Lending Tree -
We’ve Hosed More People Than
The Alabama National Guard!

I do not eat at fast food restaurants because of the lack of concern on the preparers part when it comes to the final product. As long as the food is wrapped and in the bag, and your money is in their register, they really could care less about your meal.

Why then would I ever think of getting a “McMortgage“? But I guess I contacted Lending Tree for the same reasons we line up for fast food - the illusion that it is quick and easy. But the reality of life is that nothing ever looks as good in reality as it does in the commercials.  At Lending Tree you will be a widget.

If you have perfect credit and tons of equity, I’m sure they will produce as advertised. But if you have all that, you probably don’t need a loan. And if you do, spending a little time yourself shopping around will produce better results, as will working with a smaller broker that offers more personalized service. That is especially true if your loan application is not totally “vanilla”, as I’m sure 90% of the loan applications truly are. Problems arise in obtaining a loan, and even the smaller problems Lending Tree either does not have the time, or perhaps even the intention of helping you work through.

Bottom line is- Lending Tree really doesn’t care about you, just their commissions. My loan officer repeatedly told me that he does not get paid unless the loan gets funded. His attitude was that his commission was as important as my reasons for the loan. Even then, I had to constantly be on his back to keep the loan moving forward. A Herculean effort on their part is walking your file from one cubicle to the next.

I was told numerous things about my loan processing and credit-worthiness that later on turned out to not be true. The purpose of my loan was for debt consolidation, yet I was told that a few of my creditors could not be paid off with the proceeds of the loan, I would have to satisfy them before settlement. Upon contacting these creditors, I found that they would be more than happy to accept payment at settlement. All this after I paid these debts. I spent thousands of dollars upon the assumption that I would be able to replace my money spent with money from the loan. Until the next roadblock they threw up. Or the next roadblock. Or the next…….

After months of the salesman, er, loan officer telling me that after I jump through this one last hoop, my loan would be funded, I gave up. Lending Tree had probably nevr fully intended to fund my loan from the start, but instead of telling me this directly, they kept stringing me along.
The worst part is, that when I finally decided to move on another mortgage broker, my FICO score had dropped an average of 60 points, even though I had paid off much of my existing negative credit. Lending Tree left me hanging on the verge of bankruptcy, until I took matters in my own hands and shopped around.

When I told other mortgage brokers that I wanted a debt consolidation loan for 30% of the value of the property which I owned outright, You should have seen them compete for my business. I was able to do in an afternoon what Lending Tree had promised, but could not deliver in months.

Since June, 40 skaters taking turns three nights a week have been cruising downtown streets, acting as the eyes and ears of the local police precinct.
“We haven’t done any studies, but we know one thing: When they are working, there is a drop in crime,” Officer Val Izzo said.
About 20 other traditional town watch groups exist in the 9th Police District, where Officer Izzo works and where the in-line group focuses its efforts. But none has the range and dexterity of skaters.
“To see six guys coming down the street, it’s not so bad,” Officer Izzo said. “Put them on skates and put helmets on them, they’re looking 7 feet tall. They do make an impact. If I was a bad guy coming down the street, I’d think about going another way fast.”
The rolling Town Watch grew out of a popular weekly group skate that involved up to hundreds of enthusiasts winding through the streets in a long ribbon of color and flash.
The spectacle — unnerving to the uninitiated — led several city officials to start talking about banning it.
So Mr. Perry, president of the Landskaters Inline Skate Club, went on the offensive, telling officials about the safety measures taken during the weekly skate. He and a skating cohort then decided to go even further and approached the police with their radical idea for rolling justice.
“I ran it by a couple of colleagues and everybody had a good laugh,” Officer Izzo said.
Unwilling to give up, Mr. Perry and Rick Short, who now runs the group, returned a few days later and got the department’s blessing.
“It’s definitely positive community work,” Mr. Short said. “You hate to be associated with the hard-core skaters, the ones the cops are after.”
Each team, usually made up of six people, is equipped with a cellular phone programmed to dial only police dispatchers. At least one person carries a first aid kit. A local sports store has signed on with some cash, mostly for T-shirts and equipment, and an in-line wheel manufacturer has donated wheels.
The group concentrates on property crime. In the 9th District, the most common problems involve vandalism: Car windows are smashed, radios are stolen, cars are dented.
During the past three months, the skaters have responded to a gas explosion, helped police catch a church vandal and reported dozens of suspicious characters.
To Sid Macleod, one of the more aggressive skaters in the group, it’s personal.
“It’s about ego, to a point,” Mr. Macleod said. “This is my city. In the past 25 years, this city has worked so hard (to improve) and to have people prey on other people …”
The group has attracted widespread support from pedestrians, usually lukewarm to skaters.
“I just want to tell you something,” Barbara Lichtman said as the group made its way through an upscale neighborhood recently. “When I see you, I feel safe.”
Her unprompted kind words echoed reactions throughout the city; some people waved and others cheered as the group rolled by.
“It’s the next best thing to cops,” said Neil Gutman, a member of the Pine Street Civic Association Town Watch. “They’re a very prominent, physical presence.”

