All the Sun For You

A mom, two boys, a husband, and a whole lot of adventure!

Monthly Archives: September 2012


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Updated: Dear Republican Party

OK – my use of “fascist” for both parties in this country was unfair.  When  you take it literally (and who wouldn’t), it’s not nice.  So I’ve removed that reference.

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It’s going to be a wordy Wednesday over here, because I have a lot to say.  I don’t usually “go here” on my blog, but I think it’s time to put something out there.

I am a Libertarian.  I believe in personal freedoms, human rights, and fair taxation (“use taxes” work great – get rid of the income tax).  You stay out of my business, and I’ll stay out of yours.  The federal government should be small, and limited, and should not be regulating morals or how much of your own money you actually get to keep.  It’s that simple to me.

I was looking through my reader today and came upon this post by Jill who linked to something I’ve been wanting to read about, but quite frankly, have not made the time for because I knew it would upset me.  And it did – it upset me very much.

As I read House Bill 212, all I could think about was what I want to say to the Republican Party.  So here it goes:

Dear “GOP,”

I hate to break it to you, but you are not the “Grand Old Party.”  The GOP was founded by people who believed in small government on all fronts – not just financial ones.  The GOP believed in leaving things up to the state.  The GOP didn’t believe in regulating morals.  The GOP believed in personal freedoms.  The GOP believed in a separation of Church and State.  The GOP believed in protecting our borders, but not in imperialism.

Your “GOP” believes in small government until you want to tell people how to live their lives.  Your “GOP” wants less taxation and less government involvement in the free markets, the school systems, etc., but once the issues of gay marriage and abortion are raised, your “GOP” wants to be in our bedrooms and homes.  Small government is your motto until you decide that women can’t make reproductive choices on their own.  Small government is your motto until you decide that gay human beings are demonizing your RELIGIOUS definition of marriage.

You are not the GOP.  You are big government – just of a different persuasion than the Democratic Party.  You are no different from Democrats – you believe in big government too – just when it comes to different things.

You get your attack on gay marriage and women’s rights out of your platform, and you have my vote.  You really do – that’s a promise.  But as long as you, as a party, keep insisting that gay Americans are lesser than YOU because they are simply gay – then I’m not interested in anything you have to say.  As long as you, as a party, keep insisting that you know better what to do with my uterus than I do – then I’m not interested in anything you have to say.  As long as you, as a party, keep pushing this “personhood” movement that threatens my ability to grow my family via fertility treatments – then I’m not interested in anything you have to say.

The saddest thing to me, Republican Party, is that there are so many people out there who feel the same way as me.  We like your stance on taxation.  We like your stance on small government involvement – but we want to see that stance applied to all issues in this country and not just fiscal ones, as you as a party, have chosen to do.  We want you to practice what you preach on all fronts.

Get out of my head – it’s not yours and you have no right to try to regulate my beliefs.  Get out of my bedroom – what I do in it is none of your business.  Get out of my uterus – what grows there, or does not grow there, does not belong to you.  Get out of my RE’s office and laboratory – the eggs, sperm, and embryos in there didn’t come from your body.  Get out of the business of marriage – marriage is a religious ceremony that should not involve government at all.  Get out of Iraq and Afghanistan and everywhere else you seem to think we need to be – those countries aren’t yours to control.

I also have some news for you.  Most of you are pro-choice.  I know you think you’re pro-life, but you are not.  The only real pro-lifer I’m seeing in your party right now is Paul Ryan – and that’s because he believes that ALL life should be protected.  He does not believe in exception clauses for rape and incest when it comes to abortion (scary stuff!). Most of you cannot and do not say that.  You pander to the Christian Right by claiming that you protect all life unless, of course, that life was not created in a consensual way.  Isn’t a life a life, no matter how it comes into existence?  If you think even ONE person should have a choice whether or not to  carry a pregnancy to term – then you are pro-choice.  It’s that simple.  Pro-choice does not mean pro-abortion.  It means that there should be the choice to carry a pregnancy to term or not.  Sorry to burst your bubble, but it’s true.  You are no different from the left-wing on this one.  Again, you just want it more regulated than they do – but you still believe that some people are exempt from being forced to carry a pregnancy to term.  You are pro-choice.

