Home / consumerist.com rss archive / September-17-2007


Banks: If you have over $2,500, you can start earning ...
If you have over $2,500, you can start earning upwards of 5.2% interest with this hard-to-find Bank of America money market account. [My Money Blog]

Nutrition: The Earlier Ingredients Are On A Label, The More There Is Inside
Did you know that ingredients on ingredients labels are listed in their descending order of proportion? Say you're shopping for aloe. If WATER is one of the first ingredients, it's a ripoff. Similarly, if you're trying to buy healthy foods you would want to avoid products where SUGAR is one of the first ingredients (also be aware of the different names sugar can hide under, like CANE JUICE or FRUCTOSE).(Photo: Getty)

Personal Finance: Customize Budget Categories For Success
About.com has an good tip to remember when trying out personal budget spreadsheets:Don't try to fit your expenses into somebody else's budget categories. Tailor the categories to fit your own situation."Ways of expressing money, life, and stuff, physical objects, can vary widely from person to person. If you find it more beneficial to think of movies as "research," or pints of ice cream as "monsters," go for it. Budget templates are starting points on your path to prosperity and you'll need to customize them to get maximum benefit.How to Set Up a Successful Budget [About.com](Photo: personalfinancebudgeting)

College: Save On Textbooks By Borrowing Them From The School Library...
We always knew one of the biggest scams in college was the school bookstore, but we never realized that you could actually try borrowing textbooks from the library. The blogger behind The Baglady certainly did:"It's hilarious because I had a class with 200+ people, and there were 3 to 4 copies of the current edition of the textbook in the library, but no one borrowed the books except for me... I just kept on renewing the books until the end of the semester and kept them in my locker."Not all your books might be in the school library but it's certainly the first place to check, and after that, the used books on Amazon.How I Saved Over $30,000 While In College and What I Did with the Money [The Baglady via Frugal For Life](Photo: Lisa Pisa)

Subprime Meltdown: ETrade Exits Wholesale Mortgage Business, Warns Investors About Subprime Fallout
E*Trade is warning its investors that profits will come in 31% below estimates and that it is exiting the wholesale mortgage business and "streamlining" its direct mortgage operation due to the "disturbance in the credit markets."E*Trade is reassuring its customers that it remains healthy despite the restructuring. From E*Trade's letter to its customers: Today, we took proactive measures to further insulate E*TRADE from the recent declines in the credit markets. You can feel assured that the measures we've taken are non-issues for our customers. Although industry-wide liquidity and credit concerns are making daily headlines, E*TRADE's business fundamentals are firmly on track, our balance sheet is strong, we have substantial capital and we continue to be profitable - with projected earnings of approximately $500 million in 2007. There is no word on how many positions might be cut as part of the restructuring.E-Trade to Restructure on Credit Worries [CNNMoney]Company Exits Wholesale...

Real Estate: Avoid Crazy Closing Fees
You can find yourself hit with all sorts of crazy fees at closing time, some of them unnecessary or overinflated, says Bankrate. But how do you know what's reasonable? For a fee, natch, of $45 the National Mortgage Complaint Center (866-714-6466) will examine your fees and see if they're too high or out of the ordinary. You can also see how your fees compare with state averages.Many closing costs negotiable [Bankrate](Photo: Getty)

Fair Debt Collection Act: Sample Letter For Telling A Debt Collector To Drop Dead
Is it a debt collector calling and calling or writing and writing you? Under Federal Law, you can tell them stop. They do not have the right to keep contacting you simply to try to get you to pay. That's called harassment. Clark Howard has a quick and easy sample letter on his site you can use to tell them to swallow a fork.If they still keep contacting you, you can sue them and win in small claims court and win cashola. Which you can then use to pay off your debts. Nice.Drop Dead Letter [The Clark Howard Show](Photo: Interpunk)

Logos: Video Of Old TV Production Company Logos
Here's a video that consists entirely of logos from various TV production companies. We're inexplicably drawn to this sort of thing. Maybe it's our fascination with marketing and advertising. Maybe it's nostalgia for Ubu. He's a good dog. Anyhow, we enjoyed this video. We hope you do too. (If you happen to understand why you enjoyed it, let us know. We're still trying to figure it out.)

Readers Speak Out On Air Travel: A couple of weeks ago, Business Week published ...
A couple of weeks ago, Business Week published a special report on the sorry state of air travel. Now they're printing a selection of their reader responses, including FAA apologists (who are from the FAA, naturally), pro-railroad travelers, a pilot who says regional jets are overused, and a guy who says airlines should raise prices. [Business Week]

Whoops: Newspaper's Error Confuses, Angers JetBlue Customers
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote an article about JetBlue's 1 year anniversary in Pittsburgh. In honor of that momentous occasion, JetBlue was offering a heck of a deal. TrueBlue members could "reserve a flight leaving Pittsburgh between June 26 and Nov. 15 and complete that reservation no later than June 30," and by doing so earn a free flight.Many of the Gazette's readers did just that, but didn't receive their free flight. Now they're writing to the Gazette to complain about JetBlue.What the Post-Gazette and that first JetBlue telephone representative failed to mention is that Ms. Clipper also needed to access a special Web address created strictly for the purpose of tracking the promotion. JetBlue included the temporary link (www.jetblue.com/pittsburgh) in a news release, but the Post-Gazette directed passengers to the company's main Web site -- www.jetblue.com, which lacked any mention of the free-ticket promotion.In the past month and a half, 16 passengers have contacted...

Home Improvement: 5 Furniture Shopping Tips
Despite the crummy real estate market and generally listing economy, now is a good time to go furniture shopping, apparently. That's partly because consolidation and increased competition has squeezed out everyone except for discount-happy big box retailers in some cities, and partly because business is down overall this year so everyone is trying to attract more customers with markdowns. But "shopping for furniture is treacherous," says the editor of ConsumerAffairs.com in the Times article. Here are five things to do to avoid paying too much, buying the wrong piece, or not getting what you thought you paid for.Research - "approach furniture buying as you would car buying"Room Plans - use available services to enter your room measurements and avoid the "scale problem" (buying something that looks like will fit just fine, but doesn't)Store Visit - take as long as you can to sit, open and close, and generally inspect every inch, or find an outlet or furniture warehouse and shop...

Backlash Update: The Revised Cover Of OJ Simpson's Memoir Is Not Subtle
All this talk about OJ Simpson being arrested and charged with a felony reminded us that his memoir went on sale Sep. 13. After the book and tv special were canceled following unprecedented consumer backlash, the rights to the manuscript were transferred to the Goldman family by a Florida bankruptcy court.As you can see, the cover has been redesigned a little. If I Did It [Wikipedia](Thanks, Urb!)

