Zee Links and Minifeatures: February 2007 Archives

Free Money Finance's March Madness continues with Contests 17-24

My Votes:



17: Avoid 10 Common Debt Reduction Mistakes

21: Why Aren't We All Wealthy (Yet)?

22: What's it Worth to You? Liquor, Lotteries, and Cast Iron Pans

23: Liberal arts to law school?



The others were byes and no preference contests.



Contests 25 to 32



My choices:

25: 12 Mistakes to Avoid With Your Retirement Savings Plan

27: I Do Not Use Credit Cards

28: Solving Customer Service Problems

(A very close call. If the opposition hadn't made the "low expenses = better fund" error, he'd have won my vote. Low expenses is one possible indicator of a better fund, but some fund management teams are worth their premium several times over.)

29: A Step-by-Step Guide to Reducing Debt on an Irregular Income

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Sorry, it's been one of those weeks. No need to be shy about asking me if you've got something good, though.

Carnival of Personal Finance



Carnival of Consumer Oriented Real Estate Recommended: Salt Lake City Real Estate Blog (you're not priced out, it's your expectations)

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Free Money Finance is running a Personal Finance Edition of March Madness. 128 posts competing head to head for best post of the year. His first two brackets are up. Go over and vote for your favorites!



Games 1 to 8



I voted for

Game 2: Only Free Lunch in Finance: Diversification

Game 3: Getting Rid Of Your Debt Without Worrying About The Latte Factor

Game 7: Why I pay cash for a car

Game 8 Tips for a successful budget

(two byes and two no preference)



Games 9-16 (I have a post, but it's got a bye)



I voted for:

9 Tips for choosing and using frequent flyer programs

10. Make Multiple Debt Payments Every Month

12. Understanding Your Financial Fortress

14. 7 Steps That Made Me Debt-Free

16. Ten Simple Ways to Cover Your Ass(ets)

(two no preference and my post with a bye)

How stupid are the Democrats?

Dems Move to Limit Bush's War Authority

Key lawmakers, backed by party leaders, are drafting legislation that would effectively revoke the broad authority granted to the president in the days Saddam Hussein was in power, and leave U.S. troops with a limited mission as they prepare to withdraw.

1. On a course for a Constitutional crisis. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, but once declared, the conduct is under the President. The ability to "undeclare" war is not explicitly granted or denied Congress in the Constitution, because our founders didn't believe anyone was that stupid. If Congress had refused to give President Bush the authority to invade, that would have been one thing. But now that we're in the middle of shooting, Congress wants to take the war back to Nordies and say, "I don't like how it looks on me." There is a reason this doesn't happen in the real world: If you want to stop shooting at Al Qaeda, it would be intelligent to get them to agree to stop shooting at us. Three words: Not Gonna Happen.



2. Joe Lieberman has made it clear that his loyalty to the Democratic Party ends at a bug out. This would change the senate from 51-49 to 50-50, with Dick Cheney holding the deciding vote. Can you say, "Majority Leader McConnell?"



3. Most importantly, the American people want a victory. Most of them have a pretty good idea how important a victory is, and how costly a defeat would be, and not just in terms of international prestige. We're talking about the war coming here.



4. I said months ago that the greatest gift the voters could give the Republicans was a Democratic victory in 2006. With Bush's ratings having climbed fifteen points since the new Congress took office, he could be our most popular president ever upon leaving office. If the Democratic centrists don't do something soon to wrest control of their party back from the anti-war moonbats, we're in severe danger of one party having more control over the entire political system than has been the case since 1977-78, and we all know how that turned out. Okay, so this time it would be the Republicans, with no danger of the mainstream media singing Kum-bi-yah for them like they did for Carter and still do for the Democrats, but one party systems are no good for anyone. Democrats: Where are your adults? Mardi-Gras is over. Show us your sanity!



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This is an excellent idea: a commodities exchange in Ethiopia. Once again, capitalism rises to the rescue!



