the Anti-Soros

As much as I'd like to say otherwise, I am not aware of anyone who appears to be maneuvering him or herself such that one day that person could serve as a counter-influence and check on George Soros' power. Not even myself :-( . Hey, a guy can have dreams though, right?

I'm going to divulge little bit about myself here for those of you readers visiting this blog for the first time, or who are simply unfamiliar with me in general, and thus are unaware of the context most readers of this blog know by way of past experiences with me.


I work about 80 hours a week on average, and sometimes more. Sure, I would like to one day be as wealthy as George Soros. While I have no doubt that should I achieve my financial goals or anything even close, I would thoroughly enjoy the money (a yacht with a harem of topless women feeding me grapes and strawberries in the Caribbean sun comes to mind), the primary reason I strive for such riches is so that I can become - for lack of a better term - the Anti-Soros.


Please do not mistake me for believing I am or ever could be Jesus Christ or his reincarnation (or ever be even 1/7777777 the man he was and is). That said, if I were to do as much good in the world as one would have to accomplish in order to earn even remote consideration for a title such as the "Anti-Soros", I'd feel much better about my chances for receiving forgiveness for my own worldly sins, which are many.


That said, I'm not an evil person, and I do have a good heart, flawed as I am. It would be nice though to be able to invest $10,000,000 into developing SmokersVote.org (a yet-to-be-established political PAC I intend to develop into an organization that at this point would best be described as the "NRA of and for Tobacco", as well as anyone else who believes in freedom-of-choice and personal responsibility.


It would also be nice to be able to take $500,000,000 and donate it to the campaign fund of GOP Presidential frontrunner Herman Cain using anonymous overseas donations of less than $200 (which is how Soros circumvented U.S. campaign finance law when he contributes roughly half of Obama's 2008 war chest).


I'd love to be able to contribute millions of dollars to Pro-Life candidates for the Unites States House of Representatives, U.S. Senate and state Governorships in hopes that someday, the right side will finally win large enough majorities in the federal lawmaking chambers and/or win the governorships of enough states to either have a law made outlawing abortion outright, have the U.S. Supreme Court overturn the unprecedented historical tragedy of Roe v. Wade, and/or accomplish the same end by way of a Constitutional amendment (which if my memory serves me correctly would require 37 states to sign on).


I'd thoroughly enjoy buying or founding my own nationwide and/or worldwide newspapers, cable networks and institutions for higher learning --- even if the investments yielded a perpetual negative return monetarily speaking which of course I would be easily able to sustain given my wealth --- for the sole purpose of attempting to revive the terminally ill profession of news and journalism, and bring it back to the fundamentals of Who, What, Where, When, Why and How, with the facts of the stories being covered actually being factual in nature, with personal and political opinions confined to the OP/ED page.


My schools would teach history (which has been absent from course curricula in America for generations across all levels of the education/propaganda system). For example, in Econ 101 at UFL (University of Fat Lester), students would be asked to write their final term paper on John Maynard Keynes and his theories regarding economics. Students who would fail to point out in said term paper the fact that "Keynesian Economics", while fundamentally-sound on its surface and in theory, and perhaps even altruistic in nature in terms of the motivation underlying Keynes' thinking (and that of the political figures throughout history who have applied Keynes' economic principles), has failed miserably in each and every single example of its actual application as a mechanism for economic planning and governance, would receive an "F" for the paper and no credit for the course.


Nature's Law of Supply and Demand would be introduced in elementary school and would be a yearly recurring theme until high school, during which it would be taught in Physics class as well as in Biology, Civics and American History. The reason being that Supply and Demand is every bit as much of one of the few natural laws which govern the universe as are the Law of Gravity and the Law of Conservation of Mass and Energy. The only difference between the laws from the standpoint of a physicist is that the latter two require no life, while the former must have life present in order to be applied and recognized. It is a common misnomer that the Law of Supply and Demand is exclusive to human society. In fact, this is the law that governs all life on earth, from the tiniest single-cell organisms to the most complex beasts nature has to offer, and everything in between.


