Tuesday 16 November 2010

personal finance blog





Kiplinger's picked Consumerist.com as "Best Consumer Blog" for their annual "Best List" featured in the December 2010 issue. Flip to the top of page 80 and you'll see they say we are the "always useful, frequently fun and deliciously snarky place to get the latest on a wide array of consumer issues." Awww, shucks.





Best of Everything 2010: Best Personal-Finance Resources







Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:

DEMOCRATS MORE LIKELY TO PERSONALLY ATTACK OPPONENTS IN ADVERTISEMENTS: According to a recent report by the Wesleyan Media Project, in 2010, �pro-Democratic ads focused on the personal characteristics of Republican candidates in 21 percent of their attack ads� compared to 11 percent of pro-Republican ads. This is up from the 12 percent of Democratic attack ads in 2008 that were focused on personal characteristics. 

The report cautions against claims that this election is unusually negative stating the proportion of negative to positive ads is comparable to 2008. However, the big difference is that among negative ads there is an increase among personal attack ads. Overall, that rate has gone up from 14 percent in 2008 to 20 percent in 2010. The report also mentions that attack ads �are far more likely than other ads to be sponsored by parties and/or interest groups� rather than by candidates themselves.

When making independent expenditures with overt messages in favor or opposition to federal candidates, political groups must tell the Federal Election Commission whether their expenditure is to �support� a candidate or �oppose� a candidate. A Center for Responsive Politics analysis of outside groups� expenditures �opposing� candidates compared to ads �supporting� candidates since October 1st shows �opposing ads� totaling $218 million and supporting ads totaling $42 million. These expenditures include TV ads, radio ads, web ads, fliers, mailings, canvassers, phone banks and other communications:

REPUBLICAN RANKING MEMBERS ARE THE COOL KIDS ON THE BLOCK AGAIN:
Ranking members of House committees are becoming the popular kids. If
the Republicans take over majority in the House, committee ranking
members like Rep. David Camp (R-Mich.) will be the new chairmen. As the
New York Times reported Tuesday, Republicans in positions to become
chairmen of House committees are seeing an influx of cash and popularity
at fundraisers. Camp, the current ranking member of the tax-writing
House Ways and Means Committee is receiving more contributions as
lobbyists plan for the future.



Jennifer Bell, a former Senate Finance Committee aide and a current
health care lobbyist told the New York Times, �You don�t wait until Nov.
3 and say, �What is the plan?� Obviously, it is the majority that sets
the agenda.�



As OpenSecrets Blog reported yesterday, many industries have been
planning ahead and have started to shift contributions to Republicans.
This phenomenon is not unique to this election as contributions have
historically favored the majority party and have fluctuated accordingly.



Below is a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of contributions to
Camp that shows a sharp increase in contributions during the last three
months - through September 30th. The second chart shows the total contributions to all candidates
during the same period for a linear comparison:




U.S. FALLS OUT OF THE TOP 20 LEAST CORRUPT NATIONS LIST: Transparency International released their annual Corruption Perceptions Index on Tuesday revealing that the United States has dropped from the 19th least corrupt nation in 2009 to 22nd place this year. According to Reuters, Nancy Boswell, the President of TI in the United States stated that the United States has lost integrity and public faith about ethics in America due in part to the lending practices in the subprime crisis, �Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme and rows over political funding.�

On the bright side, the United States is perceived to be just less corrupt than Uruguay, France, Estonia and Slovenia.

Have a news tip or link to pass along? We want to hear from you! E-mail us at press@crp.org.

eric seiger

Scripting <b>News</b>: Design challenge: River of <b>News</b> in HTML

The design challenge is this. GIven the latest HTML techniques, do a mockup of a great River of News. If it's really something new, I'll put the software behind it and make it live. Permanent link to this item in the archive. ...

