James L. Paris's Blog, page 184

University Says Don't Try And Trick Us By Disguising Your Christmas Party As A Holiday Party

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

According to the University of Tennessee���s Office for Diversity and Inclusion, the best holiday parties hosted on campus are those that do not include Christ���you know, the very reason for the season���on the guest list.

While declaring at the outset of its online document ���Best Practices for Inclusive Holiday Celebrations in the Workplace��� that the university has no official policy regarding religious and/or cultural celebration, the piece immediately moves on to warning against the holding of holiday parties that reflect any sort of religious theme. Take, for example, this line: ���Ensure your holiday party is not a Christmas party in disguise.���

Huh?

For starters, let me just say how ridiculous it is that a university would bother putting out any sort of document in the first place that outlines the ���best practices��� of a holiday party. Best practices? For a holiday party?

If I were any of the people at UT���s Office for Diversity and Inclusion, I would be afraid that others, after reading this drivel, might get the idea that the unit is overstaffed, underworked, or some combination of the two. After all, if that crew really has the time to publish something so patently silly, clearly there���s not enough going on there of substance that demands their time. You want more proof? The ���Best Practices��� document even goes as far, and is as specific, as to recommend that ���refreshment selection should be general, not specific to any religion or culture.��� Secret Santa gift exchanges? Those are mentioned, as well, as ���do-not do���s.���

This would be funny if it wasn���t completely serious. Alas, it is all too serious, in that it serves as another stark reminder for us all that political correctness is no longer just an annoyance, but something that continues to insidiously worm its way into the very fabric of the American way of life.

 

According to French Authorities, Many Paris Airport Workers on Terror Watch List

 By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

A comprehensive review of the security credentials of 86,000 workers at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris will be underway shortly, after it was revealed that 57 employees there who have direct access to planes are���if you can believe it���on a terror watch list.

Although the badges of numerous workers at the Paris airport were confiscated in the wake of the recent Paris attacks, it turns out that there are many more people who should be under additional scrutiny but who nevertheless remain there as workers in various capacities. The major review of credentials is to begin with those who explicitly work in the realm of security, according to French police officials.

It has also come to light that Arabic graffiti was recently spray-painted on four planes of British carrier EasyJet, as well as on one plane of Spanish airline Vueling. Three of the vandalized planes were found in Lyon, while the other two were at Charles De Gaulle in Paris.

There is also growing concern over those who work in association with the French bus, Metro, and railroad transportation networks. One of the Paris terrorists, Samy Amimour, was able to secure a job as a bus driver while he was on a terror watch list.

 

Free Credit Report And Credit Score

I am very excited about the evolution of the process involved with a consumer obtaining their credit reports and scores. It seems like just yesterday when the routine was to send off a letter making a request from each bureau directly, and then waiting two weeks or longer for the credit reports to arrive in the mail. Today, you can access your credit reports and scores through a wide variety of services, and you can do so online in just minutes. No, I am not making reference here to the large number of services offering a free trial membership. These services are free, but after 30 days you start paying a monthly fee. There is simply no reason to sign up with one of these programs when free options are available for both your credit reports and credit scores.

Option 1 - Free Online Credit Report Portal

Without going into a lengthy explanation here, the government requires the three major credit bureaus to provide you with a free copy of your credit report one time per year. You are also entitled to additional free copies any time you are turned down for credit (due to information on your credit bureau report). Simply go to Annual Credit Report.com and follow the steps and you should be able to access your credit reports (with all three bureaus) in under ten minutes. In some cases, if you are not able to successfully verify your identity (through challenge questions), you will have to complete the process by mail. 

Option 2 - Free Credit Reports, Scores, And Ongoing Monitoring

The best overall method for accessing your credit reports are through two services - Credit Karma and Credit Sesame. Not only will you be able to access all three of your credit bureau reports, but your credit scores, and you can even set up credit monitoring. If you only sign up with Credit Karma, you will be accessing just two of the three credit bureaus. By using both services, you have your complete credit profile. 

In addition to obtaining an initial  free copy of your credit report and your credit scores, you can do so as often as you like (just log back in to your free account). Each of these services will also give you recommendations on steps you can take to raise your score. Lastly, you can set up free credit monitoring as well. Instead of paying $10 to $20 monthly for one of those expensive credit monitoring services, you get free 24/7 monitoring. This means that you will receive an e mail alert any time your credit file is being accessed. This is the key to identity theft prevention. 

Why is this free? This question comes up a lot, and I was wondering about this myself when I signed up. You will see ads and offers when you log in to your account. For example, based on your credit score you might be offered a specific credit card or home loan. The advertisers pay good money to be able to make these offers to individuals based on their credit profile. As a result, this arrangement is a win-win for all parties concerned.

