Category Archives: Uncategorized

Although the US Government in effect outlawed the prohibition of alcohol with the passage of the 21st Amendment in 1933, the United States military apparently was never informed of this. While never known to shy away from conduct control, the military has had a long history of looking the other way when it came to the culture of alcohol within the lower ranks. The military is no longer looking the other way. Banning dorm alcohol consumption is the latest campaign … Continue reading →

OK, now… as much as we love the military, and as proud as you are to be in uniform, we sometimes just have to face facts. The military does host a few unseemly characters. C’mon, no one’s listening. You can say it. “Some of these people are MORONS!” There, now. Feel better? Not everyone has their head screwed on the way you do. If they did, they’d be reading this article, too. But they’re not. You know this. Because when … Continue reading →

The 2014 budget plan under President Barak Obama is expected to include ideas on how to combat increases in identity theft. According to White House officials, the attention is being directed at those cases occurring through tax returns.   The budget, which at press was scheduled for an April 10th, 2013 unveiling, establishes penalties in the neighborhood of $5,000 specifically for this kind of identity theft. The budget, in effect a law, will address this issue by: Curtailing the availability … Continue reading →

This week, a market report from Institute for Supply Management showed that service companies grew at a slower rate in March, and small business owners cut back their hiring. This suggests a general growing caution after the Sequester was implemented, however the same report did also show a drop in new business in these sectors. The companies in this report make up 90% of the US workforce, with retail, construction, healthcare, and financial services all represented. Because this is such … Continue reading →

For those who opened new credit card accounts in January of this year (2013), the interest rates offered were at a comparative standstill, according to CreditCards.com. The average APR on new accounts remained at 14.96%, carrying over a two month trend from Q4 2012.   2012 was the most stable year on record for credit cards, with average rates on new credit card offers unchanged for 36 weeks. By comparison, the second most stable year ever — 2011 – saw … Continue reading →

Just before the Sequester, the Truman was scheduled to depart Norfolk for the Persian Gulf. The Pentagon canceled the trip just days before the ship set sail. Officials claimed that sending the carrier on a six-month cruise would empty their accounts. President Obama explained, “The threat of these cuts has forced the Navy to cancel the deployment. Only Congress has the power to pass a law that stops these damaging cuts and replaces them with more sensible alternatives.” It’s a … Continue reading →

One Powerball ticket worth $338.3 million was sold in a New Jersey convenience store this past week. What’s more, another customer hit five numbers and won $1 million in the same store a month earlier. The store that sells the winning ticket gets $10K for itself, but the winner? The lump sum cash payout on this $338.3 million ticket will be $221 million. There were also tickets that matched five numbers in Iowa, which is worth $2 million, and then … Continue reading →

The Federal Reserve has adjusted expectations for the 2013 economic outlook, and is now predicting that while unemployment numbers will decline to between 7.5% and 7.3%, the economy itself will only grow by between 2.3% and 2.8%. What the heck does that mean? Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke explains with caution that strong hiring may not be here to stay; and, the deep sequester cuts and international economic issues like those in Greece and Cyprus could further impact America’s economic … Continue reading →

JP Morgan Chase executives have had to testify before Congress for the past several months. The Senate is investigating over $9 billion in losses stemming from bad trading practices in their overseas division. This inquiry is about nine months old, but things have really been heating up lately. One of the biggest financial institutions in the world, JP Morgan Chase has had issues with questionable risk management practices and oversight policies. Now, they are facing accusations of misleading investors and … Continue reading →

Recently at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, this year held in Manila, the next generation of tech toys was unveiled as a slew of new gadgets were introduced to the world. As expected, many are computer components, and many are smart phones. However a few new cameras also made an appearance. The great thing about this is that these things are no longer rich men’s toys. The vast majority of all electronic goods are well under $10K nowadays, and that … Continue reading →