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Fox <b>News</b> Contributors Mock <b>...</b>

On the video, Miller, Trotter, Scott, Newsday columnist Ellis Henican and Fox News contributor James Pinkerton are seen preparing to go on the air when Miller says, "Oh, I do have something to say about Palin. I even prepared it. ...

Breaking <b>News</b>: Humanities in Decline! Film at 11. — Crooked Timber

But I just don't know of any realm of human endeavor in which a precipitous decline from 1967 to 1987, followed by a couple of decades of stability, counts as breaking news. It's the equivalent of saying “sales of Sgt. Pepper posters ...


eric seiger




Kiplinger's picked Consumerist.com as "Best Consumer Blog" for their annual "Best List" featured in the December 2010 issue. Flip to the top of page 80 and you'll see they say we are the "always useful, frequently fun and deliciously snarky place to get the latest on a wide array of consumer issues." Awww, shucks.





Best of Everything 2010: Best Personal-Finance Resources







Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:

DEMOCRATS MORE LIKELY TO PERSONALLY ATTACK OPPONENTS IN ADVERTISEMENTS: According to a recent report by the Wesleyan Media Project, in 2010, �pro-Democratic ads focused on the personal characteristics of Republican candidates in 21 percent of their attack ads� compared to 11 percent of pro-Republican ads. This is up from the 12 percent of Democratic attack ads in 2008 that were focused on personal characteristics. 

The report cautions against claims that this election is unusually negative stating the proportion of negative to positive ads is comparable to 2008. However, the big difference is that among negative ads there is an increase among personal attack ads. Overall, that rate has gone up from 14 percent in 2008 to 20 percent in 2010. The report also mentions that attack ads �are far more likely than other ads to be sponsored by parties and/or interest groups� rather than by candidates themselves.

When making independent expenditures with overt messages in favor or opposition to federal candidates, political groups must tell the Federal Election Commission whether their expenditure is to �support� a candidate or �oppose� a candidate. A Center for Responsive Politics analysis of outside groups� expenditures �opposing� candidates compared to ads �supporting� candidates since October 1st shows �opposing ads� totaling $218 million and supporting ads totaling $42 million. These expenditures include TV ads, radio ads, web ads, fliers, mailings, canvassers, phone banks and other communications:

REPUBLICAN RANKING MEMBERS ARE THE COOL KIDS ON THE BLOCK AGAIN:
Ranking members of House committees are becoming the popular kids. If
the Republicans take over majority in the House, committee ranking
members like Rep. David Camp (R-Mich.) will be the new chairmen. As the
New York Times reported Tuesday, Republicans in positions to become
chairmen of House committees are seeing an influx of cash and popularity
at fundraisers. Camp, the current ranking member of the tax-writing
House Ways and Means Committee is receiving more contributions as
lobbyists plan for the future.



Jennifer Bell, a former Senate Finance Committee aide and a current
health care lobbyist told the New York Times, �You don�t wait until Nov.
3 and say, �What is the plan?� Obviously, it is the majority that sets
the agenda.�



As OpenSecrets Blog reported yesterday, many industries have been
planning ahead and have started to shift contributions to Republicans.
This phenomenon is not unique to this election as contributions have
historically favored the majority party and have fluctuated accordingly.



Below is a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of contributions to
Camp that shows a sharp increase in contributions during the last three
months - through September 30th. The second chart shows the total contributions to all candidates
during the same period for a linear comparison:




U.S. FALLS OUT OF THE TOP 20 LEAST CORRUPT NATIONS LIST: Transparency International released their annual Corruption Perceptions Index on Tuesday revealing that the United States has dropped from the 19th least corrupt nation in 2009 to 22nd place this year. According to Reuters, Nancy Boswell, the President of TI in the United States stated that the United States has lost integrity and public faith about ethics in America due in part to the lending practices in the subprime crisis, �Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme and rows over political funding.�

On the bright side, the United States is perceived to be just less corrupt than Uruguay, France, Estonia and Slovenia.

