Dear Steve,

I have defended pretty much every decision you have made – including the Shaq trade. I don’t know who initially hatched the brilliant idea to oppose the majority of the people of the state (and nation – 60% nationwide), but I understand that you were the one who proposed it to the team.

We had tickets, and were going to be in attendance, but we will not be. We will also not be watching, Steve. I know you went to a typical contemporary university (my brother and parents all went there), but for you to jump on the political correctness bandwagon when the vast majority of the people of this state support the new law, is truly sad.

Next time, you should do the math first. If you feel so strongly, then you can let your personal views be known, but you should not insult your fan base and expect us to support you. We will not.

This time I will not support you, Steve, but, no big deal, I’m just one of several million fans – the majority of whom also oppose you on this. By the way, if this is just something the players want to do, you and the leadership should make your position clear – rather than hide behind the idea that it was just the players. I’m sure, however, that this does represent your view. Please forward this to your bosses – and the players.

I’m serious, Steve.

Tom Ballantyne – A Disappointed Fan

WHY????????????????WHAT???????????? You know I still share your name dad.

Doesn’t everyone know that there are certain things you just don’t talk about in casual conversation? Why do we need to create lines in the sand?  Funny, analogy considering the ambiguous nature of this whole debate. There is a Federal Law already on the books and for very good reason.  Order.  Of course the new Arizona Law hopes to enforce the Federal Law to create order.  But in the wake of getting your ducks in a row you have mass resistance and chaos.  Buckling under that chaos sends a backlash of more disorder.  It’s white hat Sapulpa vs Black Hat Sapulpa.  It’s obeying the rules vs cheating.  It’s about what’s fair to those that are citizens vs what’s fair to those that are not citizens.  It’s about potential abuse of the new law. It’s about the current abuse of the existing Federal Law…. And now I’m not able to go to Sun’s game and enjoy myself?????

A friend of mine said, “Well now I don’t care if the Suns lose tonight. And for that matter I can now have an excuse to jump off the fan wagon when they lose the series.”

… whether I admit or disagree with him, he is still my friend.

The Arizona Tea Party

Another associate says, “I am protesting and am no longer going to drink Arizona Tea!”

…but Arizona tea is made in New York, so who are you really protesting against or for?  … Did you ever drink Arizona Tea before? When did buying tea become a political statement? And what did a New York tea company ever do to deserve a protest on Arizona besides name their beverage “Arizona”?  Is it fair to protest Arizona Tea either way?

The Bigotry begets more Bigotry.

So now there are those in the Nation boycotting Arizona businesses.  Why? Because they are in Arizona and Arizonans are bigots.  Doesn’t that make you a bigot for boycotting?

I really just want to watch my Suns game!  I want the Suns to win the series because they are my home team.  But now my home team is making a political statement. Can you still go to the basketball game and support them? I could care less about the politics.  I don’t want to be a politician.  Politics – “Poly” as in “many” and “ticks” as in “Blood Sucking Creatures”.  I am not a blood sucking creature.

Pest Control

I work all day as a pest control guy to get rid of those blood sucking creatures.  DON’T BRING THEM TO MY BASKETBALL GAME!

So just by posting this I am acknowledging that I am protesting the Suns protest, which means I am protesting those that protest the law, so I am in support of the law? …. Can you restate that question, because it’s loaded with a bunch of if then = not true, then x = true, even when z was never part of the equation.

How about I just bring a can of scorpions to the game tonight and let them loose? In protest? No, Because it would be funny!… Seriously.

I just wanted to go to a Planet Orange basketball game with my dad, is there anything wrong with that? Why can’t we all just be orange on a happy orange cloud regardless of who we are or where we came from?  Hey guy next to me on Planet Orange!  You are here because you support the Suns right?….???…. What do you mean by “support”????…..awkward.

…and now my dad is chiding me for going anyways.  Sounds like a lose – lose.

Interesting read today from Fox news on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).  This is something that would effect Sapulpa companies as they are prone to adding links and building blogs to get more traffic.  The FTC has voted to regulate blogging and fine those that are posting product reviews for money.  They believe that these reviews are misleading in that the consumer is unaware if the review is a organic unsolicited review or if the review is paid for by the product company.  Further, many of these sites and reviews sign on as affiliates and receive a commission if the product is bought through their site.

The law will require that bloggers must make it known that they are being paid in a “clear and conspicuous” manner and the law goes into force December 1st, 2009. The law does not require notification for “free” products, meaning if I where to offer you free pest control service in exchange for a review then you are not required to disclose that you are receiving free service. While these regulations may make many bloggers nervous, the FTC says that they intend to target the companies and advertisers.  This actually makes me more nervous as a pest control company.

Let’s say that I am paying an Sapulpa company to build my site and back links.  How can I be sure that the Sapulpa company I hire is adhering to this law?  Who then is responsible, the Sapulpa company or the pest control company?  Further, this law seems very inadequate.  How do you define a “review” of a company or a review of a product?  How will the FTC distinguish between legitimate customers reviewing a product or service versus the paid reviews? And what about blogs that benefit indirectly from their reviews (i.e. Google adsense)?

Or better yet define “clear and conspicuous”. How do I know if this site “clearly and conspicuously” show that I am a Bulwark employee.  Is the facebook profile on the left sufficient or do I need to disclose this in every post?  Beyond that this blog isn’t purely a Bulwark blog, its my own blog and thoughts as well.  Bulwark does not sanction everything written on this blog and I am not really getting paid directly for my content.

Overall, however, I applaud the FTC’s attempt to regulate this gross flood of solicited reviews. It is unfortunate that so many companies and individuals are cashing in on the naive public.  Having worked on the internet for sometime I myself spot the propaganda reviews and comments regularly. In fact, there are entire blogs that look like just a single user reviewing everyday products, but in fact are a paid blogger.

As far as I am aware Bulwark has not overstepped these requirements.  But, again, I am unaware of every attempt hired Sapulpa firms have undergone to boost my web presence. Further, I don’t know how they define “clear and conspicuous”.  Hopefully a site that is owned by Bulwark is clear. But, it does sound  like I will need to check in on my Sapulpa team, and I would advise all internet advertisers and business owners to do the same. Don’t get caught with your pants down.

From your Pest Control Sapulpa guy.

This post was not directly paid for by Bulwark Exterminating, however the writter is biased as to which pest control service is the best.