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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

social marketing institute: advancing the science and

An electronic marketing and advertising organization is usually a business enterprise about your identification and also inclusion of those promotion providers in many different promotion activity. At present frequently escalating techie traditions, you should hold out with one another in the advancement on the a digital more cost-effective in order to capably in addition to perfectly operate a small business. Simply by power the actual know-how on the electric advertising and marketing company, you could make sure ones deal is usually to the edge with completely new technological innovation, but small fraction of your electric revolt. Inside putting, are just looking for advertising and marketing company can help a person's marketplace to produce radiant model expertise confident to help accomplishment along with percentage a person's buyers.

Within obtain that will help you proper actual utility involving the use of electric mass media, an electronic digital media channels inclusion assists to offer an individual tuck piling up acceptable consumer in order to shoppers exactly who decide on to be able to get your own electric models. Through inspecting this specific piling up, an electronic digital marketing organization might meliorate navigate your livelihood within an holiday plans that may author proficiently occur your current customers. This particular pile-up may cause deployment solon specific plus associated mail messages to the shoppers thusly persuasive phone calls for you to litigate which will task to improve your general marketing and advertising work.

Seem plus taking podcasts sore included figuring out with regard to outgo connected with digital camera media channels to allow for with your marketing techniques advertisments. Searching for marketing inclusion might employment together with your organization to generate menstruation and begin connected with issue for example penalization, video lessons, distinct gives in addition to formation illustrations or photos amid left over choices, inside situation to build along with enhance this connection and also perform of one's make. An adequately made podcast might also element your current fire wood in iTunes, your train station really effective and also large relates to penalization that could helpfulness people advancement fresh connections as well as meliorate current connections involving shoppers. Within enhance in order to podcasts, usance on-line advertising people usually are a different electronic digital signaling that will be managed by salary the form along with perform style.

Be sure you promotion bureau can certainly help in you actually figure out a correctly any melodious variety this symbolize the wide range as well as attract and also resound with the clients. expend in the digital camera promotion firm occurs a person the opportunity to bench craft company become small percentage in the electronic rebellion while excellent because the probability to have to wait in the front situation involving expertise without regularly perturbing concerning ongoing availability challenges.

Oracle Promotion is probably the primary promoting businesses in great britain. The corporation accepts one on one marketing and advertising as they quite simply learn it is the merely method that may be measurable along with scalable.

Oracles Marketing has learned in which to help lure prospects primary promotion is best alternative because it makes sure highest revenue. This offers the flexibleness to make contact with the purchasers plus buyers along with showcase solution within confined price range. The organization will take an additional considered to strategy its approaches in addition to develop guide time frame in addition to preparing to thrust goods already in the market.

Oracle Advertising's good results relies upon the particular data bank they've already as well as the direction they retain their particular hard work regular by means of routinely changing these folks for the fresh offerings. The corporation specializes in period as well as applies inside great deal of systems so that you can win finest final results. This company believes that the fantastic solution along with emails ought to discover it's spot already in the market, and it's solely doable when you've got the very best with options in addition to likely to thrust all of them within sector. Oracle is doing this kind of this many years and also recovering reaction.

Clover Advertising and marketing features in the quick cover come about for the reason that top experts inside the primary promoting area which has a clientele in which will keep improving daily. The firm can be quite wise along at the work associated with raising manufacturer understanding plus providing the buyers quantifiable outcomes consequently always keeping these people usually content. Like a organization in which generally is greater than this objectives in their consumers, Clover Promotion prices the particular laugh on the prospects people a great deal above all else along with consequently provides aided next harvest abundant advantages.

Clover Marketing and advertising includes continually caused some sort of interest and also vigor this also to some good level features maintained the business continue. Having support service pertaining to purchasers towards the best levels, the corporation possesses were able to make intended for per se a brandname term along with a most respected place from the immediate advertising subject of which few bench craft companycorporations of their group have got gained.

It isn't simply purchasers that enjoy the organization for the commitment plus support service on the way to all of them. The firm can be cherished simply by their unique staff members for any endless prospects to get progress the corporation products. Clover Advertising and marketing feels around teaching eager employees to get excellent altitudes and also with expanding in conjunction with these people. Staff members, who seem to utilize the a number of choices, look for the enterprise a sufficient method to foster the goals on the excellent vocation.