Have a news tip or link to pass along? We want to hear from you! E-mail us at press@crp.org.

eric seiger

Scripting <b>News</b>: Design challenge: River of <b>News</b> in HTML

The design challenge is this. GIven the latest HTML techniques, do a mockup of a great River of News. If it's really something new, I'll put the software behind it and make it live. Permanent link to this item in the archive. ...

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Fox <b>News</b> Contributors Mock <b>...</b>

On the video, Miller, Trotter, Scott, Newsday columnist Ellis Henican and Fox News contributor James Pinkerton are seen preparing to go on the air when Miller says, "Oh, I do have something to say about Palin. I even prepared it. ...

Breaking <b>News</b>: Humanities in Decline! Film at 11. — Crooked Timber

But I just don't know of any realm of human endeavor in which a precipitous decline from 1967 to 1987, followed by a couple of decades of stability, counts as breaking news. It's the equivalent of saying “sales of Sgt. Pepper posters ...


eric seiger

eric seiger

Look What This Canadian Black Squirrel Is Doing - Part 3 by adawnjournal


eric seiger

Scripting <b>News</b>: Design challenge: River of <b>News</b> in HTML

The design challenge is this. GIven the latest HTML techniques, do a mockup of a great River of News. If it's really something new, I'll put the software behind it and make it live. Permanent link to this item in the archive. ...

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Fox <b>News</b> Contributors Mock <b>...</b>

On the video, Miller, Trotter, Scott, Newsday columnist Ellis Henican and Fox News contributor James Pinkerton are seen preparing to go on the air when Miller says, "Oh, I do have something to say about Palin. I even prepared it. ...

Breaking <b>News</b>: Humanities in Decline! Film at 11. — Crooked Timber

But I just don't know of any realm of human endeavor in which a precipitous decline from 1967 to 1987, followed by a couple of decades of stability, counts as breaking news. It's the equivalent of saying “sales of Sgt. Pepper posters ...


eric seiger




Kiplinger's picked Consumerist.com as "Best Consumer Blog" for their annual "Best List" featured in the December 2010 issue. Flip to the top of page 80 and you'll see they say we are the "always useful, frequently fun and deliciously snarky place to get the latest on a wide array of consumer issues." Awww, shucks.





Best of Everything 2010: Best Personal-Finance Resources







Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:

DEMOCRATS MORE LIKELY TO PERSONALLY ATTACK OPPONENTS IN ADVERTISEMENTS: According to a recent report by the Wesleyan Media Project, in 2010, �pro-Democratic ads focused on the personal characteristics of Republican candidates in 21 percent of their attack ads� compared to 11 percent of pro-Republican ads. This is up from the 12 percent of Democratic attack ads in 2008 that were focused on personal characteristics. 

The report cautions against claims that this election is unusually negative stating the proportion of negative to positive ads is comparable to 2008. However, the big difference is that among negative ads there is an increase among personal attack ads. Overall, that rate has gone up from 14 percent in 2008 to 20 percent in 2010. The report also mentions that attack ads �are far more likely than other ads to be sponsored by parties and/or interest groups� rather than by candidates themselves.

When making independent expenditures with overt messages in favor or opposition to federal candidates, political groups must tell the Federal Election Commission whether their expenditure is to �support� a candidate or �oppose� a candidate. A Center for Responsive Politics analysis of outside groups� expenditures �opposing� candidates compared to ads �supporting� candidates since October 1st shows �opposing ads� totaling $218 million and supporting ads totaling $42 million. These expenditures include TV ads, radio ads, web ads, fliers, mailings, canvassers, phone banks and other communications:

REPUBLICAN RANKING MEMBERS ARE THE COOL KIDS ON THE BLOCK AGAIN:
Ranking members of House committees are becoming the popular kids. If
the Republicans take over majority in the House, committee ranking
members like Rep. David Camp (R-Mich.) will be the new chairmen. As the
New York Times reported Tuesday, Republicans in positions to become
chairmen of House committees are seeing an influx of cash and popularity
at fundraisers. Camp, the current ranking member of the tax-writing
House Ways and Means Committee is receiving more contributions as
lobbyists plan for the future.



