There's a LOT of stuff that falls in that particular category... including about 20 square miles worth of pulp from various and sundry rain forests on the planet, consisting solely of solicitations to buy supplemental Medicare insurance... but this leads the parade:
Fucking AARP... they just WON'T leave me alone! I get at least one of these things a month and they've become Number One With a Bullet on the list of potential targets for my Midnite Firebombing career once I gear up for that lil endeavor. Why? Well, the never-ending mailings piss me off but it's mostly because of this:
Though legally non-partisan under IRS rules, AARP has a visible leftward tilt. In the 2008 and 2010 elections, campaign contributors who listed AARP as their employer gave 90 percent of their money to Democratic candidates, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. Rand gave the maximum contribution to Obama. The company's top lobbyist, Nancy LeaMond, was a political appointee in the Clinton administration.
AARP is also allied with a staunch Democratic booster -- teachers unions. AARP began as the National Retired Teachers Association and has lobbied against school vouchers, which teachers unions strongly oppose.
These political leanings and AARP's lobbying record (including opposition to tax cuts) have spawned conservative rivals, such as 60 Plus and the American Seniors Association.
There are alternate groups for retired/experienced citizens out there that lean right.
ReplyDeleteAARP did support Obamacare though, so there is that.
...for retired/experienced citizens...
ReplyDeleteHeh. In other words geezers, right, Anon?
From my point of view Chase is the worst when it comes to sending waste paper. It seems like hardly a week goes by that I don't receive at least two solicitations for a Chase card. What's so screwed up is I already have a Chase card.
ReplyDeleteI gave up keepin' track of those, Skip. But my gut tells me Discover would give Chase a run for their money (no pun intended).
ReplyDeleteI am soooo with you on this. Back during the Obamacare debates, I feared Pepper would leap into that firebombing career post haste. I just don't see that those groups have much more to offer than we already access.
ReplyDeleteI guess the Post Office would go completely out of business were it not for credit card mailings and wedding invitations.
Heh. In other words geezers, right, Anon?
ReplyDelete__________
Heh. I've been getting the letters from them for years as well. You know you've arrived when you get them. I can't imagine the money spent on those mailings. They must work, but man, they just don't know when to quit.
I prefer being an old Goat... greatest of all time, myself. ;)
Re: junk mail. I use their own envelope and response card to send a reply. I letter LOOK! with a broad tip Sharpie through all their printing. And I color little eye pupils inside the large O's and draw fierce eyebrows over them. I do not obscure my address, but I write all over the rest of the return card. I am never vulgar, but I tell them to stop sending me their solicitations.
ReplyDeleteIt usually works, though sometimes it takes two or three times. I find it very satisfying to send their junk back to them in their own envelope that they have to pay postage on.
I do pretty much the same that Deborah does... except I do blacken out my address. I figure the USPO needs all the help it can get at this point and the dummies that keep sending out the junk mail have to pay. Or in case of not having enough time to play - I just recycle. Buck, you might have hit on a great post here - junk mail and AARP all in one! I also joined AARP at 50, then let it lapse after one round. Got just about the same discounts with my AAA card and I definitely didn't like the "leanings".
ReplyDeleteI guess the Post Office would go completely out of business were it not for credit card mailings and wedding invitations.
ReplyDeleteYou're prolly right, Moogie. I think it's just about time for them to raise first class rates, again... mainly because I just bought a new roll of first class stamps.
They must work, but man, they just don't know when to quit.
They certainly DON'T. I'm gonna take a page out of Deborah's book and mail their stuff back to them.
I find it very satisfying to send their junk back to them in their own envelope that they have to pay postage on.
I've always thrown this krep out in the past but now? I'm gonna begin sending it BACK. Thanks, Deborah!
Got just about the same discounts with my AAA card and I definitely didn't like the "leanings".
I get the same or better with my military ID, Alison. I don't NEED any steenkin AARP!
And all the e-mails. Don't forget the damned e-mails as well!
ReplyDeleteDon't even get me started on junk mail - especially credit card applications that I have to shred so no one steals my identity. Someone who has had their identity stolen by someone filling out those applications should sue the CC folks for sending out the info in the first place.
ReplyDeleteMy mother and her friends quit the AARP over the Obamacare.
Virgil: I never see the e-mails. G-mail has the BEST spam filter in the known universe.
ReplyDeleteLou: GOOD on yer Mom and her friends!!
I prefer being an old Goat... greatest of all time, myself. ;)
ReplyDeleteFergot to mention this, Anon... I like the way ya think.