Evolution is fueled by Supply and Demand. As environmental conditions (including supplies of food and the demand thereof - i.e. "competition") change over time, life forms (including plants, animals, bacteria and so forth) either evolve so as to continue to survive in an ever-changing environment or become extinct. It is this, the most natural of all the laws which govern nature and the natural world, from which the economic system known as Capitalism is modeled. Obviously, Capitalism must be slightly modified to meet the needs of a civilized human society (you can't just kill your next-door neighbor and steal his potatoes because you're hungry). However, in terms of its viability as a system providing all of the necessary components for long-term success and prosperity for nearly all involved parties - including but not limited to its own built-in system of checks-and-balances - it is unparalleled. This is especially true when compared directly with the system envisioned by Keynes, which contradicts virtually every aspect of human nature, and --- dare I say --- nature itself.


Students attending the schools and universities controlled by my hypothetical future money would be taught facts like these beginning at an early age. A tremendous emphasis would be placed on teaching students how to think (for themselves) as opposed to what to think (as most schools and universities are oriented toward). However, students who reject indisputable fact and fail to substantiate their dissenting position(s) with a logical argument that exposes one or more flaws in the established thinking would be required to spend additional time learning the principles of logic, reason and critical thinking - perhaps the most glaring deficiency of all in today's American education system, which for the past 70 years or so has been unanimously dominated by the liberal establishment (with substantial influence and significant contributions by the Soviet KGB - * see video at bottom of page if you decide to click the link).

The #1 Drawback to Working with Internet Technology

I recently came across a fantastic post on a blog called Get Girls Not Game entitled: "The 7 Deadly Sins of Approaching a Woman That Will Turn Her Off Instantly."

Well, according to this list of the seven deadly sins, sin #2 is the one that keeps me from reaching paradise. It reads:

2. Not Understanding How To Tactfully Move Things Forward

Now I’m going to blow you away with a little insider dating secret… A woman is expecting you to move an interaction forward… and actually will get turned off if you fail to do so. Let me say this again: If you don’t move an interaction toward intimacy and get physical with her, women will actually LOSE their attraction to you.
I know, it might be hard to believe. But for example, if you’re talking to a girl for more than a couple minutes, she’s probably already thinking, “Okay, when is going to ask for my number?” or even, “Okay, so when is he going to kiss me?” And if you don’t do it—or fail to do it smoothly—then she’ll actually “cool off” and start thinking of ways to dismiss you: “I think we’re better off just being friends…”
And this goes for ALL aspects of women and dating… Confidently approaching a woman, going for the number, asking her out, kissing her, getting sexual… everything. If you hesitate or don’t know what to do in each situation, you will end up losing EVERYTHING. And you know it.
It is crucial that you understand how to tactfully move from one step to the next with a woman… from the approach, all the way to the bedroom.

In my younger years I never had to do anything. ANYTHING. They (countless gorgeous twenty-somethings) would initiate the conversation, chat me up and move things forward until I had rounded the bases and tipped my cap for the fans.

Well, one day it all just stopped. I remember what day it was and what activity it was that started my unfortunate reversal of fortune. In my mid-20's I started selling stuff on Ebay to help pay for my rent while I was finishing up with college. It turned into a career in web development, trading premium aftermarket domain names, social media marketing, SEO and so forth. In other words, for all intents and purposes I became a geek.

I'm still the same guy all the ladies were fawning over in high school and college. I'm still just as fit as I was when I was the star player on my college rugby team (and multiple sports teams in high school). It matters not. I have an uphill battle to fight.

Yes, the same guy who exerted zero effort in landing a babe that years later moved to Los Angeles to become an actress and model and at one point dated Shia Labeouf has to work for every base hit these days.

My personality hasn't really changed either. They (mid-20's single women - my target demographic... I'm almost 30 fwiw) seem to be programmed to be averse to guys who spend a lot of time around computers. Even successful guys whose careers involve lots of computer and in particular internet work.

For all you younger fellows that have yet to make up your mind about what you'd like to do for a living, if you decide upon internet work, make sure you sew your wild oats before embarking on your career, and if you have any desire to be married, you may want to find the lucky lady first as well. The alternative is to lie about what you do.

In any case, it's certainly something to consider as one of the major drawbacks of an otherwise exciting, mentally stimulating and very enjoyable line of work.

Author's Note: The other drawbacks include having to work insane hours, having to constantly learn new technologies - even after you've reached an age where you don't want to learn anymore, and bidding a permanent farewell to the feeling of being well-rested.

