Friday, December 19, 2008

Same Old Politics. What Will Change?

U.S.Image via Wikipedi
I read this article on The American Thinker. It talks about the possibility that blackmail of Obama and his team will influence decisions the next four years.

Is Obama vulnerable to blackmail?

You know it sounds like an over-used, re-run, worn out phrase:

"we need to get the bums out of Washington"

But, it never seems to happen. "Our fellow Americans" don't deserve anything that they didn't earn. In this case, they don't deserve a better government, because they didn't work to weed out the corrupts, and the "corruptables" out of office. The country needs new players in the game. People who believe in what the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were based on. Not "representatives" who are back-biting, corrupt pawns of every special interest, PAC, and criminal that can buy them.

It is my opinion Obama and his crew are not the only ones deeply connected to old time corrupt politics and politicians. We have so many entrenched "legacies" in our government who continue to push their agendas, not the peoples. That money was long ago paid, and is still there, just fueling the debates and stalemates we read about daily. Repayment for past favors...

Left, and Right... What about a moderator? What about another entity within those halls who hasn't been entrenched there and doesn't owe "favors"?

"You did it… No, you did it…" *fingers pointing both directions…

Grrrr. Business as usual DC politics… Sickening! The Republicans, the Democrats, they all have skeletons in the their closet.

The lots have been cast, the "people" have spoken, now we have to deal with the state this country is in with the current mix of politicians we put in the seats. There will be NO CHANGE, because no one is willing to change. DC needs to get over the bickering, finger pointing, selling out, and conniving. The "statesmen" need to actually work together to do the people on the street and in the workforce some good, instead of selling out to corruption and special interests.

They can go ahead and point fingers at each other, but that will never be the solution to the problem. The people need to REALLY vote change. That means up-rooting the buried alliances and corruptions that continue to influence the decisions made affecting the people and their lives.

They need to do something different: "Vote the people, not the money" This country needs a catalyst of change, not a new face on politics as usual.



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Thursday, December 18, 2008

A New Hope?

Experiences from bank runs during the Great De...Image via WikipediaWell, soon it will be Inauguration Day. The country will be bringing aboard the 44th President at a time when we are living in the worst economy, potentially, since The Great Depression. Stocks at cellar prices, the Big 3 automakers begging for money, companies laying off workers, and the banking, lending, and mortgage industry fiasco at its peak.

What can we hope for to bring us out of this mess? I have seen a poster depicting "Super Barack". Is he a superhero? Can he put in the American people's hearts a feeling of safety and patriotism? Now that the voters have spoken, will the country stand behind him?

No doubt, there are many who predict he will fail. Many who hope he will fail. And, many... who know he will succeed. They have put all their trust in him. My thought on the matter was the election didn't give me much of a choice. Geographical relocation just before Election Day assured I had no choice.

Regardless, I am not sure I would have voted Democratic or Republican. Perhaps an Independent...?

Maybe a third party figuring in the equation could be the New Hope. Maybe the stagnant aisles on the congressional floor might come alive with some truely productive debate and generate some legislation that will prove to be the catalyst for real change.

The daily arguments of the left and right are getting old. People cry out in the streets for change, yet we still elect the same old ideas into the mix. The Democrats and Republicans hand the floors back to each other, and the talking heads comment on the wins and loses of each party when the majorities shift. The people sit in amazement as nothing is different, just that they are getting older.

Why do the people of this country insist on making this a two player game? It is a game you know. The game of politics, and we have lots of old players. Players with lots of connections, and lots of favors that need repaid. New players show up on the playing field with the old time connections.

If America could just have a vision statement. A place where it wants to go. New and fresh ideas generated by a Congress whose members compromise with each other, doing what the people want, and not what will keep them elected. Politicians who won't cater to the big time election money.

"My constituents want this!"

What a noble quote for an elected statesman to make.

I know, I am dreaming... Sad isn't it

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Friday, December 12, 2008

Identity Theft - Get Protected: Part 2

Documented Examples of People Who Have Suffered Form Criminal Identity Theft

As I stated in my last post, Identity Theft is much further reaching then just credit card numbers and cleaning out bank accounts. Examples abound relating stories of arrests, denied credit, and denied passports of people who have been victimized by someone using their private information.

