Jan 26th, 2012

Obama Appeals to the 99 Percent in his Re-election Bid

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Almost comically, President Obama has begun his appeal for re-election by bashing the 1% – who got him elected with their campaign donations in 2008 – and appealing to the 99% – about half of whom pay no taxes and must certainly figure “why not?” when it comes to more government spending. After all, when you’ve got no skin in the game, what harm can more spending do? A lot, actually, but that’s a story for another day. If it wasn’t certain before, Obama’s State of the Union speech made it clear that a little bit of “class warfare” was at play.

Noted Obama, “We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.” Whether Obama crony capitalists like Warren Buffett and George Soros will be made to play by those same rules – which would be a huge change of direction for Obama thus far – remains to be seen.

There is conjecture that part of Obama’s “fair share” speech was directed at Mitt Romney, who recently released his tax returns, indicating an effective tax rate of under 15% for 2010. If so, that’s probably a wise strategy, as the president can likely count on the ignorance of the masses to propel him forward in 2012, just at it did in 2008. Of course, that there is no viable alternative to Obama among the current frontrunners in the GOP primary race doesn’t make the task of picking a true leader any easier. In fact, it indicates that it is impossible. But that, also, is a story for another day.


Buzzle: Breaking News & Reports

Jan 24th, 2012

Latest Count Reveals Santorum May Have Won Iowa, State Declares a Tie

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Apparently, there were some problems calculating the votes in the Iowa Caucuses. Rather than the original official word that Mitt Romney won the state by less than 10 votes, the new story is that Rick Santorum actually won the state by 34 votes – at least among the votes that can actually be counted. In addition to the confusion surrounding the official vote count, it is now being reported at least 8 voting precincts in Iowa have votes that were never counted, so there will never be a definitive determination as to who actually won in Iowa.

Of course, with human nature and human error such large factors in a statewide voting exercise, it’s probably best to consider any election a “tie” in the event that the difference in votes is less than say, one thousand votes. Or perhaps base the number on a pre-determined percentage of the total votes cast, in much the same way that polls note a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent, typically.

Otherwise, we end up with the nonsense that we have in Iowa, as well as in years past in Florida and other places. To think that a quasi-government run operation, like statewide voting, manned largely by volunteers with inferior equipment and training, is going to produce accurate voting results is absurd. And when the results are so close as to be statistically insignificant, there should be rules in place to account for that.

We should know with some certainty who “won” the state of Iowa. And if we can’t know that, then there should be a very clear policy in place to state as much. Or there should be a procedure for clarification in the event that the results are “too close to call.” It’s a safe bet that we should expect more of these shenanigans in the general election as well.


Buzzle: Breaking News & Reports

Jan 21st, 2012

Skiing Star Sarah Burke Dies at the Age of 29

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Sarah Burke was a pioneer in the freestyle skiing arena, having become an X Games star and an instrumental figure in moving superpipe into the Olympics. Burke died yesterday after a January 10 crash during a training run left her injured. Noted Peter Judge, CEO of Canada’s freestyle team, “Sarah was the one who, in a very positive way, stood in the face of adversity and asked, ‘Why not?’ What she would have wanted was for her teammates and others in her sport to stand up and also say, ‘Why not?’ To benefit from the significant opportunities available to them, being able to compete in the Olympics and the X Games. Those were the things she wanted and cherished and fought for.”

Burke was a four-time Winter X Games champion, and crashed during a training run in Park City, Utah a few weeks back. According to a statement released by her publicist, tests after the accident indicated “irreversible damage to her brain due to lack of oxygen and blood after cardiac arrest.” The statement also read, “The family expresses their heartfelt gratitude for the international outpouring of support they have received from all the people Sarah touched.”

Those who knew Burke have nothing but nice things to say about her, both as a person and a professional. “She’s probably one of the nicest people I’ve known in my life, and that’s about the only thing I have to say about it,” said superpipe skier Simon Dumont. Jeremy Forster, the program director for U.S. Freeskiing and U.S. Snowboarding, noted that Burke would be remembered “first, as a friend, and then as a competitor who constantly inspired them to do greater things. She was a leader in her sport, and it’s a huge loss for the freeskiing community.”