Domain Name PanaxGinseng.net Sells

I am pleased to announce that PanaxGinseng.net has been purchased in a private sale that is being brokered by Sedo. The domain fetched $775 before commission.

While I personally feel that it might be worth up to $3,000, I agreed to accept the offer for a variety of reasons. These include the fact that my domain portfolio has become a little too top-heavy, the fact that I had no immediate plans to develop the domain, as well as the fact that the overhead for maintaining such a large portfolio is becoming prohibitively burdensome in this tough economy.

In the coming weeks and months, I plan to begin aggressively marketing about 200 of the names in my portfolio in hopes of trimming down on the number of domains I hold that I don't plan to develop in the near future. If you're looking to add inventory, or if I just happen to have a domain name you want, now would be a good time to submit an offer on it.

Full Story: Panax Ginseng Domain Name Has Sold

Worthy Opponent Remembered: Fat Lester's Tribute to JeffK

I know that there have already been several different tributes done since JeffK's departure for the hereafter. While I do not want to be redundant, I think it is only appropriate that I, Fat Lester, publish my own tribute to JeffK (formerly known as "janejas"). 

For one thing, the tribute song chosen for one of the dedications to Jeff was the same song used in a faux tribute to Violet Planet following her banning from Mixx. Maybe it's just me, but it seems as though that cheapens it some when included in a tribute to one of the other three 100k karma Mixxers (no offense to VP, it's the likening of being banned versus the real thing that bothers me). The other thing is that enough time has passed now that I can write the tribute that best commemorates my time here with Jeff without the shock-factor influencing me.

The other reason I decided to go ahead with this tribute is that unlike the authors of Jeff's other candlelight-posts, this one was written by someone on the side of the aisle opposite Jeff. That is significant to me. That someone who spent countless hours arguing back-and-forth with Jeff would take the time to pen a tribute weeks after his passing says something about the kind of man Jeff was. I've debated hundreds if not thousands of different people during my time at Mixx, but none ever challenged me the way Jeff did.

Conservatives tend to classify liberal arguments as being rooted in emotions as opposed to logic and reason, thereby discrediting left-wind arguments on the basis that left wingers don't think logically. While many liberals do indeed wear their hearts on their sleeves, JeffK's logic was as sharp as any conservatives, and he made quite the habit of routinely shredding the widespread over-generalization regarding left-wingers and logic. Defeating him in debate was never easy, and most of our arguments ended with a mutual agreement to disagree for the sake of allowing ourselves enough time to experience worldly things other than Mixx. That isn't to say liberals are right about anything, just that proving they were wrong was far more difficult when Jeff was on the other side of the debate than it would have been with most others.

Jeff and I butted heads more than a few times the first couple of weeks he was a Mixxer. I can recall dozens of heated exchanges between the two of us during the two-plus years I knew the man. However, despite our frequent disagreements over politics and philosophy, the two of us came to develop a relationship based upon mutual respect.

It didn't take long at all for the two of us to realize that the other was not a fool or an idiot, and that our failure to see eye-to-eye on many of these matters was not a byproduct of either of us being an intellectual superior to the other. Essentially, we reached a point where we could accept our disagreements as such without villainizing the other.

Within a matter of weeks after he had joined the Mixx community, Jeff and I had developed a strong mutual respect for each other in spite of the fact that disagreed often about politics, and neither of us was shy about expressing our views about a given subject. We each were able to come to terms with the fact that neither of us were bad people, and that neither of us was severely lacking in intellectual capability. We recognized that so long as our debates pertained to the given issue or topic at hand and did not become personal (meaning neither of us would insult the other despite the extent to which we disagreed on a subject), that our lively debates could be fun, educational and an overall positive contribution to the community.

There was a period of about eight-to-ten months when the discussions at Mixx well far more civilized, intelligent in nature, thought-provoking and educational. For a while there, we really did have the best community of its type on the web, and the ability of Mixxers such as Jeff and myself (and dozens of others - you know who you are) to debate rationally and with respect and civility to all despite our differences that set the example for new users. For a period, that mature and intellectually-stimulating culture was the dominant culture at Mixx.

