Consumer Alert: Beware of charity scams in wake of Superstorm Sandy

    Good Day World!

Watch out: The scammers trying to cash in on Superstorm Sandy are on their way. The destruction caused by this storm gives the bad guys a major opportunity to steal your money or personal information.

Symantec, the firm, reports the first wave of Sandy-related spam has been sent. The messages have subject lines such as: “Help Sandy Victims and get $1000 for Best Buy!,” and “Deposit Processing Open Today (Frankenstorm doesn’t stop us).”

These phishing expeditions are designed to snag your credit card, debit card or numbers.

Based on previous disasters, Symantec predicts a rash of cyber-attacks that start with links to fake news stories, photos and videos. These will be distributed via Facebook posts and tweets, Internet searchers, text messages and email.

Resist the urge to click on these unknown links or you could download some nasty malware onto your computer or smart phone.

Charity scams 
This is an emotional time for people all across the country. You want to help, and con artists hope to take advantage of that. They make phone calls and pretend to be a bona fide charitable organization. They set up websites that look like reputable charities. It’s very easy to do.

The online security firm Avast! reminds us that back in 2005, after hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast, there were at least 15 bogus websites designed to look like the American Red Cross site. Donors who took the bait gave their personal information, such as numbers and PayPal passwords, to the online crooks.

“Charity scams are among the most despicable scams out there,” said John Breyault, director of fraud.org, the National Consumers League’s Fraud Center. “Not only are consumers victimized when they give money to the scammers, but the people who need help to rebuild their lives don’t get that money.”

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has warned residents of his state to be cautious if they receive calls to make a donation to the storm relief effort.

“Unfortunately, there are some who might use our generous nature to take the donations for themselves, not for those in need,” he said.

A charitable request might be a scam, DeWine advises, when the caller:

• uses high pressure tactics to solicit an immediate donation.
• is hesitant or unable to answer questions.
• asks for the check to be made payable to a person instead of a charity.
• offers to pick up your check immediately, rather than waiting for you to mail it off.
• promises a in exchange for a donation.

Bennett Weiner, chief operating officer of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, urges donors to take their time and do their homework before responding to any solicitation.

“You want to know what they do, what relief activities your contribution is going to fund,” he said. “You can’t assume based on the name alone what activities your generosity is going to support.”

To help the victims of Hurricane Sandy, Weiner suggests choosing an organization with some skill and experience in disaster relief activities, such as the American Red Cross.

“A start-up organization, or even an established charity that decides to get involved in relief work for the first time, may have great intentions, but may not necessarily carry it out very effectively,” he cautioned.

Protect yourself: Never make a donation by on a link in an email or text. Go to the site on your own. Be careful with web searches – names can be misleading – you could wind up on the wrong site.

Don’t allow yourself to be pressured into making a donation.

Don’t give your credit card information to an unknown caller. If you’re interested in the cause, ask to be sent information.

Stop, think and check them out. You can do that at sites such as: BBB Wise Giving Alliance and Charity Navigator.

Home repair scams
“After a spectacular storm like this, fraudsters will come out of the woodwork offering to repair damaged homes,” warned Susan Grant, director of consumer protection at the Consumer Federation of America. “They may take your money and just disappear. Or they may start the work and not finish it. Or they work may just be really shoddy quality.”

If you need repair work done and don’t have a trusted contractor, you want to find someone qualified to do the job. And in a situation like this, it won’t be easy. Try to stay calm, so you can deal with the situation rationally.

For major repairs, the Better Business Bureau recommends getting at least 3 to 4 estimates. They should be based on the same specs and materials. Get everything in writing. The contract needs to spell out when the job starts and will be completed, a payment schedule, what materials will be used and what sort of clean-up will be done.

Remember: never make a final payment until all the work is completed to your satisfaction.

Consumer Reports suggests:

• Try to deal with people who live and work in your community.
• Ask for copies of the contractor’s general liability and worker’s compensation insurance.
• Avoid paying more than the minimum in advance.

(article source)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Selling a Right-Wing Bill of Goods: Menards Urges Workers To Take 'Civics Course' With Anti-Obama Content

    Good Day World!

If you live in the Midwest and you're working on a home-improvement project, you're as likely to do your shopping at a Menards store as at a Lowe's or Home Depot. With 270 stores and 40,000 employees , Menards is the third-largest home-improvement chain in the U.S., and one of the largest privately held corporations in the country. But Menards stores sell more than just lumber and building supplies; their employees are sold a bill of goods in the form of right-wing ideology.