Safety: EU May Ban Chinese Toys After October
China's toy imports make up more than half the toy market in the EU, and apparently their lax safety record hasn't escaped the grim, existential gaze of Europe. Meglena Kuneva, an EU commissioner, put it quite bluntly in front of the EU's internal market and consumer protection committee last week: "This is the last warning. If there's an unsatisfactory report in October we will [impose] the next layer of measures. Among them is a ban on products," which the Associated Press reports could include toys. Although all the recent bad news from the US has created a high level of scrutiny in the press (maybe we should post something about it!), the EU says that it was well aware of China's "issues" before the Mattel fiasco. Sniffs a commission spokesperson, "The Mattel recalls are not a wake-up call ... we're already awake."China has to deliver a report to the EU in October that will respond satisfactorily to their safety concerns. The country has already delivered three previous...

Big Savings: A pregnant woman and her cousin used a U-Haul ...
A pregnant woman and her cousin used a U-Haul to steal clothing, baby goods, groceries, and Halloween decorations from three different Wal-Mart stores over the course of a single afternoon. [AZCentral.com]

Mergers And Acquisitions: T-Mobile Buys SunCom Wireless
If you're one of the 1.1 million people who use SunCom Wireless, welcome to T-Mobile. According to the Wall Street Journal, T-Mobile purchased SunCom for $1.6 billion and will take over net debt of $800 million. In doing so, T-Mobile increases its subscriber base and its network capacity.From the WSJ:Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile) said the deal will further its strategy of growing in the markets where it is already present. With almost 27 million customers, the U.S. mobile network market provides most of the company's mobile network profits and is the only positive revenue source for Deutsche Telekom as a whole. The acquisition allows T-Mobile U.S. to increase its network coverage capacity by 15 million potential users to 259 million in 98 of the U.S.'s 100 most important regional markets, Deutsche Telekom said.T-Mobile to Buy SunCom Wireless For $1.6 Billion and Debt

Furniture: 5 Furniture Shopping Tips
Despite the crummy real estate market and generally listing economy, now is a good time to go furniture shopping, apparently. That's partly because consolidation and increased competition has squeezed out everyone except for discount-happy big box retailers in some cities, and partly because business is down overall this year so everyone is trying to attract more customers with markdowns. But "shopping for furniture is treacherous," says the editor of ConsumerAffairs.com in the Times article. Here are five things to do to avoid paying too much, buying the wrong piece, or not getting what you thought you paid for.Research - "approach furniture buying as you would car buying"Room Plans - use available services to enter your room measurements and avoid the "scale problem" (buying something that looks like will fit just fine, but doesn't)Store Visit - take as long as you can to sit, open and close, and generally inspect every inch, or find an outlet or furniture warehouse and shop...

Obesity Epidemic: Pay More Attention To What You Eat At "Healthy" Restaurants
That councilwoman from L.A. isn't going to like this: a new study says that when people eat at what they perceive to be "healthy" restaurants, they underestimate the calories, which could help explain why Americans are continuing to get fatter even as healthy restaurants have grown faster than fast food restaurants over the past 5 years.When subjects were asked to estimate how many calories they thought they consumed after eating a meal from MacDonalds or Subway, those who ate at Subway guessed on average 150 calories less. (Both groups underestimated total calories regardless.) Says study organizer Dr. Pierre Chandon:People think that the same 1,000-calorie meal has 159 fewer calories if it comes from Subway... If they choose to consume this fictitious 'calorie credit' on other food, and it they eat at Subway twice a week, they could gain an extra 4.9 pounds a year.To avoid undercounting, Chandon suggests a "piecemeal" approach (ha ha get it?) when estimating your calories&mda...

Spinwatch: Mini-Skirt Customer Doesn't Accept Southwest's Marketing-Filled Apology
Southwest Airlines' CEO apologized to Kyla Ebbert after a flight attendant tried to kick her off a flight because of her outfit, but she's having none of it. Why? Because she doesn't like the obvious marketing tie-in. Southwest's apology to Kyla came in the form of a press release touting their new "mini-skirt" fares."They are exploiting me again by using my traumatic experience as a marketing ploy," Ebbert told ABC News. Well, yes. That is exactly what they are doing, and they're not really being shy about it. Southwest's so-called apology was littered with cute phrases such as "great legs" and "hot flashes." Interestingly, ABC news didn't quote the part of the "apology" that offended Kyla, instead choosing to paraphrase it to make it sound more heartfelt. ABC News:Ebbert did get an apology on Thursday from Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest, who issued this statement: "Kyla, you are a valued customer, and you did not get an adequate apology. We could have handled this better, and...

Nutrition: Pay More Attention To What You Eat At "Healthy" Restaurants
That councilwoman from L.A. isn't going to like this: a new study says that when people eat at what they perceive to be "healthy" restaurants, they underestimate the calories, which could help explain why Americans are continuing to get fatter even as healthy restaurants have grown faster than fast food restaurants over the past 5 years.When subjects were asked to estimate how many calories they thought they consumed after eating a meal from MacDonalds or Subway, those who ate at Subway guessed on average 150 calories less. (Both groups underestimated total calories regardless.) Says study organizer Dr. Pierre Chandon:People think that the same 1,000-calorie meal has 159 fewer calories if it comes from Subway... If they choose to consume this fictitious 'calorie credit' on other food, and it they eat at Subway twice a week, they could gain an extra 4.9 pounds a year.To avoid undercounting, Chandon suggests a "piecemeal" approach (ha ha get it?) when estimating your calories&mda...

Retail: Walmart Rolls Back Prices Negative One Dollar And Fifty-Nine Cents
Nowadays it seems like anyone can make a sign. I yearn for the olde days of sign making when you actually had to know something about signmaking to do it. Signmaking was restricted to knowledgeable guild workers. The penalty for non-guild workers making signs was death. By signmaking.(Photo: Jeff Holbrook)

Green Shopping: London Councils is considering either banning ...
London Councils is considering either banning or placing a tax on plastic shopping bags to help curb landfill waste. They say London is "facing a landfill problem because Londoners annually use 1.6 billion bags, which take 400 years to decompose." The group is seeking comments from the public through October 26th. [Bloomberg ](Photo: Zainub)

Uhaul Udie: Uhual truck kills renter trying to stop Uhaul ...
Uhual truck kills renter trying to stop Uhaul truck from killing Uhaul worker. Truck had a history of parking brake failures. Uhaul has history of not making adequate repairs to its trucks. Uhaul says renter is responsible for his own death. [LAT] (Thanks to Alan!)