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Security professionals gloomy on terrorism outlook



No. Really?



Just because half the body politic wants us limited to defensive measures, and defensive measures have never once won a war? (Never will, either. At most they buy time.)



If you want to understand it in common sense terms: How many games of football do you think your favorite team might win if they were never allowed to have possession of the ball? If their entire game plan consisted of keeping the other team from scoring? That's playing for a tie, at best, and in unstable conditions.



Even the best defense is going to allow the enemy some points. Furthermore, because they don't need a defense themselves, the opposition can devote more resources to offense, scoring more points than they might otherwise have done.



The only 100% effective defense in this case is to wipe out the terrorists, and prevent any more such organizations from forming. You don't do that with defensive tactics.

Last week I wrote about the Ryan White AIDS funding, and Senator Feinstein's office at least wrote back on topic, which is a good sign:

Dear Mr. Melson:



Thank you for writing to me regarding reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act. I appreciate hearing from you on this important subject and welcome the opportunity to respond.



I view HIV/AIDS as a major public health emergency, and I will not be satisfied until we can say that AIDS is a disease of the past. When I was the Mayor of San Francisco, I had firsthand experience with the tragedy of AIDS and its devastating impact. That is why, in 1981, I began the first local AIDS program in the nation and made sure that all

AIDS budget requests were fully funded during my tenure as mayor.



I support reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act, which is critical to prolonging and improving the lives of many people living with HIV/AIDS. I am pleased to inform you that both the House of Representatives and the Senate have passed H.R. 6143, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006. The measure provides for a three year reauthorization of the program and will ensure stable funding for HIV/AIDS patients in California. Be assured, I will continue to work with my colleagues to address the long term needs of those living with HIV/AIDS.

Except that the issue was defunding the program via budget bill (actually, prohibiting funds being spent on it), not authorizing it in the first place. Still, we'll see what shakes. A much better response than the one I got from the Greater California Moonbat (Senator Boxer, for those of you outside the state).



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Bill Ardolino interviews some Iraqi soldiers.



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via Q and O, Thomas Sowell on the importance of price.



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Required Reading: Power, Faith, and Fantasy in the Middle East

RINO Sightings, noir style.



Carnival of Debt Management (Link redacted due to disappearance/redirection), Recommended Free Money Finance (Don't loan money to friends and family, but be willing to give it if you've got it), Queercents (how to handle windfalls, and why it can be a good idea to get a tax refund)



Carnival of Real Estate



Carnival of Personal Finance

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Pointless information: Right now, Sitemeter is recording just over 6% of the visits logged on the server for Searchlight Crusade (345/5690 averages over the last week), and slightly over 10% (42/402) of the visits logged on the server for Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website.



If any readers have their own sites tracked to both Sitemeter and some other source, I'd be interested in the data. I've been told it's better the higher up on the page it is, and my Sitemeters are at the bottom of long pages, but I want them unobtrusive.



Still, if Sitemeter didn't give me better tracking data than my server log on the visits it does catch, I'd ditch it.



And this information could indicate that personal websites and weblogs are significantly more popular than most people think.



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Meant to do some more stuff around the 'sphere, but I've been out looking for bargains for clients, and I can't let the carnival linkage slide any further.

Carnival of the Capitalists Recommended Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket (success by changing your attitude), David Maister (binding a client even tighter to you by admitting to a mistake - and fixing it)

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A few days ago, I wrote to Senator Boxer regarding the Ryan White AIDS testing program. This is what her office sent back:

Dear Mr. Melson:



Thank you for writing to express your views on the high costs of health care. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.



For the past six years, the Bush Administration and the Republican Congress have failed to respond effectively to rising health costs. As you know, health care costs and insurance premiums have soared in recent years, putting heavy strains on employers, workers, and families who are struggling to keep up. The average annual premium for family coverage has skyrocketed 81 percent since the year 2000 to over $11,000 a year. Currently, over 46 million Americans have no type of health insurance at all.



