Tan without the sun or streaking

For many of us, summer means trying to look tan with some spending a great deal of time and money in tanning booths or to be spray tanned. There are other alternatives out there if you want to look tan, things like the tantowel, it uses the chemicals in your body to create a tan instead of dyes and uses a gradual process, so you don't look pale one day and super tan the next.

For the record ...

While I took shorthand back when I was in college, most of the times I report on a story I prefer to record as opposed to taking notes, the modernization of digital recorders makes it easy to transcribe by using my computer and having a recording of an interview or event can come in handy. This is especially important when it's a controversial topic, having the ability to prove a comment as opposed to saying, "that's what I wrote down" can be critical. I've had situations where someone accused me of not quoting them properly, only to have to change their stance when the recording is played back to them. With digital, all you have to do is make sure you have space and batteries as opposed to worrying about mini tapes.

Products for a cause

Although the majority of Americans (96%) say they can identify two to three causes that are important to them personally, the recent 2011 MSLGROUP Social  Purpose Index found that only thirty-seven percent of Americans have actually purchased a product associated with a cause in the past year.  The gap between socially-conscious consumers' and their actual cause-related purchase decisions can be explained through heightened skepticism in the marketplace today. This skepticism is a result of many companies supporting causes that don't necessarily make sense for their business or their brands. Seventy-four percent of Americans agree that there is often too much of a disconnect between the causes companies support and the brands and products they sell (74%), while nearly as many (67%) feel that companies only support causes to sell products.

"These findings suggest that simply tying a cause to your product to get consumers to purchase is no longer enough, despite what others are telling you," said Scott Beaudoin, SVP, North America Director of Cause Marketing and CSR at MSLGROUP, one of the world's top five global  PR and events agencies.  "In order to connect with consumers in an authentic and meaningful way, companies need to elevate beyond purpose-driven table stakes and better align their core competencies with societal needs in order to fuel greater participation and profits."

House Act most extreme pieces of budget legislation in decades

 The "Cut, Cap, and Balance Act" that the House of Representatives will vote on next week stands out as one of the most ideologically extreme pieces of major budget legislation to come before Congress in years, if not decades.  It would go a long way toward enshrining Grover Norquist's version of America into law.  It is so extreme that even the budget plan of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan would not fully satisfy its requirements — the Ryan plan's budget cuts wouldn't be severe enough.

The bill also would threaten the U.S. government with default and would likely cause the loss of roughly 700,000 jobs in the year ahead.  In addition, the bill would target programs for the poor for cuts, while protecting tax breaks for the wealthy and powerful.

The version of the "Cut, Cap, and Balance Act" that House Republican leaders are now circulating would require total federal spending to be shrunk to less than 20 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2018 and years thereafter.  The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that under the Ryan budget plan — which cuts non-security discretionary programs by 33 percent by 2021, cuts Medicaid by$1.4 trillion over the coming decade (and slices it in half by 2030), and shifts thousands of dollars a year in costs to Medicare beneficiaries — federal spending would exceed 20 percent of GDP in most coming years.  CBO estimates, for example, that federal spending under the Ryan plan would equal 20 1/4 percent of GDP in 2022 and 20 3/4 percent in 2030.

Terms of insurance

If you have ever wondered what is term life insurance compared to whole life insurance, the answers can easily be found on the internet. There are many reasons why term life insurance works better for some as an option and there can be a price difference between term and whole life. However, at times whole life can be a better option, while you can easily purchase insurance on the Internet, take some time to do your homework first.

Three vie to replace Ron Paul

Shortly after Congressman Ron Paul announced he was not seeking re-election, three Libertarian candidates announced their interest:

Beaumont real estate agent Amy Jacobellis, 54, serves currently as Chair of the Jefferson County LP affiliate.

Bob Smither, 66, who in 2006 was the Libertarian Party of Texas’ candidate in the special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay. A self-employed engineering consultant, Smither chairs the Galveston County LP affiliate.

Dallas attorney Eugene Flynn, 62, with service on the Texas State Libertarian Executive Committee and experience in immigration law.

How Winnie-the-Pooh took over the world

Recommended article -- from The Atlantic -- just one small part:

The latest Winnie the Pooh film comes out today, marking the fifth time Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and friends have appeared in a feature-length movie. But the inhabitants of the Hundred-Acre Wood aren't just movie stars: Since A.A. Milne introduced the world to Christopher Robin's animal buddies with his 1926 book Winnie-the-Pooh, the characters have appeared on chinaware, baby bibs, vitamin bottles, and much, much more. In 2004, the characters came in second in a Forbes list of the top-earning fictional characters—just a hair behind Mickey Mouse and company—with a $5.6 billion annual income.

How did Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, et al transform from introspective children's literary characters to brand ambassadors for everything from paper dolls to bandages?

Check out the timeline for the answer ...

Scanners at the ready

When you have a large number of documents that need to be scanned, it can be time consuming, especially depending on the quality of the equipment you are using to scan. It's why many people and businesses turn to services like RoyalImaging.com document scanning for their needs. A company that does this as a service typically has higher quality (which means faster) equipment and it frees up the employee hours needed to stand or sit there at a scanner.

Gay marriage has always been an ideal niche for liberaltarians

At least according to New York Magazine:

Gay marriage has always been an ideal niche for liberaltarians. After all, it's the states, not the feds, that are the ones deciding whether it should be legal, a question that feeds into libertarians' federalist affinities. And when you strip away the cultural and identity politics, gay marriage is really just a fight about whether the government should be allowed to regulate personal liberty. On that, again, libertarians side with liberals.

Yes -- and no. The actual Libertarian Party position on marriage:

Monday, April 13, 2009

Libertarians applaud steps toward marriage equality

America’s third largest party wants government out of marriage entirely

WASHINGTON – America’s third largest party Monday praised officials in Iowa, Vermont and the District of Columbia for taking recent steps toward marriage equality, and urged legislators in all states to scrap government licensing, taxation and regulation of marriage.

“The government’s power to define marriage has historically been used as a tool to retaliate against minority groups, and the right to marry is the newest frontier of civil rights. Libertarians everywhere applaud this advancement of civil rights, but warn the only way to guarantee true marriage equality is to get government out of the question entirely,” said Catherine Sumner, LBGT policy advisor for the Libertarian National Committee.