Worst Company In America: MediaDefender's Emails Hit The Internet: Entrapment? The New York Attorney General's Office?
MediaDefender, a company that "disrupts" p2p on behalf of record labels and movie studios, suffered an embarrassing leak this weekend when 700MB of internal company emails were distributed on the internet. Oops! ArsTechnica has a detailed analysis of the emails, concentrating mostly on MediaDefender's "entrapment" website MiiVi. Earlier this year, MediaDefender was outed for surreptitiously operating the video upload service offering high speed downloads of copyright-protected content. While MiiVi's true purpose is still not known, emails from before and after MediaDefender's affiliation with the site became public show that MiiVi was intended for public use and was not "an internal project" as MediaDefender founder Randy Saaf told the press. Shortly after the public launch of MiiVi in June, developer Ben Grodsky e-mailed Saaf and his colleagues to inform them that the site was beginning to receive traffic. "We have some success! 12 people have signed up on [the] page. 7 have...

Cars: A resource site for California drivers interested ...
A resource site for California drivers interested in fighting their traffic tickets, including sample form letters and how to have a trial by mail. [The Ticket Assassin]

Telephony: Which Cellphone Company Is Best About Fighting Text Message Spam?
Cellphone text message spam is still rare, but annoying, especially as each one usually costs you. If you're experiencing a deluge, often the only way to fight it is to turn off text messaging entirely, but which providers let you?Tmobile: No, "because it's where voice mail and billing notifications are delivered."Verizon: Yes,, you can ask for "data" to be shut off, which will turn off text messaging, get it now, mobile web, and mobile email, or just simply ask for them to disable receiving text messages sent from emails or web browsers.Sprint: Yes.AT&T: Yes.Alltel: YesVerizon wins. Almost all text-message spam campaigns are run from a computer so disabling receiving messages sent by computer, while still retaining the ability to receive cellphone text messages, is the best option.For some, there's no way around text spam [Red Tape Chronicles](Photo: NOC)

Subprime Meltdown: WaMu has closed Long Beach Mortgage Co., ...
WaMu has closed Long Beach Mortgage Co., their Southern California subprime mortgage lender, laying off 150 people. WaMu says they will also drop 1,000 jobs and stop financing mortgage companies. Subprime mortgage candidates will now have to deal directly with WaMu to apply for a loan. [Orange County Register]

Subprime Meltdown: Greenspan "Didn't Really Get" That Subprime Lending Could Hurt The Economy
Former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan told 60 Minutes that he "didn't really get" that irresponsible subprime lending could be significant enough to hurt the economy, but he still defends the decision to keep interest rates low from 2001-2004. Critics are now saying that these low rates were the cause of the crisis. Bad news for Greenspan who is set to release his book, The Age Of Turbulence, on Monday—just as his successor considers a rate cut that many say is needed to prevent the subprime meltdown from taking down the rest of the economy. From CBS News:Greenspan says he knew about the questionable subprime lending tactics that gave loans to homebuyers and investors with low adjustable interest rates that could rise precipitously, but not the severe economic consequences they posed. "While I was aware a lot of these practices were going on, I had no notion of how significant they had become until very late," he tells Stahl. "I really didn't get it until...

Apple: Claim Your $100 Early Adopter iPhone Credit
If you bought the iPhone before the price drop, Apple has an easy site where you can claim your $100 credit.Just write in your phone number and iPhone serial number. Apple sends you a text message with an access code. Write the access code and your phone number again and there you go, your early adopter tax is refunded.iPhone Store Credit [Apple] (Thanks to Vincent!)

Complaints: Verizon Doesn't Care If It Eats Up All Your Vacation Days Waiting For Installations
To whom it may concern:I signed up online for Verizon DSL. I was sent an email on August 1 informing me that my DSL, and the dedicated data line I set up, were both ready. However, when I did the installation, the DSL light was blinking and none of the repairs worked. I called Verizon to try to remedy the problem. The operator led me through the steps before telling me that I would be receiving a call from dispatch to set up an appointment with a tech. No one called. Over a day later, I called again, and was forced through the same tests I did before, and was again told dispatch would call me. They did not call. Between these two phone calls and your automated system, I had already spent approximately four hours on the phone with your customer service department.Finally, last night (8/8), I went through the whole program (AGAIN), and actually got to speak with dispatch. They informed me that a tech would be out today (8/9) between 8 am and 7 pm. As I am actually employed...

Wholesale: Direct Buy: Pay $5,000 To Save?
Consumer Reports investigated wholesale shopping club "Direct Buy." to see if the deals lived up to the commercials. They were unimpressed.For those of you who haven't been subjected to Direct Buy's frequent and annoying commercials, the club is marketed as a store with no mark-ups, then Direct Buy cues the parade of McMansion owners who claim to have saved some ridiculous number like $80,000 on kitchen cabinets alone. (That they made kitchen cabinets that cost more than $80,000 was something we didn't know. If it's not in the IKEA catalog it doesn't exist.) Anyhow, Consumer Reports says:To evaluate the pitch, we went undercover at two DirectBuy franchises in New York. Both gave us the same hard sell and offers of up to 70 percent off retail prices if we were to join. Only after an hour and a half of sales pitches and video testimonials from members did we learn the membership fee: $4,900 to $4,990 (plus tax) for three years and then $190 a year for seven more. Financing is...

Sales Techniques: Can A Confusing Sales Pitch Trick You Into Buying Something?
An article due out in the October issue of the Journal of Consumer Research studies a sales technique called "disrupt-then-reframe," in which the sales person initially tries to confuse the potential customer, then restates the sales pitch in a more familiar way. By reframing the sales pitch in a more familiar way the consumers natural defenses are weakened and the consumer becomes more susceptible to the sales pitch. So, can you be confused into buying something? Yes. And it's not even very difficult to do. From the University of Chicago Journals Press Release:Although encounters between commercial sales representatives and consumers are one of the more common types of interpersonal interactions found in everyday life, relatively little research has been conducted on interpersonal influence attempts applied to commercial settings," write Frank R. Kardes (University of Cincinnati), Bob M. Fennis (University of Twente, the Netherlands), Edward R. Hirt, Zakary L. Tormala, and...