A person acquires your information through some malicious means and commits a crime. They use your name in the execution of the crime, or they are picked up by authorities and give your name when asked. They later are released on bail or what have you, and skip town. The authorities issue a warrant for your arrest. It could be in another state and you might not even know about it for quite awhile. Meanwhile, you are being hunted by the police, your credit is being destroyed, and countless other things are happening to you without you even knowing it.

Please take a look at this article “ But, Officer, This Isn’t Me” from The Kiplinger Report,October 2005. It may be old, but is still extremely relevant.



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Identity Theft - Get Protected

Modern Social Security card.Image via Wikipedia
The Time has come to protect ourselves from cyber-crime.

The information below is quoted from The Sturgis Journal. It outlines some disturbing information and statistics concerning identity theft.

Employers Beware: 50 Percent of all Identity Thefts Reported from Work

(ARA) - It seems that every other day another company issues a press release announcing the loss of financial or health records of thousands or even millions of Americans. The news behind the headlines has a huge impact for employers. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that more than 50 percent of identity thefts occur through the workplace, or are perpetrated by someone the victim knows. Recent legislation requires companies to notify the press when they experience loss or theft of information that compromises 1,000 or more identities. And the liability of identity theft can continue for years - even long after a compromised employee leaves the company. Through the first 11 months of this year nearly 200 organizations have reported losses of personal information affecting at least 65 million employees, students, consumers, veterans, soldiers, nurses, patients, teachers, homeowners, taxpayers and children.

The FTC reports that the average identity theft victim spends 177 to 300 hours repairing the damage, including a great deal of time during business hours, making identity theft a workplace productivity issue as well as a personal security concern. Some startling identity theft statistics include:

  • More than 30 million employee names and Social Security numbers have been lost by employers or their vendors in the past 12 months.
  • As a percentage, the group at highest risk of ID theft earns less than $40k annually.
  • If Identities are compromised by an employer, the liability never goes away because it may take years to be discovered and the dollar amount of the liability can often be more than $100,000 when costs and professional fees are considered.
  • Employees are worried about identity theft - 83 percent site it as a major concern.
  • IT managers have long invested millions in systems that prevent intrusion by hackers rather than systems that simply detect an occurrence of intrusion and theft.
  • ID theft has become a $50 billion problem forcing the government to step in trying to propose legislation to “freeze” personal information and credit accounts. The result is disagreement on what should be frozen, how to provide easy access to frozen information and limiting cost.
  • Consider the major Midwestern company that had to notify more than 1,000 employees of lost personal data due to the negligence of an insurance provider. “The only thing we did wrong was partner with a company that ran a loose ship,” notes the human resources manager. “That one incident in the long history of our company will forever change the way we do business.

    Smart companies are emphasizing prevention, encouraging customers and employees to take proactive steps such as regularly reviewing their credit reports, checking bank and credit card statements for unusual activities, filing police reports and shredding mail. But credit industry leaders admit that these efforts are too little, too late.

    “That doesn’t protect consumers. It’s not going to help and the public is starting to learn that,” says Thomas Chapman, CEO of Equifax, one of the “big three” credit reporting agencies in the United States.

    Anyone of us can be a victim. I speak from experience because it happened to my family:

  • A thief managed to find a way to into my wife’s personal email
  • They cracked her PayPal account
  • They cracked her Ebay account
  • They Purchased tickets to see Jerry Seinfeld and an Amazon Gift card. (Over $1200 in purchases)
  • She spent an enormous amount of time on the phone and emailing authorities, PayPal, and the bank, trying to get this all straightened out. She found herself requesting credit for bank overdraft charges, and filing paperwork concerning the fraud.

    That was before we found the Identity Theft Shield. The company does all the restoration for you. They monitor your credit, and even send you a credit report after you subscribe to the service. Continuous monitoring of your credit and your identity means you will be informed of any mis-use before the bills start showing up.

    There are many extreme examples of the effects of identity theft on an individual.

  • Denial of health insurance
  • Wrongful arrest
  • IRS Bills which are not valid
  • Wrong treatment and death from inaccurate medical records
  • Many more…
  • We need to protect ourselves. This is one of the fastest growing crimes in America.



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    No Keys, No Execution, No Customer


    Here’s Some Cold, Hard Facts of Promises Not Delivered On.

