Survivor U-Haul Alaska law: faux democracy

This page has served many functions between 12/8/01--when, helping someone move, a passenger in a uhaul truck wearing a seat belt, without warning, the truck skidded into a guardrail: the seat belt stretched; my knees ricocheted off the dashboard and I twisted to the right and came to an abrupt stop when my right hip smashed into the seat belt buckle at impact + recoil. When the truck was returned to the dealer, the person in charge drove it around the lot a few times and pronounced its brakes were shot.

The first version of this page consisted of my trial: Alaska Statute 21.36.125 (Unfair Claim Settlement Practices) states that injured parties should not be forced to litigate when matters of fact are clear--as they were here: the only two possible causes of the accident, driver or truck, were insured by Republic Western Insurance company, which defaulted* on its policy: Quite possibly because its parent company, Uhaul/AMERCO, was in Chapter 11, I was unable to find an attorney during the 2 year statute of limitations (what lawyer would want to wait in line before Uhaul paid off its many creditors?). Shortly before the statute of limitations ran out, I spoke with with one last lawyer, who said I definitely had a case but that it wasn't financially worth his while to pursue.

I paid the medical bills--by liquidating my retirement, what I had in equities, everything else that wasn't nailed down--for the accident for which I had 0% liability (what I couldn't cover--I sold when the DOW was 8050--I charged). Being rendered destitute was a real drag. My physician thought Republic Western's behavior outrageous. I wrote the State Attorney General again and again. I wrote the Alaska Division of Insurance. I later filed a complaint with the State Office of the Ombudsman. The AG did send me a form letter: he was far too busy feathering his pocket (read below)--and ridding the North of the scourge of pull-tab bingo to bother with AS 21.36.125:

What to do? I got really stoned one night--completely legal at the time--and created my own trial: the next morning put it through a spell checker and posted it online.

Later that day, I, again, wrote--this time emailed--Greg Renkes, the State Attorney General ... I had heard that the veins on his forehead stuck out when he was really angry: that was the effect I was going for. I didn't swear; I didn't threaten; I pointed out the obvious--to anyone who knew the net--and self-evident: I stated that, once my trial had been crawled by a search engine and cached, anyone could find it from any search engine toolbar on any monitor attached to any computer on any any continent on earth (e.g., I found a link on The Times of India website--by searching on my title using its google search bar). I also noted that Google.fr would translate the first version of my title as

Anyone with any knowledge of the internet would, of course, see that my statements were self-evident, tautological even. The AG lacked such knowledge ... a few weeks later, I received a letter from the IRS dated 2 days after I sent that email: my 01 taxes were being audited. There are numerous coincidences in this world, and, perhaps, that was one.

In my trial, the best line I gave myself was "government is the opiate of the people." The best line I gave the judge--the governor's daughter, whom he had anointed U.S. Senator after he became governor--was "Due diligence! It's your fault for not noticing that 'uhaul' rhymes with 'keel-haul,' a practice always unpleasant and sometimes fatal." I ranted and raved.

Now, in a more public forum, others have raised the two issues I rambled on and on about: Uhaul has a history of not maintaining its equipment, particularly the brakes on its trucks--and that Alaska law is an oxymoron.

"A fetid smell circulates in the forest this time of year. Rotting vegetation and decaying mushrooms forecast the change in seasons. But there’s another odor slapping the faces of Alaskans these days. For many, it’s unthinkable, but as details emerge from the federal court house in Anchorage, it’s impossible to deny. It’s like finding a freezer full of salmon after the power’s been off for a week. The spoiled legacy of Alaska’s Republican Party has stained the carpet and mold is climbing the walls. The entire building may need to be demolished if there’s any hope of recovery.
Here’s what we know. Until the FBI raided Juneau, the sellout of Alaska was a crime in progress. The state’s oil and fisheries resources, as well as our integrity and sovereignty, were being auctioned off by predatory capitalists and their hired stooges. The bribery conviction on Tuesday of Pete Kott, the former Speaker of the House, confirms what many have known for years." (Yates, V., Fairbanks News-Miner, 28 September 2007).

Alaska's corrupt government also received national attention (click on the link to hear NOW's investigation). Greg is long gone. The governor (Murkowski) didn't survive his own primary. Senator-for-life Ted Stevens is being investigated for financial improprieties, as is his son, a state legislator (what did Ben Stevens do for whom to "earn" a million bucks??). The AK Republican party "machine" has been at least for now derailed: Alaska has a new governor, a Republican but an honest one; Alaska voters may decide not to re-elect Ted and Lisa (Murkowski's daughter, whom he appointed as Alaska's other senator): progress is being made.

After I got out of physical therapy, the job market looked like the bar graph below, which shows the systematic over-predictions of job growth between 2003 and 2004 (a surreal economy where jobs continue disappearing, median wages keep falling, and the budget deficit, the trade imbalance, and the percentage of children living in poverty keep increasing). I couldn't find work--not in my field, not at bookstores, not at walmart, not cleaning toilets, not even in the Alaska bush, which has a continual shortage of teachers.

I cannibalized the credit cards I'd used to pay off the remaining medical bills to buy food and pay rent (I continued servicing the debts long after I'd given up hope of paying them off). I eventually defaulted.

I WAS glad when I finally had the wherewithal to pay off the credit cards. U.S. Bank and Citibank sent me debt settlement letters: The banks' letters stated that, upon receipt of cashier's checks for the stated amounts (roughly, the balances when I defaulted), they would report to the credit bureaus that the debts had been "paid in full" and the matter resolved satisfactorily. I paid about 11k to one bank and 14k to the other. I sent copies of the debt settlement letters and cancelled checks to the credit bureaus.

I discovered that the credit bureaus--equifax, transunion, and experien--treat paid debts the same as unpaid debts. They tell me that they are not required to document anything, i.e., just as in the Salem witchcraft trials, "spectral evidence"--no evidence necessary--is again acceptable in the United States of America. I guess I should be thankful I wasn't tortured and sent to Guantanamo.

But I'm not grateful. AND I advise the millions of Americans now defaulting on their credit cards not to sweat repaying the banks: since the credit bureaus treat paid and unpaid debts the same, why bother? Instead, why not donate money to homeless shelters and food banks; give it to Habitat for Humanity and the ACLU (and celebrate each charitable donation with a nice bottle of expensive wine, relaxing in the glow of your good deeds ... think about it; you've nothing to lose).