This January, as the Iowa Caucuses were underway, Menards began encouraging employees to take an at-home online "civics" course that characterizes the economic policies of President Barack Obama as a threat to the success of businesses such as Menards, and by extension, to the employees' own well-being.

The course, titled "Civics 101: The National Self Governing Will In-Home Training," incorporates much of the material comprising the Prosperity 101 program that AlterNet, working in partnership with the Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute,  exposed last year -- a program concocted by Koch-linked political operatives Mark Block and Linda Hansen, late of the now-defunct Herman Cain presidential campaign. In March, Daniel Bice of the  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the FBI is investigating possible financial improprieties involving two non-profit organizations founded by Block that are linked to Prosperity 101, which is a for-profit venture.

Menards employees who sign up for the course are graded on their knowledge via a multiple choice pass-fail test, and those who pass the test are acknowledged in company publications and bulletins. While workers are not required to take the course, those who hope for promotions may feel pressure to do so, since it is clear that management is paying attention to who is or isn't taking the at-home classes, which are conducted on the employees' own time. The civics course is offered as part of a battery of courses, most of which pertain to products sold by the company, or other aspects of working at Menards.

AlterNet has obtained the online textbook for the Menards civics course. The third part of the textbook, subtitled " American Job Security ," imparts a message similar to the letter sent by Koch Industries CEO Dave Robertson to retirees and employees of the company's Georgia Pacific subsidiary, as well as the e-mail sent to employees of Rite-Hite, a Milwaukee equipment manufacturer, by company owner Mark White, urging them to vote for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. While the Menards course doesn't offer an explicit candidate endorsement, it describes Obama policies in threatening terms, while policies that echo Romney's proposals are portrayed in a positive and uplifting light. (Read the rest of the story here)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Playing Politics in a Crisis: Gov. Chris Christie makes an ass out of himself

          Good Day World!

The day after hurricane Sandy has been all about damage control. At last count 28 people have died. Authorities fear the toll will increase. President Obama has declared New York a disaster area and millions of people are without power.

Enter the mouth; Gov. Chris Christie.For some reason he’s decided to pick a fight with Atlantic City mayor Lorenzo Langford during the height of the ongoing weather crisis. As far as I’m concerned Christie is the worst kind of political animal out there. What’s really ironic is that he’s a political darling for the Right and there’s even been talk of him running for president in 2016. Hopefully, after this latest demonstration of lack of diplomacy and downright stupidity, there will be less talk of him being our next president.

“Atlantic City mayor Lorenzo Langford escalated tensions with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie after the mayor said Tuesday he would welcome the chance “to confront the governor mano y mano” over how he handled the city’s evacuation during Hurricane Sandy.

A day earlier, Christie had criticized Langford as a “rogue mayor” for supposedly encouraging residents to ride out the storm in designated shelters rather than leave the area entirely.

He told TODAY’s Matt Lauer on Tuesday that Atlantic City residents received mixed messages from his executive order requiring everyone to evacuate and Langford’s encouragement to take cover instead.

“I feel badly for the folks in Atlantic City who listened to him and sheltered in Atlantic City, and I guess my anger has turned to sympathy for those folks, and we’re in the midst now of trying to go in and save them,” Christie said.

Langford strongly denied the characterization of what happened, saying the governor was “either misinformed and ill-advised, or simply just deciding to prevaricate.” (Read the rest of the story here)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

More Americans Feel Better Off Than Worse Off, Financially

For the first time in more than five years, slightly more Americans are feeling financially better off than they were a year ago, rather than worse off, by 38% to 34%. This represents a significant improvement since May of President Barack Obama's first year as president, when the majority -- 54% -- said they were worse off.

Americans' negative sentiment about their personal finances in 2009 was a holdover from 2008, when the majority said they were worse off financially. Gallup first recorded this in May/June of that year, even before thecollapse in September that sent Americans' confidence in the economy and their standard of living perceptionstumbling.

The data are based on polling conducted as part of Gallup Daily tracking Oct. 22-23. The 38% of Americans now saying they are financially better off than a year ago is similar to the 37% recorded in May, but is the highest Gallup has recorded in five years, since October 2007.

Evaluations of Current Finances on Par With 2004, 1984

Americans are not as positive today about their personal finances as they were in 1996 before Bill Clinton won a second term. The 49% who felt financially better off in March of that year is the highest Gallup has seen in a year in which an incumbent president runs for re-election.