I was forced to take a five-month leave-of-absence from Mixxing last summer to address some medical issues and later pursue a job opportunity that was prohibitive of my involvement in social media. When I returned, Mixx was not the same place it was when I had left it.

While Jeff certainly didn't have this sort of relationship with everyone he interacted with at Mixx, it was his leadership as an outspoken representative of the political left that helped set the tone for debate and raise the bar on the community standards for interactive conversation. There were some people on both sides of the aisle who eventually made their presence felt in the community, much to the detriment of said community. It was very challenging to have a conversation with some of these folks without insults flying. In most cases, these were the people who lowered the bar for everyone and helped spur the eventual decline in the community and the standards for debate that for years we Mixxers took so much pride in.

If I had to choose a song to represent my relationship with JeffK (aka: "Janejas"), it would have to be "We Just Disagree" by Dave Mason. The words that best express my experiences with Jeff were articulated to perfection by Mason in the song: "There ain't no good guy. There ain't no bad guy. There's only you and me and we just disagree."

Jeff, you were the epitome of a worthy opponent, and while I vehemently disagreed with many of your political views, I hadn't the slightest bit of animosity for you whatsoever --- in fact, quite the contrary (as you well know). There are not many people with whom I can have such challenging and intelligent conversations without having to worry about ruffling anyone's feathers. You were a warrior, and your skin was impenetrable by the words of mere mortals.

God Bless you and your family Jeff. Your presence is missed, but I take comfort knowing that you're probably sitting around having a beer throwing darts with Michael and Gabriel, helping the Easter Bunny prepare to kick off the year's most important Holy Day.

I miss you man. Now more than ever. Since I know you're already in Heaven and do not need my prayers in that regard, I instead will pray for your family, that they may come to peace with your departure for the next world. While I admit I'm in no hurry to get there, I hope one day I am deemed worthy of joining you in paradise so we can resume our ideological jousting, ostensibly for all eternity. Until then, you'll not be forgotten.

For the Record: Jennifer Rexford Confirmed to be Fraud

In case you missed it:  I told this Jennifer Rexford character that I'd retract my first two posts and issue and apology, see to it personally that her story gets mainstream publicity and establish a charitable fund in her name to help with medical bills and immediately make a $150 donation towards it IF (and it turned out to be every big as bit of an if as it looked) she could provide independently verifiable information that substantiated her litany of claims.

She could not provide one single detail such as for whom she worked, the name of her supervisor, any officials within the agency, the name of the alleged doctor or nurse nor any other independently verifiable data.

FOR THE RECORD: I generally don't go around attacking sickly women who claim to have been victimized and are dying unless I'm pretty certain reality is far different than they would have you believe it is.

The kind of shit she's pulling is causing families to lose their homes, children to go hungry and an economy to take a critical and unnecessary blow. The Gulf South's economy is centered around 1) Energy; 2) Seafood; 3) Tourism.

Drilling has been completely shut down putting close to 100,000 people out of work. Tourism and seafood are down more than 100% as people around the country and world continue to harbor completely false paranoid suspicions about the Gulf of Mexico. I saw a poll of college students that showed that more than 25% thought the Gulf of Mexico is largely dead and contaminated and more than 15% believed the beaches are black with oil and tar.

Thanks to this idiot, that group of students went to Lake Tahoe instead of Pensacola or Navarre Beach, the family in Michigan stayed away from the shrimp and oysters at the restaurant for fear they were poisoned. In return, the restaurant owner stopped buying the shrimp harvested in the waters surrounding Venice, LA and 42 hotel employees were laid off. Six months down the road with sales still down and bills piling up, the shrimper and his family of six are forced into foreclosure. Their shrimp just weren't selling and when they were they weren't getting enough money for them to support their families. BP did NOT fulfill its promise to make those who make their living from Gulf Seafood whole (additional resources below), and eventually something must give. For families with mortgages, it's usually the house.

Thanks to this idiot, people are still in delusion about the impact of shutting down drilling in the gulf, allowing the government to get away with starving 80,000 workers and their families out of their homes, jobs and livelihoods.

Tens of thousands of people have viewed this scoundrel's videos and to date no one has previously bothered to point out the fact that HER WHOLE ACT IS BULLSHIT!

I might post an online poll at the blog where all this has transpired asking if "rexford" should be adopted by society as a new synonym for the word "bullshit". Who knows, maybe it will catch on.

