f/k/a archives . . . real opinions & real haiku

.. Presidential Pumpkin Patterns ..

— from Zombie Pumpkins. com (via Don Weeks at WGY radio) —

election day
jack-o-lanterns
in trash cans

… by dagosan

If your sensibilities are at all like mine, you passed your political-ad nausea threshold weeks ago, and need a barf bag next to the sofa or la-z-boy in your tv room, as we enter the last week of pre-election advertising. And, it hasn’t helped at all that our campaign to rid the pundit lexicon of the term “battleground state” has had no noticeable effect. I’ve been watching the public television network even more than usual to avoid the effluent electoral flow of mud and misleading claims, while relying on Obama Girl again for my political fix.

If all the angry ads leave you wanting to grab a knife and stab something, the f/k/a Gang suggests you sublimate those feelings and have some fun at ZombiePumpkins.com, where you’ll find a bounteous crop of ghoulish and topical patterns for carving surprisingly sophisticated jack-o-lanterns. The presidential pumpkin patterns shown above are among the selections. You have to join to download their amazing patterns, but you can do a lot of looking and reading for free, or get full access to 183 patterns for as little as $5, and a sampler of any two patterns for $2.

halloween mail
a bill arrives
from the plastic surgeon

devil’s night
father john’s profile fills
the confessional screen

autumn emptiness
i leave the pumpkin
just as it is

halloween
the government issues
a report on the war

……………………………………..ed markowski

At Court-o-rama, Anne Skove is in the Halloween spirit this week. Among other posts, check out her coverage of:

• Haunted Courthouses
• scary: the worst Supreme Court decision ever

• trick or treating at courthouses

battery weakened
the low, slow laughter
of a demon

…. John Stevenson from Some of the Silence

Other quickie treats:

• Bob Ambrogi at Legal Blog Watch tells us about a Harvard Lawyer in D.C. named “Jack”, who has turned to a Life of Voluntary Simplicity, and recently took a match, not to a jack-o-lantern candle, but to his Harvard Law degree.  Bob’s commentors disagree about the significance of the gesture.  Click for Jack’s weblog post about the burning, and a YouTube video of the event.

• Raising issues similar to ours in the post “doubts over debt-negotiation fees“), the Wall Street Journal column “Debt-Relief Firms Attract Complaints” says there’s been a large increase in complaints about the so-called debt-negotiators, and “Regulators, consumer advocates and industry groups are taking a closer look at debt-settlement firms.” (by Eleanor Laise, Oct. 14, 2008)

At the WLJ site, you’ll find links to related podcasts, too: John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for Credit.com, talks with Eleanor Laise about the growth in debt settlement companies and whether they deliver on their promises.

pumpkin patch
this one is big enough
for my son

………….. Yu Chang– Upstate Dim Sum (2005/I)

perched on
the sumo’s belly –
one large pumpkin

…. by dagosan – Nisqually Delta Review (summer/fall issue 2006)

halloween twilight
again this year my son waits
alone by the door

…… by Roberta Beary, The Unworn Necklace (2007)
1st place, Tokutomi Memorial Haiku Contest 2006

p.s. Many thanks to Lissa and James Giacalone, who introduced their old uncle to the joys of Hoops and Yoyo over the weekend.  We laughed and laughed over the free H&Y e-cards at Hallmark.com.  Check out their Halloween BOOgie.  For me, the scariest e-card was the morning they only had decaf coffee. (“What is the point of decaffeinated coffee!? it’s just brown water.”)

Indian summer 
his name comes to me
then is gone again

… by w. f. owen – flower of another country (HSA Anthology 2007)

• No matter what you call him [Cristoforo Colombo, Cristóvão Colon, Cristóbal Colón, Cristòfor Colom, or the anglicized Christopher Columbus]; and
  

• No matter if this spate of sunny, dry, moderate weather is really Indian Summer

the f/k/a Gang hopes you have as lovely an October 13th as we’re having here in Schenectady (where we are at the peak of Leaf Peeper Season).

