WORDS FROM THE MODERN DAY NO WHERE MAN

A burning sensation went through him first to his head then down his spine landing squarely in his heart. The simple words she had spoken were painful, yet true. He truly wanted to work and make a living, but it was as if she couldn't believe he was trying. She had a Masters in Education and he had a Masters in Business. She made $65,000 a year and he made 16,000 a year. Job offers never came. The President and the Governor talked about all those jobs. He was convinced he was cursed. What could he say? He had lost hope in the system. He had lost hope in get rich offers. Most of all he had lost hope in justice. He was after all a middle aged veteran. He could run a marathon and bench 275lbs, but it didn't mean anything. He was a poor boy willing to gamble it all on education and business overhead, thankfully supplemented by his wife. He had started or tried business idea after business idea, but they didn't amount to a hill of beans. He only wanted a decent secure employment opportunity. He would volunteer only to be the servant of greater men for free. He was a prisoner of his own home and debts walking on a tight rope realizing all could be lost at any moment. All the finance deals in the world wouldn't matter without income. His children and his wife kept him going because they were the only divine purpose for which he was sure.

Was he alone? Could there be others who felt like him? Were there cousins, uncles, friends or others out there in the United States who saw this strange set of circumstances which fell on men as if they were chosen for failure? He searched the reasons crying out in his spirit to God for answers, guidance or revelation, but nothing was clear or certain. What Shakespeare wrote seemed to make sense;

"A piece of work to make sick men whole, but are there some men whole we must make sick?"

He thought to himself: Could this be true in America?

TWO GREAT PARTIES

This was after all the United States of America, the land of the free and home of the brave. The two great parties reside to provide democracy and justice to the land.

The Democrats point to big business as the oppressor and purveyor of the many problems of America.

The Republicans point to big government and excessive taxation as the destroyer of achievement and American ideas.

POWER

Both parties enjoy one thing more than anything else--- staying in power. To maintain or gather power is a necessity to compromise, promoting slow change, yet keeping our most favored perks and supporters content.

ACHIEVEMENT

Republicans and conservatives such as Limbaugh say low taxes and large corporations encourage individual achievement, while Democrats believe they are chosen for power and taxes are necessary to help those who are limited from the power to achieve.

Achievement is many times confused with "power over opportunity". Both parties relish power enough to take advantage, recognizing that mainstream Americans sit as observers willing to accept what they've been taught, like students who become constituents of their respective schools of thought. They elect and reelect their representatives again and again only to compromise maintaining their own elitist power, the power of the bureaucracy, the power
of the corporation and the power of the military.

Most importantly neither political party is willing to publicly acknowledge that power has distinct advantages to opportunity. Instead they subscribe to conciliation with "special interests" who acknowledge that distinct advantages of political power. Therefore these two great parties support a form of discrimination to exchange individual rights with "special interest" group rights out of their desire to preserve power and avoid conflict with special
interests groups.

THE NO WHERE MAN

Individuals who are not part of these generally recognized groups and unions are the most likely to accept the plight of the No Where Man. There may indeed be large numbers of people who are isolated without a group or special interest representative. These individuals with adequate but not exceptional qualifications are acceptably overlooked and considered to be part to the
employed economic community and part of the industry, government and corporate opportunity.

ARE YOU ONE OF THESE PEOPLE?

Your success to change is not to become part of a political party. After all many parties such as the Green party or the Libertarian have some great ideas, but these ideas may never be realized because of the POWER argument presented. Instead your success is becoming a member of a group which will facilitate change for you as its constituent. The stronger the group and access to political influence the greater the ability to protect the rights of that
groups individual constituents.

The most DANGEROUS EFFECTIVE GROUPS became reality when INDIVIDUALS who are
denied fair conduct or opportunity in society seek participation in a group that possesses leadership that is able to coordinate, motivate and combine large numbers of these isolated people to become part of strategic action to promote change to better their individual opportunities.

Do you know any groups or have stories to combine with this story? Please
drop us a line.

Thanksgiving: You May Be Giving More than You Think!

Have A Happy Thanksgiving

 

For more Holiday Cheer! Click Here

 

 

You May Be Giving More Than You Think!