Someone had to put her in her place and expose not only skepticism of her claims but also the reasons none of what she said made any sense, as well as put on public display the fact then when confronted she cannot provide a shred of independently verifiable evidence about her story.

nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2011/04/longtime_oil_industry_champion.html

nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2011/04/longtime_oil_industry_champion.html

nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/index.ssf/2011/04/bp_says_its_not_responsible_fo.html

Hermain Cain Meets Fat Lester

I had the honor and privilege of meeting 2012 GOP Presidential Candidate Herman Cain at a Tea Party event in Mandeville, LA a few weeks back. Mr. Cain was the keynote speaker at the event, which also featured contributions from New Orleans radio personality John Osterlind, St. Tammany Parish radio personality Jeff Crouere and distinguished gentleman and businessman John d'Hemecourt of Abita Springs.

[Photo: GOP Presidential Nominee Herman Cain visits with right-wing conspirator Peter Egan Jr., aka: "Fat Lester"]

Mr. Cain delivered an inspiring speech in which he laid out his philosophy as a candidate for the United States Republican Presidential Nomination in 2012. He spoke of the government's reckless and ever-growing irresponsibility, and promised that if chosen to represent the Republican Party in the 2012 Presidential Election, that he would be the candidate who finally reversed course in hopes of righting the ship. The question implicit in the words "in hopes of" is not whether or not Herman Cain possesses the ability to lead the country back to greatness, but whether or not the unprecedented spending and borrowing that has taken place since the Democrats seized the House in the 2006 mid-term elections in the face of an already massive debt (present BEFORE they took office - they've increased it by an average of $4.07 billion per day SINCE they gained control of Congress). Each year that Nancy Pelosi was Speaker of the House of Representatives the Congress set a new record for national debt. That rise has increased dramatically since the election of Barack Obama as President.

Mr. Cain's speech was not particularly heavy on policy or specific issues per se, as can be expected for what ultimately wound up being something of a quasi-announcement that he would seek the GOP nomination for the Presidency. While technically at the time of the event his now-campaign was simply announcing the formation of a "Presidential Exploratory Committee", he left little doubt that he planned to enter the Republican contest as something of a "dark horse" candidate (no pun intended).

[Photo: GOP Presidential Candidate Herman Cain addresses the crowd at a Tea Party event in Mandeville, Louisiana]

The fact is that Herman Cain is not a politician, and has none of the baggage that all career politicians who have been in Washington for any significant period of time bring with them. Perhaps most significantly, the reluctance to implement the "radical" changes (as Chuck U. Shumer and Dingy Harry like to say) necessary to ensure the long-term economic and financial viability of the United States, the Federal Reserve Bank id its currency. The reality is that the last President in recent memory to positively impact the state of the government had a successful career in the private sector before seeking the governorship of the only state where Hollywood icons have repeatedly contested for (and won) multiple terms as chief executive. Those that have followed (and those that preceded) him have been career public sector elected representatives whose idea of running a business involves laundering taxpayer money to campaign donors who then reinvest it in that Congressman or Senator's "business" ventures, and look where they've taken the country.

Of all the names mentioned so far as possible Republican Presidential contenders, with the exception of Donald Trump who is only putting on a show for the sake of publicity and who is a RINO (Republican In Name Only) at best, none can boast the kind of private sector or executive-level success and experience in general that Herman Cain has achieved. Cain, the son of working-class parents in Georgia, grabbed the American dream by the (fill-in your choice of body part). He knows what working people go through in life, knowledge foreign to far too many in the Washington establishment in both parties.

Finally, in Herman Cain Americans have an opportunity to vote for a black man for President of the United States, not because he's black and it's long-past time the country elected a person of color if for no other reason than to break the taboo, but because if his resume, his mammoth intellect and his charisma are any indication, there's a very strong probability that Herman Cain may very well be the best and most qualified man for the job.

I've now met three four of the top six or seven names being mentioned in association with the GOP Presidential nominating contest, albeit one has been mentioned only as a potential candidate for Vice President as he has repeatedly proclaimed that he planned to seek reelection to his state's governorship and would not seek the Presidency - at least not before his 42nd birthday. This Southern Governor only became eligible to run for the Presidency since the summer of 2006. Anyone not know to whom I am referring?