Buzzle: Breaking News & Reports

Jan 18th, 2012

Zappos Warns Hacked Customers to Beware of Phishing Scams

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Based on the information that is currently available, it doesn’t appear as though the hacking incident that occurred at Zappos.com yielded critical pieces of information like passwords or complete credit card numbers. But sensitive information was certainly obtained, including e-mail addresses, names, physical addresses, etc. Certainly more than enough information for would-be scammers to try to solicit further information and action from unsuspecting consumers.

Allegedly, the account passwords that were stolen had been cryptographically scrambled, so the thieves would not be able to see the actual passwords. Of course, one can only wonder how difficult it would be for the hackers to simply unscramble the passwords, if they’ve already gone through all the effort necessary to hack into the system in the first place. Security experts admitted as much, noting that hackers could decipher many of the passwords very quickly and that the technology required to do so was readily available, especially in those circles.

Another alarming component of the Zappos hack is that user phone numbers were also obtained. So scammers could actually call, text or leave voice messages, pretending to be from a legitimate company with whom the consumer has had previous dealings. It’s at that point that even savvy consumers might be duped into believing that the scammers were legitimate.

Zappos has advised anyone who holds an account with the company to avoid clicking on any e-mails from credit card companies or other institutions who may be asking for various forms of identity confirmation.


Buzzle: Breaking News & Reports

Jan 15th, 2012

President Obama Seeks Permission to Consolidate Government Agencies

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The proposal that is at the heart of the request involves consolidating the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the U.S. Export-Import Bank, Overseas Private Investment Corp, the Trade and Development Agency, the Small Business Administration and various sectors of the Commerce Department. The idea has been discussed internally for years, but the Office of the President has not had such powers since the Reagan administration.

The request from Obama comes at a time when he has also requested a debt ceiling increase of another 1.2 Trillion, something that is sure to result in another dog and pony show over the coming weeks. Combining redundant agencies into a single entity is projected to save the government about $ 3 billion over the next ten years. Approximately 1000 to 2000 government jobs would also be lost through attrition, meaning that employees who retire or choose to leave the agency will not be replaced.

Early Republican response to the news has been tempered, with many Republicans wanting to see the details of the President’s proposal before offering their opinion. On its surface, any plan to consolidate government agencies must be viewed as a step in the right direction, but implementing such measures will probably prove to be difficult, if not impossible.

With the November election now fast approaching, ideas such as these from the Obama administration will help to insulate the President from Republican assertions that his administration has overseen the largest expansion of government and debt in the history of the country.


Buzzle: Breaking News & Reports

Jan 13th, 2012

Bankruptcy choices?

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Boy, today’s economy is rough. Even if you are lucky enough to be working, your position at your office is not necessarily stable, and you could be let go without a moment’s notice.  With how the job market has been lately, transitioning into another occupation in a profitable company is not something that can be done without some turbulence along the way. In fact, it is more common now for recently laid-off professionals to go several months without finding anything, simply because the market is so tough.  Ultimately bankruptcy is now a viable option for many households (and companies).
If you are finding yourself needing to file for bankruptcy, or even thinking about it, the best thing to do to start would be to take a bankruptcy class online.  These credit counseling classes, which are taken before filing for bankruptcy, will get you ready for life after bankruptcy.  This includes qualifying you to file, as well as all the counseling and resources you’d need for anyone struggling with the reality of filing for bankruptcy.  They are as helpful as they are informative.  If you want to learn more about the ins and outs of your financial situation, a class online is a great first step.

Jan 12th, 2012

Nervous about CE.

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Tax time is rolling around very soon ,and like always I will be doing quite a bit of tax prep as a side job.

One of the things I need to take care of this year will be to complete my ea cpe requirements so that I can continue to maintain my qualifications for being a tax preparer.

I need to complete approximately 10 hours of course time to finish the state and federal requirements for my job. I’ve decided to take a ea ethics course as part of my education requirements for the state. I think this course will really help me, as many people seem to be confused on the ethics of being a CPE. I really love doing this job, however i’m always somewhat concerned that I don’t get enough continuing education. I think that fast forward academy will help me put my worries to rest by taking a good class as CE.

