News and other tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share
It’s Y2K all over again! The National Debt Clock no longer has enough digits to accurately display the US national debt. They’ve got a temporary workaround, but we’ll have to wait until next year for a new clock with two additional digits. (God forbid the national debt should ever reach $1 quadrillion in my lifetime…)
Link: [Video] http://www.youtube.com/…
(via digg)
Link: [Non-Video] http://ap.google.com/…
In George Orwell’s famous novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, a primary feature of the totalitarian government is that every citizen is under continuous observation. Over the past couple years I’ve read about how various parts of the United Kingdom have gone all-out with video surveillance cameras. The linked video shows how pervasive it is. Oh, and you get to see a neat, 8-foot tall alien.
The linked article explains, in layman’s terms, how the largest bankruptcy in history occurred. I figure we, the taxpayers of the United States, should know something about AIG since we now own the company. And for those who want a more general explanation of “What the #$@(&* happened to our economy, there’s this Freakonomics article.
For those Chad’s News readers who’ve purchased makeup between 1994 and 2003, you could participate in a $175 million class action settlement. I figure this probably covers anyone who’s female, and possibly even a good number of men.
Link: http://consumerist.com/…
Due to the massive increase in the price of gasoline, the Internal Revenue Service has raised the standard mileage deduction. As of July 1st, it is $0.585 per mile instead of $0.505. The new rate applies to travel performed from July 1st to the end of the year. Note that the old rate still applies from January 1st to June 30th, 2008.
Link: http://www.irs.gov/…
(via The Consumerist)
Chad’s News has previously discussed compact fluorescent lightbulbs, but this 5-minute speech by US Representative Ted Poe provides an interesting counterpoint (as well as a political statement on government regulatory authority). Personally, I think my CFLs will hold out until LED lightbulbs are ready—I’ve lived at my current address for 2½ years and have had only one CFL burn out.
Link: http://youtube.com/…
(via Presurfer)
Kansas-based Creekstone Farms Premium Beef wants to test all of its animals for mad cow disease, in an effort to pacify its overseas customers. According to Creekstone, they’ve been losing business due to a fear of mad cow disease, and Creekstone simply wants to test every animal as a way of boosting confidence. This sounds like a good idea to me, but the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is fighting the effort, claiming that they have regulatory control over the test kits, and they have decided to not allow Creekstone to test every animal. Say what? This appears to be a basic food safety issue, and I really don’t understand what the USDA is thinking.
This story, having caused my jaw to drop in disbelief and my head to shake back and forth, all the while mumbling “That’s absurd,” officially wins the coveted Chad’s News Stamp of Absurdity. Other such items can be found in the “absurd” category
Link: http://www.cnn.com/…
(via The Consumerist)
Update: Slashdot has more information—the appeals court found that the USDA does have the right to restrict the use of mad cow disease testing kits. The case, however, was remanded to the U.S. District Court to determine whether or not the USDA’s refusal is arbitrary or capricious.
Starting tomorrow (Monday, May 12th), the cost of a first class letter will be raised to $0.42. Those who have purchased forever stamps, however, can ignore the price hike.
Link: http://www.usps.com/…
(via Consumerist)
In an update to this Chad’s News post, it turns out there can be serious problems with cars that run on grease, vegetable oil, and other biofuels. The problems are not mechanical or technical; rather, they have to do with legal and regulatory issues (at least in California).
Link: http://www.latimes.com/…
(via Neatorama)
Politicians have been fuming for years over the significant amount of sales tax lost to internet sales. Case law states that an internet business must have a physical presence in the state in order to be forced to collect sales tax for that state. In the case where the sales tax is not collected by the business, a use tax usually applies. But individual consumers rarely pay use taxes for internet purchases.
The state of New York believes it has found a loophole. Some online retailers, such as Amazon, have affiliate programs. If Chad’s News was an Amazon affiliate, for example, I would have special links on my site to Amazon products, and I’d receive a percentage of any sales made via someone clicking on those links. New York legislators contends that my (theoretical) status as an affiliate constitutes a physical presence, and (if I lived in New York) allows them to require Amazon to collect sales tax. It’s convoluted. Expect court challenges.
Link #1: http://www.internetnews.com/…
(via Slashdot)
Link #2: http://www.news.com/…
If you’re looking forward to your economic stimulus payout, The Consumerist has details on when your deposit/check should arrive.
Link: http://consumerist.com/…
The city of Dallas, TX installed traffic cameras at major intersections, to catch people running red lights. The cameras have been so successful at reducing infractions that they’re no longer generating enough revenue to cover their operational costs. So now Dallas is considering shutting down the cameras. This is a common governmental misconception, viewing tickets as a source of revenue rather than a punishment. It reminds me of municipal water boards that had to increase their prices, because their conservation campaigns reduced water usage to the point where they were losing money.
Link: http://www.dallasnews.com/…
(via Engadget)