I know this has gotten a little bit off topic since this is a post about Herman Cain. However, this latter candidate whom I have refused to name (in this post - c'mon, you should know this one) presents a couple of very interesting dynamics as a potential VP consideration. First off, in the ostensibly unlikely event he should team up with Herman Cain, they would represent the first major-party non-white Presidential ticket in the nation's history. Second, should this person join up with another candidate such as say Newt Gingrich, whom I have also met during the SRLC last year (2010 for those of you in Rio Linda) when he consulted with myself and about two-dozen other Tea Party leaders in New Orleans about the prospect of a potential Presidential bid, it MIGHT present a scenario in which I could potentially vote for a different ticket IF the Herman Cain campaign had not won any primary contests before Louisiana's, MAY feel compelled to vote for a ticket other than Herman Cain's. Unless and until that happens, at this point, he's definitely got my vote in the Louisiana GOP Presidential Primary.

[PHOTO: (from left) Peter and Pamela Egan, Herman Cain and Fat Lester]

About Herman Cain (Source: Wikipedia)

Herman Cain (born December 13, 1945) is an American newspaper columnist, businessman, political activist, and radio talk-show host from Georgia. He is best known as the former chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza. He is a former deputy chairman (1992–94) and chairman (1995–96) of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Cain's newspaper column is distributed by North Star Writers Group. He currently lives in the Atlanta suburbs.

Cain was born and raised in Georgia by working class parents. He earned a bachelor's degree in Mathematics at Morehouse College in 1967, and while working for the U.S. Department of the Navy, a master's degree in computer science from Purdue University.

After completing his master's degree, Cain left the Department of the Navy and began working for Coca-Cola as a business analyst. In 1977, he joined Pillsbury where he rose to the position of vice president by the early 1980s. He left his executive post to work for Burger King – a Pillsbury subsidiary at the time – managing 400 stores in the Philadelphia area. Under Cain's leadership, his region went from the least profitable for Burger King to the most profitable in three years. This prompted Pillsbury to appoint him president and CEO of Godfather's Pizza, another of their then-subsidiaries. Within 14 months, Cain had returned Godfather's to profitability. In 1988, Cain and a group of investors bought Godfather's from Pillsbury. Cain continued as CEO until 1996, when he resigned to become CEO of the National Restaurant Association – a trade group and lobby organization for the restaurant industry – where he had previously been chairman concurrently with his role at Godfather's.

Cain hosted The Herman Cain Show on Atlanta talk radio station News Talk 750 WSB, a CNN radio affiliate until February 2011 and serves as a commentator for Fox News Business and a syndicated columnist distributed by the North Star Writers Group. In 2009, Cain founded "Hermanator's Intelligent Thinkers Movement" (HITM), aimed at organizing 100,000 activists in every congressional district in the United States in support of a strong national defense, the FairTax, tax cuts, energy independence, capping and cutting government spending, restructuring Social Security, and defending the U.S. Constitution. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_Cain

David Vitter, Jerome Corsi and Obama's Eligibility

I recently came upon a post by Dean Striker at No-Ruler.net in which the author poses a couple of questions:

1. Why the silence within Congress on President Obama's proof of citizenship?
   
2. If there is a single Congressman or Senator who cares deeply enough about the United States Constitution and the requirements that must be met before someone can lawfully run for the office of United States President, who is it and why haven't we heart from him, her or them?
   

We all know what they say about assumptions, so I'll refrain from repeating it here. That said, suffice it to say that Mr. Striker hadn't done his homework (at least not thoroughly) before assuming and stating publicly that no U.S. Congressman or Senator has acknowledged the constitutional crisis posed by President Obama's apparent lack of eligibility for the office of United States Chief Executive.

Louisiana GOP Senator David Vitter, a man whom I am honored to say I worked for and helped reelect, has done and is doing all he can to continue to bring this issue to light.

I have assembled a list below of stories and references from around the web documenting Senator Vitter's efforts to protect and defend the United States Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic.

