Bright Shiny Things

My wife is crazy about jewelry, perhaps too much so.  Whenever she heads out to the mall, she invariably has to stop in at all the jewelry stores to see the latest product offerings.  Unfortunately, she often has very expensive taste.  With the price of gold and diamonds today, it has become even more cost prohibitive to shop for jewelry.

It disappoints me that I am unable to get her those types of things that she likes.  I am sure it disappoints her as well.  Often, I wonder why she puts herself through going visiting those jewelery stores when she knows that we cannot afford to buy those types of luxuries.  I know it would drive me crazy which is one reason I do not frequent expensive electronics stores any more.

That is not to say that you can't find affordable and fashionable jewelry out there.  I remember one years my wife wanted to get a solid black tungsten wedding band.  I was able to get her a nice one for under $100.  In addition to alternatives like tungsten, you can find affordable titanium ring designs and titanium bracelets.,

Coming up very shortly is my wife's birthday and our anniversary (they happen to be on the same day) followed up quickly by Christmas.  My wife has already started dropping hings for gift ideas, most of which are out of my budget.  One day, I found a magazine clipping of a ring she wanted tucked into my wallet.  So I have started my quest for affordable options.

Paul Ryan and Herman Cain's 999 Plan

Image via WikipediaThis morning, I was heading to work listening to WMAL talk radio as is my custom during my commute to work.  When I first started listening to the program, former Congressman Fred "Gopher" Grandy was the main host of the show.  After he left due to a dispute with the station, they kept Bryan Nehman who then cohosted the program with a series of guest hosts.

After a couple of months, I was ready to give up on the show because Nehman just wasn't strong enough to carry the show on his own, and the never ending parade of guest hosts gave no real consistency to the program.  Finally, they hired Brian Wilson, who used to work on the local Fox affiliate and then Fox News Channel and Mary Katherine Ham to be permanent cohosts on the "Morning Majority."  The show has been much better ever since.  On a side note, am I the only one that thinks Mary Katherine Ham is the total package?  The woman is smart, funny, and attractive to boot.

Anyway, back to the show.  This morning, one of their guests was Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.  Ryan is also Chairman of the House Budget Committee.  I love listening to Paul Ryan talk about the budget and the number crunching.  You would think that all the numbers talk would be boring, but Ryan makes it interesting.  The man really knows his stuff.

One of the questions that the hosts asked the Congressman was his thoughts about Herman Cain's 999 Plan.  Cain's plan eliminates the payroll tax and has a 9% tax on income, corporations, and a 9% sales tax.  Cain also claims that his plan would be revenue neutral. Ryan said that he has looked at the numbers, and he believes that the plan would bring in the same amount of revenue as the current tax structure, or at least be very close.

Ryan gave Cain credit for putting forth a bold and credible plan.  For his own part, Ryan said during the show, that he prefers a straight flat tax.  Ryan stated that he believes that Cain's 999 plan will shift the focus of the debate for all of the candidates towards ideas and solutions.  It is that sort of focus that Ryan believes the campaigns need to be focused on rather than attacks at past actions.  I for one would also like to see that shift as well.  It is one of the reasons that I believe Cain is gaining traction as a candidate.

Related articles

• Paul Ryan 'Loves' Herman Cain's '9-9-9' Tax Plan (businessinsider.com)
• Paul Ryan 'loves' Cain's 'specific and credible' 9-9-9 plan (thehill.com)
• Paul Ryan and Art Laffer Endorse Cain's 9-9-9 Plan (Updated- Ryan's Office Says Comments not an Endorsement) (nicedeb.wordpress.com)

Tough Times

It is no surprise to anybody that things are pretty tough out there these days.  Unemployment is over 9% and has been for over two years.  There is talk that we are on the verge, if we aren't already, of a double dip recession.  Energy prices, while down in recent weeks, are still at pretty high levels.  In general, things don't look like they will be improving any time soon. Food prices are rising rapidly.  Just this week it was reported that the price of peanut butter was expected rise 30-40% in the coming weeks.

I count myself as fortunate that I have a pretty good job right now.  At one point, I had a job that I held for over 21 years when the company I worked for eliminated my position.  At that time, it took me nearly a year to find another full time job, and that was during better economic times.  In the years since then, I had three other full time jobs between that one and my current position.  I held each of those positions for about a year or less.  I have been in my current position now for a little more than three years.

These days, businesses are looking for just about any edge that they can come up with to give them a competitive advantage.  There are a lot of different strategies that a business can utilize to differentiate themselves from the competition.  Some differentiate themselves by emphasizing price, while others emphasize service.  Then there are businesses like Apple who make their product offerings the focus of the business.

Of course, that type of differentiation is fine for things like brick and mortar retail outlets or internet retailers, but what about other types of businesses?  What is it that can help to get you in the door?  To me, a lot of it has to do with their business signs.  Entering a business with a nice, custom made sign with brass letters gives you a positive feeling about the quality and stability of the business.  However you can make your business stand out during these tough economic times can mean the difference between success and failure.

Romney, Mormons, and Cults

Image via WikipediaThey say that there are two things that you should never bring up in polite company if you want to keep things civil, religion and politics.  Today I am going to go where angles fear to tread and talk about both.  The two subjects became intertwined once again at the Value Voters Summit held in DC over the past weekend.