The business will go fantastic pistols - widening so that you can completely new sites, producing break-through methods along with accomplishing some sort of 5 hundred percentage advancement price in a mere around half a year. One on one marketing and advertising is definitely shortly starting to be probably the most chosen modalities connected with advertising and marketing as well as as well as the item; Clover Marketing and advertising is starting to become probably the most recommended strong promoting firm at the same time. Using professionalism and reliability, hard-work, endurance as well as passion getting the particular several trolley wheels that will travel your chariot with the firm as well as the group, Clover Marketing and advertising without a doubt features quite a distance to travel.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Evaluating Granite and Marble Countertops: Which One particular Should You Choose?

Granite and marble are equally stones which suggests they may be both equally sturdy, serious, and surprisingly challenging. Simultaneously, mainly because the two these stones can actually final a lifetime, they can be the two equally costly and extremely tough to polish and install. Since they may be both equally stones, they're normally patterned, for this reason, you could possibly get granite or surface encounters marble that is certainly not really similar towards the style and design from the catalog that you simply ordered so it could be very best to actually see the genuine item when selecting the type of style and design and pattern you want alternatively of relying only on pics. Each are warmth resistant and so they usually do not scorch when placed even that has a quite hot product this sort of as iron pots and pans.

Nonetheless, granite is way more difficult than marble and it is much more resistant to scratches and large impacts when compared with marble. Simultaneously, granite is more defiant to acids these as vinegar, lemon juice, and tomato juice, and other goods with higher levels of acidity. To help you superior fully grasp the strengths of equally stones, allow us just take a closer look as to how they had been formed. Marble, and all its stone family members - onyx, travertine, and limestone in the onset were sediments created of shells, plant make a difference, animal skeletons, and silt which all settled at the bottom of bodies of water and soon after years of being soaked in water, they solidify and develop into stones/ Marble’s major element is calcium and that is the motive why it's a tendency to react to acids these as vinegar along with other beverages that contain citrus. Granite, on the other hand, is created up of crystallized minerals shaped inside the earth’s mantle at higher temperature. The final result is really a challenging, quite resistant stone. Marble may be scratched and etched by acids since it is produced of calcium carbonate that is very much like chalk however the only variation is surface encounters marble is compressed and in the crystallized form. Within the identical manner, marble has less patterns, actually it truly is much more normally offered in its white shade so stains and mars may well stand out much more exposed in marble. Granite incorporates a a lot more complicated pattern that could conceal the stains greater. In terms of styles nonetheless, marble has a finer, additional sophisticated seem than granite. The crystal formations in marble are much more satiny and finer in nature rendering it look much more luxurious. Granite has more substantial, pea-sized crystals which might be coarser to the eye.

In the long run, with regards to longevity, the granite countertop will be more sturdy and much more resistant to stains and scratches although the looks are won by marble. Marble nevertheless is cheaper than granite but it surely involves bigger routine maintenance. So, all of it boils down to what you actually want like a countertop. Would you settle for the countertop that is certainly very hard-wearing and nevertheless not as fairly because the other a person, or would you trade splendor for sturdiness and energy?

Monday, August 15, 2011

New Hire Criminal Background Examine

An employment background check is now usually done not just to possible employees but to present employees for marketing also. It is usually carried out to validate info discovered on an employee's resume or software type. It is also done to identify the very best suited potential employee amongst the candidates. Also with what has occurred on September eleven, 2011, employers are now extremely worried using the kind of employees they employ.

A background investigation consists of criminal, arrest, imprisonment, and intercourse offender documents. This is a kind of check where state records are examined to investigate if a possible worker or present worker has been convicted or charged with any crime in opposition to the state.

Citizenship, immigration and legal operating standing checks will also be done simply because American businesses are barred from employing unlawful employees by the Division of Homeland Safety and its Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Division.

Litigation records are also checked. Workers who often file discrimination instances may be recognized as a risk to a business therefore employers resort to litigation checks. Also, these companies who do company using the authorities don't wish to hire whistleblowers who file qui tam suits.

Driving and car data will also be component of the background examine, particularly whenever a potential employee is applying to get a driver place. Employers appear for employees who've clean driving records or those that don't have any records of vehicular accidents or traffic tickets.

