| Credit card industry tries to hook young people
All major banking institutions pay big money to colleges and universities for on-campus recruiting rights, offering students low initial interest rates and/or other sweetheart deals if they accept a credit card. The rest of us get solicitations through our phone or the mails.Seductive sales campaigns focus on high school graduates and for all kinds of items that TV, movies or society has told them they want, need, should have because they deserve it and others have, so why don't they? Car dealers offer "one-time sales events" to first-time wage earners, high-end electronic stores give 90-day-same-as-cash deals and guarantee that no one will be turned down, furniture showrooms offer newlyweds "no payments 'til next year," cell phones, Internet providers, cable companies, satellite dish outfits all make it sound as if you can't have a decent life without their help.All this has given birth to an additional parasite - the debt-consolidation, paycheck-cashing, payday-loan, instant-refinancing-of-your-car (and you get to keep your car - 'til they come to take it away) industry.Public schools teach kids how to drive, play sports, fit a condom, take birth control pills, find an abortionist or fill out a job application at McDonald's.
A WEB Q&A WITH BIN LADEN'S NO. 2
And lastly, it appears that within the cyber-jihadist community, there is a certain expectation that spectacular or at least symbolic terrorist attacks should take place. Some critical questions have also been asked -- in most cases, ones about the legitimacy of killing innocent people. It's just another indication of the theory that al-Qaida risks losing supporters if it becomes to brutal or bloodthirsty. What you won't find in a quick scan of the questions are any from Arab, Western or any other journalists. Apparently they don't hold much faith in al-Zawahari giving any honest answers. Still, it will be interesting to see how supporters respond to his Q-and-A. .
Sullivan's proposal would offer a safe ride home
Ashanti Hamilton is seeing his name associated with negative headlines, especially in light of a Journal Sentinel report rehashing previous personal troubles and that the first-term alderman is facing foreclosure on one of his homes. The week started with Hamilton's opponent, C. Orlando Owens, getting police to issue a disorderly conduct ticket to the alderman. Disorderly conduct tickets aren't usually the stuff intrepid police beat reporters pick up on in a normal day. And Hamilton wasn't even arrested. Owens has behind-the-scenes backing of none other than Jerell Jones, Milwaukee's minority media mogul and the mastermind behind the Gary George recall. Jones was also one of the key forces supporting Ald. Michael McGee Jr. until his self-inflicted demise. A Journal Sentinel report Thursday highlighted Hamilton's foreclosure, but knowing how the paper does business, it certainly didn't dig up the story on its own and was likely fed the info by Hamilton's opponents.
Obelisk credit union teller to plead guilty to embezzling $7 million
For almost four years, Patricia Helen Sherman hid stacks of $100 bills in her pockets and carried them out of the Obelisk Federal Credit Union in New Albany, Ind., where she worked as head teller, federal investigators say. Sherman, 50, of Louisville, eventually took $7 million -- an average of $152,454 a month -- and gambled most of it away at Ohio River casinos, authorities said when they charged her with embezzlement in U.S. District Court last fall. .
LOOSE ENDS: Can the Girls Scouts rescue Jon Corzine?
What Governor Jon Corzine needs these days is a box of Girl Scout cookies. The value of the cookies for him and other political leaders lies not in the contents (although a few Thin Mints might provide the sugar rush for a quick mood elevation), but rather in the sales technique. The sought-after ingredient is the sweet and enthusiastic manner of the Girl Scout cookie salespersons, who have perfected the art of selling. The Governor’s folksy blue vest is getting him nowhere with asset monetization. He needs to take his clues from the girls in green, who this year are expected to sell more than 200 million boxes of cookies. As illustrated year after year after year, they work their magic on me and millions of others who just can’t say NO to their straightforward, chirpy " How would you like to buy a box of Girl Scout cookies?" The irresistible sales pitch became particularly noticeable to me during the current cookie sale campaign, which began in mid- January. Last Saturday morning, as I strolled from my house to the Palmer Square kiosk, I passed three Girl Scout cookie stations.
24-state battle for votes, delegates and momentum
He has achieved so much not because of his last name, or his skin color. Last night he was forced renounce and reject Farrakhan's statements, not his endorsement. Farrakhan is a very chaotic personality against Jews. However, perhaps if there can be dialogs over difference perhaps we start talking about solutions. Mr. Obama is a face of hard work and determination. He also is a president that world can respect. We finally have an option for president who has been around the world to destroy it, or be a ornament for her husband. Mr. Obama is a candidate that the world could be proud of. .
SFGate: Politics Blog
Clinton said she regrets her Iraq war vote, and would not have made it in retrospect had she known what Bush would do with his authority. It's the most honest and direct explanation we've heard. About a year or so too late. Clinton cites her experience on "both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue." Obama says his big regret is not speaking out about political intervention in the Terry Shiavo case. He name drops his experience as a constitutional lawyer, saying he knew better and should have spoken up. 10:29: Obama borrows from Clinton in his summation, declaring himself "proud" of campaigning with her. "There is a vanity aspect and and ambition aspect to politics," he concedes. It is an unnecesary and unwise point to highlight. He calls Clinton "worthy," "competent" and "capable." Damning taint praise, way short of short of inspirational, unifying or magnanimous.
Morning Buzz
Authorities have charged a teenage boy who said he planned to hijack a commercial jetliner in an attempt to commit suicide, an FBI spokesman told CNN late Thursday.Troops could go to Pakistan...U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said Thursday that the United States is "ready, able and willing" to send troops to Pakistan if the government of the South Asian nation is interested.Flight instructor gets $5 million for catching '20th' hijacker...A Minnesota flight instructor who notified his bosses of student Zacarias Moussaoui's suspicious behavior received a $5 million reward Thursday from the State Department, two government officials told CNN.Egypt sealing parts of border with Gaza...Egyptian soldiers in riot gear formed a human chain Friday along parts of their county's border with Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have crossed back and forth with little interference for the last two days.Obama with 13-point lead in South Carolina: poll...Barack Obama has a 13-point lead on rival Hillary Clinton but his support has eroded slightly on the eve of South Carolina's Democratic presidential primary, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Friday.Clinton is unworthy?Republican presidential contenders depicted Sen.
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