Still, while fairly low on an absolute basis, the 38% of Americans feeling better off today is on par with what Gallup found before the 2004 and 1984 elections, when Presidents George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan won their re-election bids. Those figures were 41% in November 2003 and 39% in September 1984, respectively.

By contrast, in the three election years when Americans were less upbeat than they are today about their finances -- 1976 (33% felt better off), 1980 (30%), and 1992 (34%) -- the incumbent presidents were defeated.

The political implications of this question are not lost on respondents, who answer in a highly partisan fashion. Six in 10 Democrats (62%) say they are better off than they were a year ago, compared with 34% of independents and 16% of Republicans. By the same token, few Democrats, 9%, say they are worse off, but 40% independents hold this view, as do the majority of Republicans (55%).

Most Are Optimistic About Their Future Finances

Although Americans' evaluations of their current finances, overall, are fairly tepid, 66% are optimistic when asked whether they expect their financial situations to be better or worse a year from now. This includes 80% of Democrats, but also 62% of independents, and 57% of Republicans.

In recent years, this optimism has dipped as low as 52% (in May/June 2008), but it rebounded to 58% in September of that year, even as the Wall Street financial crisis was still unfolding.

From a longer-term perspective, the 66% believing they will be financially better off a year from now is on the high side of what Gallup has recorded not only in presidential years, but at any time.

Presidents who won re-election did so when Americans' financial optimism was as low as 53% (under Reagan in 1984) and as high as 66% (under Clinton in 1996). Financial optimism under presidents who lost included 36% under Jimmy Carter in 1980 and 51% under George H.W. Bush in 1992.

Bottom Line

Americans' evaluations of their current financial situations are hardly positive, with barely a third saying they are better off than a year ago and nearly as many saying they are worse off. Although an additional 26% say their finances are the same, it is not clear in this slow economy whether that's a good or a bad thing. In any case, positive perceptions on this measure have increased since 2009, which could benefit Obama.

Additionally, two-thirds of Americans, near the record high for this three-decade-long Gallup trend, believe they will be financially better off next year. While that likely reflects Democrats' confidence in Obama, it may also reflect the hopes of some Republicans that their candidate, Mitt Romney, will be the president in a year's time. View methodology, full question results, and trend data.

Election News: New FBI Numbers Reveal Failure of "War on Drugs"

Just over one week before voters in three states will decide on ballot measures to legalize and regulate marijuana, the FBI has released a new report today showing that police in the U.S. arrest someone for marijuana every 42 seconds and that 87% of those arrests are for possession alone.

A group of police, judges and other law enforcement officials advocating for the legalization and regulation of marijuana and other drugs pointed to the figures showing more than 750,000 marijuana arrests in 2011 -- more than 40 years after the start of the "war on drugs" - as evidence that this is a war that can never be won. With more than 1.5 million total drug arrests drug arrests being reported in the U.S. in 2011, that’s one drug arrest every 21 seconds.

"Even excluding the costs involved for later trying and then imprisoning these people, taxpayers are spending between one and a half to three billion dollars a year just on the police and court time involved in making these arrests," said Neill Franklin, a retired Baltimore narcotics cop who now heads the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). "That’s a lot of money to spend for a practice that four decades of unsuccessful policies have proved does nothing to reduce the consumption of drugs. Three states have measures on the ballot that would take the first step in ending this failed war by legalizing, regulating and taxing marijuana. I hope they take this opportunity to guide the nation to a more sensible approach to drug use.”

Today's FBI report, which can be found at http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/persons-arrested/persons-arrested, shows that 81.8% of drug arrests were for possession only, and just under half (49.5%) of all drug arrests were for marijuana.

One hopeful sign is that these numbers have decreased slightly from those of the prior year. This is perhaps reflective of the growing number of communities across the country that have recognized the need for drug law reform and implemented new policies designed to alleviate the harms of the drug war, such as the reprioritization of marijuana enforcement. For more information contact: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or media@leap.cc

‘Real Wolfmen: True Encounters in Modern America’

               Good Day World!

As the Fall leaves scatter to the ground in a riot of color, the chilly outdoors drives many people indoors. Drinking a hot beverage and reading a book is a nice way to spend a cold day. With Halloween just two days away, I thought it might be nice to recommend a book for the season. Here it is:

Linda Godfrey is so sure about the existence of weird walking wolves that she's written a book titled "Real Wolfmen: True Encounters in Modern America." In more than 300 pages, she lays out dozens of stories about sightings of nasty-looking beasts running around on their hairy hind legs. Scientists are unconvinced — but they do admit that humans are virtually hard-wired to watch out for wolves on the darkness.

