no more junk fees, please

Dear Faustina --

The day after the President targeted junk fees in his State of the Union address, we took your petition signatures and stories about unfair junk fees directly to the Federal Trade Commission – demanding it stop companies from charging you these outrageous and arbitrary fees.

[NOTE: I had signed the petition about two weeks ago.]

More than 40,000 of you signed our petition, and hundreds more shared your frustration over junk fees on your bank accounts, hotel rooms, airline and concert tickets, and internet/cable services. You can read our comments to the FTC here (pdf). 

We have HUGE momentum in the fight against junk fees. Not only is the FTC investigating these fees, the President is calling on Congress to pass the Junk Fee Prevention Act, and our experts are working right now to make sure that proposed legislation is as strong as possible.

Faustina, you helped make this happen! And we hope you’ll keep fighting with us in the coming weeks and months as we pressure federal regulators and members of Congress to end these fees, which can cost the average family more than $3,200 a year!

One thing you can do right now is to share our petition against junk fees with friends and family so they can be part of this money-saving campaign. We will need every consumer to join this fight, since so many corporations make huge profits off these junk fees.
Share the Petition

Share Your Junk Fee Story

Thank you again for all you are doing to fight junk fees. And we will back in touch soon with more ways we can work together to end these fees once and for all.

Marcus Jones
Consumer Reports

 

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Always nice to get a pat on the back for doing the right thing.

Even better to find out that what you do has an impact on making life better for all.

Thanks, Consumer Reports, for letting me know that what I do helps!

a canadian marine sanctuary? yes, please!

This was the email I received.

"Speak up and make your voice heard by urging the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to designate the proposed Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary!

Under the waters of eastern Lake Ontario lie historic shipwrecks that tell the story of America’s history. The 1,724 square miles proposed for the sanctuary designation encompass 43 known shipwrecks and one submerged aircraft that span over 200 years of history in the eastern waters of Lake Ontario.

These waters were transportation and trade routes for Indigenous Peoples and early European explorers. They were centers for military conflicts from land and sea, and they were critical to the development of the American West and the nation’s industrial core. Many more shipwrecks, historic aircraft, and several other underwater archaeological sites that may be of religious and cultural significance to Indigenous Nations and Tribes are also likely located in the area just waiting to be discovered.
Take action today and sign our letter to show your support for designation of Lake Ontario as a national marine sanctuary!

A Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary designation would:

    preserve and raise national awareness and appreciation of a historically-significant collection of shipwrecks and other maritime heritage and cultural resources;
    foster partnerships with researchers and educators to discover additional wonders beneath the waves and tell the story of our past in order to shape our future; and
    create business and job opportunities and benefit local community economic growth from tourism and outdoor recreation."

Please feel free to click the link and sign, too!

Thanks!!!

in memory of my middle brother

After becoming bereft from film of a football game...

and bouncing back to this time and space via a crossword puzzle...

I decided to go in search of a loan to honor memories of Ronnie.

Kiva showed this nerdfighter one that was perfect.

No, the recipient did not bear his name... but his heart is close to that of my brother's.

Marcel lives in Rwanda.

He has two children, as did Ronnie.

He is active in helping others around him and his well-liked, with loyal customers.

His store is helping those in a refugee camp to have needed supplies.

I know Ronnie, who chose to live homeless for the last years of his life, would approve.

Better yet, the loan only has a few days left to secure funding.

Right time, right place.

i thank You, God.