photo by the Associated Press

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.”
– Stephen Roberts

“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
- Epicurus

“Don’t you know there ain’t no devil, it’s just god when he’s drunk.”
– Tom Waits

You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do.
–[from Usenet]

“If it turns out that there is a God, I don’t think that he’s evil. But the
worst that you can say about him is that basically he’s an underachiever.” -
Woody Allen

“We must respect the other fellow’s religion, but only in the sense and to the
extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children
smart.”
– H. L. Mencken

“The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than
the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one.”
- George Bernard Shaw

“Creationists make it sound like a ‘theory’ is something you dreamt up after
being drunk all night.”
- Isaac Asamov

“I still say a church steeple with a lightening rod on top shows a lack of
confidence.”
– Doug McLeod

“It ain’t the parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is
the parts that I do understand.”
- Mark Twain

“‘In God We Trust.’ I don’t believe it would sound any better if it were true.”
- Mark Twain

“the trouble with theocracy is that everyone wants to be Theo.”
– James Dunn

Today is a sad day in another series of sad days under King George W. Under much fanfare, he signed the bill that extends the “Patriot Act”. National Security aside, most of our founding fathers are rolling over in their graves over this blatent circumvention of our Constitution. King George’s court has upheld most of his terrorism against his subjects, but to his dismay- the Constitution Prevails:

Philadelphia Passes Resolution Against U.S. Patriot Act

Over 60 cities across the U.S. have passed similar legislation in recent months . . .

Resolution Against the USA PATRIOT ACT and Other Executive Orders for the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Urging the City Administration to demonstrate Philadelphia’s strong commitment to civil liberties by continuing and strengthening the City’s protection of the Constitutional rights of all persons in our City, regardless of race, religion, or national origin, and urging our Congressional Delegation to vigilantly monitor the implementation of the USA Patriot Act and to actively work to repeal the Act or those sections of the Act and those Orders, rules and regulations issued under the Act, that violate the fundamental rights and liberties of persons protected by the United States Constitution and its Amendments.

WHEREAS, the City of Philadelphia recognizes that a threat to any one person’s Constitutional rights is a threat to the rights of all; and

WHEREAS, the City of Philadelphia has been and remains committed to the protection of civil rights and liberties for all residents; and

WHEREAS, the Declaration of Independence of the United States, which was written in Philadelphia, holds as self-evident that all people are created equal and are endowed with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and

WHEREAS, the United States Constitution guarantees all person living in the United States certain fundamental rights including freedom of religion, speech, assembly and privacy; protection from unreasonable searches and seizures; due process and equal protection; and access to counsel, presumption of innocence and a fair, speedy public trial; and

WHEREAS, a great crime against humanity occurred on September 11, 2001, resulting in new federal laws and enforcement powers, including the USA Patriot Act signed by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001; and

WHEREAS, the USA Patriot Act was written to respond to the attack on our nation, it weakens, contradicts and undermines the basic constitutional rights outlined above. The Act, a 342 page document, was hastily enacted in six weeks without public hearings, or a Congressional “mark-up”; and

WHEREAS, examples of the Patriot Act’s threat to these fundamental rights include the Government’s expanded power to: engage in limited judicial supervision of telephone and Internet surveillance; grant law enforcement and intelligence agencies broad access to sensitive medical, mental health, financial, and educational records with little, if any, judicial oversight; expand the government’s ability to conduct secret searches of individual’s homes and businesses, including monitoring what books are bought from bookstores or borrowed from libraries; and limits the disclosure of public documents and records under the Freedom of Information Act; and