 

Hardly a day passes without getting another credit card offer.  Sadly many of them are difficult to refuse if you want to save money.  The grocery store, gas station or buying a car all give this great deal if you use their card.  In fact if you’re visiting from out of town get ready to pay more without your savings card.  Is it really worth it?  According to Nicole Brodeur of the Seattle Times even Starbucks is now involved in tracking your purchasing decisions.  Nicole discusses reading the fine print to see that you are really giving your personal information unless of course you opt out.   She says, “Starbucks is as connected as Santa. The company sees where you are surfing. It knows when you're online. It knows just what you bought for whom, so be patient as you try to "opt out."  This of course is quite tedious if you say do business with ten to twenty different banks, department stores and grocery chains. 

 

Most Americans have become immune to these types of rewards cards and credit card offers.  Like R rated movies, soda pop and abusive language we no longer even notice the little things that once would have been considered taboo fifty or even twenty years ago.  Change is inevitable, however there is always that chance that someone will be able to take advantage of not just one person but thousands or worse yet an entire nation  in the name of keeping track and providing better service or security.  Just think about it as you head out for Thanksgiving Dinner.  If someone has access to your information from a variety of sources its possible I know where you are, what your eating and if you have a cold.  In Brodeur’s words, You're giving a little bit of yourself, too, every time you conduct a transaction in the online marketplace."

 

Maybe Carrying a little extra cash is worth it.

 

Jesus is Coming

The bumper sticker reads Jesus is not a Republican. There are those who have a Jesus license plate on their vehicle. Many would ask this person if his name is Jesus. Quite frankly simply mentioning Jesus creates quite a stir among Liberals and Conservatives. Ironically it is more likely that Conservatives would claim the moral high ground when it comes to religious fervor, but the words of Jesus according to the New Testament mentioned turning the other cheek, love your enemies and even condemned lust of a married woman as adultery.

The biggest problem with political rhetoric of the day is that these two parties seem to encourage a most vile attempt to enrage and undermine the other. Tony Snow might say that Jimmy Carter is not an American. Randi Rhodes might say that George Bush should be impeached. Republicans had loads of joy bashing the Clintons for there immorality and acts of treason. Democrats place their moral high ground on global warming and the environment. Its uncertain if this is the worst rhetoric in the last hundred years, but certainly the rest of the world must be in a state of confusion concerning American political morality. How couldn’t they be?

Now we have another G Gordon but his last name is Libby. Guess what, I’m really not so sure what all the hype is about anyway. So someone blew someone’s cover. Do we really want to trust the governments secret service and to what extent. This is like the biggest corporation on earth with a budget where no one knows the money is being spent. I would just like the opportunity to share in some of their so called misfortunes such as a trip to Maui or Europe all expenses paid and no telling or else.

These are after all the most influential political entities on the face of the earth at the present time. The three branches of the American system are in a constant state of turmoil when it comes to party political lines. Occasionally someone bucks the system like Arnold S. or Jesse V. but the divisions in ideas concerning morality gay marriage, stem cell research, the environment, the military seem to becoming even more polarized. Television programming, movies and novels depict this same trend towards more radicalism and polarization of political forces. If history tells us anything, its that the nation and world will be looking for hero’s willing to make change. These changes from the past produced both dictators and revolutionaries. Military Force and passive religious movements have paved the way for social and moral progress when political leaders failed to produce results. Many times leaders claimed the rights of action as God inspired other times they claimed there actions were necessary to remove corrupt religious leaders.

The Libby indictment is just another pawn in a bigger game of political rhetoric. In the end a few heads will spin, but nothing much will change. The rich get richer. The rest go farther into debt. There are wars and rumors of wars, and a few more politicians will sell out to large corporate interests. The question of course is why all the billions spent on secrecy anyway to protect American interests when we will eventually find out we helped a future enemy anyway. Maybe the last great revolutionary is coming, but again the question is who is he Jesus Christ or anti-Christ. Truly though Jesus is Coming!

Universal Tattletale Site (No Posting for Now)

Currently if you try to send an email or register you will not be able to until our Server gets the email working properly. Its been a couple of weeks. A small problem in comparison to the problems faced by these people hit hard in Mississippi. That is me riding in the back of truck viewing the destruction by Katrina

THE STRANGE INSECURE WORLD OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

We live in a strange world. Not a day goes by that I do not receive a credit card offer or a debt consolidation offer. New bankruptcy legislation just went into effect which makes it more difficult to declare bankruptcy. Do you know a college student or eighteen year old who may need a high interest debt instrument designed to help them build self esteem and purchase those necessary items to make life worth living.