    Services paid for and no benefit. We have had experiences like this, haven’t we? We pay for something and it doesn’t show up, work, or deliver, nearly as expected.

    Case in point. This happened two nights ago in my town:

    Temperatures dropping well below freezing and at least 4 inches of newly fallen snow blanketing the existing 4 or 5, an older woman mistakenly locks her car keys in her place of employment. She is the supervisor for the evening, and the last one out of the door as she sets the alarm for the building and scurries out into the brittle weather. Moments after closing the door, she comes to the realization she has no car keys. The unthinkable! “I have locked them in the store! My spare store key is in the car! My car keys are locked in the store!”

    After the initial panic and shock wear off, she begins to think clearly and calm down. She outlines the resources available to her.

  • She has her cell phone still. This will be no big deal.
  • She is subscribed to OnStar. She enrolled in the service when she had purchased the vehicle earlier this year.
  • OnStar can unlock the car for her. Maybe even start it and warm it up while she is waiting.

    She makes her emergency call. The one she has paid in advance for:

    “We are not getting any signal from your vehicle, we will have to try again in 10 minutes. There are no towers in your area sending the signal”. Huh? She is on a major intersection with her store parallel to the highway. She stares into the cold in disbelief. Her cell phone works, doesn’t it? She will have to freeze a little while longer. After ten minutes or more, her cell phone rings. “We have tried to unlock your vehicle, it failed on the first attempt. We will have to wait another ten minutes.” The lady, quite perturbed at this point stutters “Are you kidding me? What do you mean it failed?” Another ten minutes later, her phone rings again, and the OnStar representative reports once again that the attempt failed, and they would have to dispatch a wrecker with someone who can unlock the door.

    After waiting three hours until the end of this nightmare, she was finally home. The person dispatched was unable to unlock the vehicle and it ended up being towed. The Auto Safety and Security Service had failed in the execution of its promised services.

    OnStar was cancelled the next day.



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    Thursday, March 27, 2008

    Who Is Out To Get Me Today?


    Who Is Out To Get Me Today?

    Daily, life comes at us hard and fast. We continually look at the clock to see if we are going to be late to wherever it is we are going. A lot of times we feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to do all the things we need to, much less take time for ourselves or our family. Yet, we do. We take time out, spend a little of it on things that matter. Sometimes we even spend some money during those times. We purchase some new techno gadget for the family enjoyment. We spend some cash to actually go to a movie theatre instead of renting a DVD, or maybe we go ahead and rent it.

    Taking time out for holiday shopping, now that's a biggy. We go to the crosstown mall, or hop online and start searching for the right gift. The one that they've mentioned to you in a roundabout, or not so subtle, way. " I want...". Enjoying the season and the feeling of giving is awesome. We all feel good inside when we know we have made someone happy.

    But, then there are those other types of folks who expect...

    And I am not just talking about gifts here, or people in particular. It's people, yes. But it is also institutions..., and businesses... and what have you.


    It's...

  • The credit card company who pulled your payment twice and left you with a negative balance in your bank account. The same people who were expert at taking your money directly from your account, but, disabled in returning it saying they "can not credit the account electronically, but we will send you a check" by snailmail, naturally.

  • The bank, who knows the credit card company is at fault, but say they can't do anything with the daily negative balance fees accumulating in your account, putting you deeper and deeper in the hole. The bank will gladly continue to take more of your money until you rectify the situation

  • The perpetual harassers, who call your cell phone and ask for someone who does not live at your house. They ask for Michael and you don't even know him. They continue to call you after you have told them multiple times "he doesn't live here, you have the wrong number, and remove me from your call list".

  • The e-commerce site you have ordered a product from, who doesn't bother to respond to your email after they have taken your $89 bucks and not delivered the product. Online even...!!! No chance to get lost in the mail, unless it was lost in email...
  • Does this sound familiar? Do these things happen to you too?

    This blog is for all of us who are tired of being taken advantage of. Those who would like to share their stories, and maybe even offer solutions. It is here for you to describe the day that put you in such a crappy mood, and talk about the takers of the "What About Me" world.

    It's nice being a giver. It would be so much easier for the givers to keep giving, if they weren't being derailed by the takers on a daily basis.



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