A total estimate of repairs and labor of $479.97. I became very upset as I am moving cross country in less than two weeks, a fact the manager knew. I informed them I had to come up with the money and would be back.

I then took the car to another mechanic who informed me all the statements done by the first mechanic were FALSE. My water pump not only had no leaks, but had no fluids in it, a fact I was not informed of. My oil is NOT leaking, there was a spot of oil on my manifold. And my thermostat is NOT broken, a knob inside was damaged, easily repaired by a screwdriver.

This jerk had me almost in tears worried I would have to postpone my move so I could afford repairs I didn’t need. I feel he did this because I’m female and I would get it fixed before my trip.

I will NEVER go back there and I am informing everyone I know to not enter this business either.

Being female does NOT make me stupid. I wish more mechanics would realize this.

Each week, his wildly colorful musings took his readers into his world. The words one might best use to describe what they’d find there? Shock and aww, because The Blogger In Purple’s entries would vacillate wildly between sexual titillation (“He wanted to put his what where?”) and heartwarming sentiment. Sometimes, the two worlds would collide in a way that left you realizing just how talented he truly was. They were filled with people whose names were changed to protect the guilty and exploits which occasionally seemed — and may well, in retrospect, have been — too outrageous to be true.

The most shocking blog? “Jerry Falwell & Me..."

So when The Blogger In Purple moved to New York City, I couldn’t have been happier. Of course, I’d completely forgotten what my beloved friend Nina has told me time and time again: “When someone tells you who they are, whether in word or deed, believe them.”

And certainly, everything I needed to know had been there for me — and, in fact, the world — to read in his weekly postings.  The almost child-like obsession with sex.  The complete disinterest in world events.  The ability to turn absolutely anything into a double entendre. In short, the Blogger In Purple was everything you could possibly want in a drinking buddy.

But a friend? Not so much.

Things that seemed charming and perhaps scandalous when read in a blog proved tedious after a year or so of weekend get-togethers during which eyes were rolled and interest lost whenever the topic strayed from sexual exploits in general and his own in particular. Politics made him break out in hives and talk of other people’s lives inevitably led to his drifting away from the conversation and toward the jukebox.

His interest was hard to keep thanks to a constantly buzzing phone on which he was always sending a flurry of flirtatious texts to a rotating roster of guys, most of whom he’d proclaim were too young/unemployed/intelligent to be taken seriously just before hooking up with them only to, at our next weekend drinkfest, complain that it was impossible to find love.

He pictured himself a gay Carrie Bradshaw but was, in fact, an immature Samantha.

Sometimes, it's good to know when to say when. Like with make-up.

I had bought a ticket expecting to sail the seas on the S.S. Friendship only to wind up stuck on an acquaintanceship that was headed for rough waters.

Things went south when my birthday rolled around and, after being delayed because I’d be out of town, the planned celebration was delayed, put off, deferred and suspended until eventually it was forgotten.  It probably goes without saying that for his birthday, there was dinner and drinks and merriment, or that I’d be hard-pressed to think of a single occasion (out of dozens and dozens of booze-fueled brunches or dinners) on which The Blogger In Purple picked up the tab.  Money — or the lack thereof — was a constant topic of conversation for The Blogger, who complained ad nauseam about the roommate he despised but was stuck with because of his own inability to save.

Nobody forced me to pick up the checks or even to continue getting together with The Blogger in Purple and the mutual friend who rounded out our threesome. I did it because I wanted to.  It was, in a way, the price of spending time with friends who weren’t as financially flush as I was fortunate enough to be at the time.

But before long, I’d realized that just like my Lehman Brothers stock, The Blogger in Purple had been a bad investment.

When spring rolled around, I suggested that The Blogger In Purple come to my house for the afternoon and was met with an excuse followed by a lie and finally, perhaps out of desperation, a lame “going there would take, like, all day” despite the fact that our two abodes were less than 10 miles apart and I’d been making the trip on a near-weekly basis. Suddenly, faced with the fact that the one way street had gone from metaphorical to literal, I realized that it was time to stick a fork in that puppy and call it done.