On The Cheap: Fall Is A Good Time To Fertilize Your Lawn
The summer is winding down and the days are getting shorter. Sigh. Time to fertilize your lawn. Taking a few steps in the fall will help your lawn avoid disease and will ultimately save you money. From This Old House:Early in September, grass is recovering from a long hot summer and may be coming out of a drought-induced dormancy, so you'll want to give your lawn a shot of nitrogen to push blade growth. A fertilizer with a formula of 20-8-8 will get it growing again. Always follow the manufacturer's recommended rate of application. Some people treat weeds and insects at this time, but I think that unless there are signs of trouble or a history of problems, don't apply anything but fertilizer. While this September dose of fertilizer is important, an application at the end of October or early November is essential. Don't forget about your shrubs and trees too!Fall Fertilizing [This Old House via Shakyard](Photo:kusine)

Privacy: Opt Out Of Verizon's Scheme To Sell Your Personal Info To Marketers
Verizon Wireless customers who don't feel like having their personal information and account information sold to marketers can opt-out by calling 1-800-333-9956. A notice tucked into our recent bill told us we had 30 days from receiving the notice to do it. Considering that Verizon just sold 1,000,000 old accounts to a debt-collecting agency who tried to bully people into pay debts that were already paid off or never incurred in the first place, calling this number might be a wise move.(Photo: Getty)

Badvertising: Great Moments In Commercial History: Rainier Beer
Reader Ian nominates these Rainier Beer commercials because they bring together "two great things that go great together: drinkin' beer and ridin' motorcycles," because the Budweiser frogs were a ripoff, and because Rainier was "bizarre before bizarre became de rigueur."We actually like these ads. Maybe we should change the tag to "Goodvertising." Nah.If you'd like to nominate a commercial for our weekly series "Great Moments In Commercial History" send us an email at tips [at] consumerist [dot] com. Be sure to put "Great Moments In Commercial History" in the subject. To see other commercials that have been featured in the series, click here.

Complaints: Verizon FiOs Install Results In Gas Line Breach
One Verizon FiOs install results in breached sewer pipe. Another, a breached gas line. There was no explosion, or even smoke. Some unpleasantly scented puffs of air, though. Guess they're getting better. What do you expect to happen when you have guys drilling through stuff? Accidents, that's what. Unfortunate and statistically insignificant accidents. It all comes out in the wash. Like blood. Blood comes out in the wash, right? Still, it's almost like some of these guys have no idea what they're doing. "It's true QAM." Yes, we have true qualms. Fire, smoke, raw sewage, and, hey, do you smell gas? Yup, Verizon's here. [NetworkWorld](Photo: JGNY)

The Great Wireless Auction: Verizon Vs. Google: Verizon Wireless Sues The FCC Over "Open Network" Requirement
When Google lobbied successfully for the inclusion of an "open network" requirement in the upcoming wireless spectrum auction, it was seen as a coup for consumers. The open network clause would mean that consumers would be able to take their handsets and devices to the network of their choosing. At first, Verizon agreed to the rule. Now they're suing to stop it, calling it "arbitrary, capricious, unsupported by substantial evidence, and otherwise contrary to law."Google immediately snapped back, posting on their blog:The nation's spectrum airwaves are not the birthright of any one company. They are a unique and valuable public resource that belong to all Americans. The FCC's auction rules are designed to allow U.S. consumers -- for the first time -- to use their handsets with any network they desire, and download and use the lawful software applications of their choice.It's regrettable that Verizon has decided to use the court system to try to prevent consumers from having...

Tools: The Zero Based Budget
RateState put together a free "zero based budget" excel sheet which you can use to get a handle on your personal finances. The idea behind it is that every single dollar you earn will get allocated to a specific category. There is no money sloshing around, you have total mastery over all of your money.The template comes with a lot of categories set up, so plug in your numbers and create or delete slots as necessary.If you have a positive difference after taking care of expenses, allocate to paying down debts or to savings or to an investment. If you have a negative difference, then you need to reduce non-essential items.The key is to have no money left over at the end, to know where every single penny is going, even if it's going towards CDs or bubble gum.Download Zero Based Budget (XLS)Free Budgeting Tool [RateState]

Hospitals: Uninsured? New Service Lets You Pay Off Medical Bills Without Interest
A reader pointed us to a recent article in the WSJ abut CarePayment, a new financing option that provides a way for the uninsured to pay off their hospital bills in monthly installments, without incurring interest rate charges or finance fees.The card provides APR-free financing for up to 36 months; there is a $25 fee for missed payments, according to the customer service rep we spoke with, but never an interest rate. Minimum monthly payments are $25 or 4% of your bill, whichever is higher.CarePayment is provided through arrangements with hospitals, so you can't go out and apply for the card yourself. Usually a participating hospital will offer it to you automatically if they feel you will have trouble paying off your bill. Otherwise, you can contact your hospital's billing department and ask them whether they offer it. If your hospital doesn't offer it, you might want to ask them to look into it, as it's a good way for them to recoup money from the patients least likely to...

Customer Service: Update your address books: a reader reports ...
Update your address books: a reader reports that DirectTV has a new phone number for their Office of the President: 888-237-8327 [Thanks, Samik!](Photo: Getty)

Readers: Friday Consumerist Flickr Pool Finds
The Consumerist Flickr pool is filled with pretty pictures uploaded by readers for possible consideration for story photos. Here's five of our favorites from this week's submissions:(Photo: nailmaker)(Photo: photoMarkR)(Photo: Vince Brown (attila))(Photo: Scurzuzu)(Photo: FlyGuy92586)Be sure to check out other great pictures in our Flickr pool and consider adding a few of your own.

Privacy: TD Ameritrade Hacked, Customer Data Compromised
TD Ameritrade has announced that they've been hacked and contact information including names, addresses, e-mail addresses and account activity information such as how many trades were conducted in the last month. Social Security Numbers, user names and passwords were not compromised, according to TD Ameritrade's spokesperson.Consumerist reader and commenter AngrySicilian forwarded us the email that TD Ameritrade sent to its customers:September 14, 2007 You do not need to make any changes to your TD AMERITRADE accounts or to change the way you do business with us.Dear , Let me tell you why I am sending you this email. While investigating client reports about the industry-wide issue of investment-related SPAM, we recently discovered and eliminated unauthorized code from our systems. This code allowed certain client information stored in one of our databases, including email addresses, to be retrieved by an external source. Please be assured that UserIDs and passwords are not included...