Jennifer Bell, a former Senate Finance Committee aide and a current
health care lobbyist told the New York Times, �You don�t wait until Nov.
3 and say, �What is the plan?� Obviously, it is the majority that sets
the agenda.�



As OpenSecrets Blog reported yesterday, many industries have been
planning ahead and have started to shift contributions to Republicans.
This phenomenon is not unique to this election as contributions have
historically favored the majority party and have fluctuated accordingly.



Below is a Center for Responsive Politics analysis of contributions to
Camp that shows a sharp increase in contributions during the last three
months - through September 30th. The second chart shows the total contributions to all candidates
during the same period for a linear comparison:




U.S. FALLS OUT OF THE TOP 20 LEAST CORRUPT NATIONS LIST: Transparency International released their annual Corruption Perceptions Index on Tuesday revealing that the United States has dropped from the 19th least corrupt nation in 2009 to 22nd place this year. According to Reuters, Nancy Boswell, the President of TI in the United States stated that the United States has lost integrity and public faith about ethics in America due in part to the lending practices in the subprime crisis, �Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme and rows over political funding.�

On the bright side, the United States is perceived to be just less corrupt than Uruguay, France, Estonia and Slovenia.

Have a news tip or link to pass along? We want to hear from you! E-mail us at press@crp.org.

eric seiger

Look What This Canadian Black Squirrel Is Doing - Part 3 by adawnjournal


eric seiger

Scripting <b>News</b>: Design challenge: River of <b>News</b> in HTML

The design challenge is this. GIven the latest HTML techniques, do a mockup of a great River of News. If it's really something new, I'll put the software behind it and make it live. Permanent link to this item in the archive. ...

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Fox <b>News</b> Contributors Mock <b>...</b>

On the video, Miller, Trotter, Scott, Newsday columnist Ellis Henican and Fox News contributor James Pinkerton are seen preparing to go on the air when Miller says, "Oh, I do have something to say about Palin. I even prepared it. ...

Breaking <b>News</b>: Humanities in Decline! Film at 11. — Crooked Timber

But I just don't know of any realm of human endeavor in which a precipitous decline from 1967 to 1987, followed by a couple of decades of stability, counts as breaking news. It's the equivalent of saying “sales of Sgt. Pepper posters ...


eric seiger

Look What This Canadian Black Squirrel Is Doing - Part 3 by adawnjournal


eric seiger

Scripting <b>News</b>: Design challenge: River of <b>News</b> in HTML

The design challenge is this. GIven the latest HTML techniques, do a mockup of a great River of News. If it's really something new, I'll put the software behind it and make it live. Permanent link to this item in the archive. ...

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Fox <b>News</b> Contributors Mock <b>...</b>

On the video, Miller, Trotter, Scott, Newsday columnist Ellis Henican and Fox News contributor James Pinkerton are seen preparing to go on the air when Miller says, "Oh, I do have something to say about Palin. I even prepared it. ...

Breaking <b>News</b>: Humanities in Decline! Film at 11. — Crooked Timber

But I just don't know of any realm of human endeavor in which a precipitous decline from 1967 to 1987, followed by a couple of decades of stability, counts as breaking news. It's the equivalent of saying “sales of Sgt. Pepper posters ...


eric seiger

Scripting <b>News</b>: Design challenge: River of <b>News</b> in HTML

The design challenge is this. GIven the latest HTML techniques, do a mockup of a great River of News. If it's really something new, I'll put the software behind it and make it live. Permanent link to this item in the archive. ...

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Fox <b>News</b> Contributors Mock <b>...</b>

On the video, Miller, Trotter, Scott, Newsday columnist Ellis Henican and Fox News contributor James Pinkerton are seen preparing to go on the air when Miller says, "Oh, I do have something to say about Palin. I even prepared it. ...

