Jim Talent Update - He's still a spammer

I detailed this before, but I thought you all might be interested in an update. I talked to a staffer at Talent's office about getting unsubed from his e-newsletter. I also went about unsubbing the traditional way, through his website. I managed to do both and got confirmation. Well, today, for no reason whatsoever, I got resubscribed to his newsletter. If this isn't in violation of some federal anti-spam law, I dunno what is.

Any rate, because Talent has really crossed the line, I give you a link to Claire McCaskill. Please give her money. She needs your help to beat the evil spamming Jim Talent. Talent is WASTING YOUR TAX DOLLARS on sending me meaningless emails that I'm not interested in. You know that if he's doing it to me, he's doing it to others. So, please. End my nightmare. Give lots of MONEY to Claire McCaskill.

The saddest part of this whole affair is that I don't even live in Missouri anymore. Jim Talent isn't my Senator since last week. So I only care about his comings and goings in a very tangential, academic way. And yet, I cannot be free from his hateful newsletter. Please, help Claire beat him so I can end my nightmare.

Jim Talent (R-MO) is a Spammer

This blog was initially started to talk about the weird and wacky stuff that comes to me from the outside world, specifically in the forms of snail and electronic mail. I got off that somewhat because most of what I was getting were bills and television and movies have always been very interesting to me (understatement!). This post harkens back to the dawn of this blog, way back in January, when it was strictly about correspondance.

I want to share with you a sequence of communications I have recieved from the office of my august senator, Jim Talent (R-MO). They display an ugly pattern that is probably more widespread than just me. I just spoke with a staffer at Senator Talent's office, who was very nice and helpful (we will see if we can call her effective over the long haul) though supprisingly unsuprised at my predicament.

The problem apparently started in February. Somehow, I got subscribed to Jim Talent's newsletter. Regular readers of anything I write, and people who just know me a little, would be surprised that I subscribe to Jim Talent's newsletter. I'm not exactly what you would call a fan. In fact, no one was more surprised than I was. I figured out what happened. I sent Senator Talent a complaint email through his semi-byzantine system. I am one of the people who does national writing campaigns who also happens to be a constituent (Talent's system is set up to give priority to those of us who might or might not vote for him... he's got no time for East Coast, Ivory Tower Liberals I guess). That complaint letter was apparently license for Talent's system to send me his unwanted newsletter.

When I figured out what happened, I went through the extremely byzantine unsubscription process (yeah, I know that's two byzantines in one column, without once talking about Byzantium. It might be a new record. Let's change it. Substitute Daedalian for the second byzantine... new phrase should be "the exremely Daedalian unsubscription process.") It apparently takes two seconds to add someone to an email list but two weeks to delete them, because I didn't get a confirmation of my unsubscription until two weeks later, during which time I recieved the semi-odius (at least to me) Jim Talent e-newsletter. That prompted another run through the labyrinth of unsubscription. In a rational, fair play world, it would end there.

A few days after I got my unsubscribe notice, I got a new subscribe notice. And two days later, another one. Into the breach again, trying to get off the Talent enews junk mail trail. Two weeks later another unsubscribe leading to three more subscribes. Around the carosel, again and again.

I got a subscribe notice on May 22nd, at 7:32 PM CST, 8:32 EST. Someone is working late. I got another subscribe on May 24th, 9:11 PM CST. Virtual midnight oil. I proceeded to file another unsubscribe on the 25th. On 6/7/06, at 7:08 AM, I recieved notice. Unsubscribed! On 6/7/06, at 11:47 AM, SUBSCRIBED! Me get angry and call Senator at the office. Part of me wants to donate money to a liberal cause in Jim Talent's name, so they bug him for the next twenty years.

There is a very nasty twist to all this. Allow me to share my personal correspondance, as I recieve it. Here is a subscribe notice, as I see it:

From:jim.talent@enewsletter.senate.gov
To: myemail
Subject: You have been subscribed to our newsletter
Body:
Thank you for subscribing.

Your request has been successfully processed.

