Michael Allen's Blog: Michael Allen Online, page 33

Stephen King’s Annie Wilkes Is Back In Season 2 Of ‘Castle Rock’

Annie Wilkes invaded our psyche when she appeared in Stephen King’s 1987 novel Misery. It wasn’t hard to imagine what she would be like, but Kathy Bates gave us that […]

Michael Allen - Novelist and Screenwriter

Hurricane Dorian Was Sophisticated Drug Mule For The Cartels

The path of the hurricane and the projected paths show there is something more to Dorian than meets the eye.

Michael Allen - Novelist and Screenwriter

Hilarious Cheers Blooper From ‘Please Mr. Postman’ Season 7 Episode 12

I just caught a blooper on ‘Cheers’ and I can’t figure out why it exists. How did they make this mistake? It’s from Season 7 Episode 12 ‘Please Mr. Postman’ […]

Michael Allen - Novelist and Screenwriter

Good Guy With A Gun Stops A Walmart Shooting

When they say there are no 'Good Guys with Guns,' there are plenty of incidences where the good guy with a gun was there.

Michael Allen - Novelist and Screenwriter

Freedom of Speech Confusion

People think they can say whatever they want because they are protected by the Freedom of Speech. Our First Amendment protects us all from certain legal ramifications, but that is all you can expect. There are always consequences to your actions!

You can almost say whatever you want without facing any criminal charges. The only thing you can’t say are words that incite a riot like yelling “fire” in a theater.

But, you can expect consequences for words that spark controversy. Don’t get confused! Your boss can fire you if your remarks cause the company to lose business because your words reflect on them.

A school might be able to discipline you because it is not a legal action. A school is an entity within itself. Parents can protest and that might keep an act of discipline from taking place.

You can get sued for what you say! If your words cause damage to a business or a person’s reputation, you can find yourself in a court of law answering for what you said, how you said it, in what way it was intended…etc.

Yes, you can almost say whatever you want without facing incarceration for your words. But, there are other consequences and don’t be shocked when people exercise their rights as a response to you exercising yours.

Personally, I will say whatever I feel like saying, whatever I feel is right or is important. But, I am willing to face the consequences for my actions. I know there will be many!

The Useless Electoral College

This presidential campaign will be so close that it actually gives me a chance to prove my hypothesis. Actual votes compared to state by state electoral votes change the result of the election. If true, electoral votes are an outdated method and we have available the resources we need to get a more accurate count.

 

I will show in numbers what I mean. But, I won’t be able to prove my hypothesis until after the election. That’s when I will be able to take tally and come up with actual numbers in real time.

But my hypothesis is fairly easy to understand. Each state has a number of electoral votes that are sent to Washington D.C. after Election Day. These electoral votes are calculated based on the population of the state. For instance, California has almost 40 million residents and gets 55 electoral votes while Wyoming has over half a million residents and gets 3 electoral votes. All other states fall between these two extremes and are awarded electoral votes accordingly.

If those were the only two states, let’s go with the widely held notions that California will vote Democrat and Wyoming will vote Republican. In that case, President Obama will win hands down with 55 electoral votes to Governor Romney’s 3 votes.

But if actual votes are counted, the election could be flipped. What if California votes Democrat by only a fraction of a percentage while Wyoming votes Republican overwhelmingly? That means that the vote in California might only be separated by a hundred thousand votes while Wyoming could possibly make up the difference.

In an example, if California voted Democrat at 50.1% that would be 18,664,232 Obama votes to 18,589,724 Romney votes. So, Wyoming would only have to vote 60% Republican to flip the election. At 60%, 338,176 votes would be for Romney while 225,450 would be for Obama. In that case, Romney would win the election with 18,927,900 votes to 18,889,682 votes for Obama.

This is particularly interesting in this election because of the state of Ohio. Depending on whose projections you are researching, everyone has their own perspective of how America looks on a political map. Obama is favored by such a small margin that it could actually come down to one state making all the difference in the world.

Ohio stands out to me because it is surrounded by Republican states and yet it is projected to vote democratically. Looking at a political map, everything else makes sense. The West Coast is voting Democrat. The middle states are mainly Republican. The North Eastern states are voting Democrat.

So, depending on how you look at Ohio, it could go either way. On a political map, it’s bordered by Pennsylvania and Michigan, which are projected to vote Democrat. But it’s also bordered by Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia, which makes it look like it’s seated comfortably in Republican territory.