Pastor Robert Jeffress, a Baptist minister and supporter of Texas Governor Rick Perry, brought up the subject of Mitt Romney's Mormon Faith.  Jeffress said that Mormonism was a non-Christian cult and that Christians would be better off supporting an evangelical Christian for president than Romney.  In his view, Romney, as a Mormon would be unfit to be president.

Before I get to far into the comments of Jeffress, it would probably be best to actually define the term cult.  For this, I turn to Hank Hanegraaff, also know as The Bible Answer Man of the Christian Research Institute.  I used to listen to his radio program several years ago when I was very active in the Baptist Church.

When most people think of a cult, they think of the following definition:

a cult is a religious or semi-religious sect whose members are controlled almost entirely by a single individual or by an organization.

However, there is another way to define a cult, and this is the method that a lot of evangelicals use when describing a cult:

a cult is any group that deviates from the orthodox teachings of the historic Christian faith being derived from the Bible and confirmed through the ancient ecumenical creeds.

It is from this perspective that Jeffress made his assertion that Romney belongs to a cult.  During my days when I was active within evangelical circles, it was a common assertion that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints were members of a cult.  I also heard some claim that the Roman Catholic Church was the biggest cult in existence.  It is one of the reasons that I no longer travel in those circles.

Personally, I do not agree with a lot of the Mormon Church.  I would never belong to it.  Here is not the time, nor the place to go into all of the reasons why.  Over the years I have had several friends who were members of the LDS.  I would say that they are a fine group of people who have high moral standards.  A few years ago, when my wife was looking for an alternative to Catholicism, she decided on the LDS.

I will also say, that as of this moment, I do not support Mitt Romney as the potential Republican nominee for President.  Right now, I have not fully made up my mind, but I am leaning towards Herman Cain.  As Romney said himself in one of the debates, there are a lot of reasons not to vote for him, as there are for the other potential candidates.  However, the fact that he is a Mormon should not even be part of the discussion.

Related articles

• Romney asks Perry to disavow pastor, Perry says no (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Pastor Jeffress: Mormonism is a Cult (crooksandliars.com)
• Jon Hunstman: Pastor Who Criticizied Mormonism Is "A Moron" (outsidethebeltway.com)

Music Monday-Craig Campbell "Fish"

I thought song lyrics were supposed to rhyme?  Fish does not rhyme with either "truck" or "luck," but I do know another word that does.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Comcast and a Moral Dilemma

Image via WikipediaLet me start this post off by saying that I have no great love for Comcast.  In fact, I am not a fan of them at all.  We used to be a Comcast customer when they were the only game in town here in Bowie, however, due to their poor customer service, cost, and service in general.

During a particular period of poor service, I told customer service that I was going to switch to DirecTV.  They said, "That's your choice, sir."  So I did.  They were calling back that evening with all these special offers to get me to stay.  Now, I am a Verizon FiOS customer, and will never be a Comcast customer again if I have a choice.

Having said all this, it brings me to my bit of a dilemma as suggested in the title of this post.  By and large, I live by two overriding philosophies.  I try to be a law abiding citizen and do what is right. The other overriding philosophy is more libertarian in that I prefer to live and let live, leaving people primarily to their own devices or in some cases vices. Sometimes those two philosophies can come into conflict with each other.

This morning I was out working in the yard when I saw something a little bit out of the usual.  I noticed that the cable box where the Comcast technicians usually work to repair or activate the neighborhood service was sitting wide open.  A cable was running from the box, over the fence of my next door neighbor, and up to their house.

When I had service from Comcast, the box was never wide open.  Plus, the cable that connected my house to the box was buried underground.  Since this was such an unusual sight to see, I suspected that something foul was afoot.  Could it be that my next door neighbor is stealing cable?

So you can see my dilemma.  I really do not know my neighbor so I do not have a particular ax to grind with them.  They are fairly quiet and do not bother me, which is the way I like it.  However, the law and order side of me wants to report what I saw.  Then again, I have no great love for Comcast either.  OK, I actually have disdain for Comcast.

The law and order side of me usually wins out in these situations, and I am leaning towards reporting what I saw to Comcast.  Stealing cable is a federal crime punishable by fines and jail time which can be considerable depending on the severity of theft.  I actually tried to contact their security department but was on hold so long I gave up.  Should I try again tomorrow?

Know the Score

Image via WikipediaWith everything being online these days, it becomes more and more important to be vigilant in protecting your personal information.  It seems like a everyday that goes by there is some sort of news story about an identity theft ring or some major retailer or financial institution having their databases hacked and personal information getting compromised.

Having your identity stolen or personal information compromised can wreak havoc on your ability to get credit you need.  In these tough economic times when it is hard enough to get credit extended, having nefarious individuals hurting your credit worthiness is something you can ill afford.  One way to protect yourself against these types of assaults is to keep track of your credit score.

Several years ago, I got myself into a little bit of financial difficulties.  There were a series of bad decisions, combined with losing a job that I had for 21 years due to the company I worked for eliminating positions here in the DC area and consolidating to their corporate headquarters on the left coast.

I turned to a friend of mine who is a financial services provider for some advice.  One of the first things he had me do was to sign up for one of the free credit score services to check into everything that appeared on the report.  We were able to identify accounts that were incorrectly applied to my name since I am a junior.  Thankfully, there were no fraudulent account listed. 

There are other things that you can do to help protect your identity and your credit worthiness.  Advocates encourage people to shred any documents that have personal identifiable information before disposing of them.  Many neighborhoods sponsor community shredding events towards that means.  Keeping on top of protecting your identity is vital in this day and age.