I will not be voting in November.  I don’t like my choices.  The Democratic Party is way too socialist for my liking – and they’ve taken too many things too far in regards to regulation.  Again – they’re just as big-government as you – just in different ways.  You may think that my abstaining to vote is a vote for Obama, but it is my freedom to choose to vote or not.  And I won’t vote for a party that endorses bias against women and gays.

I believe in human rights – all human rights.  You do not.  The human rights you support are those defined by the Christian Bible.  Last time I checked, this country was made up of people from all faiths.  What makes you think that the Christian faith should have anything to do with federal and state governments?  Our forefathers certainly didn’t think this way.

America is a republic – not a democracy – a republic.  It’s time to start acting like one on all fronts.  Return your platform to small government on all things, and you’ve got my vote.

Until then – no thank you.


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All is Well!

Hello, Friends!

I wanted to let you all know that we’re good.  B and I are great – after a long day of trouble and some tears caused by unethical people, and a pep talk from “Dear Old Dad” who said, ‘B is a wonderful person who we all love and this is harder on him than it is on you,’ we have moved past “the situation” and are enjoying our weekend together.

I didn’t want anyone thinking that I’m torturing B with tears and angst over “the situation.”  HA!  Our very good friends loaned us one of their cars for the week (she can’t drive because she just had her first baby – YAY!), and we greatly appreciate that.  It looks like I may have a new vehicle by the end of the week, if all works out well, and that’s a good thing.  Great friends, a wonderful baby toddler, and each other… what else can one gal really ask for (besides Diet P.ep.si)?

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!  It’s raining here… but that’s alright.  Matthew is back in jammies and playing around the house with B and the kitties.  We had one of the cuter moments of Matthew’s toddlerhood just today.  I put him in some new jammies with a huge dinosaur on the front, and he seemed to like them.  I said, “go show Daddy your new jammies,” and he sprinted out of the room, turned the corner and stopped in his tracks, and squeeled at B to look.  He was standing there with his hands in the air, with the biggest sh*t-eating grin on his face.

Great way to end a long weekend!  (I forot it was Monday, and was looking forward to posting my Memorable Moment tomorrow.  But it’s today.  So this will be that moment!)

“I love my new jammies!”


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Review: Sussman Acura, Sussman Automotive, Howard Leopold, and Charles (Chuck) Matthews

This is a review of Howard Leopold, Charles (Chuck) Matthews, Sussman Acura (in Jenkintown, PA), and Sussman Automotive.

Wow – what a weekend!  After my last post, we got B home and he filled me in on the entire situaiton with Howard Leopold, Charles (Chuck) Matthews, Sussman Acura (in Jenkintown, PA), and Sussman Automotive.

Howard Leopold and Charles (Chuck) Matthews at Sussman Acura in Jenkintown, PA, cost our family over $1,000 with nothing to show for it.  They messed with our lives and finances – something that you should NEVER to do someone.

The story before THE STORY is that Howard Leopold from Sussman Acura/Sussman Automotive sold us a certified 2008 Acura MDX with Tech and Entertainment packages.  Howard Leopold assured B several times that the vehicle had never been in an accident and that, in fact, Acura won’t certify vehicles that have been in accidents.  Howard Leopold also told B that the interior and exterior were in “like new” condition and confirmed twice that the vehicle was getting brand new tires before we picked it up.  There were several email exchanges and phone calls between Howard Leopold and B leading up to B’s booking of his flight and one-way travel from Iowa to Philadelphia to pick up the vehicle.  Having worked with several Acura dealerships in the past, and having nothing but fabulous outcomes with their certification vehicles, we felt comfortable buying our fourth certified Acura sight-unseen as we had always done in the past.

So the whole story, once B came home and shared it with me, goes like this:

Howard Leopold sent someone to pick B up at the train station who took him back to the dealership to pick up the car.  Howard Leopold gave B the keys to take it for a spin.  B opened the door and it smelled like dog urine.  He noticed a film all over the dash, carpet, and seats.  Most of the leather was obviously scratched or cut by dog claws.  At this point, B didn’t get in the vehicle because it smelled that bad, and was filthy.  The carpet had numerous large, dark stains on it.  He rolled down the windows and decided to look at the outside of the vehicle as it aired out.  He opened the passenger door and it kept griding, so he wondered what was up.  When he shut the door, a bunch of glass fell out of the door (holy hell!).  So he inspected the body of the vehicle and the passenger door and fender had obviously been repainted.   He also noticed that the vehicle did not have new tires as promised by Howard Leopold.

