Talks about the execs receiving bonuses after receiving bail-out money have never ceased.  The government has also tried to urge investors to buy government toxic assets while the US automakers asks us to reject foreign imports.  Do these appeal for economic patriotism make sense at these times?

It may sound cold but economists say that the capitalist system works best when individuals act in their own economic self interest – and not to try patriotism into own account.  And consumers are doing just that.  Whether we are buying a car, industrial products or other goods, we tend to buy the best product at the best price.  So Buying American seems to be more like a slogan than anything meaningful.  That is because we don’t know how much of any product is really made in the US.  Buying a product to help the domestic economy according to mainstream economists will take away the U. S. company’s incentive to become globally competitive.

Does Buy American still makes sense at this time of crisis?

The election here in Minnesota is filled with odds and surprises.  Not only that the incumbent senator Norm Coleman is neck to neck with Al Franken and is due for a recount sometime in the middle of November; but a toss coin decides who’s goign to be the Mayor of a tiny northwestern Minnesota town of Goodridge.

Incumbent Bob Homme and former Mayor Dave Brown each got 22 votes. Instead of finding the ballots and recounting the 44 votes, they agreed to decide the winner with a coin toss.

It already was a strange race in Goodridge — population 98 — with no one filing to run for mayor.  Brown and Homme were both write-ins.

To break the tie, each tossed his own coin. If it was even, meaning two heads or two tails, Homme would win the two-year term. If it was odd, meaning a head and a tail, Brown would win.

It was a head and a tail. Brown won.

Barack Obama was easily proclaimed President-elect last Tuesday night after a graceful concession speech made by his opponent – John McCain.  But there are still questions lingering about the 2008 Elections.  And it does concern the state where I am at right now.  Even until now, the election results are still in process.  Who will represent Minnesota in the Senate?

It was and is still a close fight between the Incumbent Senator Norm Coleman and the Democrat Al Franken.  To date, the latter is only 590 votes shy from Coleman after an initial count of almost 3 million ballots.  The slim margin in the race will bring out an automatic recount.  The Minnesota law requires a recount when the winning margin is less than half of 1%.  To be honest, I care less about these two candidates as they are both not pure-breed Minnesotans.  Franken came to Minnesota from California to represent the people who has not seen him for ages until this election started.  Coleman on the other hand was born and raised in New York and he voted for the bailout so that was really a big turn-off.  Only the third-party candidate Dean Barkley was born and raised here.

Whoever wins this Senate race, they better start considering what the people needs not what their party is all about.  For there is already another option other than voting for the “lesser of two evils” and the people has embraced it with 15% of the votes to start with.

Best-selling author Michael Crichton died unexpectedly in Los Angeles Tuesday, November 4, 2008 after a courageous and private battle against cancer.

Who would not have known the guy who wrote the historic and prehistoric science thrillers such as “Jurassic Park, “Timeline” and “The Andromeda Strain” has his own private battle of cancer.  This 6-foot-9-inch author was also a screenwriter and filmmaker, earning producing and writing credits for the film versions of many of his titles.  He also created the TV hospital series “ER” in 1994.

Through his books, Michael Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way we could all understand.

He will be profoundly missed by those whose lives he touched, but he leaves behind the greatest gifts of a thirst for knowledge, the desire to understand, and the wisdom to use our minds to better our world.

I just got an email allegedly to be coming from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) saying that I am eligible to receive a tax refund for a particular amount.  From the very moment that I got this email, I was already cautious since Travis nor I did not provide the IRS with any of our email addresses.  So how could they reach us in this manner?

This is the email that I got:

After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $1212,72.  Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 2-6 days in order to process it.

A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons.

For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.

To access your tax refund, please click here

Best Regards,
Tax Refund Deparment
Internal Revenue Service
© Copyright 2008, Internal Revenue Service U.S.A. All rights reserved.

If you click on that link, it will lead you to a Phishing site.  It is one of the sites that are designed to look like the real website (a.k.a. web forgeries) to trick you into revealing personal or financial information by imitating sources you may trust like the IRS in this case but I have encountered many incidents with Paypal.

Entering any information on this web page may result in identity theft or other fraud.

The good thing is, I’m glad I’m using Firefox 3 as my default browser because it has built in Phishing and Malware Protection which keeps me safe online. These features will warn you when a page you visit has been reported as a Web Forgery of a legitimate site (sometimes called “phishing” pages) or as an Attack Site designed to harm your computer (otherwise known as malware).

So to all my friends, fellow bloggers, readers and visitors of my blog, I would definitely recommend you update your broswer and start using Firefox 3 before you’ll ran out of unsafe sites that will cause much trouble.