Columbus Day drive
red and yellow crayons
turn into stubs

………… by dagosan

If it’s a holiday for you, and you have some spare time, we suggest you read about the meaning and possible sources of the term Indian Summer.  “JUST WHAT IS INDIAN SUMMER AND DID INDIANS REALLY HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT?” (National Weather Service, by William R. Deedler, Fall, 1996)

Or, peruse one or more our earlier posts discussing the mysteries and controversies surrounding the man erroneously called Christopher Columbus. “who do you want Columbus to be?” (Oct. 12, 2004 ); “Columbus, Colombo, Colón: what’s in a name? (Octo. 6, 2007); “it’s hard to discover Columbus” (Oct. 10, 2005)

Columbus Day rain –
first cozy evening
since Spring

………… by dagosan

Before you do, why not bask in our collection of tributes to Indian Summer by f/k/a‘s Honored Guest Poets, led by Dr. Bill Owen, who is clearly becoming the haijin dean of Indian Summer.

Indian summer
a spent salmon
washes ashore

Indian summer
a fish slips through
the gill net

Indian summer
honey flows
into the tea

Indian summer
the cat
pregnant again

… w. f. owen – from echoes 1 (Red Moon Press, 2007)
“Indian summer/salmon” – HSA Henderson Haiku Contest 2004, 1st Place
“Indian summer/gill” & “pregnat cat” – haiku notebook (Lulu.com, 2007)
“Indian summer/honey” – from frogpond XXVII: 1

Indian summer
chocolate kisses
on my cheek

………. by Yu Chang – from Upstate Dim Sum (Vol. 2008/1)

white jerseys
spread across the hockey field
Indian summer

… by Barry George – The Heron’s Nest (Winter 2005)

Indian summer   
algae floats
downstream

… Hilary Tann – Upstate Dim Sum 2007/II

she leaves
the gate open
Indian Summer

… by Alice Frampton – The Heron’s Nest (December 2007)

her kiss
on the cool side of tepid …
indian summer

… by ed markowski from Haiku Harvest (Fall/Winter 2005)

See a new spread on Ed at Norb Blei’s Poetry Dispatch, “Ed Markowski: a poem and a note (Dispatch 255, October 11, 2008)

Indian summer
the watercolorist paints
a leaf on the lake

… by Tom Painting from his chapbook “piano practice“

Indian summer
fire ants swarming
over a rotted squash

… by Rebecca Lilly –  A New Resonance 2; Modern Haiku XXXI:1

Indian summer~
two tortoises stretch
toward shore

. . . by Pamela Miller Ness – Nisqually Delta Review (editor’s choice, winter/spring 2006)

indian summer
the sound of conker
on conker

indian summer
a dance class practice to
“I want to break free”

.. by Matt Morden
“indian summer/conker” – Morden Haiku (October 14, 2006)
“indian summer/dance” – Morden Haiku (October 6, 2007)

Indian summer
rust on our hands
from the swing

… by w.f. owen – from haiku notebook (2007)

Indian Summer –
a squirrel tips over
the bag of rock salt

… by David Giacalone – The Heron’s Nest VIII:I, March 2006

We all wish you several Indian Summers this Autumn of 2008. If your weather is not picture perfect for Columbus Day, we hope it isn’t at all like this October scene from a couple years ago near Buffalo, NY, which inspired a poem and a haiga:

a foot of snow
a month too soon
candles for nightlights

. . . photo haiga by Arthur Giacalone (photo) & David Giacalone (poem);
Simply Haiku Journal, Vol. 5 no. 1 (Spring 2007)

p.s. If you’re in search of some fine recent commentary from law-related weblogs, or you want to learn more about Conflict Resolution Day (the 3d Thursday of October), see Diane Levin’s presentation of Blawg Review #181, at her Mediation Channel weblog.

There’s an article in today’s New York Times that deserves our attention and contemplation.  It’s titled “In ‘Sweetie’ and ‘Dear,’ a Hurt for the Elderly” (October 7, 2008).  Reporter John Leland targets elderspeak —  “the sweetly belittling form of address that has always rankled older people” — and, in particular, people “who address any elderly person as ‘dear’.”

The article points out that many older persons very much resent being called “Sweetie” or “Dearie,” even when the speaker is trying to be nice or to sound caring.  With their implication that the elderly are somehow less than competent or capable, such terms of endearment (especially from strangers or service providers) are condescending.  Worse, according to the Times:

“Now studies are finding that the insults can have health consequences, especially if people mutely accept the attitudes behind them, said Becca Levy, an associate professor of epidemiology and psychology at Yale University, who studies the health effects of such messages on elderly people.

“Those little insults can lead to more negative images of aging,” Dr. Levy said. “And those who have more negative images of aging have worse functional health over time, including lower rates of survival.”