Sounds like a plan—Make credit easier than ever to get and then the ultimate insurance policy no bankruptcy to catch the dirty scoundrels from sucking the system dry from overspending. This in turn makes sure people cannot live high on the hog and stick it to the man (Uncle Sam) or (the bank).

Time will tell if the plan will work, but odds are it will fail miserably. The obvious reason is that the most honest people didn’t declare bankruptcy or they would have taken the dive and filed at the last minute. Real questions remain about the economy because of the housing bubble, higher rates and most likely an inability to slow inflation in large part because banks which continue to make credit cards easier to get because they feel more security in their new found laws of retribution.

This is a picture of part of the group from Brown County that did the diabetes walk in Bloomington. It's interesting to note Indiana University has a new mascot, good luck charm,( THE ROCK) Hopefully it works as well as the one in the Bible or The Prudential. So far it seems to be working. 

Al Qaeda, The Doctrine of Preemption & Lou Dobbs

In Paul Williams new book , The Al Qaeda Connection he entertains the possibility that this network of terrorists already have the ability to set off a nuclear weapon within the United States. He even gives plausible reasons why such an attack is more likely to occur during the month of October than any other time.

According to Williams this group of islamic Al Qaeda terrorists lead by the teaching of Osama Bin Laden have the motivation as they claim the right of an eye for an eye. According to Williams they believe they should have the right to kill from two to four million Americans because of atrocities done by the United States. Just how plausible is this scenario-one look at the illegal immigration stance of the Bush administration brings into focus the grim reality that Americans may be putting all there hopes in nuclear deterrence which of course justifies the use of retaliatory nuclear response. According to Lou Dobbs in his article US Immigration Policy a Tragic Joke the current immigration policies are indeed a joke. Ironically most states bordering Mexico agree with Dobbs concerns. Concerns about Nuclear weapons and rogue states have also been expressed by George Will " The Doctrine of Preemption" where he states " If this was a normal day about 21,000 pounds of cocaine, marijuana and heroin were smuggled into our country. How hard would it be, then to smuggle in a football-sized lump of highly enriched uraninium sufficient to make a ten-kiloton nuclear weapon to make Manhattan uninhabitable for a hundred years?" The recent Katrina hurricane disaster only demonstrates the danger of a lack of preparedness for such a disasters. Like Louisiana Levees our nations southern borders present questions which would better be asked now than later.

If you would like know what to do in case of a nuclear disaster go to www.ki4u.com/guide.htm

People Helping People in Louisiana & Mississippi

Semi Loads of materials are taken to distribution centers like this one. Everything is free, however many times there has been an overload of clothing which eventually ends up in the dumpsters and taken to landfills. Other essential materials were in very short supply in many areas.

This is the hospital in Slidell where people could get free shots for tetnus and hepatitis. This is highly recommended especially if your going to work in flooded areas.

This is a house in Slidell Louisiana that was flooded up to the roof top. We were removing trees and limbs. Most likely this house will have to be destroyed as it was flooded for several days. Many people such as this retired lady did not have flood insurance so they will have to rely on government and other help to rebuild or relocate.

This is the working crew from Indiana. The loader was being pulled by the RV.

This is a hotel on the Gulf in Pascagoula Mississippi. We started a distribution Center about a mile and a half from this site. In this area the storm surge caused the most damage with houses being flooded several miles inland. 

Stay Tuned-- Headed to Louisiana

I’ll be leaving with a local church group for some relief work on Monday.  This is coordinated with the Red Cross.  Hopefully I’ll have some interesting pictures and news.

 

Katrina Relief and Past Newsletter Link

Here is a nice way to spread Charity to victims in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana after the devastating Katrina Hurricane. Below are a few links to go directly to these reviewed home sites of organizations. Please remember to specify the general area where you would like your donation to go.

This is a short list, but these are reputable organizations.