If everything goes as projected, Obama wins by a narrow margin. That comes out to 11 votes over the race for 270 electoral votes. But if Ohio votes Republican, the election flips and Romney wins by a narrow margin. Ohio has 18 electoral votes and could very well be the most critical state on the map this election year.

However, to continue with my hypothesis, if Obama wins by a narrow margin of electoral votes, what does that mean when compared to actual votes? What if Ohio votes Democrat by 60%? That comes out to nearly 7 million actual Obama votes to over 4.5 million actual Romney votes. There are plenty of actual votes for Romney to flip the election.

Electoral votes were put in place before computers and the age of the internet. I’m sure with all the resources we have available, that we can keep a more accurate account of votes. One suggestion is that we have a national registry where each state inputs votes with Democrat and Republican teams monitoring as an administrator punches in the calculations.

We already have people transferring votes from ballots that aren’t machine readable. Democrat and Republican teams are monitoring that exercise. There would be no difference in tallying everyone’s actual vote and then inputting calculations in a national registry for a pure total of how the nation truly voted.

Once the election is over, we’ll be able to look at the actual numbers. I have a spreadsheet ready with as much data as I can input at this time. After the election, I’ll be able to report whether or not my hypothesis would have made a difference in this election. But the most important factor about turning to actual votes as opposed to electoral votes is that it truly gives greater weight to every vote. When each vote actually counts, everyone has a voice.

The Middle Income Misinterpretation

It would appear to me that more people than you think are misinterpreting the middle income discussion. Misinterpretations are flying all over the place. So, I’m going to do what I do best and provide an angle that might add some perspective.

The misinterpretations started with Mitt Romney when he was reported as saying that the middle income is $200,000 to $250,000 and less. But then, Barack Obama got into the mix when he defined “middle class” as making up to $250,000 a year.

In my eyes, they are both saying the same thing. But, let’s talk about some other numbers for a second. What so many people are focusing on is the fact that the “median” income is roughly $50,000 a year. But, if you make $200,000 a year, you are in the 94th percentile.

When people are reporting statistics, some fail to know what they mean. See what I did there? You will in a minute. A quick class on median is that it is the middle number in a list of numbers. That’s all.

If you have three incomes on a list: $20,000, $50,000 and $250,000. The median is $50,000 because it is the middle number. But, check this out! If the $250,000 income were removed and $10,000,000 were put in its place, the median would remain $50,000. It’s still the middle number.

I think a much better number to use is the mean, or the average. In the first scenario above, the mean income would be roughly $106,000. In the second scenario, it drastically changes to roughly $3.3 million. Big difference! While median doesn’t change at all based on any number above it or below it, mean is effected.

So, the median isn’t really a good number to use when you are trying to determine what I would have to call the middle of the middle income. The problem is that the U.S. Census Bureau even uses median. So, I’ll have to go with their calculations and they report, “Median household income was $50,054 in 2011.”

Page 7 – http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p...

So, let’s go with that for now. All that says to me is that’s the “middle” of the middle. That’s not the high end and that’s not the low end. That’s right smack dab in the middle.

The thing is that for the longest time we were talking about the top 5% of earners in America. Then, somehow our focus across the nation became the top 1% of earners in America. The difference is not small!

By the latest data available, from the IRS in July 2011, the top 5% of earners in America made at least $154,643 in 2009. The top 1% made at least $343,927. I don’t know why all this information isn’t digital and we can’t just have a huge computer spit out up-to-date statistics in real time. But, I’m confident I can continue with these numbers. I’m sure any variation will be slight compared to the amount of money we’re talking about anyway.

To return to what Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are saying, $250,000 and below isn’t a bad guestimate at where the TOP of the middle income is. Of course, everyone below that is included except, of course, for the low income. So, while reporters and other people who are trying to discuss the topic are attempting to stomp all over the top two presidential candidates for not “understanding” where the middle income is, I think it’s the non-credible media types who don’t understand.

If you make $50,000 a year, both Mitt Romney and Barrack Obama know that you exist and that you are somewhere near the middle of the middle. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that roughly $22,000 is poverty level for a family of 4. For 1 person, it’s just under $11,000.

So, $11,000 isn’t ideal for a person living alone and trying to make it. And for most of us across America, we’d love to make $250,000 and we really don’t think people who do belong considered in the middle income with the rest of us. But, those are roughly the two extremes of middle income.