“Despite such research, the worst offenders are often health care workers . . . “

The point is very well taken and should be kept in mind when talking with older persons.  Of course, I hope lawyers aren’t guilty of using elderspeak when practicing Elderlaw.

This article is a good opportunity to ask even our close relatives and friends whether they would prefer that we drop the Dears and Sweeties.   Surprisingly, our congenitally cranky Prof. Yabut agrees with the sentiment voiced in the NYT article by Oregonian Jan Rowell:

“Not all older people object to being called sweetie or dear, and some, like Jan Rowell, 61, of West Linn, Ore., say they appreciate the underlying warmth. ‘We’re all reaching across the chasm,’ Ms. Rowell said. ‘If someone calls us sweetie or honey, it’s not diminishing us; it’s just their way to connect, in a positive way.’

“She added, ‘What would reinforce negative stereotypes is the idea that old people are filled with pet peeves, taking offense at innocent attempts to be friendly’.”

senior discount day
an eighty year old man
packs my groceries

…. by ed markowski

.. Psst: Boomers don’t like it either .. ..

A couple of recent incidents from my own life made me very aware — at age 58 — that terms of address can come with irksome aging implications.  Last Spring, a 20-something stranger in my neighborhood park twice called me “Pops.”  It did not sound like a term of respect or endearment.  It was at least a decade premature and ran contrary to the youthful self-image that resides in my psyche.  Worse, the thought arose “it’s not going to get any better.”

the um in her voice
before offering me
the senior discount

….. by Carolyn Hall – A New Resonance 2; Frogpond XXIII:2

Similarly, a couple weeks ago, in two separate incidents on the same morning, two young women I had never met called me “Dear” and deferred to me as I was entering a building — first at a supermarket, then at my doctor’s office.  Frankly, rightly or wrongly, my male ego felt diminished: they weren’t just saying I was a lot older than them, they were implying I was over the hill, non-threatening, genderless.

Discovery channel –
an older male vanquished
heads for the hills

… by Tom Clausen – Upstate Dim Sum (2003/II)

.. (1971) ..  in my mind I’m still 19 .. (2008) ..

In a related event, last month my lovely friend Sharon, who is 47 and looks 37, opined that many men well over forty “go around thinking they’re still 19.”  I confessed to her that I had in fact recently said to myself, “When I walk around, I feel just like I did at 19 — at least until my knee hurts or I catch my reflection in a window.”  To be honest, having been through quite a few ordeals the past few decades, it’s great that my spirit — unless reminded otherwise — still feels like it did when I was in college.  It would, of course, be wonderful not to be reminded otherwise any more often than absolutely necessary, when I deal with younger folk.

Nonetheless, I hope I’ll keep in mind the words of Warren Cassell, of Portland, Ore., in today’s NYT article:

“I’m irked by it, but I can’t think about it that much. There are too many more important things to think about.”

Well, this “quickie” post sure got long.  I’ll say “so long” with a few more one-breath poems from my friends.

the aging gourd
and I
cast our shadows

. . . . . . . . . . by Kobayashi Issa (David G. Lanoue, translator)

Valentine kisses –
trying it with and without
dentures

. . . . by dagosan

mother’s day
a nurse unties
the restraints

.. by Roberta Beary – The Unworn Necklace: Haiku and Senryu (Snapshot Press 2007)

warming up
over a cup of tea
my mother-in-law

………  by Tom Painting – Frogpond XXXI:1 (Winter 2008)

calling home–
the color of mother’s voice
before her words

………………… by Hilary Tann, in “dust of summers: RMA 2007”; orig. pub. The Heron’s Nest IX:4

visiting mother—
again she finds
my first grey hair

. . . . by Michael Dylan Welch – TAO

in the attic
grandpa searches
for his marbles

… by w.f. own – Haiku Notebook (2007)

clouded moon
an old man
ebbs away

.. by Matt Morden – Morden Haiku (January 31, 2007)

. . “Fast Eddie” Felson and “Slow Sarah” Palin . .

Two of the big stories on the Sunday morning tv news shows — the much-lamented death of Paul Newman and the much-savaged interview of Sarah Palin — blurred for me today. Talk of Newman’s career brought to mind his famous character “Fast Eddie” Felson from the 1961 movie “The Hustler,” and the encore “The Color of Money” (1986). And, all the commentary on Palin’s faltering performance in her one-on-one with Katie Kouric reminded me that the Great Pre-Debate Low Expectations Game is in full swing.

