State of the Union

I recently perambulated this Celticness over to the local coffee shop to purchase a cup of joe and to eavesdrop on the state of the Union.

While waiting to order, I overheard two older fellahs, a pair some might be tempted to call "a coupla of geezers," pontificating to each other about current affairs.

The one wearing the Notre Dame sweatshirt over his chubby tummy was unhappy with one of his sons, a lad who had purchased a new house and its big mortgage. "They have no savings, and they can't even afford furniture now. What are we gonna do when we go over there? Sit on the floor?" he complained to his friend.

His buddy, with a Miami Dolphins hat pulled down tight on his head, replied, "My grandfather used to tell me that 80 percent of the people in this country are totally out of their minds most of the time."

Seems it's un-American to stay out of debt.  So reports Bob Kerr, a writer for the Providence Journal, who met up with one Walter Soehnge at the Gentleman Farmer Coffee Shop in Scituate Village, Rhode Island. Soehnge, an retired Texas school teacher and his wife Deana, had relocated to Rhode Island, and thought it might be a good idea to pay down some debt. They made a payment of $6,522 on their JCPenney Platinum MasterCard account. The result: Walter's now "madder than a panther with kerosene on his tail."

The Soehnge's frugal action set off the alarm of the Patriot Act, and their payment was reported to the Department of Homeland Security. Changes in the Bank Privacy Act have been woven into the War on Terror. "They were told, as they moved up the managerial ladder at the call center, that the amount they had sent in was much larger than their normal monthly payment," Kerr wrote. "And if the increase hits a certain percentage higher than that normal payment, Homeland Security has to be notified.  And the money doesn't move until the threat alert is lifted."

Walter Soehnge was outraged. He called television stations, the American Civil Liberties Union and Bob Kerr. "It's scary how easily someone in Homeland Security can get permission to spy," he said.

The Soehnges' money was eventually credited, but "the experience has been a reminder that a small piece of privacy has been surrendered. Walter Soehnge, who says he holds solid, middle-of-the-road American beliefs, worries about rights being lost. 'If it can happen to me, it can happen to others,' he said."

Comments

[David Mankin]

In Scituate Village, Rhode Island, they had never seen $6,500 before - no wonder the alarm went off.

[Mike Smith]

In the immortal words of Pogo (I think!) "We have met the enemy, and they is us." Chalk it up to family values!

[Stephen Beauregard]

Walter Soehnge "holds solid, middle-of-the-road American beliefs".
Could have fooled me. He's my dad and I haven't seen or heard from him in decades. Ask him if he ever paid my mom any child support.