And that, kids, was when the proof was found, right there in the pudding where it had been all along.  Because The Blogger In Purple never once looked back.  Never called to say, “Look, you mean something to me and I really wish we could work this out.”  Never sent an E-mail, tweet or smoke signal indicating that he’d even noticed my absence.

Sometimes, I still miss The Blogger In Purple.  How could I not? We spent a lot of very fun, very drunk afternoons at a watering hole which became the spot for our merry band of misfits to hang out. We were sometimes loud, occasionally obnoxious and always sending out drunk tweets to our followers. There’s no denying a good time was had by all.  Sometimes, even great.

But there’s something off-putting about realizing that you’re far more invested in any relationship than is the other party.  It’s like being slapped in the face and made to face facts that you’d until then managed to tuck into the recesses of your brain with other nasty truths like your true weight or the real reason your last boyfriend dumped you.

In the end, it turns out that the supposed friend, in dating terms, just wasn’t that into you. And that’s a bitter pill to swallow.

What American doesn’t want truth, right? From our government, from our loved ones… truth is, as we all know, a good thing.

Except, of course, when it is a blatant lie.

Google the words “Americans For Truth” or simply go to americansfortruth.com and what you’ll find is a vile little group whose REAL name is “Americans For Truth… About Homosexuality.” And in their latest attempt to prove themselves the most vile organization on the planet — and there’s a lot of competition out there, kids! — this repulsive little cult of narrow-minded hatemongers has formed what they are calling “Americans For Truth Academy.”

This group, which on a near-daily basis makes outlandish, completely unfounded claims that the dreaded “homosexual agenda” involves recruiting youth, has set forth a campaign designed to… recruit youth into their hateful ranks.

"Welcome to Hate School. I'm Pete, and I'll be your teacher today!"

The stated purpose of the AFTAcademy is “to teach both young and old how to answer the lies and myths that so readily emanate from the ‘GLBT’ (‘gay’) camp.” Please note that the quotes around the words GLBT and gay are theirs, not mine. The site does that in each and every piece as it to somehow indicate that there’s really no such thing as “gay”… which makes one wonder why they are working so hard to eliminate homosexuals from the map.

The Academy — which will “reverse years of… brainwashing in the schools and popular culture [that was been] corrupting the hearts and minds of young people” is nothing more than a recruitment camp for budding haters. Need proof? Why, the organization will reward anyone who “sponsors a young person (14-25)” with a nifty gift!

Come for the hate, stay for the coffeetable book!

The good news is that Americans For Truth believes that “much of the conservative establishment has dropped the ball on fighting the homosexual agenda.” The bad news? “AFTAH is stepping up to train a new generation of activists.”

Anyone doubting just how serious a problem this is need look no further than the website itself, proclaimed by the Southern Poverty Law Center to be a “hate site” and run by people so far off the deep end that they are actually at odds with the followers of Fred “God Hates Fags” Phelps. Apparently, saying the type of things Phelps does goes against good, solid Christian values, but doing everything in your power to demonize homosexuality is just good, clean Christian living.

Pete is okay with thinking these things... just not saying them out loud. In front of the media.

We would tell you to go over to Americans For Truth and leave them a comment or two regarding their advocating hate and recruiting young people into their brainwashing camps, but of course, the site doesn’t allow people to leave comments. Those who know they are taking indefensible stands rarely allow those who would protest them to have their say. This is the same logic that prevents Sarah Palin and her ilk from appearing on MSNBC to face tough questions about their beliefs as opposed to FOX, where they will be treated with kid gloves. AFT’s Pete LaBarbera, the man responsible for everything you’ll find on the site, likes to boast that he’s often asked to offer up his opinion on the Dread Homosexual Agenda… but obviously, he’s afraid to take part in an actual two-way conversation with people who might come to his site and take an opposing viewpoint.