Operation Christmas Child

Donate Now! -- American Red Cross

World Vision www.worldvision.org

Ideas for Gift Giving The Giving Gift

Salvation Army www.salvationarmy.org/

United Way www.unitedway.org

Directory of Reviewed Christmas Charities

Backstreet Missions www.backstreet.org

FAME Partnering in Medical Evangelism

Catholic Charities USA

Chinese Proverb: When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one and a lilly with the other.

November December Newsletter Link

Defamation and Complaint Sites

Defamation is the act of attacking the good character of someone or defaming another person’s reputation.  This kind of bearing false witness is as old as the human race.  Complaints made on Universal Tattletale are not scrutinized in terms of their believability; however defamation is however a crime and people may in fact sue the complainant if they find the information is a lie meant to harm their reputation.  The courts have addressed this issue regarding postings and have found that the sites are not responsible for this type of behavior.   This however is contingent on our ability to pass the responsibility to the original poster.  We also allow the original poster to edit complaints they have made using their password and ID.  Problems with postings become even more complicated if the complaints are spidered and placed on other sites and search engines.   For this reason we protect the privacy of an individual poster to the extent the law allows, but postings can be traced with vaulted hard copies or ip addresses.  Finally, we allow replies to postings for those whom would like to refute the information put forth by the original poster.  So Please Post Responsibly!

Another of Matt's Pictures 

This is cousin Luke and his guitar

Matt's Picture with guitar

Trip to DC father-in-laws congressman Mike Pence gave tour.

Gaylord Palms in Florida-- This proves Priceline.com does work. 

From our House-- Lake Lemon held the Big Ten Rowing Championships.

Golf outing in Florida 

Thoughts on Inner Peace

Reality is that thing that most people seem to hate. The opposite thing of course is the things we love. For instance, a walk on the beach, a good movie, a close friend, or sleeping late are just a few of those things a lot of people love to spend time doing. Most of us spend our days doing a job we do not love and worrying about things like paying bills or a bad back or being on time for the next event, meeting or business arrangement.

Most things we love take us to that place we dream about if only in our minds. I like to run for not just that since of accomplishment, but that time to just think and contemplate apart from the necessities of job and responsibility. Money after all seems to provide the means to do so much of what we might love, especially when we are young enough to enjoy it. Ironically many people spend there whole lives slaving for the opportunity to do the things they love. True children are those blessings and complications which cause us to sacrifice even more in hopes of providing a brighter future.

Guess what so many things cannot be controlled or even earned. Accidents, chance and destiny seem to play a part in all our lives. To those who are fortunate enough to win in life the search for inner peace may be avoided. To those whom suffer may they find inner peace? Religion, art, music seem to be able to provide these moments of inner peace and contemplation. Rich or Poor, Great or Small may you find this peace---although if you are poor and small you may truly be able to enjoy it more.

“I know how to live when I am poor, and I know how to live when I have plenty. I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens…. I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength. Philippians 4: 11-13

Internet Rip-offs

Universal Tattletale LLC is a complaint site which receives a lot of typical complaints.  The internet is a haven for rip-offs.  We are not exceptions to getting ripped off by slick talking sales people whom make promises which they cannot keep and have no intention of keeping. It is my desire to share this example to expose this company, but also show how clever they are at getting away with getting paid for doing something close to nothing.

 

One of these companies I recently dealt with is First Place or www.1p.com or 1stinternetadvertising.com or other names.   Ironically I accepted a deal for them to place our Universal Tattletale: Liberty Complaints and Compliments site on a trial basis for six months.   It was my desire to stop using Overture and Google to avoid pay per click charges; however I was able to track the progress of First Place because of my statistical information from these other services.  The last time I checked with the BBB of Las Vegas this small company had over 80 similar complaints and has been asked to leave the BBB of Las Vegas.  Remember Las Vegas is the capital of Rip-offs, Mafia and the protection of these types of these sleazy deals.   But like a lot of people there slick talking sales person convinced me they could do big things so they were able to get me for $750 before I was aware of their scam.

 

To not bore you with details if I had paid the same amount of money to Overture the outcome would have quadrupled the number of registered users to the site. Keep in mind most people get on the site for free.  Meanwhile I could not identify even one registered user which was attributed to First Place in six months.  They showed a lot of hits but no action at my site??  I’m sure I could show the reason they are a scam, but many people would have no way to prove anything.  Why is the attorney general from Nevada not doing anything?  How about the US attorney general?  Simply put they are bogged down with this type of activity.

