Friday, May 24, 2013
Following several recent disasters, some natural and some not, Americans have been called on a lot more to help communities closer to home recently.
Americans are known throughout the world for many things, some good and others maybe not so. But one thing that has never been in question is the fact that by nature Americans are global philanthropists. When there is a call to action anywhere in the world, Americans are there. But of late some people have been questioning whether it is worth it, especially when it does not always appear to be appreciated. According to a recent article in the Huffington Post, some people considered “world-class philanthropists” are now turning those attentions closer to home. An example given was Lynda and Stewart Resnick, of California, who found that when they were looking to offer assistance that was more than just writing a check, they didn’t have to …
Thursday, May 23, 2013
A jury is charged with deciding whether the convicted murderer should get the death penalty for murdering her one-time boyfriend.
For several weeks, television viewers have been focused on the trial of Jodi Arias, now convicted of murdering her one-time boyfriend, Travis Alexander. The penalty phase is under way and the jury is to decide whether she gets life in prison or death for the violent crime of which she has been convicted. Initially, the NY Daily Mail reported that Arias had claimed in a television interview that she wanted to die rather than spend the rest of her life in jail. According to a story in Fox News, much as she did throughout the case, Arias has again changed her story. She reportedly now says asking for the death penalty is like asking for assisted suicide, and she wants to spare her family the pain. She is now asking the jury to spare her life…
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg doesn’t think so. What do you think?
There has been many a report of college grads taking menial jobs during the recent economic downturn. Yet others have moved back in with parents, unable to support themselves or pay off college loans. According to a story in The Daily Mail, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, famous for his nanny tactics with constituents by making laws restricting what he considers bad habits, is now suggesting that not everybody go to college. But does he have a point? The Daily Mail reported that Bloomberg, speaking on his weekly radio show on May 17, suggested that students who aren’t necessarily top of their class should rather go to trade school than take on an expensive college degree. His example, the Daily Mail reports, is the career of a plumber. "…
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Although last week was a tough one for the Obama administration, the president's popularity doesn’t seem to have been affected.
After scandals plagued the White House last week, this week began with yet another one. However, according to the Huffington Post, President Barack Obama appears to have weathered the storms relatively unscathed – at least according to a recent poll. The Huffington Post reported that the poll, from CNN and ORC International, found that 53 percent of Americans approve of the job the president is doing while 45 percent disapprove. This is the same as he was doing in the polls before the scandals hit. This recent poll was taken on May 17 and 18, and has a 3 percent margin of error, the Huffington Post reports. The scandals began when the White House faced continued scrutiny on Benghazi then expanded to news of the IRS unfairly targeting …
Monday, May 20, 2013
The federal government is proposing a drop to a .05 percent blood-alcohol level.
The National Transportation Safety Board wants to reduce deaths caused by drunken drivers, and one of its ideas is to change how states measure drunkenness. The board has proposed reducing the blood-alochol limit to .05 percent, down from the .08 percent states enforce now, according to Fox News. That limit could mean one drink for a lot of women, and two drinks for a lot of men. "Our goal is to get to zero deaths because each alcohol-impaired death is preventable," NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said in the Fox story. Among those who oppose the idea: Groups that sell alcohol. "Moving from 0.08 to 0.05 would criminalize perfectly responsible behavior," American Beverage Institute Managing Director Sarah Longwell said in a statement quoted …
Friday, May 17, 2013
It was for a man recently arrested in a Loganville Walmart.
You're out shopping -- wearing some new jeans you bought at another store and forgot to remove the tag from. A store employee gets suspicious, and police ask you to step into the loss-prevention office so they can check out your pants to make sure you're not shoplifting them. You're not shoplifting, so you say no, you can't check out my pants. And out come the handcuffs. The charge for not cooperating, you're warned, is disorderly conduct. What do you do? A Loganville man recently opted for the disorderly conduct charge rather than agree to take his tag-on jeans to the loss-prevention office. A review of security tapes showed he hadn't been shoplifting the pants, but the disorderly conduct charge stuck. Did he commit a crime? Share your …
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The agency apologized last week for automatically sending Tea Party and similar groups through multiple hoops before the 2012 election.
President Obama this week said efforts by IRS employees to target new conservative groups for extra scrutiny were "outrageous," echoing many administration critics who charged that the measures were politically motivated. "I have got no patience with it, I will not tolerate it, and we will make sure that we find out exactly what happened on this," Obama said in a news conference Monday. The Wall Street Journal reported that an Inspector General's report concludes there was widespread targeting of conservative-linked groups for aggressive questioning, but that no one outside the IRS was involved in establishing the practice. (The report was released Tuesday.) Former IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, an appointee of President George W. Bush…
Monday, May 13, 2013
A database released by the federal government shows shocking price discrepancies.
How can a medical procedure that costs $7,000 at one hospital cost nearly $100,000 at the hospital down the street? Because patients don't know what anyone charges for anything. That might change soon. The federal government has released a database laying out charges for common medical procedures at hospitals across the country, The Huffington Post reports. Officials said they released the data to make hospitals more intelligent competitors and patients better informed consumers. The results are vexing: What's your reaction to the variation in health care prices? Will this information change how you seek health care? What should be done to improve medical pricing? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Friday, May 10, 2013
A Generation Y publication calls out Abercombie & Fitch for eschewing plus sizes.
Even as one metro Atlanta mall hosted a casting call for plus size models last weekend, a popular retailer was discouraging larger women from dropping in. Elite Daily, "The Voice of Generation-Y," recently pointed out that mall staple Ambercrombie & Fitch doesn't carry XL or XXL sizes of women's clothing, stopping at size 10 for women's pants. Competitors such as H&M and American Eagle go much larger. The article points to a 2006 interview with CEO Mike Jeffries in Salon.com: Is it cool to just go after the "cool" kids? Does your pants size make you cool? What do you tell your children? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
The Google-owned video sharing site reportedly is planning to charge for some premium content. Will you pay to press play?
YouTube, the popular video sharing site that also is the world's second-leading search engine, reportedly is about to charge for some content. Mashable.com has reported that Google-owned YouTube this week will begin charging for "specialist" channels to help finance production of content such as television shows and films. The service will include up to 50 YouTube channels, and subscriptions will start as low a $1.99 per month, the Financial Times reported. A YouTube spokesperson told Mashable, "We have nothing to announce at this time, but we're looking into creating a subscription platform that could bring even more great content to YouTube for our users to enjoy and provide our creators with another vehicle to generate revenue from …
Debra Houston
8:41 am on Saturday, May 25, 2013
Yes, "love your neighbor" and yes, "charity begins at home" however, in out global electronic world, my neighbor is not only across the street, but also in Africa, Latin America, and anywhere else people are hurting. I'm coming from my own spiritual understanding that it makes absolutely no difference whether our giving is appreciated. That's not why we do it. more ›