"The werewolf idea is strictly a product of our imagination, but it comes along with a culture of thousands of years of fear of wolves," said Michigan Tech's Rolf Peterson, who has studied wolves for decades at Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior. "It's just an outgrowth of that. But there's nothing out there that's anything like a werewolf. It's all in our heads."

Try telling that to Godfrey and the people whose dog-man reports are featured in her book."I've received hundreds of reports over the years ... and that's probably a small percentage of the actual sightings of these creatures," she told me. "So many people are in denial when they have these experiences, because it sort of rocks their world." (Read the rest of the story here)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

AS IT STANDS: Election 2012: Pot Goes To The Polls

         

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard 
   The 2012 election is, without a doubt, shaping up to be the most important yet for Americans who want to legalize and decriminalize marijuana.
   Three states - Colorado (Amendment 64), Oregon (Measure 80) and Washington (Initiative 502) - will vote to legalize marijuana on Nov 6.
    Massachusetts has a medical marijuana initiative, as does Arkansas. Local initiatives on the ballot in Michigan are; Detroit (Proposal M), Grand Rapids (Proposal 2), and Ypsilanti (LLEP).
   "At a time when polls show that a majority of Americans support legalizing marijuana and mega-majorities support allowing medical marijuana or at least decriminalizing possession, it makes no sense whatsoever that so many national politicians look at this issue as some kind of dangerous third rail of politics," said Tom Angell, founder and chairman of Marijuana Majority. 
Coupled with the presidential election, these efforts to bring marijuana into the mainstream take on a more critical role for the future of Americans who desire change and a choice.  

  There’s a new project that focuses on helping more people understand that supporting marijuana reform is a mainstream, majority-supported position. The organizers - Marijuana Majority ( http://www.MarijuanaMajority.com) believe the project will play a key role in convincing more elected officials and prominent people to publicly state they think the marijuana laws should be changed. 
  Visitors to the site can see just how mainstream this debate is by viewing and sharing lists of elected officials, actors, medical organizations and business leaders who support solutions like decriminalizing marijuana possession or legalizing and regulating marijuana sales.
  A majority of U.S. voters support legalizing and regulating marijuana like alcohol. Polling also indicates that voters in Colorado and Washington are poised to make history by voting to legalize marijuana on Election Day. 
  If you’re pro-pot and still undecided about who to vote for president, it may help you to know which candidates are for, or against, marijuana legalization and decriminalization.

   Here’s the presidential candidates public positions on the issue:
   President Obama: “We're not going to be legalizing weed anytime soon. What we are trying to do is that when it comes to drugs is that we are not just thinking about it with law enforcement, but we're also thinking about treating it as a public health problem.”
- Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (April 2012)
   Gov. Mitt Romney: "People talk about medicinal marijuana, and, you know, you hear that story: People who are sick need medicinal marijuana. But marijuana is the entry drug for people trying to get kids hooked on drugs. I don't want medicinal marijuana. There are synthetic forms of marijuana that are available for people who need it for prescription. Don't open the doorway to medicinal marijuana."
("Ask Mitt Anything" Event in Bedford, NH 2007 - source)
   Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson: “Right now, 75 percent of the cartels’ activities revolve around marijuana. I think as a nation, when we legalize marijuana, we’re going to take giant steps toward drug reform, which will start off with looking at drugs as a public health issue, rather then a criminal justice issue. I just think legalizing marijuana [will cause] at least a 75 percent reduction in border violence due to the drugs [trade].” - Raw Story (April 2012).

  Green Party candidate Jill Stein: “President Obama promised to use a science-based approach to public policy. But when it comes to marijuana, he has continued the unscientific policies of George Bush, and has even gone far beyond Bush in his attacks upon medical marijuana clinics. He supports the irrational classification of marijuana in the most dangerous drug category, and he supports the ban on commercial hemp growing. This is mania-based policy, not science-based policy."
- Speech to Denver 4/20 Rally (April 2012)
   It’s time we recognize that marijuana has been a victim of politics. Scientific studies continue to reveal its numerous medicinal properties. In addition to this election, advocates for medical marijuana may score a major victory if the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rules on taking marijuana off of the Schedule I category of illegal drugs (currently in oral argument phase).
   As It Stands, with nine days left until Election Day there’s still time to make informed decisions about the future of marijuana in America.

The Cult of the Nug: Professional Pot trimmer Shares Stories about the Job

How many people who obtain perfectly manicured buds from a dispensary consider the steps involved in its preparation?