Stories regarding Sen. Vitter's questioning of Obama's eligibility:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/13/david-vitter-birther-gop_n_644031.html

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/39652.html

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/13/vitters-birther-comments-draw-heat/

http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/republican-senator-david-vitter-a-birther/question-1102977/

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/07/13/obama-and-birthers-sen-david-vitter-says-its-valid-question-f/

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/12/politics/main6671974.shtml

Senator Vitter also spoke at a Tea Party rally last October in which the other big-name speaker appearing at the event was none other than Dr. Jerome Corsi, author of the book entitled: Where's the Birth Certificate?: The Case that Barack Obama is not Eligible to be President.

Corsi's speech at the "Remember in November" Tea Party event in Mandeville, Louisiana was largely centered around Obama's lack of eligibility to be President of the United States. Senator Vitter spoke at the very same rally just minutes before Dr. Corsi delivered the keynote address. Congressman Steve Scalise (R-LA) also spoke at the event, but I do not remember his speech as I was too busy working the crowd recruiting volunteers for the Vitter Campaign.

Fat Lester Meets Dr. Jerome Corsi at Tea Party event in Mandeville, LA

Below is a photograph of myself, Sen. Vitter, Peter and Pamela Egan. It was taken at an awards banquet for a local Republican organization. The banquet was held at the Quail Farm in Abita Springs, Louisiana. This photo was taken almost a year before my employment with the 2011 David Vitter for U.S. Senate campaign.

I worked as the Grassroots Coordinator for Southeast Louisiana for Vitter's 2010 reelection bid in which Vitter defeated Democrat Charlie Melancon by a score of 57-38. A field of more than 10 minor candidates split the other 5% of the vote.

A number of so-called experts and analysts had projected the race to be very close and initially considered the GOP-held seat "vulnerable". From my vantage point - working on the ground and interacting with voters every day (all day, seven days a week) - I had a pretty good idea the contest would end in a blowout with my candidate falling on the right end of the lopsided score.

From Left: Fat Lester, Sen. David Vitter, Peter and Pam Egan

I actually took a temporary leave-of-absence from my business (much of which was on autopilot anyway) to work on the campaign. I did this because I truly believe, as evidenced by this post and the stories referenced herein, that America has a much better chance of surviving the assault unleashed by Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and of course President Barack Obama on the American Constitution, economy and military/defense infrastructure if David Vitter continues to serve as a voice of reason in the United States Senate. I can only think of two others off the top of my head, and one of them was not a member of the Senate when I decided to dedicate myself to helping to ensure Vitter's reelection. The other two Senators are Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Rand Paul (R-KY), respectively. The House generally speaking has a higher percentage of ideologically-pure conservatives than does the Senate, and conservatives in the House are traditionally less likely to compromise with Democrats for the sake of unity, "bipartisanship" or compromise (which usually involves the left getting most or all of what it wants).

Anyway, as for the second of Dean's two-part second question about why he hadn't yet been made aware of this fact, the reality is that while the URLs listed above come from well-known, "mainstream" news sources, while these entities obviously reported on Sen. Vitter's defense of the Constitution, they most likely buried the stories so deep within their sites that the only way anyone would ever find them is if they were searching Google using queries specific to David Vitter and Obama's eligibility/birth certificate.

More about Dr. Jerry Corsi (from Amazon):

"Jerome R. Corsi, a Harvard Ph.D., has authored many books, including No. 1 N.Y. Times best-sellers The Obama Nation and Unfit for Command. Along with serving as WND's senior staff reporter, Corsi is a senior managing director at Gilford Securities."

More about Dr. Corsi's New Book:

"Over the course of more than three years of research, Jerome Corsi assembles the evidence that Barack Obama is constitutionally ineligible for the office of the presidency. As a New York Times bestselling author, Harvard graduate, and investigative journalist, Corsi exposes in detail key issues with Obama's eligibility, including the fact the President has spent millions of dollars in legal fees to avoid providing the American people with something as simple as a long-form birth certificate. The eligibility issue has major ramifications for every American, and through Corsi's in-depth research, a clear, concise, and compelling case is made for a return to Founding Father principles and transparent, constitutional government, starting from the top down."

Anyway, if anyone reading this is interested in learning more about the book and/or buying it, just click the image below.

Jerome Corsi's Book: "Where's the Birth Certificate"

Video on Dr. Jerome Corsi's new book: Where's the Birth Certificate: The Case That Barack Obama Is Not Eligible To Be President

Date's Bieber Fever a Red Flag?