AFT loves to talk about how homosexuals are recruiting young people and somehow brainwashing them. So how, exactly, is forming an academy with the express purpose of… yes, recruiting young people and teaching them your values… NOT brainwashing?

I’m sure LaBabera will be happy to answer those questions… as long as they are presented in a homosexual-free zone. God knows the man is obviously afraid of catching “the gay.”

But it appears that’s how Anna Godfrey of Lincoln, Nebraska opted to respond.

Told by a guy at a party that she was fat, Godfrey chowed down on his ear according to police reports. The 21-year old woman also tackled her 24-year-old commenter, also not necessarily a great choice since the notion of a her taking down a guy and then chomping on his ear — a piece of which has not yet been recovered — probably won’t be particularly useful should she try and refute the whole “fat” thing.

Which just goes to show that sometimes, it’s wiser to swallow your anger than to wind up eating crow.

I’d like to take this a step further by suggesting that each of us accept the challenge put forth by California… and turn our perhaps-inevitable lapses into a charitable fundraiser. Put a cuss jar in your home, another in your office. encourage people to release their blue-tinged demons — for a price, of course — and then, at the end of the week, donate the no-doubt sizeable collection (you might need more than one jar if your office is like mine…) to the charity of your choice.

I call l it the “I Give A Damn” program.

"Well, since it's for charity... here we go!"

Imagine how much good we could do if every bad word uttered resulted in a quarter going toward a good cause. Together, we could prove that loose lips don’t just sink ships, they can, under the right circumstances, raise our collective consciousness.

Please help us in spreading the word and then go out and literally give a “damn” both about and to the charity of your choice!

That seems to be the logic used by YaVaughnie Wilkins, the mistress of tycoon Charles E. Phillips who, when dumped, spent a small fortune on billboards around Manhattan — not to mention similar ones in Atlanta and San Francisco — designed to humiliate the man for breaking her heart.

Proving that men really don’t see things the same way as women, Phillips told the New York Post that since he and Wilkins ended their 8-year relationship, they “wish each other well.”

Really? Damn, I’d hate to see what she does to people she doesn’t like!

Did I mention that there’s also a website — http://wwwcharlesphillipsandyavaughniewilkins.com (I can’t believe that was still available!) — at which the curious can see evidence of the pair’s love affair? (Whatcha wanna bet his wife, Karen, has the site bookmarked?)

According to the paper’s report, Phillips’ wife filed for divorce in 2008, but never followed through. The couple reunited, and YaVaughnie was, in the words of the paper, “kicked to the curb.” 

Given both YaVaughnie’s name and flair for the dramatic, it probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone that she is supposedly a “writer/actor.” It probably will also come as no surprise that it’s tough to find any evidence of her ever having done either.

A more cynical man than I might suggest that she was looking for publicity. Or maybe she’s just hoping to shame him into recognizing that he’s the love of her life.

Yeah, I’m gonna go with the first option.

“Treason” isn’t a word that should be tossed around lightly, but it might best describe what is happening on a near-daily basis on the Fox News Channel, whose motto is “fair and balanced” despite their Senior Vice President for Programming’s declaration that they are “the voice of the opposition” where the Obama administration is concerned.

For some time, it’s been clear to most rational Americans that Fox News commentators in general – and Glenn Beck in particular – are more entertainers than true believers in the stream of fear-mongering, fringe-friendly drivel they put forth each night. But at a certain point, one has to wonder where the line is crossed.

Several nights ago on THE O’REILLY FACTOR, Fox News contributor Monica Crowley accused the President of the United States of America of wanting to see its citizens die in order to forward his own agenda.

She said, in part, “I think President Obama is a true believer. What I mean by that is that he is a disciple of Saul Alinsky… who was a radical, who believed in the radical remaking of America by shattering its very foundations. I believe that President Obama… has taken that to heart.”