--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.6.1/344 - Release Date: 5/19/2006

The virus piece is something my virus software puts in. That's the whole everything. You will note the thing that is conspicuous by it's absence. If you don't, lemme show you the unsubscribe

From:jim.talent@enewsletter.senate.gov
To: myemail
Subject: Change in subscription status
Body:
Your request has been successfully processed.

You have been successfully unsubscribed.

If you have been unsubscribed by mistake, please click here.

Yep, you see it too. That third line, the part where you can reup your subscription. Oddly, on the subscribe notice, there is not similar link, for those who have been unscrupulously added.

I suppose I could go off on a whole thing about the difference between the R's and the D's and the rest of us but that's not the point here. The point is that there is an elected official, whose secondary income (the money he gets for being my Senator) is paid by you and me, the American Taxpayer, who doesn't comply with common courtesy and what I believe is the law of the land, as it pertains to mass emails. I was opted in, and had to do a lot of work to opt out. When I opted out, I was opted back in, against my will. Regardless of whether you think Jim Talent is a swell guy, Satan's lackey or someplace inbetween (my view, though I think closer to the lackey side of the continuum), this is unacceptable behavior from someone who is ostensibly my employee.

Movie Review -- The Breakup

Went to see the Breakup at one of the local AMC's (local to West County Saint Louis that is) and enjoyed the movie a lot more than the critics will lead you to believe. It was funny for about 90% of the flick and touches on a lot of the stuff between men and women without getting all Mars and Venus on us (that would be a bad thing). Or maybe that should be all Dr. Philly on us, since he seems to have replaced Mars and Venus as the prefered peddler of cheap psychology, bad diet advice and over priced nutritional supplements. Any rate, it doesn't get preachy, though if you're into one relationship guru or another, you could probably analyze it through that lens.

The Breakup is the story of a guy who is dating a much hotter girl than he would be able to get if he weren't in a movie or rich. The relationship could never really work in real life, largely because Vince Vaughn's character is like every other Vince Vaughn character and Jennifer Aniston's chracter went to college (granted for art history or something), reads books and has broader interests in the world than touring Chicago, following the Cubs (this hobby, apparently widespread in Chicago, seems to be the sports equivalent of auto-testicular electrocution... unlikely to do anything but cause you pain in the short and long runs), and playing video games. I hate to lift from Chris Rock, but you have to share interests for things to work. One person can't be all going to church while the other is out smoking crack. And while that's an overly dramatic example, you can't have one person interested in the lowest forms of entertainment and one into the higher arts and expect things to work out. So, inevitably perhaps, they break up. Since that's the title of the movie, I don't think I'm spoiling anything there.

One little catch in this neat breakup. They own the world's greatest condo (which is apparently in Chicago. It makes no sense to me either, but that's the movie. I don't write em, I just go and see em). Together. Joint custody. Oh yeah, and for some reason, Jen wants Vince back, assuming that he will change. He must be dynamite in the sack. Since Vince Vaughn has a story credit (in fact, the top story credit), that's probably the case, at least in the backstory. Now here's why Mars and Venus is a better way of understanding things than Dr. Phil is. At this point in the relationship, with M&V, Vince Vaughn might get an insight into what Jen expects from him and actually be motivated to change. Or he might be able to say, "That's just too high a price for the package of goods that I get." Either way, he has some insight. Dr. Phil, on the other hand, would suggest that Vince listen to what Jen is saying. Since she's pretty much not talking to him, and acting as badly as Vince is, Vinny will wind up confused, rather than with the key insight that she wants to get back together with him as long as he will sit through a ballet once in a while and maybe say thanks when she cleans up after him. Jen tells this to her friend, ad nauseum, but never feels that just talking to Vince will change him.

I don't want to spoil the end or anything, but Vince is eventually told by his bartender what he's really like and what it'll probably take to get back with her. Why he's gotta hear it from the bartender, I dunno.

Any rate, I liked the movie except for the last three-to-five scenes which dragged and were kind of pointless unless they are setting up for a completely unneccessary sequel. Lot of funy hi-jinx and some interesting insights (not groundbreaking insights, but interesting) into long term relationships and their conclusions. I give it two and a half stars (out of four), with an extra half star if you have ever ended a relationship that went more than two years.