Taxes: Make Sure Your Refinance Loan Isn't A "Tax Trap"
"If you fail to follow some little-known rules for calculating your home mortgage deduction, you may be writing off too much interest. Instead of saving on taxes, you could wind up owing them," says Business Week in next week's "Personal Finance" column.The problem is that when you refinance, the rules change for what you can deduct as mortgage interest when it comes time to file your taxes. Normally you can deduct 100% of your interest, but if you refinance, "Only the interest on your original mortgage balance, plus an additional $100,000, qualifies for a deduction." Unfortunately, you won't see any mention of this on the Form 1098 that your bank sends to you each new year, because lenders "have no incentive to educate borrowers about the tax consequences," says the CEO of an investment firm. The IRS isn't specifically targeting homeowners who miscalculate their taxes, but you can open yourself up for a nasty surprise if you get audited."Is Your Home A Tax Trap?" [Business...

Retirement: Checklist: 5 Ways To Rate A Retirement Home
SmartMoney is trying to spin it as a "take care of yourself" article, but we know that the real reason you're in the market for a good retirement home is because Dad has gotten older and he's nowhere near the madcap character Abe Simpson is on TV. Luckily for you (and your dad), they've put together a brief guide of 5 things you should look for when choosing a retirement home. You know, for "yourself."Health Services - look for an on-staff nurse or visiting health practitioner, at the very least. Smells of urine indicate unsanitary conditions (oh, really? we didn't know).Complaints - eat at least one meal with the residents and find out what they think about the place. Smart Money also offers several resources you should use to further investigate.The Fine Print - ask a lawyer who specializes in elder care to review the retirement community's contract. Although it's rare, try to negotiate an exit clause so you don't lose a huge amount of money if it doesn't work out.Staff -...

Passengers Bill Of Rights: Flyer's Rights Group To Stage Demonstration In D.C.
The Coalition For A Passenger's Bill of Rights is planning a demonstration in the hopes of securing limits on the amount of time passengers can be held on the tarmac against their will. From CNNMoney: The protest's organizers are planning to build a mock commercial aircraft that has seen its passengers' patience and infrastructure wear thin after hours of idling. The 28-foot aircraft, really a long grey tent made to look like a plane, will be adorned by sounds of crying babies, sneezing customers and overflowing toilets.Don't worry. Everything will be a replica, says Coalition for Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights organizer Kate Hanni, who worries some congressional representatives who have promised to attend the Wednesday protest won't stick around if the staging is too real. Ha! This sounds fun. Why weren't we invited?TRAVEL: Airline Passengers To Stage Protest Over Lengthy Tarmac Delays [CNNMoney](Photo:Meghann Marco)

Why Punk And Advertising Don't Mix: Canadian telecommunications giant Bell Canada ...
Canadian telecommunications giant Bell Canada is pulling down over 50 ads placed around parts of Toronto and Vancouver, because they show a woman wearing a button that reads "Belsen was a gas," the title of a Sex Pistols song and a reference to the Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen. The button is one of many the model wears, and the company says it was impossible to read during approval and proofing, and only became legible when blown up to billboard-size proportions. [Reuters and Free Republic]

Insurance: Don't Be Fooled By "Limited Benefit" Insurance Plans
If you're a freelancer, temp worker, or hourly worker, you may have already been exposed to the "limited benefit plan," a rotten insurance scheme which is designed to rake in more profits for insurance companies by offering low cost plans that provide almost no worthwhile coverage for the consumer.These plans often cap out at amounts far lower than the market cost of any procedure, or have complicated rules on pay outs—Aetna's new offering, for example, pays up to $7,500 a year for inpatient care, but limits the daily amount of a hospital stay to $250.As our reader Laurel puts it,They market themselves as a way for temp firms and other places with hourly employees to increase the perception that their employees are 'valued.' The employer pays little - sometimes nothing - for the 'benefits.' Payment is deducted automatically from employee payrolls.My fear is that, with the push toward universal insurance, scam-scum like this will qualify as 'being insured,' leaving...

Advertising: Coming Soon To Paris, Bluetooth Ads For Mobile Phones
Marketers in France are planning to beam location-specific ads to your phone via Bluetooth, the common short-range wireless transfer technology that's now included in nearly every new cellphone, reports Reuters. Currently under consideration is just what sort of ad would be compelling enough to tempt consumers to opt in on such messages, since there's no way advertisers can force you to accept Bluetooth communications.The funny side to the story is that mobile phone operators like France's Orange Mobile don't like the idea, because it's a free one-to-one relationship with the consumer and therefore doesn't provide the phone operator a revenue opportunity. Or, to put it in hilarious corporatese,"Bluetooth does not answer all our needs for mobile marketing," Jean-Noel Tronc, head of Orange Mobile in France, told Reuters in an interview.Mobile operators are instead pushing quick response codes, which are those square, funny-looking barcode symbols that some phones can read and...

Advertising: First Black Friday Spotted: Ace Hardware. Who Cares.
Much like the red robin of Spring, this season's first Black Friday ad, one for Ace Hardware, heralds the advent of Thanksgiving.All we have to say to Black Friday this year is BFD!All things considered, the Black Friday deals aren't that great...Too many shoppers are participating, increasing competition. Retailers have caught on to the fact that shoppers have caught on, using tactics like stocking a limited quantity of super-OMG items and put them at the front of the store to draw people in, and then having so-so deals around the store.If you're off the type to camp out in front of a store overnight in hopes of getting $100 off a TV, you obviously need to get a higher paying job as you value your leisure time too little under your current one.That said, $9.99 is a great price for a Black & Decker 120-Piece Drill Bit Set with Case. Still, if there's something you really like, you're probably better off sleeping in and waiting for some other speculator to put it up on eBay.Ace...