President Bush recently proposed a health care initiative that would use tax subsidies to encourage more people to purchase their own health insurance while imposing additional taxes on those who have comprehensive health policies. The President's proposal, if implemented, would do little to help the uninsured, most of whom have limited incomes and are in low tax brackets.



I believe the health care crisis demands a comprehensive solution that lowers the costs of medical care and makes health coverage available to all Americans. I am hopeful that the new Congress will move beyond the President's inadequate proposal and effectively work to meet the health care needs of hardworking Americans.



Thank you again for writing to me. Please do not hesitate to contact me again about this or any other issue.

I'm pretty sure you were elected to represent all Californians, Barbara, not just Democrats and people who hate Republicans. As a matter of fact, the Presidents health care proposal is a very good one, as it would, if enacted, lower the costs of the uninsured obtaining insurance (particularly the self employed and those whose employer does not provide it), and without robbing anyone else of money in order to pay for it. Give President Bush his due on the subject: he listened to real experts and came up with what would be, if Congress were to take him up on it, an effective Aikido blow against the problem of uninsured Americans.



Additionally, if I were going to change one other law to make it easier for health insurance to happen, it would be the California law that mandates the employer pay at least fifty percent of the premium. Of course, that's not politically popular with the "I hate capitalists" crowd, is it?



And we keep electing this Piece of Work to the Senate? The only time I don't wonder about the intelligence of my fellow Californians is when I'm sure they're three points dumber than a rock. Yes, they re-elected Arnold governor, but I'm not certain most of them were voting for his policies, and not for the Hollywood actor.



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Friday is usually a light traffic day, and Saturday is usually lower. Nowhere in the league of the first four days of the week. Nonetheless, my server logs say that February 16 was a new traffic record: 6410 visits and February 17th beat that by three: 6413. Interesting.



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Tapping Ahmadinejad's Egg over at VDH.



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Captain's Quarters notes polls that the majority of Americans want to win in Iraq.

Bush: Iran supplying weapons in Iraq.

Challenged on the accuracy of U.S. intelligence, President Bush said Wednesday there is no doubt the Iranian government is providing armor-piercing weapons to kill American soldiers in Iraq. But he backed away from claims the top echelon of Iran's government was responsible.

And the top level of Iranian government isn't responsible for what their subordinates do?



If either of the Roosevelts or Truman had been President when things like this happened, US troops would be in the process of conquering Iran right now. Jefferson, Jackson, Wilson, Lincoln, ditto. Basically any president and any congress we've ever had that was worth a damn.



And Bush is supposed to be a warmonger?



What has happened to the American people?



Where is the sense of outrage that this slimeball escaped, or that he was allowed to operate so long.



The Christian Science Monitor thinks the US is trying to get Iran to negotiate. The Universe knows that's a busted flush if ever there was one. Effective negotiation requires the realistic ability to do something that the Iranian regime does not want more than they do want nuclear weapons. The only thing that fits that bill is decapitating the Iranian regime, something I can't see the United States doing, despite the fact that it would be the best solution to the problem.



Looks like it's 1975 all over again.



More at Q and O



Captain's Quarters has the goods on the guns used to kill American troops. Austrian weapons, from a total sale of 800 to the Iranian government, of which over 100 have been captured in Iraq. Not allegedly used, captured. As in captured in raids, in combat, etcetera. Our troops have possession of them and have compared the serial numbers.



Here's a question for any military intelligence types that may see this (if it's not classified): If American espionagei types were to ship 100 special sniper rifles to the insurgents in Iran, how many would we expect the Iranian government to capture (as opposed to destroy, run out of the country, or just plain miss), and in how long? My guess is maybe 25, but that's a never played the game Monday morning quarterback guess. What's the ratio of weapons captured to casualty rates?



