I'm going to have to find out more about this Alaskan governor Sarah Palin. On the surface, I am not very impressed from what I have read so far. I am mildly surprised by how soon the world has forgotten that another woman, over 20 years ago, has already been the VP nominee: Geraldine Ferraro. Whether or not this was a smart move or a shot in the foot instead of across the bow...well, we'll find out soon enough.
But all I know about Alaska is they just had some corrupt senator get indicted for accepting various funds through allegedly improper channels. And since Alaska has a population smaller than that of Delaware, I just wonder how much leadership she has over anybody else. But if someone can point me to some intelligent source that provides an unbiased review of her credentials, that would be great.
I am also mildly disturbed with McCain touting her as someone ready to be president. Isn't he running to be president?
Friday, August 29, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Biden gets VP nod
Looks like my predication came true. Now the question becomes what happens if the dems take the white house. Assuming Markell wins the governor's race, he'll get to appoint Sen. Biden's replacement until the special election in two years. If that scenario happens, I predict that Sen. Biden's son, Beau, will get the nod. If Judge Lee wins the election, I think it becomes much more interesting of a guessing game as to who would go in. Any guesses?
Monday, August 18, 2008
If Biden is VP, is this a good thing for DE? Absolutely.
For the most part, I have avoided commentary on the national political race (or the state ones for that matter) because whatever my comments are, at least on this particular forum, are going to be lost as white noise. Hopefully my comments regarding Sen. Biden will hopefully come across as more thoughtful than some other random rants I have seen on the internet on this topic. My own political affiliations and philosophy are disclosed below.
With rumors swirling about Sen. Biden being a potential vice presidential candidate, I think it works out much better than the media is letting on. So my point is clear, I think he's a good pick. Will he get it? That I don't know, but I think the answer is yes. At the very least, I'm sure he's in consideration for a cabinet position, which also works out well.
The reason why I think Biden will be good is not just for the wealth of his foreign policy experience, but that he's from Delaware. He will be able to make sure that whatever Obama's economic policy is, it will not fiscally bankrupt the corporate universe. That will have to make Wall Street happy. Whether the average Delawarean realizes the impact Delaware has on the rest of the country is of little consequence; my point is that Biden does, and if he does, and is VP, that means Obama does too. In other words, Delaware, and more importantly, the American economy, should be pretty safe.
Of course, the top 3% of the individual tax world will probably be screwed regardless of who the next president is because our country is on the verge of a fiscal calamity, but I would suspect the ultimate tax plan of either candidate can be massaged to protect those relevant business entities (i.e., those small business owners who are shaking in their boots over worry over how they will be taxed on their less-than-stellar earnings for FY08). Biden only helps to ensure that that in fact happens, or so that's the assumption I'm going to stew over for now. We'll find out in a couple of days of what exactly his role is going to be in this process, and whether Sen. McCain is able to effectively respond with his vice presidential candidate.
Then comes the matter of who will take over for him in Senate. That, of course, will be a much less national issue, but most definitely an interesting one. Go Delaware!
Disclosure: Politically, I am fairly conservative on most issues, particularly financial ones, and moderate on some others. In one sentence, I disfavor big government, favor state's rights, and favor minimal government interference with state's rights to the extent that the government should dictate national policy and provide guidance to the states. To the best of my understanding, that makes me a modern Reagan Republican, although most younger Democrats probably have similar beliefs (which suggests that we probably are closer to a one-party system than the partisan one that plagues the current media coverage). I am not affiliated with, nor endorse with these comments, any candidate for state, local, or national office.
That being said, I may have discussed a few months ago whether Sen. Biden should be considered for the presidential nomination, and agreed with the majority of pundits that the answer was that he probably would not be considered, even though he was significantly more qualified than either of the then-front runners. Personally, right now I am more in favor of Sen. Obama over Sen. McCain, at the very least because he is much closer to my age. I speculate that age will be an underlying issue more than it is currently playing out, but I'll save that commentary for a more intelligent poster. If anything, watching their debate on the tv the other day suggests that one candidate is quick to respond without thinking and the other thinks about what he's going to say, but sometimes it's difficult to get the point. Is one method better or worse? Again, I'll defer that pregnant pause for someone else or another day.
With rumors swirling about Sen. Biden being a potential vice presidential candidate, I think it works out much better than the media is letting on. So my point is clear, I think he's a good pick. Will he get it? That I don't know, but I think the answer is yes. At the very least, I'm sure he's in consideration for a cabinet position, which also works out well.