Breaking <b>News</b>: Humanities in Decline! Film at 11. — Crooked Timber

But I just don't know of any realm of human endeavor in which a precipitous decline from 1967 to 1987, followed by a couple of decades of stability, counts as breaking news. It's the equivalent of saying “sales of Sgt. Pepper posters ...


eric seiger

Scripting <b>News</b>: Design challenge: River of <b>News</b> in HTML

The design challenge is this. GIven the latest HTML techniques, do a mockup of a great River of News. If it's really something new, I'll put the software behind it and make it live. Permanent link to this item in the archive. ...

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Fox <b>News</b> Contributors Mock <b>...</b>

On the video, Miller, Trotter, Scott, Newsday columnist Ellis Henican and Fox News contributor James Pinkerton are seen preparing to go on the air when Miller says, "Oh, I do have something to say about Palin. I even prepared it. ...

Breaking <b>News</b>: Humanities in Decline! Film at 11. — Crooked Timber

But I just don't know of any realm of human endeavor in which a precipitous decline from 1967 to 1987, followed by a couple of decades of stability, counts as breaking news. It's the equivalent of saying “sales of Sgt. Pepper posters ...


eric seiger eric seiger
eric seiger

Look What This Canadian Black Squirrel Is Doing - Part 3 by adawnjournal


eric seiger
eric seiger

Scripting <b>News</b>: Design challenge: River of <b>News</b> in HTML

The design challenge is this. GIven the latest HTML techniques, do a mockup of a great River of News. If it's really something new, I'll put the software behind it and make it live. Permanent link to this item in the archive. ...

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Fox <b>News</b> Contributors Mock <b>...</b>

On the video, Miller, Trotter, Scott, Newsday columnist Ellis Henican and Fox News contributor James Pinkerton are seen preparing to go on the air when Miller says, "Oh, I do have something to say about Palin. I even prepared it. ...

Breaking <b>News</b>: Humanities in Decline! Film at 11. — Crooked Timber

But I just don't know of any realm of human endeavor in which a precipitous decline from 1967 to 1987, followed by a couple of decades of stability, counts as breaking news. It's the equivalent of saying “sales of Sgt. Pepper posters ...



eric seiger

Scripting <b>News</b>: Design challenge: River of <b>News</b> in HTML

The design challenge is this. GIven the latest HTML techniques, do a mockup of a great River of News. If it's really something new, I'll put the software behind it and make it live. Permanent link to this item in the archive. ...

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Fox <b>News</b> Contributors Mock <b>...</b>

On the video, Miller, Trotter, Scott, Newsday columnist Ellis Henican and Fox News contributor James Pinkerton are seen preparing to go on the air when Miller says, "Oh, I do have something to say about Palin. I even prepared it. ...

Breaking <b>News</b>: Humanities in Decline! Film at 11. — Crooked Timber

But I just don't know of any realm of human endeavor in which a precipitous decline from 1967 to 1987, followed by a couple of decades of stability, counts as breaking news. It's the equivalent of saying “sales of Sgt. Pepper posters ...


eric seiger

Scripting <b>News</b>: Design challenge: River of <b>News</b> in HTML

The design challenge is this. GIven the latest HTML techniques, do a mockup of a great River of News. If it's really something new, I'll put the software behind it and make it live. Permanent link to this item in the archive. ...

The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Fox <b>News</b> Contributors Mock <b>...</b>

On the video, Miller, Trotter, Scott, Newsday columnist Ellis Henican and Fox News contributor James Pinkerton are seen preparing to go on the air when Miller says, "Oh, I do have something to say about Palin. I even prepared it. ...

Breaking <b>News</b>: Humanities in Decline! Film at 11. — Crooked Timber

But I just don't know of any realm of human endeavor in which a precipitous decline from 1967 to 1987, followed by a couple of decades of stability, counts as breaking news. It's the equivalent of saying “sales of Sgt. Pepper posters ...


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