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Showing posts from December, 2008

Consipracy?

Concerning any controversy, don't immediatly assign to malice or conspiracy that which can be explained by mere stupidity. Keep that rule in mind and political science will make sense. Remember, Occam did not work for Gillette. -- John

insurance wisdom

People buy term life insurance in case the unforseen happens. You but whole life insurance because the forseen will happen. -- John

Time to buy a first home?

Is this the time to buy? It very well could be if you have a strong belief that you will keep your job or business. In addition to incredible bargains and the usual tax breaks, until july 09, you can get up to $7,500 tax CREDIT (not deduction). That means that if you owe $7,500 in taxes you pay nothing in federal tax. This applies to any home, new, used, etc. but only if you haven't owned a home for a few years and will make the new home your primary residence. Fixed mortgage rates are likely to drop below 5% for a 30-year and you have the deal of a lifetime! -- John

Yes, it is a strange time of year

It struck me this week that this can be a very strange time of year when I go the mail box. Sure, I really feel the Xmas spirit when my broker, banker, and unknown local car dealers send me cards wishing me happy holidays, but there are are even stranger (actually strangER'S) cards. It seems that in addition to people you've never met wishing you happy holidays in an attempt to seem buddy, buddy and get you to spend money with them, but there are also these strange postcards and Xmas cards which carry photos of children and adults (presumably their parents but how can you be certain?) none of whom I have ever seen. These strange people don't seem to have last names and may be homeless so there is no way I  can determine who they are even as a former Google Answers researcher. I may be incorrect about not having last names or homes, but if they do have full names they don't share them and the only address I can identify is just some postmark which probably indicates

Cyber Bullies

After the suicide of a 13-year-old girl who was bullied by an adult neighbor, it was discovered that it wasn't actually illegal in some states so new laws were passed in and people are now being prosecuted for similar activities. There are some complaints already surfacing that this violates free speech. Ridiculous! As is the dumb statement that that "kids will be kids." Yes, kids will be kids, but names can not only hurt but kill and it is the job of adults and society in general to bring up children as responsible social beings, not dismiss bullying and other bad behaviors as just "kid stuff." Yes, it is kid stuff, but kids are basically wild animals and as parents have increasingly left the rearing of children to TV, movies, and greedy media moguls, almost daily we see more and more signs of just how close we are coming to real-life "Lord of the Flys." As a long time reporter and member of the only non government profession other than ministers whic

More Government Stupidity (what else?) this time credit card abuse

Today the Fed took steps to supposedly crack down on credit card company practices which are so outrageous that they are virtually fraudulent (and would actually be illegal for them [as they still are for you and me] if certain states and the Congress hadn't passed special exemptions to usury and other laws). They have outlawed little tricks such as doubling or tripling your interest rates on existing balances EVEN IF YOU NEVER MISS A PAYMENT! Sounds wonderful but the fine print not mentioned in most news reports is that these laws won't take effect for years! Long AFTER the current crisis is probably over. Also, the fine print permits companies to cancel existing cards and issue new ones with much higher rates – guess what they are going to start doing. Come ON, take a WAG. Anyone with an ounce of common sense would know that these new regulations need to not only go into effect immediatly, they should be retroactive if they are to have any real benefit. But, as we all know,

USPS Video on work at home scams

Check out this official video copied to youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_BPtvwtJIA&feature=PlayList&p=DCB91A83001C892B&index=0 It is a basic introduction to scams. You can make money working at home, but only if you build a business or get a salary job from some big employer. You NEVER need to pay anything to get a legit offer.

WhatEVER!!

"Whatever!" is not an argument. IF it is NOT used as a shorthand metasyntatic variable for the basic randomness of the universe and an acceptance of both entropy and the consequences of ignoring Darwin; then it is merely slang for "HI, I'M REALLY STUPID AND I'M PROUD OF IT!" Sure, I understand that teens brains aren't functioning fully because they aren't yet completely developed (medical fact) but parents can still make an effort to control them and encourage them to learn their native language and attempt to use it when their lips are flapping in public.