WHEREAS, Department of Justice interpretations of the Patriot Act and Executive Urders appear to impact on selective racial and religious groups including residents of other nations. This has caused alarm among many of our local citizens and non-citizens who fear an emergent climate for racial and ethnic profiling. This is especially disconcerting because the City of Philadelphia is home to a diverse population, whose contributions are vital to the city’s character and function; and

WHEREAS, on May 30, 2002 this City Council passed resolution ..020394 which vigorously opposed federal policy giving local and state law enforcement agencies the authority to investigate the citizenship and residency status of any person unless required by court decision, or statute; and

WHEREAS, the City Council commended the leadership of the city’s Police Department for protecting the privacy rights of non-citizens in our city by implementing Police Directive Memorandum 01-06 requiring all police personnel to “preserve the confidentiality of all information regarding law abiding immigrants to the maximum extent permitted by law.”; and

WHEREAS, the City of Philadelphia’s proactive response to the threats of terrorism following the attacks on September 11, 2001 was to establish in 2002 the Counter-Terrorism Bureau within the Philadelphia Police Department; and

WHEREAS, the City Council supports the Counter-Terrorism Bureau’s mandate including its policy which explicitly provides for the “legitimate needs of law enforcement while at the same time maintaining the constitutional and statutory parameters, which guarantee each individual the right to privacy,” thus, another illustration of our city’s commitment to upholding basic civil liberties; and

WHEREAS, over sixty cities throughout the country have enacted resolutions reaffirming support for civil rights and civil liberties in the face of government policies that threaten these values, and are demanding accountability from federal agencies regarding the use of these new powers; therefore

RESOLVED by the Council of the City of Philadelphia, that the City Council of Philadelphia reaffirms its support of the United States government in its campaign against global terrorism, but also reaffirms that any efforts to end terrorism not be waged at the expense of the fundamental civil liberties of the people of Philadelphia, and all citizens of the United States; and

RESOLVED FURTHER, that the City of Philadelphia affirms the rights of all people, including United States citizens and citizens of other nations, living within th e City in accordance with the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; and

RESOLVED FURTHER, that the City Council of Philadelphia urges the city administration and its citizens during the course of their daily life to be guided by the collective responsibility and obligation of safeguarding the constitutional protections afforded all people of our city. The Council recognizes that this is the paramount responsibility of local law enforcement personnel, appointed and elected government offices that are ultimately responsible for upholding the solemn oath they have taken to preserve, protect and defend the Constitutions of the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and

FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Council calls on our United States Representatives and Senators to monitor the implementation of the Act and Executive Orders cited herein and actively work for the repeal of the Act or those sections of the Act including Executive Orders that violate fundamental rights and liberties as stated in the United States Constitution and its Amendments.

Introduced by Philadelphia City Councilman Angel L. Ortiz Thursday, May 29th, 2003 Passed by a vote of 13-3 Over 60 cities across the U.S. have passed similar legislation in recent months

(Introduced in House)
HCON 407 IH
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 407
Condemning the decision by the city of St. Denis, France, to name a street in honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the convicted murderer of Philadelphia Police Officer Danny Faulkner.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 19, 2006
Mr. FITZPATRICK of Pennsylvania (for himself and Ms. SCHWARTZ of Pennsylvania) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on International Relations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Condemning the decision by the city of St. Denis, France, to name a street in honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the convicted murderer of Philadelphia Police Officer Danny Faulkner.
Whereas on the night of December 9, 1981, Police Officer Danny Faulkner was shot and killed in cold blood during a traffic stop in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania;
Whereas in the process of arresting the driver of a car traveling the wrong way down a one-way street, the driver’s brother appeared from across the street and proceeded to open fire on Officer Faulkner while his back was turned away; the driver’s brother was identified as Mumia Abu-Jamal;
Whereas Mumia Abu-Jamal struck Officer Faulkner four times in the back with his gun; although seriously injured, Officer Faulkner returned fire, striking his attacker; undeterred, Mumia Abu-Jamal stood over Officer Faulkner and shot him in the face, mortally wounding him; Mumia Abu-Jamal attempted to flee, but collapsed several feet from the slain Officer Faulkner, murder weapon in hand;
Whereas Mumia Abu-Jamal was charged and convicted of first degree murder by a jury of his peers; although Mumia Abu-Jamal has had numerous legal appeals, including appeals to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court of Appeal, the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court, and the United States Supreme Court, his conviction has been upheld each time;
Whereas on April 29, 2006, the municipal government of St. Denis, a suburb of Paris, dedicated a street in the honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal; and
Whereas the official recognition and celebration of a convicted murderer of a United States police officer is an affront to law enforcement officers across the Nation: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress–
(1) condemns the murder of Philadelphia Police Officer Danny Faulkner;
(2) urges the municipal government of St. Denis to take immediate action to change the name of Rue Mumia Abu-Jamal and, if such action is not taken by the municipal government of St. Denis, urges the Government of France to take appropriate action against the city of St. Denis to change the name of Rue Mumia Abu-Jamal; and
(3) commends all police officers in the United States and throughout the world for their commitment to public service and public safety.