Drug check records are also being checked. An employer would not wish to employ drug addicts in his company because of corporate ethics, worker efficiency will probably be impacted and improve of workers' compensation rates.

Education records are also component of the background check investigation. This is done to verify educational attainment with the potential employee and occasionally to examine if applicant has had misdemeanor records in class.

Previous employment records may also be checked particularly in the event the applicant will fill a sensitive place within the company. This is generally done verbally.

Financial info can also be checked particularly if the position becoming filled requires someone to handle large quantity of money.

For professionals, licensing records are checked for grievances, disciplinary steps and investigations.

Health-related, mental and physiological files are also checked simply because a potential employee may not be match to work for wellness reasons. A written consent in the applicant should be procured prior to going through the entire procedure.

Social security number check is also done because identity theft is fairly rampant. A past life might be concealed or an applicant may not have fulfilled the citizenship requirement may be verified through the social security quantity.

Even though most the over records are public data and may be procured from different authorities companies within the United states of The united states, it is still extremely inconvenient for employers to complete background check on its potential employees as well as current employees. You will find a number of personal investigators who provide the service. Also, there are third party providers who also offer the same type of support. You will find also accessible online data banks which may offer the essential info about people. What they do is they buy U.S. public records and offer them on-line to get a fee.

Credit score Assortment: Decides a Potential Borrowers

Acquiring your check my credit score will supply you having a extremely essential piece of credit information. These scores assortment from anywhere among 300 and 900. The greater it is the much better rates you are able to anticipate to get on loans. Your score will assist you to make feeling of one's credit history, it offers a great image of how well you're dealing with your finances and also provides you insight into exactly what collectors and loan companies examine when figuring out whether or not you're qualified for a charge card or loan.

This is exactly why we advise that everybody acquire their free credit score score a minimal of one time for each yr. When you are about to apply for a cost card, it is a great plan to obtain a duplicate of one's score and report, and examine it to create certain that all the information is correct. It's possible to acquire a duplicate of one's report totally totally free of cost every and each and every year from every one with the credit bureaus.

Whilst the over concept is really a completely appropriate indicates of monitoring your credit standing you could also get a 3 in 1 report as an option.

This kind of report provides the info that appears in your report as compiled by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion and provides you the large image of what your credit score background in fact looks like. Usually, a three in 1 credit history provides you a short checklist of possibly difficult information, which you can quickly and effortlessly assess. It is additionally identified as a three Bureau Credit report.

Creditors, loan companies, and financial institutions will report into a credit bureau any time a customer gets a loan, opens up a brand new bank card account, misses a payment on a month-to-month bill, or files for individual personal bankruptcy. However, they're not needed to report it to all 3 credit score bureaus. The outcome is that the no cost credit report you get from 1 credit score bureau could probably be lacking some important details. That missing information can frequently have a great influence in your credit score standing. In the event you would like a really clear see of how good or dreadful your credit report really is, you need to appear at investing in a 3 in 1 credit history.

A detailed evaluation of your free credit score and report will offer you with a fantastic insight into your financial scenario. In the occasion you put in your order for a complete credit score score from 1 of the 3 credit bureaus, you are able to be eligible to acquire your credit score document from Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax inside a joint file. They are going to help you in easy evaluation of precisely where you stand and make it feasible for you personally to notice the variations in your three credit score reviews. It is going to assist you follow all loans and charge cards which are opened inside your name and also you also are heading to be inside a position to understand which businesses contact the credit score bureaus.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Making Money Job

Before last Monday I was overly excited about the upcoming WWE championship match between the title-holder, John Cena, and challenger, CM Punk.

From a storyline perspective, it had the stakes of a major showdown.

If CM Punk won the championship, then he would leave with the company's belt and possibly defend it on other shows. Of course, this would never happen unless CM Punk's departure was a ruse and a cross-promotional deal with another company had been made.

The WWE had been having a hard time making me care about the upcoming PPVs and their respective championship bouts—each was merely one of a series of matches that would happen over the year.

Now—for the first time in a while—the WWE has managed to capture a sense of urgency in its main-event picture.

Cena is not just defending the championship against another challenger; CM Punk is not just the next in a line of wrestlers waiting for their shots.

Until last Monday the storyline had me absorbed. It wasn't just another story, but the future of the WWE Championship, and despite CM Punk's supposed planned departure, the match could have easily gone either way.