Do-It-Yourself Credit Repair

For the next 48 hours, I am making available a couple of very nice bonuses. First, my library of credit repair letters (normally only available to subscribers) - Click Here. Secondly, my very popular two hour video on credit repair. To get your free video download, Click Here and use coupon code Moody Radio. Be sure to insert the coupon code and click 'apply' and then you will see the price drop from $15 to zero. 

Helping you make the most of God's money!

James L. Paris 
Editor-In-Chief ChristianMoney.com 
Follow Me on Twitter Twitter.com/jameslparis
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After San Bernardino Massacre, Sheriff in New York County Asks Licensed Gun Owners to Stay Armed

 By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor Large

Just a day after the massacre in San Bernardino, California, the Ulster County (New York) Sheriff took to Facebook to implore those residents of the county, who are appropriately licensed, to begin carrying concealed handguns wherever they go. Ulster County is about two hours north of New York City, and while neither the politics of the Big Apple nor those of the state, more generally, are terribly conducive to the prevalent carry of firearms by the citizenry, it is clear that not everyone in New York���including ranking members of law enforcement���are supportive of that broadly anti-gun position.

Said Sheriff Paul J. Van Blarcum in his post:

���In light of recent events that have occurred in the United States and around the world I want to encourage citizens of Ulster County who are licensed to carry a firearm to please do so. I urge you to responsibly take advantage of your legal right to carry a firearm. To ensure the safety of yourself and others, make sure you are comfortable and proficient with your weapon, and knowledgeable of the laws in New York State with regards to carrying a weapon and when it is legal to use it.���

The shooting in California has prompted the typical, knee-jerk reactions from the ���usual suspects��� of the liberal persuasion (including President Obama), reactions that focus almost exclusively on using the tragedy as a basis for passing even more stringent gun control laws and otherwise making it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves.

All responsible Americans should take a good look at arming themselves nowadays. If carrying a concealed handgun is not for you, so be it. However, if it is something you feel comfortable doing, then, by all means, visit the appropriate website for your state to learn more about how you can become licensed. If you���re not sure where to start, Googling ���concealed weapons permit (your state)��� should get you where you need to be.

Depending on where you live, as well as on your particular lifestyle situation, you might find it beneficial to pursue your concealed weapons permit as a non-resident licensee of another state. Virginia, for example, has a way for you to obtain one of their licenses as a non-resident. You might be thinking to yourself, ���What good does this do me, exactly?��� Well, if you know that Virginia concealed weapons permits have reciprocity with a multitude of other states, you might more seriously consider the prospect of having the license. Plus, even if you have a ���regular��� permit from your own state, nothing stops you from having another as a form of ���insurance.���

Anyway, if you think you might have an interest in picking up a non-resident concealed weapons permit, there���s an easy way to do it���a course that���s custom-made for those who want a hassle-free way to gain new or additional concealed weapons licensure. Click here to find out more about it.

Even if you choose not to arm yourself, please be extra-aware of your surroundings as you move about the country right now. I don���t think it is being ���alarmist��� to say that we live in very dangerous times now, and that the risk of sudden, deadly attack is much greater than it was years ago.

Millennials Across the Developed World Face Worsening Retirement Prospects

 By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

No surprise here, but confirmation of what most of us suspected, nonetheless: younger members of the workforce today are facing bleak retirement prospects. According to a new study of the world���s richest economies, there will be just a small number of countries capable of paying out pension benefits anything close to those doled out presently.

Europe has long maintained a tradition of having more time to ���stop and smell the roses,��� when it comes to work culture. Copious amounts of time away from work, as well as generous pensions paid out to all citizens, have been hallmarks of working in European countries seen as progressive. However, it appears that economic reality is fast catching up to all but a very few of them.

For example, pensions paid out in Britain are presently just under 40 percent of salaries earned, but in 40 years, that figure will be right around 30 percent. As for Americans, while we are right now bringing home about 45 percent of our salaries in the form of retirement income, that figure is expected to drop to about 35 percent by around 2050.

The bottom line is that as the number of older citizens in countries across the globe continues to grow substantially in relation to the number of younger citizens burdened with financing their senior citizen benefits, those benefits will have to be adjusted in a variety of ways, principally by extending official retirement ages, as well as by a simple lowering of sums paid out.

 

Black Alum Responsible for Tweets Threatening Black Students, According to Police

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

It turns out that a recent Kean University graduate, a black alumnus named Kayla-Simone McKelvey, has been charged in connection with several tweets made a couple of weeks ago that threatened the black students on campus. McKelvey was charged by summons with ���third-degree creating a false public alarm.���

According to a joint investigation conducted by the Union County (New Jersey) Prosecutor���s Office and campus police, McKelvey, a self-proclaimed student activist, was participating in an anti-racism campus rally on November 17, and left the rally while it was still going on to send out the tweets. It is alleged she went to a computer station at a Kean University library, created an anonymous Twitter account with a revealing handle���@keanuagainstblk���and then proceeded to send out tweets that said things like, ���i will shoot any black person i see at kean university.��� From there, McKelvey allegedly returned to the rally and began informing others as to the existence of the tweets.