The first key to improving your stroke is to get LOWER. By bending more at the KNEES(not the waist, not at the neck, the knees!, and keep looking straight ahead, keeping your chin up will keep you from bending too much at the waist), you will allow your active foot(the one that is stroking) to extend out farther. The lower you get, the farther you can stroke. Try it without rolling. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart-this should be accomplished while your body is still in a relatively upright position. Now extend one leg out a few feet to the side- to maintain proper balance, you will need to bend at the knees so that your knees, nose, and toes are in a vertical line. Remember that both your skates are never touching the ground on a roll at the same time, so try not to use your stroking foot as balance, you should have yourself centered on your gliding leg. Now extend the stroking foot as far to the side as you can stand. Stay that way for the next 5 hours, and congratulations- you’ve just completed the A2A! No, honestly, this is the position your body will need to be in to utilize the energy that will propel you in the most efficient manner. This will make a big difference over 38/86 miles.

While doing the last exercise, I had you basically had you practicing gliding, and you didn’t even know it! The next time you are out skating, see how far you can roll on one skate. Just keep on rolling. Then try to roll some more. While gliding, you are using the least amount of energy, so why improve your stroke without improving your glide? You want to train yourselves to glide on one skate as long as you want or need to.

Now try putting it all together. Bend, stroke, glide. Push straight out the side- make sure that you are pushing off all 4(or 5) wheels. Get on your back wheels more, which becomes easier the lower you get your body(this will feel more natural with practice). Roll on your gliding foot, not your stroking foot! After stroking, hold that glide until you feel the URGE to push, then hold it another 1.67894 seconds(according to D.Cooper), before stroking again. If your stroking foot does not extend directly to the side, you are still not obtaining the most forward push possible. The way to check if you need to stroke more to the side is to check the wear of your wheels. If the first wheel(s) is wearing quicker than the rest, you are probably getting your legs behind your body too much, which won’t push you forward. You can’t stroke in the direction the active foot is rolling, so why do it? Might as well put a Rockette-style chorus line kick into your stride- you’ll look pretty, but none of that translates to forward motion, and may actually be slowing you down.

So where are your hands during all this? Here I have given you the keys to skating success, and have not once mentioned your hands. That’s right, you don’t skate with your hands. I use my arms for rhythm, not for propulsion, because that is done with your feet. When asked to skate harder, I see too many skaters start flailing their arms wildly from side to side, presumably to compensate for the improper sideways push of their skates. You want to move forward, so any non-forward motion is not only wasted, it will throw your balance off enough so that you can’t get either an efficient stroke or glide. Concentrate on staying right on top of that gliding foot, and you will find that you will use your hands less and less, as your speed and endurance increases. Work with your body, not against it. Try skating with your hands behind your back. Start with only one hand at first, and work on keeping the other back there as much as you can. Practice will give you more confidence in your ability by actually improving your skills. If you need to pump your arms to get your rhythm or increase your speed, bend them slightly at the elbows, and move them front to back. Getting too far forward is bad as well, so try to keep any upper body motion around your center of balance- knees, nose, toes……knees, nose, toes. If your legs are doing their job correctly, your hands will have no problem figuring out where they should be, and when.