I think I’ll report back on how it goes, I’m pretty excited about these classes, although I must say I am also a bit nervous.

Jan 12th, 2012

Son of Green Bay Packers Offensive Coordinator Found Dead in River

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The NFL playoffs are now overshadowed by the tragic death of 21-year-old Michael Philbin, son of Green Bay Packers’ offensive coordinator Joe Philbin. Michael Philbin had been reported missing on Sunday, after no one had heard from him since about 2AM on Sunday morning. Philbin had been out with friends near Oshkosh, Wisconsin when he was last seen.

An employee working in a building near the Fox River reported hearing ice breaking and someone calling for help at around 2:30AM. Philbin’s body was recovered on Monday afternoon, and police were able to positively identify him later that day.

The last official word from the Packers came before a positive identification was made of the body, and the coaches and players were not speaking to the media out of respect for the Philbin family. Obviously, when tragedies such as this occur, they dwarf the importance of the NFL playoffs or anything related to sports.

The investigation into Philbin’s death is ongoing and there is no word at this time why he may have been out on the ice or if he was alone. The Fox River is reportedly notorious for producing unstable ice, even during very cold winters. Given the unseasonably mild winter conditions in Wisconsin so far this year, it is believed that the Fox River ice was especially weak and would have been unlikely to hold the weight of a person.

The Packers are scheduled to play the New York Giants on Sunday afternoon in Green Bay.


Buzzle: Breaking News & Reports

Jan 9th, 2012

Government to Sell Foreclosed Homes in Bulk to Investors as Rentals

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The foreclosure problem isn’t going away – and it’s actually about to get considerably worse. Between Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and FHA, there are nearly 250,000 foreclosed homes currently possessed by the federal government. And there are at least two million additional homes in the foreclosure pipeline that are waiting to be processed. So the federal government, for all intents and purposes, is sitting on over two million properties in the U.S. that will need buyers.

In order to try to manage that overwhelming number of foreclosures and get them back into an active marketplace, the Obama administration and federal officials are about to announce a pilot program that would sell huge chunks of those foreclosed properties to large investors who would then rent them out to the public. The details of such a program are still to be announced, but it is believed that the government is courting buyers with the capacity to make purchases in the range of $ 1 billion or more for each transaction.

The idea, of course, is to move the massive foreclosure inventory through the system as quickly as possible in the hopes that doing so would stabilize the housing market as a whole. But it’s unclear exactly how that scenario might play out and what the short and long-term implications might be. Getting the foreclosed homes off the books of the U.S. government would certainly be a positive, but millions of homes then sitting on the market as rentals may not be the panacea that the housing market is hoping for.

Buying foreclosed homes in such huge quantities is sure to create a fire-sale effect on the prices paid for those homes. The investors buying them would have all the leverage and their concerns would then focus primarily on managing such large numbers of properties at once. The venture seems to have the potential to be quite profitable, but not without some significant logistical hurdles. What the actual effects of such a program would be remain to be seen.


Buzzle: Breaking News & Reports

Jan 6th, 2012

Obama Wants to Shrink Military, Maintain Standard of Excellence

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President Obama has noted that he wants to shrink the size of the U.S. military while concurrently maintaining the standard that the country’s armed services have maintained for decades as one of the world’s foremost military units. In a time when spending must be cut in order to ensure the well-being of Americans, it is a wise move, though Pentagon leaders have indicated that the move is not without risks. Notes the president, “Our military will be leaner, but the world must know the United States is going to maintain our military superiority.”

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and the top brass at the Pentagon agree with the move to downsize the military, but they do warn that it will not be an easy process. Panetta has noted that there will be “some level of additional but acceptable risk.” The president has also noted that this move is exactly what the country needs after the “long wars of the last decade are over.”

Presumably, part of the new downsizing will also include a policy to avoid overt military meddling in the affairs of other countries, though certainly the U.S. will maintain the ability to enforce its will when the situation warrants. The new strategy, entitled “Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense,” includes a preamble from the president that reads, “As we end today’s wars and reshape our armed forces, we will ensure that our military is agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies.” The move seems to be one in the right direction, though there are sure to be some political elements that make this an ongoing discussion.


Buzzle: Breaking News & Reports

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