 

Please forward this letter or complaints about this business to people like Clark Howard, or Tom Martino etc.  I think this scam deserves some attention from the media. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Randy Lockdall

 

 

Rightwing or Leftwing: Something good to be said for the Middle

Let me apologize for taking so long in writing a new note.  Honestly I haven’t told anyone this blogger site even exists.  So congratulations to the few who might scan the blogs and find this note.  I’m on the rode a lot so I’m trying out the new Sirius Satellite Radio.  When you hear the same stuff all the time the idea of getting differing points of view actually becomes attractive.  Sirius is great because I can go from leftwing to rightwing talk shows at the click of my remote.

 

Quite honestly I’m finding there are talk shows as far to the left as Limbaugh is to the right.  It’s amazing how many issues can clog the mind with viewpoints that confuse the conventional middle of the road American.  Terri Schavo was a perfect example of typical right/ left confusion.  On the right we had James Dobson, some right wing senators and Terri’s parents all were adamant about keeping Terri alive.  The left was supported by testimony from doctors, court rulings and Terri’s husband (whom was quite frankly a bigamist fathering children with his girlfriend, but remaining married to Terri) keeping his bond of till death do us part.

 

Being a married man and father I can understand the difficulties of the parents more than the husband.  After all he could have agreed to allow the parents to have guardianship and the case may have turned out differently.    The expert testimony and decisions made by judges make most people agree that letting Terri die was a reasonable thing to do.   But, questions of motivations and loyalties of the husband remain.

 

Political motivations and media attention could not be denied in the intriguing elements surrounding Terri’s life and death.  This situation could happen to almost any person or family.  In my household my wife would want to live and I would want to die.  Does this mean that more Republicans would want to live and more Democrats would want to die if they were Terri Schavo?   This was in fact the problem, that no one was certain what Terri’s wishes were when it came to pulling the plug or feeding tube.

 

This event and Terri’s life turned heads away from the Iraq war and the economy for a few days, although the Bush’s couldn’t help but once again be at the center of this quagmire. The system prevailed as the decision to let Terri die was upheld.  This is one issue which can afford a left and right attitude.  Yes, we should place in writing,” I want to be kept alive by machines or I want you to let me die if I can not sustain myself. “    Of course the left and right would fight about whether government should allow this choice also.   

 

Randy Lockdall

Economic Bulls or Blunders

Last year at this time I made a blunder and figured interest rates would not spiral upwards. Because of the Fed interest rates are continuing to rise, while mortgage rates are just where they were a year ago. The wealthiest Americans are being bailed out while the middle class already deeply in debt is going to take the full force of the Greenspan correction. The cat and mouse game of oil prices and rate increases continues with no one knowing who’s the cat and who’s the mouse. Bankruptcy legislation, credit card spending and huge deficits have the Washington Elite running scared ready to pull the plug on the middle class.

Economic Bulls or Blunders 04

By Randy Lockdall

When I was a boy I saw most of the people around us worked for factories or in schools or on farms. Not so different from today except for the a few simple changes in the economic structure in Indiana. Smaller farms have been replaced by bigger more efficient farms, which of course use fewer people because of larger combines and tractors.

Schools have also followed the same patterns with smaller schools being replaced by larger more efficient schools. Factories too have been gobbled up in corporate mergers. Many jobs have been sent overseas or down to Mexico. In the early seventies a few farmers had large debts, but fewer people used credit cards except for fuel credit cards and shopping credit cards like Sears.

Ironically, this means our schools should be better than ever. Our farms should need fewer subsidies as they have become so much more efficient and Americans should have saved more money as they have reaped the harvest from these corporate mergers. Without a second glance most people would agree that none of this is true. Our schools are generally not performing, where we would like in comparison to our foreign friends in Europe and in Asia. Manufacturing jobs have been replaced with generally lowering paying service jobs with less job security. Yet things are still very good for most of us.

Why are things still better for most of us than our parents? The answer is debt? The ability to finance, refinance, educate and then finance some more is very common here in the United States. Why would this method be successful when all matters of logic tell us this simply cannot be the state of affairs. What is the truth? The simple fact is that the trickle down Reaganomics philosophy has worked, but not in the way that one would have thought at least not for many Americans.