OK. I will now answer the questioned most of you will have for me the next time you see me(if you have really been practicing getting lower, gliding longer, and pushing(because your stroke is now more efficient) harder). The answer is: CRUNCHES. The question is: Why does my lower back get so tight when I skate, and what can I do about it? By tightening your abs and lower back through good old calisthenics, these muscles will have the strength they need to support your body properly. Trust me on this one, start doing sit-ups like a madperson, and you will be ever so happy on October 4….5……6…….7………..8…….9., but start now.

Gotta Skate

by: Sid MacLeod

Wet and cold too much for you? How about wet and warm? Get ready- you just might have to do the unthinkable. No, not taking up boating, but skating in the wet out of doors. I know it’s not the most fun, but knowing how to cope with skating on a wet surface may come in handy some day.

First of all, know your opponent. Road surfaces leech oils when rainwater gets beneath them, until these oils wash away, most roads are VERY slick. Watch out for trouble spots like intersections, where oil tends to build up, and those wide painted road markings seem to pop up(If drivers can’t figure out why those things are there, what am I supposed to think?). Remember that an intersection is probably where you would probably want to stop at times, controlling your speed helps, but will not stop you if……….

…….your wheels lose friction with the Earth. Wheels are made of oil too, and until water has had a chance to displace the oils in the wheels, you’re doubly screwed. That shiny newness we all try to scrape, rub, or roll off the wheel is actually oil that is in the urethane, that gets released over time. Newer wheels have more oil, mine usually have none. This gives my wheels an extremely sure grip when it’s dry, and allows me to be at least the captain of my own ship when it rains. But these same ‘nasty in the rain’ oils are actually ‘prolong the life of the wheel- you fool’ oils. They aren’t going to fall apart now(but I heard car trunks are a bad place for oil-free wheels), but their lifespan has been cut. But if you were really worried about your wheels, would you ever skate the streets of Philadelphia?

Bearings? Oil? Water? Bad? Yes, very bad. That same water that pushed the oil out of your wheels and the road is also working to push your lube into the Delaware. The lighter the oil, the quicker it makes Marcus Hook, but I’ve seen stuff like lithium grease or chain lube seize up with a little cold water. Or you could use- TEFLON. It’s not just for Mom’s omelet pan anymore, it’s for skates! I use an all-purpose Teflon lubricant(like DuraLube or Slick50, which can be obtained wherever automotive products are sold) that water has zero effect on. If you have ever skated home in the rain and left your skates for a day or so, only to find them rusted tight, think about Teflon, especially if you’re running ABEC5(or 7), which has a very low tolerance to imperfections like pitting or rust. Here’s how I do it:

To treat your skates with Teflon, you first must clean ALL dirt, oil, or gel from the bearings. I use mineral spirits, but a citric acid, or general degreaser will work fine. Rinse bearings in denatured alcohol to remove all traces of mineral spirits, and if you want REALLY clean bearings, rinse in Naphtha(the buzz ain’t too bad either), and allow to dry. When dry, squirt a LITTLE Teflon lube into each bearing, and spin bearing until well coated. LESS is MORE here, a thin thorough coating works better than wasting half a bottle of lube. Taking a spin around the block a few times helps to get that good even coat. Skate for maybe a week or two, then repeat the whole procedure. Two thin coats work better than one thick one. You’re now done. The coating of Teflon is good for at least a year, dirt or water won’t stick, and If gunk(road salt is the worst!) happens to get in the bearing, then WD-40 can be spritzed to clean them out as needed. This method has been put through the most rigorous of road tests by myself and a few other disciples, with many pleasant results.

Now that you can roll in the rain, you need to dress for the weather. Cotton is bad. Very bad. I normally wear wick-dry socks, but every skater should have a pair or two. Not only do they work in rain, but really earn their keep on those hot, sweaty Sundays, when you pray for rain. Cotton T-shirts. Bad, bad, bad. A wet t-shirt may look good on some, but weighs a ton when wet, and will tend to cool your body faster than can be considered healthy, especially when your body is already overheated. There is something to say for spandex other than it looks good in the right application.

So don’t miss another skate because the weather man hit the ‘rain’ segment of his dart board. Be prepared, skate smart, and if the going gets tough………………….the tough go to Cherry St.