McKelvey���s first court appearance is scheduled for December 14.

 

Prosecutor Says Juror in Jodi Arias Murder Trial Fell In Love With the Defendant

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

In a book due out in January, one of the prosecutors in the case claims that a juror in the Jodi Arias murder trial actually fell in love with Arias during the course of the proceedings. Prosecutor Juan Martinez makes the startling charge in his book Conviction: The Untold Story of Putting Jodi Arias Behind Bars, which is due out in January.

While Martinez does not actually identify the juror in his book, an alternate juror who served at the trial appears to have no reservations about either who she thinks it is, or about publicly naming him. According to Tara Harris Kelley, the juror who was madly in love with the convicted killer was none other than the jury foreman himself, 71-year-old Bill Zervakos.

According to Kelley, when she and Zervakos would sometimes go to lunch during the trial, he would tell her how young and attractive he thought Arias was, and that, in his opinion, no one who fit that profile could do what Arias was accused of.

For his part, Zervakos has vehemently denied that he had any sort of crush on Arias. Furthermore, he has gone on record to say that he never liked prosecutor Martinez, and sees the book as just a way for the attorney to profit from the high-profile case.

Nation���s Largest Health Insurer Says Greater Commitment to Obamacare Was a Mistake

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

UnitedHealth Group CEO Stephen Hemsley has declared that the company made a poor decision when it ventured further this year into the various, state-based, public insurance exchanges that exist largely to serve the Affordable Care Act.

UnitedHealth sold coverage on just four exchanges in 2014, but upped that to 24 exchanges for 2015. The larger embrace of the ACA, overall, has caused the company to suffer substantial financial losses this year, significant enough that it has had to adjust its earnings forecast downward.

At this point, Hemsley is undecided about whether UnitedHealth will even participate in selling coverage through the exchanges in 2017. That is a decision the company plans to make some time next year. However, Hemlsey is quick to say that whatever the company decides about 2017, any lowering of its involvement with the ACA and the exchanges will not be permanent. In his opinion, the real problem is that the market ���experience��� has yet to fully ���develop,��� and that once it does, it will be financially safer for companies like UnitedHealth to have greater exposure.

It shall be interesting to see how much more positively the functionality of Obamacare actually does evolve on behalf of both consumer and insurer; in addition to insurers complaining about enormous financial losses, large numbers of Americans are paying for coverage that they cannot really afford to use, given the high deductibles attached to most policies.

Newborn Baby Left in Manger of Church Nativity Scene

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

A New York City-area indoor church nativity scene recently came to life, quite literally, when a newborn baby boy���umbilical cord still attached and wrapped in swaddling clothes, of a kind���was deposited in that scene���s manger, left by a woman presumed to be the mother.

The infant was abandoned at Holy Child Jesus Church in the Richmond Hill section of the Queens borough. A custodian was in the middle of setting up the cr��che when he left for lunch, and, when he returned, he heard the baby crying from the manger.

Video surveillance shows a woman walking into the church with a baby in her arms, and then leaving the church alone. Police have indicated that the mother has been found, but she has not been charged with any crime. New York has a ���safe haven��� law by which a newborn baby may be left in a safe location without a crime having been committed.

Although the baby is now in the care of the state, several parishioners from the church have made inquiries about adopting the child.

The First Trial of Police Officers Charged in Freddie Gray Death Now Underway

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Today began the first in a series of trials of Baltimore police officers who were charged after Freddie Gray died in police custody back on April 19. First up is Officer William Porter, 26 years old, who happens to be black (Gray���s death has been cited as an example of the application of unnecessarily violent behavior by police departments against minority citizens). Porter is charged with manslaughter, assault, and reckless endangerment, and has pleaded not guilty. Jury selection is underway, presently, and it is expected that opening arguments will begin within a few days. This first trial is expected to be over by the middle of December.

Porter is one of six Baltimore officers charged in connection with Gray���s death. The charges he is facing are not the most serious of those leveled in connection with Gray���s death, and it is possible that Porter could be pressured by prosecutors into testifying against others charged in the case if he is convicted, 

Freddie Gray was arrested after fleeing from the police on April 12. Gray reported having breathing problems while he was being transported in the police van, and fell into unconsciousness. He died a week later.

The death of Freddie Gray became the flashpoint in a wave of rioting that plagued the city of Baltimore earlier this year. It is alleged by many that Gray was, at the time, just the latest in a long line of young black men who were, essentially, purposely killed by police. An accompanying narrative expressed by many is that the officers and/or agencies responsible for these deaths are predominantly white.