The reason why I think Biden will be good is not just for the wealth of his foreign policy experience, but that he's from Delaware. He will be able to make sure that whatever Obama's economic policy is, it will not fiscally bankrupt the corporate universe. That will have to make Wall Street happy. Whether the average Delawarean realizes the impact Delaware has on the rest of the country is of little consequence; my point is that Biden does, and if he does, and is VP, that means Obama does too. In other words, Delaware, and more importantly, the American economy, should be pretty safe.
Of course, the top 3% of the individual tax world will probably be screwed regardless of who the next president is because our country is on the verge of a fiscal calamity, but I would suspect the ultimate tax plan of either candidate can be massaged to protect those relevant business entities (i.e., those small business owners who are shaking in their boots over worry over how they will be taxed on their less-than-stellar earnings for FY08). Biden only helps to ensure that that in fact happens, or so that's the assumption I'm going to stew over for now. We'll find out in a couple of days of what exactly his role is going to be in this process, and whether Sen. McCain is able to effectively respond with his vice presidential candidate.
Then comes the matter of who will take over for him in Senate. That, of course, will be a much less national issue, but most definitely an interesting one. Go Delaware!
Disclosure: Politically, I am fairly conservative on most issues, particularly financial ones, and moderate on some others. In one sentence, I disfavor big government, favor state's rights, and favor minimal government interference with state's rights to the extent that the government should dictate national policy and provide guidance to the states. To the best of my understanding, that makes me a modern Reagan Republican, although most younger Democrats probably have similar beliefs (which suggests that we probably are closer to a one-party system than the partisan one that plagues the current media coverage). I am not affiliated with, nor endorse with these comments, any candidate for state, local, or national office.
That being said, I may have discussed a few months ago whether Sen. Biden should be considered for the presidential nomination, and agreed with the majority of pundits that the answer was that he probably would not be considered, even though he was significantly more qualified than either of the then-front runners. Personally, right now I am more in favor of Sen. Obama over Sen. McCain, at the very least because he is much closer to my age. I speculate that age will be an underlying issue more than it is currently playing out, but I'll save that commentary for a more intelligent poster. If anything, watching their debate on the tv the other day suggests that one candidate is quick to respond without thinking and the other thinks about what he's going to say, but sometimes it's difficult to get the point. Is one method better or worse? Again, I'll defer that pregnant pause for someone else or another day.
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Sunday, August 17, 2008
Loockerman Exchange set to reopen
I saw in the paper today that the Loockerman Exchange in downtown Dover will be reopening soon under new management. I had written about its close a few months ago. I already threw out the paper, but I remember specifically that they said one of the things they will be changing is the speed of service for lunch and that lunch entrees will run between $5 and $10, which will keep them in line with the other lunch venues in that area. The old website is here; I'm not sure if it is still actively updated or not or will change when the new site opens.
Particularly, the article implies that they will be striving for lunch to take less than an hour. That only jumped out at me because I did eat there for lunch a couple of times and the lunch took well over an hour, and probably closer to two hours (which is really slow). I have written about the pace of lunches downstate on other occasions, and it still amazes me that (as compared to Wilmington), that it is a struggle for a group or even two people to get in and out of some of these places for lunch under an hour.
But maybe this attempt to pick up the lunch pace will rub off on some of the other fine eating establishments in Dover. For now, the record for the best service in terms of food, speed, and price remains the Amish Market (Spenses, which is near the hospital).
(Still not sure where they expect people to park if they really want to get non-Doverites to return to downtown Dover at night, but maybe they have worked out some deal with the post office and a shuttle service of sorts). Maybe I'll check it out once they reopen.
Particularly, the article implies that they will be striving for lunch to take less than an hour. That only jumped out at me because I did eat there for lunch a couple of times and the lunch took well over an hour, and probably closer to two hours (which is really slow). I have written about the pace of lunches downstate on other occasions, and it still amazes me that (as compared to Wilmington), that it is a struggle for a group or even two people to get in and out of some of these places for lunch under an hour.
But maybe this attempt to pick up the lunch pace will rub off on some of the other fine eating establishments in Dover. For now, the record for the best service in terms of food, speed, and price remains the Amish Market (Spenses, which is near the hospital).
(Still not sure where they expect people to park if they really want to get non-Doverites to return to downtown Dover at night, but maybe they have worked out some deal with the post office and a shuttle service of sorts). Maybe I'll check it out once they reopen.
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Wednesday, August 13, 2008
MSNBC email takes over the CNN email spam
In a rather quick turnaround of spammers, the CNN spam I wrote about last week has evolved into a similar scam from MSNBC. This one purports to be from "MSNBC Breaking News" and has the subject line "msnbc.com - BREAKING NEWS:" and then some headline. I didn't bother clicking on it, but it should jump out to anyone who thinks two seconds about it as being a spam/scam.