They may give some thought to the role of the grower, but who thinks about the trim crew?

People come from all over the world to trim cannabis during the harvest season in California. Between early October and mid-November they swell the population of Mendocino, Humboldt, and other counties. Many others work on indoor grows year round, all over the state.

There are young adults —high school drop-outs and college graduates— looking for work. There are local moms clipping to help pay the bills. There are Mexican families who come every year from down south. Trimmers come from all walks of life.  You find yourself taking part in interesting conversations —a good fringe benefit.

Cultivators generally want workers they are acquainted with, who have trimmed before, and are trustworthy.  Training someone new takes time, and the novices tend to work slowly at first. (Read the rest of the story here)

Honda introduces car designed just for women

    Good Day World!

Politicians aren’t the only ones trying to get women’s attention these days. Honda has taken a big step to attract the ladies, by producing a totally pink vehicle.

It’ll be interesting to see how well this blatant marketing strategy turns out. Whatever it takes to stimulate this economy I say…

“The auto industry has traditionally been male-dominated but Honda has rolled out a new model it to have specifically designed with women in mind.

The Fit She’s is a pretty-in-pink version of the maker’s familiar subcompact that offers a few niceties the maker believes will specifically appeal to distaff buyers, such as a windshield designed to block skin-wrinkling ultraviolet rays.

But will women actually care? While the new Honda subcompact may be the only car currently on the road specifically targeting women there’s a good reason.  Previous feminine offerings, such as the old Dodge LaFemme, met with little more than indifference and, in some cases, outright hostility.”

Read the rest of the story here

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Politics Today: Copyright case could threaten eBay and garage sales

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a case to be argued Monday, wades into a controversy over federal copyright law that could determine the legal rights of American consumers to sell thousands of used products on eBay and at garage sales and flea markets.

The legal battle involves Supap Kirtsaeng, a student from Thailand who was surprised by the high cost of academic textbooks when he arrived in the U.S. to attend college.  He asked his parents to search bookstores back home and send him much cheaper versions -- published overseas and sold at a fraction of the price -- of the same texts.

He was soon running what amounted to a small business out of his apartment, helping to pay his way through school by selling textbooks on eBay. The exact amount of his profit is unclear, but court records say it was around $100,000. The textbooks his family shipped him each bore this warning: "Exportation from or importation of this book to another region without the publisher's authorization is illegal," but Kirtsaeng wasn't bothered.  He concluded -- based on a search of articles on the Internet -- that he was in no legal jeopardy. 

The publisher of some of the books he sold, John Wiley & Sons, didn't see it that way. It sued him in federal court, and a New York jury ordered him in 2009 to pay $600,000 in damages.  When he said he had nowhere near that kind of money, he had to hand over personal property, including his computer, printer and golf clubs. A federal appeals court last year upheld the verdict.

Kirtsaeng was caught between two federal laws, and he's now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to see it his way.

One longstanding provision says when the holder of a copyright offers a work for sale, its legal interest in that specific copy evaporates as the item is sold. It's called the first-sale doctrine, and it means that if you buy the latest John Grisham novel, you can sell it on a website or give it away to the church library without violating copyright laws.

But another law prohibits importing works "acquired outside the United States ... without the authority of the owner of copyright."  Applying that statue, the federal courts ruled against Kirtsaeng, reasoning that "the first-sale doctrine does not apply to copies manufactured outside of the United States."          

A who's who of companies and groups involved in selling used merchandise is urging the Supreme Court to overturn the publisher's victory.

EBay warns that leaving the ruling intact would be a blow to "trade, consumers, secondary markets, e-commerce, small businesses, and jobs."  Goodwill Industries says the ruling would have "a catastrophic effect on the viability of the secondary market and, consequently, on Goodwill's ability to provide needed community-based services."

"There are enough copyright owners out there -- and enough crazy copyright lawsuits," says a group of book store operators in a friend of court brief. "No one should be put to the choice of violating the law and hoping they don't get caught, and losing their business."

The effect of a victory for the publisher, according to some experts in copyright law, would extend far beyond the market for books and other published materials.  It could also affect sales of thousands of used consumer electronic products made outside the U.S. that contain copyrighted software, perhaps even used cars.

Kirtsaeng's lawyer makes the same expansive claim in his Supreme Court brief.  "Even cherished American traditions, such as flea markets, garage sales, and swapping dog-eared books are vulnerable to copyright challenge" under the appeals court ruling, argues Josh Rosenkranz of New York.

But could that really be the outcome? (Read the rest of the story here)