Hustlers are willing to lose a bit to lower expectations and lull their opponents into overconfidence.  Sarah Palin probably plays a pretty good game of pool, and she just might be pullin’ a Felson in anticipation of her really big-stakes match next Thursday, in St. Louis, at the Vice Presidential Debate with Sen. Joe Biden.  She’ll be heading to the podium next Friday with expectations lower than a snake’s belly, and heading toward the level of a gopher’s behind.  If Gov. Palin convinces the nation she can either walk or chew-gum, she will be hailed as passing muster and vastly out-performing the predictions of pundits across the political spectrum.

Beating the odds and expectations seems to be what the debates are all about in the media.  Sarah Palin will surely surpass all expectations — perhaps rising to the heady heights of mediocrity.  Joe Biden’s my candidate, and I sure hope he isn’t underestimating his Republican opponent.  If Joe’s feeling cocky, he probably should watch the YouTube videos of the First Game and the Final Game between Fast Eddie and Minnesota Fats.

The TinyURL for this post is http://tinyurl.com/PalinFelson . For more, see the Daily Kos posting, “watch out for the Palin expectations trap” Sept. 28, 2008; and find a video of the entire 2006 Alaska Gubernatorial Debate at The New Argument.

[Speaking of Debates, don’t miss our finger-puppet “presidential debate redux,” which asks a lot of questions Barack forgot.]

update (October 3, 2008): Darn right. She didn’t run the table, but the oft-winking Gov. Palin exceeded all those low expectations and stays in contention for the big prize. (See New York Times, “The Vice-Presidential Debate“) As David Brooks said today, in “The Palin Rebound,” “By the end of the debate, most Republicans were not crouching behind the couch, but standing on it. The race has not been transformed, but few could have expected as vibrant and tactically clever a performance as the one Sarah Palin turned in Thursday night.”

grown wild
the spot where I buried
the last of my pets

flickering buzz
of the pool hall sign
summer night

……………………… by John Stevenson –  The Heron’s Nest (December 2007)

p.s. Paul Newman has long been my favorite actor from my parents’ generation — even before I could relate to his character in Nobody’s Fool.  The f/k/a Gang is going to eschew further posting this evening and curl up on the futon with a tape of his 1982 movie “The Verdict,” which is near the top of every “best films about lawyers” list I’ve ever seen (e.g., our prior post).  You will indeed be missed, Mr. Newman.

Below are a few ONEsies (odds-n-ends) piquing our interest this lovely mid-September morning, plus a handful of haiku by our Honored Guests culled from a new “joys of the seasons” collection with a riparian theme.  Rather than wait to release them in one gushing punditry torrent, I’m going to drib and drab my blurb posting as the day “progresses” and my energy level and attention span wax and wane.  So, please stop back to see what has bubbled to the surface.

rivermoon
we run
out of words

…. by Roberta Beary, Esq. – from “Season’s Greetings 2009: Stream – River,” ed. Mohammed H. Siddiqui

. . . lawyer career choices:  Long before this weblog existed, the alter egos now known collectively as the f/k/a Gang were bemoaning the fact that too many of our best and brightest youths were choosing the legal profession as their default career (rather than choosing more productive and personally rewarding jobs) and doing it mostly on the basis of greed and misguided status-seeking (notions reflected, for example, in “1L of a Decision,” Aug. 16, 2005, and the recent and much-ignored “EnvyEsq works too much,” Sept. 4, 2008).  In the wake of the Wall Street upheavals of the past few day, blawgers Elie Mystal at Above the Law and Scott Greenfield of Simple Justice have been wondering — with their very different perspectives and audiences — if there are wise career choices and options for those already possessing law degrees.

• On the same day that Law.com ran the article “Sunny Forecast for GC Jobs in Clean-Tech Industry” (The Recorder, Sept. 16, 2008), Above the Law started the open-thread question “Is In-house still worth it?.”  Elie explained that “It wasn’t long ago that both associates and partners regarded moving in-house as a ‘golden ticket.’ Better hours, comparable pay, and a sweet ‘Executive Vice-President’ title.”  But, he asks, “As financial services firms break up and merge, what happens to the in-house attorneys caught up in the mix?”  You’ll find scores of comments at AtL from the young BigLaw (and wannabe) crowd.
• Today, Elie followed that up with “The IRS is still hiring” (pointing to post at TaxProfBlog, and noting a 72% job satisfaction rate at the agency).  Such government jobs will seem like a very big let down to many of the readers of AtL.