True, many corporate mergers have produced rich stockholders and company CEO’s. There are fortunate farmers who have doubled and tripled the size of their farms and now have more equity, but more debt. Our schools have increased pay to teachers, professors and instructors and these types of positions are as hard as ever to receive even with the right qualifications.

Suddenly there are more billionaires willing to loan their funds to keep the process going. Our politicians realize that economic failure means so long from a political standpoint. Economic theory allows us to see that lower interest rates continue to stimulate the economy. We continue to finance, refinance and spend. Many people in the US have even declared bankruptcy, but this no longer means that borrowing money is over like thirty years ago. Today the lack of spending sends fear through Wallstreet like never before. So we again lower interest rates and more people go deeper into debt, spending and quite frankly enjoying the good life even more. So what could possibly be wrong in the Bush Clinton Bush Camelot?

Nothing as long as the bank continues to loan money and people like me continue to increase my assets. The Billionaires have become even more plentiful for there philosophy looks like it could go on and on. In fact these Billionaires now have created something close to monopoly, but usually it’s more like oligarchy (meaning a few companies control certain industries.) Coke and Pepsi, General Motors and Toyota, Citibank and Chase, Comcast, Cox and Insight. Microsoft and Microsoft. Is all this so bad? Not really. Of course there is the old proverbial quote that the borrower is servant to the lender.

Banks do own the title to numerous homes, cars, boats and even churches. We the people in turn give them what these billionaires want even more; Peace, Power and few problems. Suddenly tolerance is expected for almost anything which might change the status quo. We create more right wing radio stations to pound the truth about how much good unlimited prosperity by the Billionaires of the world do for all of us. We must constantly be reminded that professional salaries of athletes and corporate CEO’s should have no limits as they pound into our brains the laws of supply and demand.. Camelot is saved and the possibility of rebellion has been squashed again for the time being. Yes life in America is good, but there is this feeling, this knowledge of truth which we know we shouldn’t ignore.

Like playing Monopoly we know that there is eventually one winner. Monopoly of course in the real sense is the ability to take over a market completely. This is done by always being able to lower our price significantly to drive out competitors or providing regulations which create this pure monopoly through government. Creating the monopoly is an art designed ultimately to own something that we control completely and then we can demand whatever price we choose that the buyer is able to pay. I notice this when I want to buy certain software as a small business owner. The price for the same product to the government, military, large corporations or even educational institutions is significantly lower. They pass this regulation which says if your not one of these guys you must pay a lot more. Paradoxically, those that are employed by the institutions who make far more money than I are then given more privilege so they can enforce monopolistic behavior and more discrimination, which of course they vehemently say they oppose.

Why Help People Complain?

Complaining is indeed an art.  No one likes a complainer.   We’ve all heard it “ Never Complain, Never Explain”.  The preacher,  priest,  rabbi and or even the boss doesn’t always want to hear complaints.   However, have you ever seen a coach who won’t question an officiating call.  Can we even carry on a relationship without ever expressing our differing viewpoints.  Ironically our society likes people who turn the other cheek, especially when the complaint may require action, change or sacrifice on the part of others to make things right.

 

Every minute of everyday someone is being ripped off, mistreated or abused.  Many times cries for help are heard, but ignored.  Good Samaritans aren’t interested in helping you because you were overcharged, mislead, or taken advantage of, because of your good nature.  Certainly the demons of darkness are more than happy when good loses and evil is victorious.  Why does complaining receive such a bad rap from the very guiding moral forces in our society?  Legitimate complaints shouldn’t be based on envy, jealously, hatred or just improper motives.    Counting our Blessings is good medicine to avoid unreasonable or constant bickering and complaining, but sadly there are many abusers whom have used the good nature of moral fortitude to do what they do  best, which is take advantage of others.

 

Universal Tattletale: Liberty Complaints and Compliments strive to encourage complaints to help people vent their frustrations, resolve conflict and prevent deviant actions from continuing unnoticed.   Like the old saying goes:  Pray to God, but Row to Shore.

 

R Lockdall

 

Randy Lockdall 

Avoiding Scams and Snoops

Charities

Americans are famous for being big givers, however many organizations and charities may be keeping much more than they give.  Your state Attorney General is a good place to start if you want to be sure.  It is a good idea to see who the solicitor is and how much of the gift they are keeping. A list from can be found at:

Charitable Soliciations Financial Chart

This is just one extensive partial list of organizations.