My point is this: "Over 100" out of 800 rifles that were sold to the Iranian government is a lower bound to the number that were supplied to Iraqi insurgents. So an absolute minimum of 12.5 percent of rifles sold to the Iranian government for "police" work went to kill American troops in Iraq. The Austrian supplier was specifically warned about this possibility in advance. I find protestations of ignorance and innocence utterly unbelievable.



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Joe Carter of http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/ sent an email requesting publicization of Congress Blocks Funding of "Baby AIDS" Program, and you know, I think this is the sort of thing that personal websites should be very good at countering.



Here is what I sent to my senators:

I do not see anything undesirable about identifying children for purposes of treatment, and then treating them so that they can have the best chance at long healthy lives possible. As a matter of fact, this strikes me as a highly useful and efficient use of public resources.



I do not see any advantage to prohibiting funding for this purpose UNLESS it is competing with funding with something else even more beneficial to the public, in which case I would like to know (specifically!) what that competing project is. I certainly couldn't find anything online attesting to the existence of such a competing program.



In the absence of such a competing program, I strongly urge Senators Boxer and Feinstein to support Senator Coburn in restoring funding to this program.

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Because he's stupid enough, egotistical enough, and gosh darn it, people loathe him: Franken saying he'll run for Senate



Congratulations, Al. You've just flunked another test Rush Limbaugh aced when he said (from memory) "In entertainment, ten percent audience share is fantastic. In politics, it's a joke." as he declined to run for office.



So what's less than one percent?







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State Farm: No New Policies in Miss.

"I view this decision as the inevitable outcome of the increased uncertainty and cost associated with the litigation that has developed post-Katrina," said Robert Hartwig, vice president and chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute in New York, an industry-funded group.



The state's courts and some state officials have created a "virtually impossible working environment for insurers," he said.

What did I tell you?



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Iran on course for nuclear bomb, EU told



Basically, the article says that negotiations can not stop the Iranians from obtaining nuclear bombs at this point. To which I say, "Really? No Kidding?"



Talk is all very well and good when both sides have a stake in the success of those talks. That is not the case with a nuclear armed Iran.



HT Argghhh!

Carnival of Consumer Oriented Real Estate



Not often that this happens, but I have to say that this was far and away the best carnival I read this week. I didn't agree with everything and I didn't see an individual post I could wholeheartedly recommend, but original writing, the worthless, reptitive schlock was left out (How many times can you read the same thing and think it's worth your time?), and the carnival host didn't pull any agenda-driven tricks that run counter to the charter. Well done.

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If you're in Dallas (or Fort Worth) and have some time, you could do a lot worse than standing with these folks, as they Welcome returning troops home.



Their web page is here



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Today marks eleven years since The World's Only Perfect Woman and I had our first date. We're going to another branch of the same resturaunt chain where we met for lunch and spent the next four hours talking (The branch we met at is just too cramped and crowded). Of course, we'll have the girls with us this time, but that's a good thing that the girls see Mommy and Daddy still celebrating the anniversary of their first date, and in a non-extravagant manner.



(February 13th is the perfect anniversary of a first date. It's a pain to deal with restaurants on Valentine's Day, and no one expects to go out two nights in a row, right?)

New addition to the blogroll: The Victory Caucus



Whether or not the average citizen realizes it, we are in a fight for the life of our civilization, and there is no acceptable substitute for Victory.



Their first substantive post is here.



The text of the Democratic House Resolution:

H. CON. RES.



Disapproving of the decision of the President announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.



IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. SKELTON (for himself, Mr. LANTOS, and Mr. JONES of North Carolina)

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee

on ______







CONCURRENT RESOLUTION







Disapproving of the decision of the President announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.







Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That--







(1) Congress and the American people will continue to support and protect the members of the United States Armed Forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq; and







(2) Congress disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.