When host Bill O’Reilly said, “But he can’t want Americans to be killed!” Crowley countered with, “How else do you explain his incredibly flaccid reactions to… attacks against the United States?”

That’s right, a Fox News commentator suggested that President Obama wants citizens of this country to be killed by extremists as part of his “radical agenda.”

Ladies and gentlemen, the line has been crossed.

Since the election of Barrack Obama, we have seen Fox News commentators literally call our president a racist (“I’m not saying he doesn’t like white people, I’m saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist.” – Glenn Beck), put aside that pesky “fair and balanced” thing in order to openly support the so-called “tea party” movement and help blatantly spread misinformation about everything from his status as an American citizen to his attempts to push for healthcare reform.

Funk & Wagnall’s standard dictionary defines “treason” as “betrayal of one’s sovereign or government” and “treasonable” action as anything “of, involving, or characteristic of treason.” So one has to ask: When does a supposed news organization go from taking full advantage of its First Amendment right of free speech to, in word and deed, taking part in actions that can be seen as “a betrayal of one’s government” and therefore treasonous?

If the charge seems a bit heavy handed, keep in mind that it is one the network itself has had no trouble using to suit its own purpose. For example, Beck – reacting to a rumor that had already been discredited by the White House – said that President Obama and his administration had behaved in a manner “that borders on treason.” In fact, not once, but three times within the hour, Beck used the term “treason” in conjunction with the White House.

Another definition of treason is “the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance.” So how is one to take it as anything but treason when O’Reilly boasts that, “The conservative media is winning now. They’re damaging the president of the United States.”

There is, of course, one way in which this could all be viewed as something other than treason on the part of Fox News, and that is if their allegiance is to a government other than the one we have here in the United States. But that would mean that in the childhood tradition of “he who smelt it dealt it”, Fox News has cleverly been accusing Obama and his administration of being Nazi capitalists when, in fact, it’s all part of their own wicked plot to usher in a fascist regime. So which is it, Fox? Are you traitors to your country… or the ultimate in subversive commies?

If you’ve got people who love The Happiest Place On Earth hot under the collar, it might be time to evaluate your social skills or lack thereof. Because let’s face it… Walt Disney World is where millions of people go to escape their problems and be enveloped in the magic, and most of those folks are willing to do everything from shell out a small fortune to suspend their disbelief in order to have the best vacation possible.

But one fact even the most happy-go-lucky Disney lover eventually has to face is that no amoung of pixie dust can keep others from not only raining on their parade as it comes down Main Street USA, but then trying to poke their eyes out with an umbrella.  In fact, when asked to cite examples of bad behavior at the Disney theme parks, posters at Disboards.com – a site where fans gather to discuss anything and everything related to the House of Mouse — responded with nearly 500 messages. (It’s worth noting the discussion might have gone on indefinitely had not a few irony-challenged bad apples allowed their own bad behavior to get the thread shut down by moderators.)

It quickly became apparant that this topic was going to require more than one posting. So after touching on the rude, the crude and the socially unacceptable in this piece, there will be follow-ups to come on two the of hottest topics among Disney visitors: visitors with children vs. those without, and the never-ending battle between those who use wheelchairs or other assistive technology vs. their non-disabled brethren.

The Rude
One Line, No waiting: You know those long lines of people you see waiting to ride Space Mountain or Mission: Space? Fools! Every last one of them! Just ask any of those who figure “Why stand in line when I can just cut?” As one poster said, “My favorites are the people who have one member of their group stand in line and then, after the rest have gone off to get something to eat or ride another ride, come back and push their way up to where their place-holder is. And all along I thought everyone who wanted to get on the ride had to stand in line!”