Wireless Home Connections

How secure is your home network?  Many people are now setting up their networks at home without realizing how vulnerable they can be.  Most setups are done via 802.11 connections which are now being used by many libraries and others who allow insecure public access.  If you have the wireless setup you should make sure you also have the WPA ecryption setup correctly in your Windows XP. 

Go to : XP connection Update

Norton security suites or other approved software which guards, spam, hackers and offers privacy service.

Stan Miastkowski of PC World gives a step by step approach in the May 2004 edition.  You can link to the how to article at:

 

Step by Step Build a Safe Network

 

You can go to newsletter  May 04 to see original article

 

 

Economics and Innovation

One of my favorite writers of recent years has been Michael Schrage of Technology Review. The last article Mr. Schrage will write for MIT’s Tech Review was in the December issue entitled Innovation Diffusion.

Innovation Diffusion according to Michael Schrage: “ the biggest changes to our world are occurring because ofthe accelerating diffusion of innovation.” “Simply put” he says “Innovators don’t change the world. The users of their innovations do.” Mr. Schrage discusses how more people are gaining access to an ever increasing number of innovations at very low cost..

The question comes to mind what about economics such as regressive taxes, concentration of wealth and the convergence of power to make or break good ideas.

For instance most people in America do at least some shopping at Walmart, go through a drive thru at McDonalds or do there grocery shopping at Kroger buying at least a few products form Proctor and Gamble.

What makes technology any different than these first purveyors or at least dominators in their market niches. Technology many times exists, but is never seen by the consumer. Why didn’t GM put out a Hybrid car twenty years ago? The answers lie in economics, and what drives the engine of innovation.

Universaltattletale.com is in the business of helping people with their complaints and compliments, yet viewing us on the web requires that people find us on Google, Yahoo, or MSN etc. This also means that these companies now have a large responsibility in making sites visible at a reasonable cost. —-No that’s not it they have the responsibility to make money for their stockholders. So when it comes to getting noticed these pay per click charges may make it impossible for you to place a complaint if you look to complain about Doctors or an automobile accident. This site does not have the economic incentive or ability to pay $7 a click for what an insurance company might deem appropriate.

Concentrated wealth and market power are indeed big players in the driving of innovation. Yes economies of scale may drive down their prices when we buy a calculator, or computer but the players (sellers) are the same companies. Eventually one player drives out the other player or they merge and combine their efforts to play another day.

Why does it matter to innovators and consumers as long as we’re getting the products at prices we can afford? The answer again is economics.

Why are there big media companies like Time Warner (AOL), News Corporation LTD (Fox) and Disney (ABC, ESPN) who dominate choices about the information we see and hear. Who controls the majority shares, but a few wealthy whom might be invited to Davos Economic Forum or Bilderberg meetings. Who do they invite or cajole but a few influential politicians.

Innovation Diffusion is indeed the apple in the eye of progress, but economic reality is the totalitarian ruler to innovation. Protecting and promoting my kingdom in the search for conquest require that I control all that I can to reap the biggest profits.

Democratic Government seeks to provide a level playing field by balancing the interests and objectives of the public and private sector. When government cannot find balance they borrow money or look for creative ways to balance the books like lotteries or cutting public spending.

The use of innovation allows people to do things better, more efficiently and more productively, but the process requires the protection by Government through not only patents and copyrights, but the diffusion of totalitarian or monopolistic rule through regulation or other interventions.

By Randy Lockdall

Note we now have three links to our site:

http://www.universaltattletale.com/ http://www.etattle.com/ http://www.libertycomplaints.com/

Welcome To Universal Tattletale Blog

I've decided to post some of my newsletter stuff on a Blog site to make it easier to access from the web. Currently you can access information through the Universal Tattletale website at www.universaltattletale.com or www.etattle.com, however this site will serve to make things easier to comment on and reach the worldwide web. For instance, I will place the link for the monthly newsletter here such as the March newsletter
http://www.universaltattletale.com/newsletter_files/March.htm However I will be placing the original copies of new posts here and then adding them to future newsletters from the site. Many people seem to be more interested in reading blogs than just new complaint listings so they will be able to read letters and make comments easier without going through the site.