Several other sites have also written about this less than clever scam. It will lead you to some malware website, so again, use your head. The only reason these clowns still operate is that people still fall for it. Here's a thought: If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Would it really make sense that you won some lottery in a foreign country or have some dead millionaire cousin who you never heard of and left you and nobody else (other than thousands of other fools) money? Of course not.
Take a look at Security Watch (providing great detail on the scam), Can Talk Tech, MX Logic IT Security Blog for more information about it. A couple of other bloggers have also reported on it: CyberCrime and Doing Time and Panda Security (with a screenshot of the email). Again, just use your head and delete the email and these dummies will get the hint eventually. And update your virus software.
Several other sites have also written about this less than clever scam. It will lead you to some malware website, so again, use your head. The only reason these clowns still operate is that people still fall for it. Here's a thought: If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Would it really make sense that you won some lottery in a foreign country or have some dead millionaire cousin who you never heard of and left you and nobody else (other than thousands of other fools) money? Of course not.
Take a look at Security Watch (providing great detail on the scam), Can Talk Tech, MX Logic IT Security Blog for more information about it. A couple of other bloggers have also reported on it: CyberCrime and Doing Time and Panda Security (with a screenshot of the email). Again, just use your head and delete the email and these dummies will get the hint eventually. And update your virus software.
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Friday, August 8, 2008
CNN Custom Alerts spam/spoof email - it is a virus
Most junk mail and spam mail is pretty easy to spot. I noticed today that I had gotten several emails from "CNN Alerts" with the subject line "CNN Alerts: My Custom Alert." Since I had not signed up for this sort of thing, I thought it was strange, but opened it to see what it was nonetheless (no file was attached, obviously).
It seems to send you to a link and sends you to CNN sites that are otherwise accurate. But if you mouse over the "Full Story" link, you'll see it attempts to take you to some international website. Another blogger reports that the link in fact sends you to a malware site, so be smart, use your head and don't click on it.
Other sites also have reported on this particular spam and confirm that it is another attempt at scamming the innocent and unsuspecting email public: Donna's Security Flash, Spyware Techie, CNET Spyware; Can Talk Tech (which has the screenshot).
Like the IRS email scam attempted a few months ago, use your noggin and keep this particular in your spam folder.
It seems to send you to a link and sends you to CNN sites that are otherwise accurate. But if you mouse over the "Full Story" link, you'll see it attempts to take you to some international website. Another blogger reports that the link in fact sends you to a malware site, so be smart, use your head and don't click on it.
Other sites also have reported on this particular spam and confirm that it is another attempt at scamming the innocent and unsuspecting email public: Donna's Security Flash, Spyware Techie, CNET Spyware; Can Talk Tech (which has the screenshot).
Like the IRS email scam attempted a few months ago, use your noggin and keep this particular in your spam folder.
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Monday, August 4, 2008
Annual Credit Reports and the misleading commercial for a free one
NPR reported this morning on the "Free Credit Report.com" commercial, which you can see on YouTube through a simple search. What is misleading about the commercial, as the NPR article reports, is that the report is only "free" after you pay the $15 monthly fee. The New York Times also reports how various consumer groups have targeted this company for running what is, effectively, a misleading (and therefore deceitful) advertisement. It also notes that the company that runs this free credit reports company (Experian) is one of the three major credit bureaus for which you can already get a free annual credit report. Hey, these companies are allowed to make money, so why not capture a bigger share of the market?
The bottom line is that under federal law, you can get a free annual credit report through AnnualCreditReport.com, which will provide your report from each of the three credit reporting companies. The site's frequently asked questions is here.
Unlike other commercials I have heard and remarked on, I can't knock this one too much because it's very effective. But like all commercials that purport to give stuff away for free, just remember to use your head and double check the fine print along the bottom line. As a wise economist once said, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." (TANSTAAFL) Similarly, if it wasn't for this Congressional act, there would be no such thing as a free annual credit report.
The bottom line is that under federal law, you can get a free annual credit report through AnnualCreditReport.com, which will provide your report from each of the three credit reporting companies. The site's frequently asked questions is here.
Unlike other commercials I have heard and remarked on, I can't knock this one too much because it's very effective. But like all commercials that purport to give stuff away for free, just remember to use your head and double check the fine print along the bottom line. As a wise economist once said, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." (TANSTAAFL) Similarly, if it wasn't for this Congressional act, there would be no such thing as a free annual credit report.
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