The election is finally over.  Ballots have been casted and now counted.  Voting results are all over the net as each individual keep a close watch on who will win the race to the White House.  Regardless of where and how you see it, this election is indeed a historical one.  If Obama wins, he is going to be the 1st African-American President.  If McCain does, he will be the Oldest President elected on First Term.

In my point of view, this election is indeed historical because it brings people together to achieve one common goal: Liberty.  It touches my heart that despite the politics that this election brings, there are still people who set aside their differences.   Thanks Dr. Ron Paul for lighting the fire of Liberty in our hearts.  I am with you as our Revolution continues…

Learn more about the Revolution and meet people who share the same ideals to bring us back to our Constitution by visiting CampaignforLiberty.com.

Politics is a very sensitive issue. I have been trying to avoid including it in my blog. But my objective for having a blog as a source of information and a place where I store my thoughts and ideals would be put into waste if I will continue to elude from it.

I have no political affiliation.  I can’t say I’m a Republican and I am positive that I am no Democrat.  Each political party has its own good things and bad.  For me, it is just hard to associate myself exclusively in one political party when I am against in some of its views.  I for one is against amnesty which is one of the things that the Democrat Presidential Candidate is fighting for.  I am tired of raging war against other Nations that seemed never-endless.  As never-endless as the support of the Republican Presidential Candidate on the War in Iraq.  Just few of the many views that I have in opposition to each party.

When our Nation’s future seems forlorn, a spark of hope has emerged not from a particular person but from a group of people whose common vision is to to reclaim the America that once stand for Liberty and Freedom.  The group was spearheaded by the 10-time Texas Congressman Dr. Ron Paul.  His message was clear… hear him and the group of people who are eager to take back America and reinstate the Constitution.  It is not just the man… it is the movement!

I may not be an electorate for now.  But I’m getting involved for my future and for the future of my kids (when I have them).  My views and ideals for this country is in synchrony with Dr. Paul and the members of the Campaign for Liberty.

I am asking you to listen to their views, learn from these people and if you agree with their visions for our country, take some time and become a part of making history happen by taking part of this revolution that has just started… Join the Campaign for Liberty now!

Beijing has finally welcomed the world to the Games of the 29th Olympiad with an Opening Ceremony which took place at the Beijing National Stadium which is affectionately known as the Bird’s Nest.  To the eyes of the Chinese, the omens were good.   The ceremony started at 8pm on the 8th of the 8th month of the year 2008 – auspicious in a country where eight is the luckiest number.

A splendid fireworks display burst forth from the Bird’s Nest and lit up the night sky with brilliant colors.  It was witnessed by the maximum capacity of 91,000 people in the stadium with another 4 billion potential spectators worldwide.  It was thought to be as the largest, costliest extravaganza in Olympic history, bookended by barrages of some 30,000 fireworks.

To the beat of sparkling explosions, the crowd counted down the final seconds before the show began.  A sea of drummers—2,008 in all—pounded out rhythms with their hands, then acrobats on wires gently wafted down into the stadium as rockets shot up into the night sky from its rim.

Read the rest of this entry »

Chinese people believe that the number 8 is the luckiest number.  This could be enough luck for a family in Fergus Falls who is welcoming a baby girl born on the 8th day of the 8th month of the year 2008 at exactly 8:08 am at Lake Region Hospital.

And it just gets interesting when they weighed Hailey Jo Hauer.  And you’re not going to believe what she weighed.  Yes!  She weighs 8 pounds and 8 ounces!

It is indeed a one in a million chance.  Many think it was just mere coincidence or sheer luck and several hospital staff resolved to buy lottery tickets later that day.  Would you?

If you’d like to build a nest egg with your paycheck, it may be time to give up New York and head for Plano, Texas.  I read this on Yahoo! Financial section and thought I should share it.

A survey by pay experts at Salary.com evaluated 69 cities with more than 250,000 people and ranked the Big Apple last. Plano came in first among American cities in which to build personal wealth.
The survey, based on census data and Salary.com analysis, focused on local salaries, the cost of living and unemployment. Secondary factors, such as diversity of the local economy, residents’ education, percentage of population below poverty level and commute time were also measured.

According to the survey, the top five cities are home to some of the nation’s largest companies and have recorded strong periods of growth. Following first-place Plano came Aurora, Colo., Omaha, Neb., Minneapolis and Albuquerque N.M.

New York’s diverse economy and highly-educated residents couldn’t save it from sinking to the bottom due to its high cost of living and paychecks that just aren’t “inflated” enough to make up the difference, the report stated.

Looks like I’m in the right place… so far!