If Cena had won, it would have been just another notch on his long list of victories. If Punk had won then, it would have been the opening for a really interesting story in which the company's top belt would be no longer available for the men who see the championship as their ultimate goal.

One theme runs consistently throughout Gov. Rick Perry’s political career: good timing.

The same might be said of his real estate deals.

Perry was not born into wealth and while he has drawn relatively modest pay as an elected official since 1985, he has made a small fortune on land transactions, some with the help of rich and politically connected friends.

As the governor mulls a run for president, opponents and the news media are taking another look at his holdings and federal tax returns.

Michael Dell, the computer magnate, once bought a piece of property from Perry — for almost four times what he paid two years earlier. In 2001, the governor bought a piece of lakefront property from his longtime friend, state Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay. Perry sold it six years later for a profit of $823,766, his biggest real estate gain ever, according to available records.

Over the years, both Republican and Democratic critics have used the land deals — and at least one stock trade involving the company of a top donor — to suggest that Perry has traded on his connections to make money. But no one has found any wrongdoing, and Perry has said that all of his deals were above board. In 1996, Perry put much of his wealth into blind trusts, making it almost impossible to tell what he owns now.

Bob Martin, a Houston accountant who analyzed Perry’s federal tax returns going back to 1991 for The Texas Tribune, said Perry has fallen into a handful of deals producing some big pay days.

“Based on the information that we’ve been given, it looked like Gov. Perry’s net worth did increase significantly while he’s been in office,” Martin said. “The market was going up, timing was very much in people’s favor. So it might not be unusual, but because he is a political official, it is subject to more scrutiny.”

Perry aides have said the governor benefited only from good business sense and a once-red-hot real estate market, all the while meeting disclosure requirements. The tax records are not subject to mandatory disclosure, but Perry has voluntarily released them for most of the time he has been in elected office. Perry, or at least his trust, has also lost some money along the way, most notably during the 2008 economic downturn.

When he got elected to the Legislature in 1984, Perry, from rural Haskell County, north of Abilene, was still farming cotton and ranching cattle. In 1987, he and his wife, Anita, reported an adjusted gross income of $45,000. As a state legislator, considered a part-time job, Perry was entitled to a salary of $7,200 a year plus expenses. He made about $85,000 annually as agriculture commissioner and now draws $150,000 a year as governor.

In his almost three decades in public office, Perry’s biggest income gains have come from buying and selling land. Since the early 1990s, when Perry began serving as a statewide elected official, the transactions have helped him earn about $2 million in pre-tax profits, according to interviews, public records and news accounts.

In 1995, Perry sold a 9.3-acre tract in Austin to Dell, with Mike Toomey, an influential Texas lobbyist and longtime confidante, representing him at the sale. Dell bought the property for $465,000 and got access to important municipal sewage infrastructure. Perry had bought the property for a reported $122,000 in 1993, giving him a $343,000 profit.

A little more than a year later, acting on a tip from Gary Bradley, the flashy Austin developer, Perry bought 60 acres of land southwest of Austin. He sold the tract less than three years later for a profit of $239,000. Bradley’s real estate empire went into bankruptcy in 2002.

According to available records, Perry’s most lucrative land deal was a 2007 transaction in which he sold a prime piece of real estate on the shores of Lake LBJ near Austin for $1.14 million at the height of the market. Records show he had bought the 0.68-acre tract for $314,770 in 2001 from Fraser, the state senator, who had acquired it and a nearby tract in the lake resort town of Horseshoe Bay. Perry’s office has described the transaction as “completely at arm’s length."

The lot Perry bought sits in an area of Horseshoe Bay known as The Peninsula, the town’s “most prestigious and exclusive waterfront address,” according to a description on the Horseshoe Bay Resort Realty website. Resort literature described the property, with 10-foot stone walls around it, as one of 10 lots taken from the estate of Horseshoe Bay’s founder.

After selling the land in 2007, Perry reported adjusted gross income of $1,092,810, while paying $195,023 in taxes. It was the best year, in terms of income, that Perry has disclosed so far.

The governor’s office did not respond to requests for the Perrys’ 2010 return and did not volunteer the market value of their blind trusts. In 2009, the governor’s office pegged the value of the trust at $896,000. The Perrys reported income of $200,370 in 2009, which included the $65,000 from Anita Perry’s work as a consultant for the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault.