Subliminal Wild Kingdom: A reader at Neatorama reveals the dark Masonic ...
A reader at Neatorama reveals the dark Masonic secret of the Toblerone logo: a hidden bear! If you look closely at the mountain that's on every bar of Toblerone chocolate, you can see a bear standing on his hind legs. It also looks like there's a goldfish cracker near the base of the mountain, but that might just be because we're hungry. [Neatorama]

Nerds: People with a lot of credit cards, such as ...
People with a lot of credit cards, such as those who are regular players of credit card arbitrage, can use baseball card holders to help organize them. [My Money Blog]

Payday Loans: "My company was deliberately targeting minority ...
"My company was deliberately targeting minority people for a continuous loan process that they would never, ever get out of. " - Bill Harrod, Former Payday Loan Manager. [NBC4]

Spinwatch: Southwest (Finally) Apologizes To Mini-Skirted Customer
Southwest Airlines has finally condescended to apologize to the mini-skirted customer that it tried to kick off a flight... Self-confessed "PR lover" and Southwest CEO Greg Kelly said: "From a Company who really loves PR, touche to you Kyla! Some have said we've gone from wearing our famous hot pants to having hot flashes at Southwest, but nothing could be further from the truth. As we both know, this story has great legs, but the true issue here is that you are a valued Customer, and you did not get an adequate apology. Kyla, we could have handled this better, and on behalf of Southwest Airlines, I am truly sorry. We hope you continue to fly Southwest Airlines. Our Company is based on freedom even if our actions may have not appeared that way. It was never our intention to treat you unfairly and again, we apologize."Southwest also took this opportunity to launch something called "Mini-skirt fares." Not kidding. Being serious. Southwest Airlines Issues an Apology and Lowers...

News From The Swamp: Federal Government Boldly Declares: "It Is Impossible To Inspect Our Way To Safety"
Inspections will not keep Americans safe from potentially dangerous foreign imports, according to a Presidential working group representing 12 federal agencies. The working group believes that the sheer number of products arriving at our ports - goods worth $2 trillion, last year - make the development and deployment of an inspection regime impossible. The alternative inspires little confidence.Heath and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt explains:We're recommending the implementation of this strategy in six cross-cutting building blocks. Let me review them for you. The first is, advance a common vision. Let me give you some commentary on that point. There are many different organizations who have specific responsibilities. And in some cases, they have different priorities that need to be melded into one common vision. In other words, rather than just looking at whether the border is secure, we also need to make certain that the products that are crossing them are safe and...

T-Mobile: Your Bill Looks Fraudulent. Pay It Anyway
Reader Mitoko was shocked to find $1,000 worth of charges from an unknown phone number on her latest T-Mobile bill. T-Mobile refused to vacate the charges, even after admitting that the number that somehow latched onto her account was already under investigation for suspicious activity. One thoughtless rep suggested that Mitoko merely lost track of time while racking up the mysterious charges, and offered to bump her up to a more expensive plan. Mitoko writes:I checked my T-Mobile bill this month and saw that I was billed $1,169.84. A lot of the calls and text messages were made from 401 XXX-XXXX, a mysterious phone number attached to my account that I have never seen before.I called T Mobile and spoke with Cindy, who said the number is under investigation but the charges are valid even though the vast majority of it was from a phone number that does not belong to me. Cindy then said she will call me back 2 days from now on Friday and that the new number will be suspended....

Chinese Poison Train: China Appoints Tough Anti-Poison Czar
Meet Wu Yi. The 68-year old Vice Premier, the highest ranking woman in the Communist Party, has been tasked with one mission: toss the Chinese Poison Train back into the rapidly industrializing nation's toy-chest.Her gentle, friendly demeanor can be deceiving: The highest-ranking woman in China's Communist Party hierarchy is Beijing's enforcer of last resort. In recent years, she has cleaned up the country's image after the SARS crisis, overseen the response to the AIDS epidemic, led tough trade negotiations with Washington, and shored up the mainland's shoddy record on intellectual-property rights.And now she's head of a new high-level food, drug, and product safety team. Although she has told some people that she plans to retire as vice-chairman after the Communist Party Congress in October, most expect her to stay on as China's top safety czar. "She's very, very good at getting things done," says James M. Zimmerman, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China. "If...

VoIP: Vonage Destroys Router, Refuses To Issue Refund
I have been a loyal Vonage customer for 3 years. Within the last year (I can't remember when) I purchased a new Linksys WRTP54G router to replace my existing router. This router has built-in Vonage voice ports. What Vonage and Linksys do not tell you when you purchase this router is that Vonage has 100% full access to your router and can do with it what they choose.What they chose to do with mine was update it to the latest version. This version has caused my Vonage service to stop working but left my Internet working just fine. I generally don't use my Vonage line to send calls I mainly receive and have all calls forwarded to my cell phone so I left it sitting there for a few weeks. I finally decided to call Vonage technical support for help. I work for a fairly technical company but do not like to flaunt my knowledge because I have been on the other side of the phone and know you have to cover the basics. I let them do whatever they need to do to fix the issue. It was pretty...

Safety: Toy Prices To Rise 10%
Toys will be 10% more expensive next year thanks the toy industry's latest attempts to protect American children from defective merchandise. Toy makers will use the hike to offset the cost of retaining independent labs to both test for defective and dangerous toys, and provide a measure of PR security.Consumers could also see higher prices on other Chinese imports such as fish and children's apparel, but the big price gains in toys could be more jolting.Shoppers have become accustomed to cheap playthings from China because Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other discounters have waged cost-cutting campaigns. Critics say real safeguards were sacrificed to keep prices low, however.Prices won't rise until next year because most of the toys destined for this year's holiday season have already been manufactured and shipped.Higher prices are always undesirable, but this hike reflects a renewed awareness of the dangers that come with relying on uncertain foreign supply chains; hopefully it...

Above And Beyond: Intermatic Replaces Your Functioning Timer Free Of Charge, As A Precautionary Measure
Reader Ryan installed an Intermatic Wall Switch Timer to control the lights on his porch, but was forced to reset the unit when the lights began to flash inexplicably. Ryan called Intermatic to make sure the problem wasn't indicative of a larger issue that could, say, burn down his house. He was blindsided by Intermatic's response.A few months ago I installed a timer on the front porch light at my new home. After looking through many models I found at Home Depot I finally settled on the Intermatic Digital 7-Day Wall Switch Timer SS7C. It worked perfectly for several months. Then, one day, my wife came home to find the front porch light flashing on and off. After pulling the battery and reseting the unit it seemed to work just fine.When it comes to electricity I'm a careful person. I didn't want some kind of short occurring and then come home to a smoldering pile of ash where my house used to be. So, I decided to go on the Intermatic website to see if there was some FAQ about...

Shrinkage: CellHut Can't Understand That You Didn't Order The iPhone, Thieves Did
Last Friday, I arrived home from work to discover a mysterious package waiting for me. Upon opening it, I found... trash bags. Lots of them. Puzzled, I rifled through the box and discovered, to my amazement, that they had been used as packing material for a brand new 4 Gb Apple iPhone!At first I assumed that it was a gift from a particularly generous friend. As much as I would love to own an iPhone, I am not generally an early adopter and had no immediate plans to buy one.Further exploration of the box revealed an invoice from a company I had never heard of called Cellhut.com. To my shock, the phone had been charged to my Chase Visa card to the sum of $663!The credit card was one I rarely used, usually only for places that didn't accept American Express. I had used it exactly twice at restaurants the previous weekend while on vacation in Montauk, Long Island. Someone had obviously gotten hold of my credit card number.I immediately called Chase's Credit Card department. They...

