Consumption Rules

A huge protest is being planned for Monday, during which millions of immigrants will boycott school, work, economic activity, etc. to support immigration, or to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants, or something.

“The great slogan of the American Revolution was ‘No Taxation Without Representation,’” [Juan Jose Gutierrez] said. “Millions of human beings today and for many years are being taxed, and they have absolutely no representation. In fact, they are being bashed every day and humiliated.”

Not to mention these “millions of human beings” are receiving a paycheck from which these taxes are being taken, health care, national protection, a higher standard of living, and why are they not being represented? Because they snuck across the border without letting us know they were coming.

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A Korean company has developed the latest robotic dog named Genibo, or “genius robot” [watch a video (Internet Explorer required - sorry)]. This comes after the huge flop of Sony’s Aibo.

Genibo will probably be just as overpriced as Aibo was, and probably just as big a flop. What is the point of an expensive robot dog attached to a cord? It seems to me like one of those good-idea-on-paper, bad-idea-in-practice types of things, but maybe I’m just not seeing the vision.

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Business Week came out with this year’s rankings of undergraduate business programs. BYU was ranked #8.

Stellar accounting program and ethics-based education wow many. But student body is 98% Mormon and may not be for everybody.

[Rankings HERE]

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On Tuesday, the President outlined his four-part plan to lower gas prices.

“What people are seeing at their gasoline pumps reflects the global economy in which we live. … And so the fundamental question is, what are we going to do? What can the government do? … I think we need to follow suit on what we have been emphasizing, particularly through the energy bill, and that is to encourage conservation, to expand domestic production, and to develop alternative sources of energy like ethanol.” — President George W. Bush

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The check engine light is part of a car’s on board diagnostic system, and has been required for many years in cars sold in the United States (specifically as a part of the OBD II system since 1996). But when the check engine light comes on, what exactly does it mean? It’s supposed to alert a driver to problems with the car when it doesn’t meet emissions standards, or has emissions-related problems:

If the “CHECK ENGINE” light is on, your vehicle could have a problem ranging in severity from a loose gas cap, which wastes fuel and causes pollution, to an engine misfire, which could cause permanent damage. (from carmd.com)

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I want to know what everyone thinks of the increasing outsourcing of american jobs overseas. Does America need to do something to resist the flood of imports and trade imbalances so high that we need to use scientific notation ($2 x 10^11) to quantify? Do we need to pull out of the WTO and imposed steep tariffs on imports? Is there merit to the belief that increased economic ties between countries reduces the risk of war and increases the spread of democracy e.g. USA and China? Take a side. This is an important decision for the country. Should we revert to a containment policy like we used on the USSR or are we going to continue with one of engagement?

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Should learning English be a pre-requisite to U.S. citizenship?

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Utah State has a new website where you can report ID theft occurrences, and get some helpful tips to keep your information protected. It’s not very user-friendly, but it does have some good info:

[idtheft.utah.gov]

Welcome to IRIS, the Utah Attorney General’s Office Identity theft Reporting Information System. Identity theft is now the fastest growing crime in the nation. However, it is a crime that is infrequently reported. About 33% of identity theft crimes are reported to law enforcement. Only by reporting identity theft crimes to law enforcement can we begin to impact this personally destructive crime.

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There was an excellent editorial written in the Wall Street journal today about some of the economic considerations for the current immigration debate. It provides excellent insights into globalization, and pricing of labor. Read the entire thing if you get a chance: Jobs Americans Won’t Do [subscription required]
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A study, conducted by Lew Mandell of the School of Management at the University at Buffalo, shows how little the average American knows about personal finance. The study was conducted for the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy . Although the 2006 study shows an improvement from past years, the average score was a failing 52.4%. [Actual survey: 2006SurveyWithAnswers.doc]

An example of some of the questions: (more…)

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The only thing that I want to say about immigration is that if you are going to protest p