Apart from the money he made on land deals, Perry reported a profit of $38,000 in 1996 after selling shares of Kinetic Concepts Inc., a hospital equipment company founded by one of Perry’s most generous donors, James Leininger of San Antonio, the school voucher proponent. All of Perry’s publicly traded stocks, and some other assets, have been transferred into his blind trust, records show. The trust has provided at least $600,000 in income to Perry since 1997.

It has not all been rosy. The blind trust Perry created in 1996 reported a half-million dollars in losses in 2008, in what Martin, the accountant, said was most likely caused by a sell-off during the market downturns that year.

“He’s had good timing, and he’s had bad timing,” Martin said. “When the stock market went down, it looks like he pulled out of the stock market, or at least his blind trust did, and he has a significant capital loss now.”

Perry’s most recent personal financial statement, filed with the Texas Ethics Commission earlier this year and covering 2010, also reflects a loss, reported as less than $5,000, on the sale of a house the Perrys owned in College Station, where their daughter attended college.

One area that has grown on Perry’s financial disclosures in recent years: gifts received by the couple. The latest disclosure included seven pages of them, up from three in each of the two previous years. They included a hat, transportation, lodging and hunting trips from various contributors and friends. Mrs. Perry received a gift last year of “hair products” from Farouk Shami, maker of the popular CHI flat iron and at one point in 2010 a Democratic contender for her husband's job. Shami later dropped out and endorsed the governor.

Boots seemed to be the most popular gift. The records show that since 2007, Perry has received 10 pairs from a variety of donors, including several from the famed Houston bootmaker Rocky Carroll.

This post originally appeared at The Texas Tribune.

reputation management seo

CBS News Chief: 'We Did Lose Some Viewers' During Katie Couric ...

Jeff Fager sees a brighter future ahead with Scott Pelley as anchor.

CBS News Chief: 'We Did Lose Some Viewers' During Katie Couric ...

NASCAR - CUP: BREAKING NEWS – Keselowski Hurt

Brad Keselowski was injured today at Road Atlanta…

NASCAR - CUP: BREAKING NEWS – Keselowski Hurt

08/03/2011: U.S. Department of Justice, EPA to Hold News ...

3, 2011) - Representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold a news conference at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 4, in St. Louis, Mo., to discuss a significant ...

08/03/2011: U.S. Department of Justice, EPA to Hold News ...

Monday, August 1, 2011

Online Money Making Opportunities

The economic uncertainty of the next few years is leaving people to wonder if they will even have a job next year. With budgets already tight, many families are struggling to keep one job and still have difficulties making ends meet. The good news is that you can begin to supplement your income this year by taking advantage of online opportunities in blogging, podcasting, and writing for others. If you’re passionate about something, you can find a way to express yourself in the online world and eventually start to make extra money from it.

Making Money With A Blog

While blogging has great long term potential, don’t expect to make money with a blog right away. If you’re looking for a way to express your passion while taking advantage of potential income opportunities like Adsense or affiliate products, starting a blog is a great place to begin. It’s common for bloggers to see small earnings in the first year, but don’t expect to pay for your mortgage right away. With consistent posting and a commitment to providing good information to your online community, you can start to see a few extra dollars.

Writing For Other Sites

One of the best ways to land a job writing for others is by writing your own blog and getting an invitation to join a staff writing team. You can, however, find legitimate writing jobs online that pay well. One of the newest resources is the ProBlogger job board, which lists the job requests of companies who are hiring writers. Topics range from technology to fashion and can pay from $10 an article to $75 and up.

Create an eBook or Webinar

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With the launch of Radical.FM‘s public beta I have rediscovered a long-lost love, fostered in the ’80s saturated cartoons and buddy-pics of my youth: ridiculous adjectives. Despite the fact that the new social music service is probably more notable for its committment to innovative features and interesting software, for me at least, it creates a more notable distinction for itself on name alone.

So what is Radical.FM? Well, we might as well do this right.

TUBULAR FEATURES!

Radical.FM looks to set itself apart from the pack through the inclusion of a suite of essential features, all integrated into a single service. Inspired by user-made “radio station” sites (like Slacker and Pandora) and the kind of on-demand playlist creation made popular by Rhapsody, Radical.FM looks to position itself as a sort of “catch-all” social music solution.