The Context

A couple of weeks ago while driving home one evening after work, I decided to pull into my favorite convenience store (Spell's Grocery on Lee Road in Covington, LA for anyone wondering) to pick up a cold beverage and a pack of smokes just as I have done hundreds if not thousands of times over the years.  This was no ordinary pit-stop however, as I would soon find out.

Photo: Spell's Grocery (right) and Amy's Place (left) on Lee Road in Covington

Everything seemed normal enough at first.  I went inside the store, got what I needed and checked out.  As I was walking to my car (a black '95 Mercedes Benz 300E - Diesel), I heard a pounding on the glass coming from the beauty salon next door to Spell's.  I abruptly turned around to find Holly (that's not her real name, but that's what we'll call her), one of the hairdressers, aggressively motioning me to come into the beauty salon.

The Ladies at the Beauty Parlor Told Me... (that I had a hot date)

Upon entering, she promptly and in no uncertain terms informed me that I would be taking her Cousin Daisy (that's not her real name either, but you get the point) out on a date.  Naturally, I was a bit taken aback by all of this, so I in a noncommittal but polite way asked if she had any photos of her cousin.  She did.  Much to my surprise, the girl in the photos was not the one with the 'nice personality' I was expecting, but much to the contrary was quite attractive.

Without giving pause, I agreed to the date.  It wouldn't happen for a couple of weeks, as she attends college several hours away from where I reside, and any date would have to occur on a weekend when she came home to visit her family.

Sure, I figured there must be something very wrong with the girl.  I mean, what kind of gorgeous female college student has so much trouble meeting guys that she needs her cousin back in her hometown to set her up on a date?  Beats me too, but several weeks ago I decided to stop questioning it.

The Girl

Anyway, so I call her, and we go out.  The date went well enough.  Our waitress at the restaurant was incompetent, which put us on a tight time-frame, but she handled being forced to rush through her dinner with class and elegance, and somehow managed to turn the negative into an overall positive as she impressed me with her ability to roll with the punches as I did her when I took control of the situation (which I eventually did do).

All-in-all, she's a delightful girl.  For one thing, she's downright beautiful.  She's intelligent, classy, graceful, popular (she has over 1,600 Facebook friends and is not a professional social media marketer, web publisher or SEO), somewhat charming and definitely a whole lot of fun to be around.  We have plans to go out again the next time she's in town, and she has told me her plans are to move back home at the end of the semester and transfer to a school that's closer to home.

For a while there I suspected her age may become an issue.  She's a young one, still a few months away from being of legal drinking age (that's age 20 for those of you in Rio Linda).  However, even those things I initially saw as likely drawbacks had not materialized as such --- at least until now.

The Problem: She Has "Bieber Fever"

You see, it was with great regret that I recently came across an extremely unsettling status update on her Facebook page that has me rethinking my entire assessment of this girl and questioning whether or not she's even date-worthy material.

She has the Bieber Fever and appears to be perfectly content with it.  I just don't know how safe I would feel being alone with a young woman who suffers from Bieber Fever.

We've all seen the headlines: "Teen Survives Justin Bieber-Inspired Death Threats;" "Selena Gomez (and/or Kim Kardashian) Getting Death Threats From Bieber Fans;" "Bieber Fans Go On Grammy-Fueled Wikipedia Rampage."

Can I really feel safe around this girl?  What if I slip up and make some joke about the androgynous singer (See! Like that) that she doesn't find to be funny?  What if it just downright offends her and angers her so much she feels compelled to take action?  Would she actually attack me physically, or would her assaults be confined to the world of the social web?  Which of the two (being attacked physically or staring down angry hoards of teenage girls online) would be more harmful to my wellbeing?

Right now I'm just not sure what to do.  This could be a passing phase, but then again there's never before been a Justin Bieber and science has found no cure to date for Bieber Fever.  Is it likely to happen at some point in the future?  Maybe, but how sure can a guy be?

I have more questions than answers at this point.  If I had to make a decision today, I suppose it would be to proceed with caution, but that could change at any moment.

Any advice on what to do would be greatly appreciated.  Please share any insights you may have in the comments.

Happy Valentines Day to all my family, friends, readers and fans!