• Scott Greenfield has decided to leave “the goings-on for those who dream of vast wealth and importance” to Elie at Above the Law.  At Simple Justice, he instead opined, “Today would be Good Day to go Solo” (Sept. 15, 2008).  Noting the rocky times ahead for many in the world of Big Law, Scott says:

“There is still real legal work to be done out there.  There are regular people who need lawyers.  There are always defendants in criminal cases, though no Biglaw refugees are equipped to represent them. . . .

“While it’s too late to get ahead of the curve, there’s still time to do something about your lot in life before the pink email arrives at your crackberry.  Susan Cartier Leibel is about to open the digital doors of Solo Practice University.  Carolyn Elefant has written the definitive book on the mechanics of opening a solo practice, Solo By Choice.. . . .

“Not all of you will make it.  Not all of you deserve to make it.  . . .  But some of you will see the writing on the wall.  Don’t pass up the available opportunity and resources that are here today.  It’s decidedly unclear what tomorrow will offer.”

Scott’s approach jibes with our own inclinations.  We feel bad for all those who entered law seeking the high life, and are now wearing golden shackles on a sinking ship.  The f/k/a Gang stands by our traditional position on lawyer career choices:  We’d be a much happier lot if we could “just” settle for making a comfortable living doing a job that helps regular folks solve and avoid problems, assert their rights, or defend themselves.

in a deep eddy
the child’s boot surfaces
momentarily

… by Tom Clausen – from “Season’s Greetings 2009: Stream – River,” ed. Mohammed H. Siddiqui

. . . Friedman Wants More Engineers:  Tom Friedman also hopes our talented youth will make better career choices and learn from Wall Street’s excesses (“Keep It in Vegas,” New York Times, Sept. 17, 2008)

“The market is now consolidating this industry, with the strong eating the weak, which will impose its own fiscal discipline. Good. Maybe then more of our next generation of math geniuses will think about going into engineering the next great global industry — energy technology — rather engineering derivatives.”

Tom also has some smart words about how to have smarter government regulation: “In sum, government’s job is to police that fine line between the necessary risk-taking that drives an innovation economy and crazy gambling with other people’s savings in ways that threaten us all. We need to make sure that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas — and doesn’t come to Main Street. We need to get back to investing in our future and not just betting on it.”

afterwords (Sept. 18, 2008): Roger Cohen sounds a similar career theme this morning in his New York Times column, “The King Is Dead.”   He says “The leverage party’s over for the masters of the universe,” and that

“No better illustration exists of a culture where private gain has eclipsed the public good, public service, even public decency, and where the cult of the individual has caused the commonwealth to wither.”

Cohen has wondered “why do freshmen [from our best schools] bursting to change the world morph into investment bankers?” Apparently, it was the money and the fact that everyone was doing it.  Cohen advises:

“The best and the brightest should think again. Barack Obama put the issue this way at Wesleyan University in May: beware of the ‘poverty of ambition’ in a culture of ‘the big house and the nice suits’.”

” . . . It’s time for the best and the brightest to step forth and rediscover the public sphere.”

Cohen suggests a good place to start would be looking into the idea from Felix Rohatyn and Everett Ehrlich of creating a National Infrastructure Bank, or N.I.B.  Not a bad idea at all.  There are surely other important ways to use one’s brains to serve the nation rather than serve what Cohen calls the Money and Me zeitgeist.

those sensitive neocons (September 16, 2008): Following up on themes found in our “Lipstick Lynch Mob” post from Sept. 11, Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg makes a lot of sense in his Fresh Air commentary yesterday “Lipstick on My Choler (Or, Did You Call Me a Pig?)”  (listen here to the 5-minute podcast from NPR).  As Fresh Air notes, Nunberg asks “who’s responsible when words get misconstrued — and whether there’s an irony when a cultural conservative complains that a progressive has been insufficiently sensitive.”  For example, he notes:

“So if you were an upstanding cultural conservative, you might see something undignified in the McCain campaign’s reaction to the lipstick-on-a-pig remark. At times it seemed like a send up of radical feminism drawn from a satirical novel by Christopher Buckley or T. Coraghessen Boyle — the keening indignation, the burrowing for far-fetched meanings and unconscious motivations, and above all the insistence that what matters isn’t what someone actually says, but the way we take it.”

drizzle __
nothing disturbs the order
of the waves

… by Gary Hotham – from “Season’s Greetings 2009: Stream – River,” ed. Mohammed H. Siddiqui

. . . . . update (2 PM):

. . . Church and Politics: It must be difficult to be a “liberal” or moderate practicing American Catholic in this election season.   For example, today’s NYT article “Abortion Issue Again Dividing Catholic Votes” (New York Times, September 17, 2008) tells us:

“A struggle within the church over how Catholic voters should think about abortion is once again flaring up just as political partisans prepare an all-out battle for the votes of Mass-going Catholics in swing-state towns like Scranton.”

As we’ve pointed out previously, conservative American Catholics have tended to ignore the Church’s “social” teachings on justice and charity — despite Pope Benedict XVI’s first encyclical, “Deus Caritas Est“(”God Is Love”; 2005).  Instead, they’ve focused on telling those who want to be faithful Catholics how they should vote, with publications like the “Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics” (see our prior post).

According to the Voter’s Guide (and its FAQ), “A well-formed conscience never will contradict Catholic moral teaching.“  And, five current political issues — abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, and homosexual marriage — are “non-negotiable” because they involve “intrinsic evil.“  “Serious Catholics” are told, therefore, they have the moral obligation to avoid voting for any candidate who supports the “evil” position on any of these issues.  Issues such as “just war,” the death penalty or economic justice are not part of the non-negotiables list.  Apparently, they can’t be taken into account when one of the candidates is on the wrong side of the “evil” list and his opponent is on the “right side.”  As I said above, it’s must be hard to be a liberal or moderate practicing Catholic in an important election year.

first day of winter
my walk extends
to the middle of the river

… by Yu Chang – from “Season’s Greetings 2009: Stream – River,” ed. Mohammed H. Siddiqui

. . . . . . update (7 PM):

consumer credit bill of rights : A New York Times editorial this week challenged Congress to act on the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights before the elections in November.  See “Consumer Protection” (September 13, 2008).

“For all of these candidates who keep talking about helping the ordinary American, this should be an easy one. Get behind the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights now, before the election.”

. . . “Mr. Obama and his running mate, Senator Joseph Biden, should urge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — who appears to be listening to the bankers more than consumers — to allow a vote on the bill before the November elections. They should sponsor the same legislation in the Senate and invite Senator John McCain, who has pledged to help struggling Americans, to join the fight.”

How your Congress-person or Senator votes on this bill would be an important indicator of whether she or he puts the consumer or the banking/credit industry first.  Here’s an outline of the Bill (H.R. 5244) found at the website of House Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY).

The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights:

-Protects cardholders against arbitrary interest rate increases
-Prevents cardholders who pay on time from being unfairly penalized
-Protects cardholders from due date gimmicks
-Shields cardholders from misleading terms
-Empowers cardholders to set limits on their credit
-Requires card companies to fairly credit and allocate payments
-Prohibits card companies from imposing excessive fees on cardholders
-Prevents card companies from giving subprime credit cards to people who can’t afford them
-Requires Congress to provide better oversight of the credit card industry
-Contains NO rate caps, fee setting, or price controls

For a one-page summary of the bill’s main provisions, click here.  To read the entire bill, click here. For a nice explanation of what the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights will do, with the important problems described and industry arguments rebutted, see this post by Adam Levitin of the Credit Slips weblog.

There are a lot of good, needed protections in this Bill.  I especially like the requirement that card companies fairly credit and allocate payments.

Personal Grievance: Bank of America recently refused my request that they allocate part of my monthly payment to a $6.95 item that is on my credit card account due to an automatic charge for accident insurance offered through BofA.   The rest of my entire balance (many thousands of dollars) has a 0% interest rate until next March.  BofA allocates all payments first to that no-interest part of the balance, and therefore charges me a finance charge each month of $4.95 on the $6.95 balance, which has a nominal interest rate of 9.99%.  A nice “gotcha” that really irks me.

river stones
each one a turtle
of its own

.. by Tom Painting – from “Season’s Greetings 2009: Stream – River,” ed. Mohammed H. Siddiqui