The application is presented well, coming complete with robust player controls and an interesting new take on song recommendation that shrugs off tricky algorithms in favor of user-chosen genre groupings. Being able to select from given genres (defined by personal takes on the nebulous term) allows for more intelligent blending of smaller playlists into a greater whole. Operating as a browser-based application (with mobile iterations to follow), Radical.FM combines a number of the most popular social music features into a single service in a way that could very well attract a devout fan following.

STOKED FOR NEW SOFTWARE?

The current inclusion of — and I swear I’m not making this name up — RadCast, Radical.FM’s patent-pending music streaming software, and plans for the release of DeeJay (technology that allows users to speak to their RadCast subscribers) also serve to make the service a unique one. While these two features alone create a great opportunity for amateur DJs, Radical.FM is also working on the launch of a sister site, Radical Indie — something that would help to bolster support for fledging artists while simultaneously creating a community where discovering new bands is simple. The current (and future software) that act as Radical.FM’s foundation provide fantastic possibilities for users interested in the social side of web-based listening.

And that brings us to:

GNARLY NETWORKING!

Social networking has been given its dues with Radical.FM as well. Aside from the standard inclusion of Facebook invitations, the most community-centered aspect of the app comes from its ability to be used as a free personal radio station, as touched on above. Radical.FM provides every member with their own station and is working on offering Play On Demand services to premium subscribers. Regardless of whether a user chooses to pony up money or not, the social aspect made possible through radio functionality is a fantastic way to share and discover music with friends and strangers alike.

Personal music streams can be shared by both amateur enthusiasts and professional recording artists. In Radical.FM’s press information, the app’s creators even posit the (corporate daydream) of ” . . . Lady Gaga . . . [having] millions of fans tune-in to her station”. The fact that Radical.FM’s infrastructure is composed of legal files makes this actually possible — and a pretty excited prospect.

Interested in checking out the (actually not in any way 80′s-culture related) Radical.FM for yourself? Do a click on these words and sign up for the free public beta to take it for a spin. It’s fresh enough that, even in beta, I’m willing to give it a tenative four out of a possible five cowabungas.

News In Brief: Molecules/Matter & Energy - Science News

Clear batteries, mucus busters, a 3-D invisibility cloak and more in this week's news.

News In Brief: Molecules/Matter & Energy - Science News

More bad poll news for Obama as debt deal brings smiles to Capitol ...

Large increase in number of Americans who see Obama as 'too confrontational.'

More bad poll news for Obama as debt deal brings smiles to Capitol ...

Local News Reporter Shot with BB Gun During Live Segment

Leanne Suter, a reporter for KABC in Los Angeles, was shot in the hand with a BB gun yesterday while doing a segment on weather. We can't find video of the incident itself, but apparently Leanne is such a bad-ass that ...

Local News Reporter Shot with BB Gun During Live Segment

Friday, July 29, 2011

Making Money Your

The following is supposedly a letter written by a Montana farmer to Alan Simpson, a former senator from Wyoming.

Simpson was the co-chair of the commission President Obama appointed in 2010 to look at ways to fix our deficit problem. The recommendations of the commission were instantly ignored.

Last year, Sen. Simpson compared Social Security to a milk cow with 310 million teats. He also called America's senior citizens the "greediest generation."

This letter points out that Sen. Simpson himself, along with many other career politicians, has spent his life sucking on the taxpayer's teat.

We have no idea if the letter is real, but we imagine it captures the feelings of many Americans as they watch their dysfunctional government drive the country ever-deeper into a hole by making decisions that seem designed only to get them re-elected.

Given the extent of our current financial problems, some government leaders at some point are going to have to break promises made to Americans by their government predecessors--predecessors who made promises they knew they couldn't keep.

The politicians could make this news go down a bit easier if they imposed the consequences of some of these broken promises on themselves.

Here's the text of the supposed letter to Mr. Simpson. We've edited out some adjectives and expletives.

Hey Alan, let's get a few things straight...

1. As a career politician, you have been on the public tit for FIFTY YEARS.

2. I have been paying Social Security taxes for 48 YEARS (since I was 15 years old. I am now 63).

3. My Social Security payments, and those of millions of other Americans, were safely tucked away in an interest bearing account for decades until you decided to raid the account and give OUR money to a bunch of zero ambition losers in return for votes, thus bankrupting the system and turning Social Security into a Ponzi scheme that would have made Bernie Madoff proud.