How To: Make Credit Card Companies Your Bitch
Blueprint for Financial Prosperity reminds us that savvy consumers can take advantage of credit card companies hellbent on turning a profit. Most credit card companies will go to great lengths to keep their customers happily spending away. Use these tips to make them cater to your every financial desire:Ask: Most companies will waive or reduce fees upon request.Consolidate Credit Lines: If you have several cards with one provider, boost your credit score by asking to consolidate your charges and credit limits onto one or two cards.Boost Your Credit Limit: Creditors will usually increase the credit limit of loyal customers with good credit without harming their credit score by requesting a credit report. Wait at least a year before making the request.Escape Foreign Transaction Fees: If you are planning a hop across the pond, ditch your Visa and Mastercard in favor of Discover or Capitol One. Neither levies a foreign transaction fee of 1% or more.Switch Rewards Programs: Stuck...

Monitoring: Are Bundled Packages A Threat To Privacy?
The L.A. Times read the privacy policies of several bundled service providers and found that they are feverishly monitoring their subscriber's activities. With the ability to monitor internet, phone, and television preferences, bundled service providers are able to track nearly every aspect of their subscriber's digital lives. While Google retains personally identifiable for less than two years, some ISPs like Time Warner cling to your data for an astounding fifteen years in order to "comply with tax and accounting requirements." It gets worse.There are red flags to be found in each telecom provider's privacy policy. A close reading of Time Warner's policy reveals:Along with knowing juicy details of your calling and viewing habits -- those 900 numbers, say, or that subscription to the Playboy Channel -- the company keeps track of "Internet addresses you contact and the duration of your visits to such addresses."Time Warner not only compiles "information about how often and how...

Complaints: Sears Left Me Without A Refrigerator For 18 Days
Sears needlessly left William and his insulin-dependent wife and daughter without a working refrigerator for eighteen days. For three weeks, William chilled his food and life-saving medication with bags of ice, waiting for Sears to send a part that their intolerably rude repairman insisted would take at least ten business days to deliver. When a second repair team arrived to install the part, they found leaky copper tubing - a problem the first repairman could have easily fixed.William sent a letter to Aylwin Lewis, CEO of Sears:Dear Mr. Lewis,In the summer of 2003 I purchased a Kenmore Refrigerator from the Sears store in Brooklyn, New York. Since that time this refrigerator has needed to be repaired three times the last time being August 23, 2007. I have a service contract with Sears. I called to have the refrigerator repaired and on August 28th a repairman came to my apartment. After examining the refrigerator he determined the part that was needed had to be ordered....

Principles: New Hampshire Jails 68-Year-Old Man For Paying Toll With Tokens
Meet Thomas Jensen. The state that boasts "Live Free Or Die" jailed him for three days for trying to pay a fifty-cent toll with two tokens. Jensen believes the tokens represent a contract with New Hampshire that was illegally violated last January when the state began exclusively using E-Z Pass. A toll worker refused to accept the tokens and directed Jensen to a state tropper, who issued a citation for theft of services. A judge gave Jensen three choices: pay a $150 fine, perform community service, or spend three days in jail. Jensen chose jail.Jensen never told his wife he was in jail. Beverly Jensen said she only found out when asked by a television news reporter.After being set free Thursday, Jensen said he's considering a lawsuit. He said the state should just accept tokens until they're all used up.''I just get offended by people trying to do me wrong,'' he said. ''They stole the value of these tokens from me.''Braintree man jailed over 50 [The Patriot Ledger]

Above And Beyond: Netflix Restores Confidence, Bank Account
Reader Josh sent us an account of Netflix's pro-consumer, 'just-say-yes' customer service that we have lauded in the past. Josh had asked to suspend his account until September 18, but Netflix unexpectedly reactivated his account on September 11, sending his bank account into overdraft. Josh called customer service to ask for an explanation and a refund. He writes:In August I put my Netflix account on hold, my wife was starting back to school and things were *very* tight for that month. I arranged for the subscription to resume on September 18th, 3 days after payday, so that I could cover the $18.35 fee.With the dollar$ in short supply I was carefully managing my savings account to keep it in the black. Well, imagine my surprise on September 11th when I discovered my account was overdrawn by $11.45. How could that have happened?Oh I see ...And then to add to my woes, the bank had to charge me a $22 insufficient funds fee ...So I called up Netflix and explained the situation....

Fast Food: Inside Dunkin's Virtually Trans-Fat Free Donut
It's been a long road but Dunkin Donuts is going virtually trans-fat free by next month. What took so long? Well, matching the yummy-but-deadly taste of trans-fat frying oil with gross-but-healthier oils is a time consuming process, according to the Boston Globe:Doughnuts cooked with cottonseed oil had a bad aftertaste. The 100 percent palm oil bled right through the pastry, leaving an oily mess on Dunkin's signature pink tray paper. Anyone daring enough to try one discovered a dry, yet waxy dough with a distinct flavor of palm. Nearby employees who were developing other products in the research lab would curse at them, LeClair recalled, yelling "Are you crazy?" after the team left out batches of the mystery doughnuts for them to try. Eventually they found the right blend and secretly tested them at certain stores to see if anyone noticed. They didn't. Dunkin's research and development manager, Rick Golden, one of the few people in the know, slept with his cellphone by his pillow...

Privacy: TD Ameritrade Knew About Data Breach Since May
TD Ameritrade recently disclosed a security breach that revealed its customers email and home addresses as well as information about their account activity. Now it seems that the company knew about the data breach back in May—because its customers sued to stop it. From the AP:Ameritrade has known about the problem at least since late May when two of its customers sued the brokerage in federal court because they were receiving unwanted e-mail ads on accounts used only for Ameritrade.The data on Ameritrade's servers may have been vulnerable for an extended period of time dating back at least to last October, according to the lawsuit filed by lawyer Scott A. Kamber. The company said Friday the problem had recently been fixed.The plaintiffs in the lawsuit had wanted the court to order Ameritrade to tell its customers about the data problem, but Ameritrade issued its release before a hearing could be held. The plaintiffs are also seeking damages and are trying to qualify...

