You are quite right, this is NOT a bank loan... I went back to the extremely tiny print and got to the part where it says that the loans are made from their offices "on tribal lands" at the address

Seems to me there's an entire segment of society that's "broken" to the degree that they live purely by a "because I CAN" mindset that utterly excludes any thought or consideration

In a sense, one of the nicer things about "local" loans is that there's often a better chance people will make the payments on time because now their local reputation is also at risk...

One of the few small protections we have here in the USA... if you are going to solicit people with loan offers, the law says you have to fully disclose the cost of the loan... even though the fine print

I always thought so-called "Payday Loans" were a scam because of the exceptionally high fees... but this takes it to a whole new level. Definitely, what I would call an "Uncle Guido Loan."

Yes, pretty much impossible! Friend of mine actually teaches "Laughing Meditations." Sounds funny, but she actually helps lots of people change their attitude.

Fear is definitely not the answer... and I'm not really part of that club either. In fact, my wife suggests that I am sometimes inappropriately un-fearful in the face of various things unfolding in the

I think you may be onto something... they don't have TV! Wait... we canceled our cable subscription almost a decade ago, and only use the TV to watch movies and a few PBS programs. But still, most of the

It's fascinating to watch these battles unfold... the crows are very interesting and protective birds, and very intelligent, too.

I think we have the right idea, my friend... so many people are just mentally disturbed, and beyond that not capable of engaging in just thinking for themselves! That sure is a beautiful cat you travel

I actually burned my early journals... once because my mother was snooping around in my stuff when I was 17-ish and I feared she'd force me into therapy, and once when my ex decided to violate my privacy

Yes, blogging did take me away from the paper... at least to a degree. I still keep a paper journal, but my entries are scattered and often done when I am outside, because I hate trying to type on a phone.

I think that as I have aged I have reached a point where I self-edit less and less, because I just don't *care" what other people think... perhaps it is what some spiritual schools of thought term

It was so very sad... and it seems to be representative of the "disease" that afflicts so many humans: Let us ATTACK and KILL things we are not sure we understand, rather than try to UNDERSTAND

Well, it's a mystery to me. I can't help but wonder whether such a person would also be the person who pulled legs of spiders as a kid, or put baby birds in the microwave... society seems to be very, very

Thanks for a thoughtful article Luke... and yes, I did go read the other article. History inevitably repeats itself. You could substitute in "dot com" or "Internet" for

No worries about long replies! Part of what this platform needs more of (in order to attract more users) is *meaningful engagement. My uncle Erik in Denmark was a Lutheran Minister, and he was fond of

Very good point @papilloncharity. How sad, though, that it has gotten to be a fashion statement, at all! True enough, the wheels are likely to eventually come off that wagon. I remember many moons ago,

Excellent story @jerrytsuseer, and definitely an act of integrity! I have never felt this seemingly pervasive need to be "one-up" on others, typically as a result of what I think of as antisocial

It's why I don't interview well. I can SO relate to that! There's that old saying about only getting "one chance to make a first impression?" I make a most excellent 3rd or 4th impression!