1 and 2 are not quite explicitly contradictory, but you can only claim that they are not by completely ignoring the political environment that has given rise to this movement. Lie, Cheat, Steal, Invent Things, Make Mountains Out of Molehills, anything to disadvantage "those evil Rethuglicans and George W. Chimpy McHitlerBurton."







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Carnival of Personal Finance



Carnival of Investing



Is it just me, or were the carnivals this week basically hard vacuum? The ones I linked were comparatively mild examples of what vacuum does, although the host of Carnival Of Investing did their best with the material submitted. There were three carnivals that I was glad that I was free not to link, as I hadn't submitted. Bleah! Of course, Carnival of Capitalists isn't up yet. Let's hope it's the exception.



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China's life expectancy to jump: report

Average life expectancy in China will jump 13 years to 85 years and all households will be lifted out of poverty by the middle of the century, Chinese academics forecast in a report issued in state media on Monday.



The number of years a Chinese child spends in school will almost double to 14 years and an increasingly affluent population will spend a far smaller proportion of their income on food, the official China Daily said, citing a 20-volume report called an Outline for China's Sustainable Development.

Is it just me, or does this seem like another Five Year Plan or Great Leap Forward? "We'll just pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and go" Kumbiyah, my party, Kumbiyah.

Carnival of the Capitalists Recommended: Anti-Sisyphus (combating the employee pits of despair)



RINO Sightings Recommended: Techography (fisking William Arkin - offensive language warning)



Carnival of Investing



Carnival of Real Estate Recommended Zillow blog (how to get good comments), Bryant Tutas (debunking the "realtors have a monopoly" canard)

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The Right Place on Another Reason To Not Raise Minimum Wage



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Don Surber on The real danger from global warming



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Iran sets up 328 centrifuges at big atom site Anonymously sourced, but not a good sign.



Call me prejudiced, call me racist, call me an Islamophobe. I don't think it is in anybody's best interest - except the mad mullahs - for the current regime in Iran to have access to nuclear weapons technology. Not the developed nations, not the developing nations, not their neighbors, and especially not the people of Iran. Matter of fact, I'd estimate that the mad mullahs of Iran getting nuclear weapons would be far more likely to lead to the use of nuclear weapons than all other current possessors of them combined. But consider: I am not saying this about the Pakistani or Indian possession of such weapons, already a fact. Those two nations and their leaders understand the need for some kind of status quo. Nor Israeli or South African possession. Both of those nations seem to go out of their way to avoid rattling their sabers. Even North Korea seems to understand their use as a bargaining chip is greater than their utility in winning a war with any likely opponent. Iran's rhetoric, backed up by long term sponsorship of Hezbollah and similar organizations, is of an entirely different sort, the language of jihad.



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His motive may be politics, but it makes sense also: Bush Proposes Litany of Tax Cuts

The lion's share of the president's proposed tax reductions would come from making permanent his signature cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003, at a cost of $1.6 trillion over the next 10 years. Those cuts would otherwise evaporate at the end of 2010.



"Well-timed, pro-growth tax policies helped create the right climate for innovation and entrepreneurship," powering a resilient economy, Bush said in his budget message.

His motive might be politics: force the Dems to get in his face about their agenda, so that they can't campaign both ways in 2008. But I'm glad he's making economic sense while he's doing it. That's much better than his opponents are doing. Even if he loses this battle - and he will almost certainly lose this battle - he sets the Republicans up to win the war. Politically speaking, of course.



The Democrats and their leftist supporters will howl about how this hurts the little person, meaning, of course, that there will be less patronage to hand out. Unfortunately for them, the Laffer Curve won't go away simply because they don't like the implications.



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UPDATE: I am going to conduct an experiment with comments. I'm going to allow guest posting of comments, but require approval of comments before they post (to discourage spam)



The changes have already been made. If I get enough more "real" comments to justify having to deal with the spam artists, I'll leave it the way it is. If I don't, I'll change it back.



The experiment is tentatively set to run the rest of February, but that is subject to change if the experiment becomes an obvious failure.