Saturday, August 13, 2016

How To Scam The Phone Scammers

Every now and again (like, daily) I get calls from people claiming to be with Google, Microsoft, a credit card company or even some law enforcement agency. Unfortunately, too many people fall for their scams, most particularly the elderly.

Here's what I do - it is both simple and effective. I tell the person (if it is a live person) I waste as much of their time as possible without providing any info, then ask them to give me their number and I will call them back, to verify they are who they say they are. They have two options - either they will not give their number (because they are scammers), or they will give their number (because they are stupid) and hope you will call back so they can get your info.

In the former instance, you have simply dropped them. In the latter instance, call the local authorities and give them the number the scammer gave you, so they can trace it. Scammer busted.

Now, if you get such calls and they are robocalls - a recording - simply hang up. That is always a scam. I usually leave the phone "off the hook" until they disconnect, as that wastes their time.

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Saturday, August 6, 2016

Why Earledreka White Was Wrong - and How It Could Have Been Different

Earledreka White, a black woman, was stopped for a motor vehicle infraction. The police officer, following protocol, asked for driver's license etc. The woman, probably because she is black and expecting racism, refused to comply, and called 911 for a second officer.

Although White already failed to comply, stating she was being "harassed" because the officer was following standard protocol, the video shows the cop waited patiently for nearly 3 minutes while she called 911.

Now here is perhaps the most important point - whenever anyone, regardless of the offense (or their color) refuses to comply with a police officer, the standard operating procedure requires the officer to handcuff the individual until such time as the threat level has been determined. This procedure is for the safety of the officer because most police officers who are killed on duty are killed during a minor traffic stop. He, like you, wants to go home at night to be with his family. Only an idiot would not understand that.

The officer did not know the woman. He did not know if she might be armed. He did not know if she might be on drugs. He did not know if she had warrants. All he knew was that she committed a motor vehicle infraction, and that she refused to comply with his requests. And in doing his duty as required (after patiently waiting for 3 minutes), he handcuffed her to insure his own safety until the threat level is determined.

White again refused to comply, and resisted, and tried to fight him. She escalated the situation. Why she did so we do not know, but I suspect it was for the purpose of pushing the Black Lives Matter agenda.

There is a lesson here, for anyone stopped by the police for any reason: do exactly what the officer asks you to do, immediately and without argument. Do nothing more, nor anything less. Chances are if you are not a felon and have no warrants, you will soon be on your way. And if you feel you were stopped without cause, or have any gripe as to how you are treated, take it to court. But do NOT argue with the officer, resist detention, or resist arrest. If you do, you will not like how it ends.

In Illinois a police officer had stopped a man. The man told the officer he had a gun. Per strict police procedure, the officer ordered him to place his hands on the dash. Instead, the man reached down, presumably for his license. The officer thought he was reaching for the gun and shot the man. Though tragic, it was a good shoot, as the officer knew he had a gun, the man did not comply with the officer's request to keep his hands clear, and the officer wanted to go home that night. Had the man simply done what he was told, the officer would have had no reason to feel threatened and would not have shot him.

Ms White should have simply complied with the officer, who would have then either issued her a warning or a ticket, and she would have been on her way. She chose, instead, to be adversarial, resulting in  making the situation worse. That's on her.

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Thursday, August 4, 2016

Why It Does Not Matter Where Trump Ties Are Made

With all due respect to those who are unaware of a CEO's responsibility to his/her company, employees, and stock holders, Hillary Clinton seems to be trying to make hay out of the fact that Trump has products, such as his line of ties, made outside the United States, and is trying to hammer him with that. And to many, having his products outsourced may seem a bit unpatriotic. But it is not. What IS unpatriotic is a tax rate and harsh regulations that force businesses out of the U.S.

A CEO's first and greatest responsibility is to maximize profits. Period. And in this day and age, that almost REQUIRES that products be outsourced simply because our government imposes the highest corporate tax rate in the world, and imposes the most restrictions and heavy-handed regulations, all of which makes it impossible to "maximize" profits.

And it is Democrat administrations and a Democrat congress that typically keeps those taxes high, and imposes thousands of new regulations every year. It is Republicans that want lower taxes and less government. The problem lies in the fact that Democrats convince people that it is the "greedy corporations" that are the problem, and they need to be taxed and regulated in order to achieve some sort of "social justice". So, they get away with it because the folks never realize that by punishing business, you drive it away. Money and businesses go where they are most welcome, and that is not in the U.S.

That said, by outsourcing manufacturing, Trump is being a good CEO, and is doing his job successfully. Take that to the logical conclusion, if elected president we should expect him to do for America what he did for his company - make it WORK! Being POTUS would give him a different responsibility, and there is no reason to believe he would not take that one just as seriously.

Trump gets the job at hand DONE. And if his new job is POTUS,  first and greatest responsibility would be to make America great again, and to make America a place that welcomes the money and the business.

So, to make a long story short, it really does not matter where Trump makes his ties...