Most of the news you are getting these days is skewed in some way. The best advice I have is to listen to what all sides have to say. Even if you don’t agree with someone’s opinion, take the time to listen. Take a good look at what they’re saying before you dismiss it. You just might find yourself weighing the truths from different angles and coming to a conclusion you can comfortably believe.

Posted in: Economy, Income by michaelallen / Tags: Barrack Obama, low income, median household income, median income, middle class, middle income, Mitt Romney, top 1%, top 5%

Spotting Internet Scams

I have been on the internet longer than most of my friends. I logged onto the internet for the first time in July of 1993. I used the AOL CD that came with my new computer.

Remember those AOL CDs that were all over the place? They were on cereal boxes and attached to sales flyers that came in your mail. In a typical week, you could end up with a hundred of them.

The first scam someone ever tried on me was after logging into AOL for the first time and having about twenty-five hundred minutes. I would get an instant message from someone claiming to be customer support and that there was a problem with my login. They wanted my username and password, which I immediately knew there was something wrong with that.

Since then, scams have evolved with changes that have taken place across the internet. You have to be very careful whenever you are doing anything. So, I hope I can help you identify scams that I have seen throughout the years.

 

First of all, if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Most companies that have your information know all about the scams. So, they put safeguards in their interactions so that you will never feel as if their practices are questionable.

For instance, I get emails from a company that I’ve been doing business with for years. They always include my full name and they never ask me for information in the email. They tell me to go to the site where I can read the full message in my internal inbox.

There are scammers who try to fake being this company. I get emails that are gmail, hotmail, or yahoo and have some kind of identifier so that I might think the email is legitimate. Professional companies will have their domain in the email, @domain.com. They normally don’t use gmail, hotmail, yahoo or any of the free services. That’s one give away.

Plus, never click a link in an email. If you think the email is actually from the company, then just go to your browser and type in the web address yourself. A link in an email could lead you to a fake site that looks a lot like the real thing. If you try to login, they have your login information stored in a database and now they can take advantage of your account. This is called phishing and it’s a common practice. People have tried to phish facebook, twitter and even google.

But, what’s scary is when they try to phish online banking companies and investing sites. You can get wiped out clean if you’re not careful. So, always go to your browser and type in the web address yourself!

 

Emails that come from a rich banker in South Africa or a lottery administrator from the UK are always a scam. You should be able to tell by the fact that they want very sensitive information. The lazy ones ask for bank account information on the first try.

I can’t imagine this scam working on anyone. But, it must be. I’m still getting these emails and I have been for years. The more savvy scams along these lines will ask you to contact someone, which is an email, an address or a phone number. Who is going to call and who will want to wait on the mail? So, they know the email will work.

So if you have inherited 1.5 million from an elderly lady who is dying and just wants you to administer her account for charity, ask yourself a few questions. Why do they need you to send them money to cover shipment of your check? There’s a million dollars there. Why can’t they just use that money?

 

Home shopping jobs are not always scams. I used to work for one and it was alright. I ate at nice restaurants for free. How you can tell the difference is that the scam will send you a check and have you cash it using your bank account. Then, they’ll have you run all over town buying items on a list. One of those things to do will be to visit the Western Union and send them a significant amount of the money they just sent you.

When the check comes back to your account, you’re the one who pays the fees and it ends up costing you thousands of dollars. But, they have the money you sent them via Western Union and they are off to another victim.

Something similar happened to me recently. A lady contacted me out of the blue and asked me if I could help her out getting her back to America. She was stranded and the company wasn’t paying her. Of course, I gave her the best advice I could but never sent her any money.

I told her to visit the embassy or find a church. Places like that have a way of helping people out when they are really in distress. Well, she eventually told me that the company paid her but she couldn’t get the check cashed. So, allowed her to send me the check. But, I gave her my bank’s address.

When the check arrived at my bank, I went there and then called the bank the check was drawn against. I asked the clerk who answered if the check would pass. She told me the check wasn’t legitimate. It was written against an account that had been closed.

A bank officer can’t give you account information as far as how much money is in the account. But if you read the account number to them and tell them the amount on the check, they can tell you whether or not the check will pass.

 

The worst form of scam though is when a scammer will use a tragedy to scam money. So, don’t allow yourself to get caught up emotionally in the tragedy and answer any email looking for donations. If you want to donate, watch the news or google it. You’ll find legitimate companies to take your money and do the right thing with it.

 

There are so many more scams that it’s hard to include them all. But as you can see the main premise, if it’s too good to be true, it most likely is. Do some investigating. Google a company’s name if it’s in the email. Contact the company directly if you feel someone is trying to scam you. It’s worth it to do your due diligence if it could mean hundreds or thousands of dollars in damage.