Freebies: Tiny USB Flash Drive In Entertainment Weekly
CBS and Cadillac are running a fancy-schmancy new ad campaign in the September 21st issue of "Entertainment Weekly" (the one with Britney on the cover) that includes a free "world's smallest" 128MB flash drive. It doesn't appear to be in the issues for sale on stands, so if you know anyone who subscribes, ask them for their copy. If you're a subscriber, don't overlook the easy-to-miss 2-page spread, which has a tiny white plastic card attached to the page. At only 128MB drive, it's not going to win any capacity awards, but you can erase it and then have a free flash drive small enough to mail in a standard envelope if you like. Or swallow. Or insert into a custom case that you build yourself from hot glue and glitter. In the past, we've found from talking to people in other parts of the country that these multimedia campaigns don't always cover an entire subscription base—so if it doesn't show up in your mailbox, don't blame us. However, CBS will also be distributing...

Personal Finance: Emergency Funds Good For More Than Just When You Lose Your Job
Besides losing your job, another argument for building an emergency fund, an on-hand reserve of several months pay, is "budget breakdown."Recently we somehow messed up our personal finance spreadsheet and the formula for one month extended to the next, including the next month's pay.. Looking only at the balances, we did an electronic transfer to pay down the large credit card bill from upgrading our computer setup...After fixing the formula, we realized that we would be bouncing a few checks unless we acted fast. Irresponsibly, we recently drained our emergency fund to buy stock, so we were forced to take a credit card cash advance, which, for us, is like admitting to hiring a a prostitute, to cover the short-term liquidity crisis.So the lesson here is twofold. Emergency funds aren't piggybanks. Hence the name "emergency." Is the desire to buy more stock an "emergency?" No. So don't touch it. And even the best budgeting system can break down, so never let it replace your brain...

New And Interesting Laws: Schwarzenegger SIgns Bill Banning Minors From Using Cellphones While Driving
Sorry, kids. It's now illegal for you to talk on your cellphones while driving in California. Why? Because you're bad at it, and let's face it... you're not that good at driving in the first place. Sadly for you, it's much easier to slap a ban on you (rather than your parents) because you don't vote and you have limited rights. Ha, ha, ha.Teens cited under SB33, authored by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, face a fine of $20 for a first offense and $50 each time after that. Officials said traffic officers will not be allowed to pull drivers over simply because of a cell phone infraction, and violations will not count as part of the traffic safety point system. Emergency calls will be exempt.Fifteen other states and the District of Columbia have similar restrictions on teenage drivers.Bay Area teenagers interviewed Thursday said they aren't sure the new regulations are fair."That's insane - it's madness," said Cameron Young of San Francisco, who, at 13, has a few years before...

Scams: "Easy-To-Follow" Diet Requires Injections, Colonics, And More
Let's say you bought a diet book that was advertised to provide an easy-to-follow diet that you can do at home and that allows you to eat whatever you want—and then, once you buy the book, you find out that it "describes a complex, grueling plan that requires severe dieting, daily injections of a prescription drug that consumers cannot easily get, and lifelong dietary restrictions." The FTC apparently thinks that's misleading, and they're going after Kevin Trudeau (yet again) for it.The FTC has sued Trudeau in 1998 and 2003 for making false claims about his products. In 2004, Trudeau settled with the FTC over similar charges that he misrepresented a calcium-based "cancer curing" product along with other quack cures and treatments. As part of the settlement, he "was banned from using infomercials to sell any product, service, or program," according to Consumer Affairs. There was an exception for books, though, provided he didn't misrepresent the contents of them. Compare...

Your Money: Investors Don't Like Mutual Funds Anymore?
USAToday is reporting that US stock funds, once the darling of investors, aren't drawing dollars like they used too.Why not? One theory is that investors were burned when the S&P 500 lost 45% from 2000-02 and are stashing their money elsewhere. Another is that investors remember the mutual fund trading scandal of 2003. Still another theory says that consumers just have less to invest. Real income is down and consumer spending is up. Which is it? We don't know. Probably all three. Many investors snub actively managed mutual funds [USAToday](Photo:FastFords)

Personal Finance: Emergency Funds Good For More Than Just Job Loss
Besides losing your job, another argument for building an emergency fund, an on-hand reserve of several months pay, is "budget breakdown."Recently we somehow messed up our personal finance spreadsheet and the formula for one month extended to the next, including the next month's pay.. Looking only at the balances, we did an electronic transfer to pay down the large credit card bill from upgrading our computer setup...After fixing the formula, we realized that we would be bouncing a few checks unless we acted fast. Irresponsibly, we recently drained our emergency fund to buy stock, so we were forced to take a credit card cash advance (shudder, that's like admitting to hiring a prostitute) to cover the short-term liquidity crisis.So the lesson here is twofold. Emergency funds aren't piggybanks. Hence the name "emergency." Is the desire to buy more stock an "emergency?" No. So don't touch it. And even the best budgeting system can break down, so never let it replace your brain...

Freebies: Free Tiny USB Flash Drive In Entertainment Weekly
CBS and Cadillac are running a fancy-schmancy new ad campaign in the September 21st issue of "Entertainment Weekly" (the one with Britney on the cover) that includes a free "world's smallest" 128MB flash drive. It doesn't appear to be in the issues for sale on stands, so if you know anyone who subscribes, ask them for their copy. If you're a subscriber, don't overlook the easy-to-miss 2-page spread, which has a tiny white plastic card attached to the page. At only 128MB drive, it's not going to win any capacity awards, but you can erase it and then have a free flash drive small enough to mail in a standard envelope if you like. Or swallow. Or insert into a custom case that you build yourself from hot glue and glitter. In the past, we've found from talking to people in other parts of the country that these multimedia campaigns don't always cover an entire subscription base—so if it doesn't show up in your mailbox, don't blame us. However, CBS will also be distributing...

News From The Swamp: Industries To Government: Please Regulate Us
The NYT reports that consumer advocates have some new and unlikely allies in their push for stronger safety and product standards: the industrials themselves. Now, let's see, why would they wanna do that?To have a seat at the bargaining table when the national debate unfolds.By making voluntary standards mandatory, they can shut out cheaper Chinese importers who translate voluntary as "don't have to"They spontaneously developed consciencesHead more limiting legislation off at the passCreate federal standards weaker than some state standardsGet to include clauses blocking consumer lawsuitsCircle the false statement above.In Turnaround, Industries Seek U.S. Regulations [NYT](Photo: Getty)

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