Mary, Go ‘Round Me: Another oft-mentioned group are those who push and shove their way into a theater (such as the ones used for It’s Tough To Be A Bug in the Animal Kingdom or The Little Mermaid at Disney’s Hollywood Studio) only to then completely disregard instructions. Despite Cast Members (as Disney employees are called) specifically asking that all guests pick a row and move to the opposite end in order to accomodate as many guests as possible, these folks inevitably plop themselves down in the middle of a row… and then grouse about those forced to climb over them to get to seats on the other side.

(Personal) Space Invaders: True Disney fans know that when the parks are crowded, the one and only way to get a great view of the parades is by picking a spot early… or just pushing yourself in front of those who waited and just pretend that they aren’t there. After all, your kids wanna see Mickey, right? As one poster said, “My children are just as important to me as yours are to you. If my kids are willing to find a good spot and wait an hour for the parade, then they are entitled to it.”

 Telling Tales: Instead of sending postcards saying “wish you were here”, more and more people simply pick up their cell phones and describe everything they’re seeing… as they’re seeing it, and with complete disregard to those around them. Sure, the Hall Of Presidents is impressive, but it’s not going to keep Dad from calling the office to find out if he won the Superbowl pool!

The Children’s Hour: Yes, keeping kids in line can be a daunting task when they are in sensory overload thanks to everything Disney has to offer. But as one Disboarder so perfectly summed up, “You brought ‘em, you control ‘em.” Seeing a child have a complete meltdown as the parents ignore the situation is bad. Hearing a parent tell an unhappy child “Mickey told me that he hates you and never wants to see you again!” — as one poster did — is worse.

Lighten Up: You know why they call attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean or The Haunted Mansion dark rides? Because they’re supposed to be dark. And those announcements that say “no flash photography?” Crazy as it sounds, they’re directed at you, mister “I Gotta Get A Shot Of The Dancing Ghosts!”

The Crude
I Swear: Nobody wants to spend their end-of-day monorail ride back to the hotel exlaining to Little Susie the meaning of the new words she heard today or why they really shouldn’t be used in polite society. Or why that very mean man was screaming them at Minnie Mouse.

Hammer(ed) Time: Drinking your way around EPCOT’s World Showcase always sounds like a good idea… in theory. And it’s all fun and games… until someone throws up on Test Track or decides it’d be a kick to try and climb the pyramid-like Mexican pavillion.

Where There’s Smoke, There’s Ire: It’s a toss-up as to which is worse: People who willingly ignore the designated smoking areas set up by Disney and puff to their hearts content wherever they see fit… or the non-puffers who, for whatever reason, plop themselves down in said smoking areas and then proceed to complain loudly about the fumes they’re being “forced” to inhale. “One woman,” shared poster CM, “pushed her stroller with a tot in it into the smoking area and, after a few minutes, started coughing and fanning herself. She proceeded to lecutres us all about smoking around her toddler!” 

Socially Unacceptable
Anytime, Anywhere: This one, my friends, is a stunner, but apparently, some people believe that the world is their toilet. More than a few Disney visitors have encouraged their children to pee in bushes or pools, and one shocked Disboarder even watched as a parent instructed their child to take a poo of the non-Winnie variety in the middle of a sidewalk in EPCOT!

In the end, however, it’s worth noting that while the generous folks over at the Disboards were happy to share their tales, most agreed that the secret to a successful Disney trip is to avoid letting the little stuff get you down. And in a spirit that Walt Disney himself would have no doubt admired, a poster named Jennifer — aka TheTXTaylors5 — suggested that perhaps the best way to combat heinous behavior was by setting a good example. “Why not pay it forward?” she wrote. “If one person sees someone doing something kind, like giving up a seat [on the bus] to a Mom holding a sleeping child… it would be such a better ‘civilized’ world. Being a parent, I don’t expect or feel entitled to anything, but being kind and selfless are very rewarding character traits.” And if there were more people with that attitude on the face of this earth, it would be not just a small world after all, but a better one as well.