Most companies have their own spam email that you can use if you get spammed by someone claiming to be them. But in the case that you can’t find a spam or fraud email, use the federal government email to report scammers. Forward any suspicious emails to spam@uce.gov and let them handle it. Don’t alter the email in anyway. It contains information that you can’t see, but the IT Techs will know how to find it.

It’s Bullying Plain and Simple

We don’t need to worry about the government taking away our rights. We’re doing that just fine on our own.

Brad Pitt’s mother was threatened with her life because of her anti gay-marriage and anti-Obama letter. She received death threats because of her opinion.

Roseanne wished cancer on all people who eat Chick-fil-A. Cancer isn’t funny! It’s not something to wish on anyone whether you are joking or not. If you’re joking, you’re a moron. If you’re serious, you’re the essence of evil.

With death threats on people who believe differently than yourselves, you are creating a system of intolerance. The very intolerance you yourself say you won’t tolerate.

Roseanne and the people who threatened Brad Pitt’s mother need to be brought up on charges of assault. A lesson in law, a death threat is a verbal assault.

Once charges have been filed and those morons are put in their place, we need to bring the debate down a notch. I’d rather we return to the days when people guilted other people into believing what they believe than to see death threats go unchecked in public debate. By supporting anti-gay organizations, Chick-fil-A has cast its vote against gay marriage. They have practiced their right to speak as they wish. Don’t eat there if you disagree!

I like Henson’s resolve to donate the payment they received from Chick-fil-A to GLAAD, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Then, they severed partnership all together with Chick-fil-A. That’s hysterical!  That’s how you get the goat!

I have family and friends who are gay and I would hate to see them bullied for who they are and what they believe. They have the same rights I have to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The separation of Church and State was instituted for issues such as this and it’s time for America to realize that anti-gay laws do not make sense in a free country where the Church has been removed from dictating law. The Church has a right to influence public debate, but not to dictate the laws that we as a country will follow.

But, the day you attempt to eradicate freedom of speech by striking fear in people who don’t believe as you, that’s when you become the very thing you hate yourself. I will make my stand against tyranny before I take any other. Regardless if I am for gay marriage or not, I won’t stand idly by and watch as a bunch of bullies run rampant all over my Constitution because they think they have the right.

It’s Bullying Plain and Simple

We don’t need to worry about the government taking away our rights. We’re doing that just fine on our own.

Brad Pitt’s mother was threatened with her life because of her anti gay-marriage and anti-Obama letter. She received death threats because of her opinion.

Roseanne wished cancer on all people who eat Chick-fil-A. Cancer isn’t funny! It’s not something to wish on anyone whether you are joking or not. If you’re joking, you’re a moron. If you’re serious, you’re the essence of evil.

With death threats on people who believe differently than yourselves, you are creating a system of intolerance. The very intolerance you yourself say you won’t tolerate.

Roseanne and the people who threatened Brad Pitt’s mother need to be brought up on charges of assault. A lesson in law, a death threat is a verbal assault.

Once charges have been filed and those morons are put in their place, we need to bring the debate down a notch. I’d rather we return to the days when people guilted other people into believing what they believe than to see death threats go unchecked in public debate. By supporting anti-gay organizations, Chick-fil-A has cast its vote against gay marriage. They have practiced their right to speak as they wish. Don’t eat there if you disagree!

I like Henson’s resolve to donate the payment they received from Chick-fil-A to GLAAD, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Then, they severed partnership all together with Chick-fil-A. That’s hysterical!  That’s how you get the goat!

I have family and friends who are gay and I would hate to see them bullied for who they are and what they believe. They have the same rights I have to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The separation of Church and State was instituted for issues such as this and it’s time for America to realize that anti-gay laws do not make sense in a free country where the Church has been removed from dictating law. The Church has a right to influence public debate, but not to dictate the laws that we as a country will follow.

But, the day you attempt to eradicate freedom of speech by striking fear in people who don’t believe as you, that’s when you become the very thing you hate yourself. I will make my stand against tyranny before I take any other. Regardless if I am for gay marriage or not, I won’t stand idly by and watch as a bunch of bullies run rampant all over my Constitution because they think they have the right.

 

Posted in: Bullying by michaelallen / Tags: anti gay marriage, bullying, chick-fil-a, freedom of speech, gay marriage, intolerance