Back to the story.  B picked up the broken glass and walked into Howard Leopold’s office, where he was meeting with other customers.  B just walked in, threw the broken glass on Howard Leopold’s desk and said, “you promised me this vehicle had not been in any accidents, but this came out of the door and the door and fender have been badly repainted.  You flat-out lied to me, Howard.”  Howard Leopold whisked B away from the other customers and told him it had not been in an accident.  WHAT?  B then mentioned the smell in the car and all the damage and Howard Leopold told B that they had a “difference of opinion” on the quality of the car.

B insisted on talking the GM but they sent him to an assistant Manager instead.  B was not standing for this and shut the guy’s office door and told him that he has nowhere to be, so he (B) and the assistant will wait until they call Charles (Chuck) Matthews, the GM, in to speak with him.  This got the assistant to finally relent and get Charles (Chuck) Matthews for B.

Charles (Chuck) Matthews refused to go out to view the vehicle with B.  Therefore, B and Charles (Chuck) Matthews spent about 20 minutes in an office as they discussed the misrepresentation of the vehicle by Howard Leopold.  At this point, Charles (Chuck) Matthews told B that the vehicle had a clean Car.Fax report and that’s all they had to go on to say it had not been in an accident and to certify it.  B pointed out the paint repair (it was a bad paint job and was wavy in sections) on the door and fender and Charles (Chuck) Matthews actually said, “oh, and the hood’s been repainted too.  But we just have to go on what Car.Fax says and they say no accidents.”  B asked to see the certification checklist from the mechanic and Charles (Chuck) Matthews refused to show it to him.  Keep in mind that we had paid a $2,000 deposit on the vehicle, and the GM at the dealership refused to show B the certification checklist.  Also keep in mind that we have the certification checklists from our other 2 Acuras that we purchased recently – and in fact included it in the RDX that we just sold.  The buyer is entitled to that checklist.  Apparently Charles (Chuck) Matthews, Sussman Acura, and Sussman Automotive disagree with this type of full-disclosure.

Charles (Chuck) Matthews then offered B a BRAND NEW MDX for $15,000 more than the vehicle we FLEW TO PA to purchase, and said, “that’s a good deal on that vehicle.”

Charles (Chuck) Matthews and Howard Leopold of Sussman Acura literally pulled a bait and switch on us given that the vehicle that was described to us (no accidents), that we went to purchase, was not actually available for sale.

Charles (Chuck) Matthews refused to help B return home to his family on Labor Day weekend and instead of crediting us for the $2,000 deposit we paid, charged us another $2,000.  We discovered this just last night. and have opened disputes with our credit card companies.  At this point in time, Sussman Acura and Sussman Automotive have $4,000 of our money and we have no vehicle.  On top of that, we are out the additional $1,000 in travel expenses due to the unethical activities of Howard Leopold, Charles (Chuck) Matthews, Sussman Acura, and Sussman Automotive.

So that’s the whole story.  I am posting this so that anyone researching Sussman Acura, Sussman Automotive, Howard Leopold, or Charles (Chuck) Matthews can see just the type of people they would be dealing with.


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Well, That Didn’t Work Out

I am about to cry.  I have no vehicle.  The dealership lied to us and told us the vehicle we were buying had never been in an accident.  B flew out today to get it with a check in hand.  When he got there, they told him it had been in an accident.

And it smelled like dog pee.

We sold my car this past week.  I have no vehicle and B needs his car for work.  I am car-less.  For real – for an indefinite amount of time.  And we don’t live within walking distance of a damned thing.  Hell, our neighborhood isn’t even connected to a main sidewalk.  I live on an effing island.

Tears are coming.

If the deal sounds too good to be true – it is.  Even when the dealer certifies the vehicle and says it’s never been in an accident.

Dealership, in an attempt to get the word out, it Sussman Acura in Jenkintown, PA.  The particular sales person who did this to us is Howard Leopold.  The General Manager who wouldn’t even help pay for a flight home, after knowingly lying to B about the vehicle’s accident history, is named Charles  (Chuck) A. Matthews.  We will be filing formal complaints with Acura USA on Monday.