4. Recently, just like Lucy & Charlie Brown, you pulled the proverbial football away from millions of American seniors nearing retirement and moved the goalposts for full retirement from age 65 to age 67. NOW, you are proposing to move the goalposts YET AGAIN.

5 I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying into Medicare from Day One, and now you propose to change the rules of the game.. Why? Because you mismanaged other parts of the economy to such an extent that you need to steal money from Medicare to pay the bills.

6. I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying income taxes our entire lives, and now you propose to increase our taxes yet again. Why? Because you spent our money so profligately that you just kept on spending even after you ran out of money. Now, you come to the American taxpayers and say you need more to pay off YOUR debt.

To add insult to injury, you label us "greedy" for calling bs on your incompetence. Well, now I have a few questions for YOU.

1. How much money have you earned from the American taxpayers during your 50-year political career?

2. At what age did you retire from your political career, and how much are you receiving in annual retirement benefits from the American taxpayers?

3. How much do you pay for YOUR government provided health insurance?

4. What cuts in YOUR retirement and healthcare benefits are you proposing in your disgusting deficit reduction proposal, or, as usual, have you exempted yourself and your political cronies?

It is you and Congress who are the "greedy" ones. It is you who have bankrupted America and stolen the American dream from millions of loyal, patriotic taxpayers. And for what? Votes. You have bankrupted America for the sole purpose of advancing your political careers. You know it, we know it, and you know that we know it.

The banks of America recently pitched enough of a hissy fit to effectively neuter swipe fee reform — after they raised rates, instituted fees and canceled rewards programs — claiming they'd be swiped into the poor house by the reduced fees. But not to worry, bankers are a clever folk and they always have a way to profit off your transactions. Like, for example, colleting information about your shopping habits.

According to CNN, Wells Fargo, Citi, Discover and others have begun gathering the information about your shopping habits — where you shop, what you but, how much you spend. Retailers contact the banks about the types of customers they want to target and the banks craft custom coupons which, if used, the bank sees a nice chunk of change from.

From CNN:

Say you use your Citi-issued debit card to buy a pair of shoes at Nordstrom, and then Citi sells that information to a series of retailers. As a result, you receive a coupon from Macy's for a 20% discount on shoes at its store. The coupon is delivered by Citi, however, not from Macy's.

To redeem the coupon, you must respond by text, e-mail or by checking off a box next to the offer on your online bank statement. Once you go into Macy's to buy the shoes, Citi will retroactively credit your account for the 20% discount. Some banks, however, only let you cash in your discounts via their online portals.

Retailers pay the banks somewhere between 10-15% of the purchase price when a coupon is used. The bank keeps about 25% of that fee with the rest going to a third-party service. So if you pay $1000, the bank could end up making upward of $37.50 from the retailer, on top of what they were paid for your original information.

Some banks have already started programs like this and in many cases the customer is automatically enrolled, though they are legally obliged to let you opt out.

And while some say the targeted discounts will increase customer loyalty with retailers and provide consumers with coupons they will actually use, experts warn against potential pitfalls, like fine print that excludes certain brands or adds restrictive conditions on getting the discount. If your bank applies the discount retroactively, you might not notice you didn't save any money until after you've made your purchase.

"There's a risk that you might not get what you're hoping to get — you're leaving the store and you don't know how much you were actually charged for something," the CEO of CardHub.com tells CNN. "Then if you don't see it on your credit card statement, what do you do? Call your bank? Call the intermediary company? Or call the merchant? If they start using fine print, the whole thing's just going to be a big mess."

As for privacy concerns, the companies that provide this service claim that retailers never see any identifying info about the bank customer, just a numeric code. Only the bank has the ability to match up that code with the customer's account. While this should inspire confidence, it means that your data is only as secure as your bank's account system.

While the idea of targeted discounts — assuming they actually meet your shopping needs — programs like this should be opt-in only. Wouldn't that be in the best interest of everyone? The customer signs up for a program; the retailer knows that the customer has opted in and thus interested in receiving the coupons; happy customer receives coupon, uses it and bank gets money.

Banks' billion-dollar idea: Sell your shopping data [CNN]

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