Progressive Democrat Issue 195

This will be the last issue of the Progressive Democrat of the year. I will take a holiday break and be back in early January. I have tried tweaking the formating of the site. I'm not sure it's working quite properly, so let me know how it looks and how it works for you.

About a year ago I introduced readers to a neat little site called "Free Rice." Basically you could play a vocabulary game and for each answer you got right sponsors would pay for 20 grains of rice to feed the poor around the world. In their first month of operation last year this effort raised enough to feed 50,000 people for one day. They have continued operation since then, though I had forgotten about them. Now they have expanded, offering not just vocabulary but also geography, foreign language, chemistry and math games. Each answer you get right donates 20 grains of rice. Last night Joy and I played enough to donate 16,000 grains of rice. Okay, that sounds kind of nerdy, but we have no lives and it was for a good cause. Overall, since October 2007, Free Rice has donated more than 55 billion grains of rice. That's enough to feed 2.75 million people for a day. Small effort. It's fun and educational. And it does a small part to feed people. Free Rice is a sister site of Poverty.com and partners with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and the United Nations World Food Program. Please visit their site and enjoy learning something and feeding some people.

This week Obama has angered many supporters by inviting a rabid bigot pastor to his inauguration. I have a theory why he chose this particular pastor.

First off, this pastor, despite his homophobia, is considered moderate on most issues. I am not sure if I agree with that assessment, BUT that is the perception. So he is inviting a definitely homophobic but otherwise outwardly moderate pastor to his inauguration. This has caused an outcry from gay rights advocates and gives the impression that he is leaning anti-gay rights.

Which, I believe, is the perfect set up for him to then end the ban on gays in the military as he has promised. It would be much harder for the right wing media to portray him as some kind of gay rights radical after having Warren at his inauguration and angering gay rights advocates. Obama becomes the clear moderate on the issue, able to hang out with Warren but disagree with him, and then go on to end the ban on gays in the military. We'll see if I am right, but during the whole transition process Obama has shown nothing he does is without careful thought and a deliberate purpose. He chose Warren KNOWING his homophobia and he did so for a good reason. The only possible reason is so he can then turn around and do something favorable to gay rights. And the main thing he has promised is ending the ban on gays in the military.

As our economy collapses, it doesn't help to learn that Wall Street insiders have been running Ponzi schemes, bilking investors. Corruption has just been rampant in America during the Republican "deregulation" years. This comes from the Florida Chief Financial Officer's Consumer eViews newsletter:

A grand Ponzi scheme uncovered; Florida investors hurt

Recently an investment scam was uncovered in the investment capital of the world - Wall Street. A respected investment manager allegedly ran a giant Ponzi scheme with a possible loss of $50 billion. Unfortunately many investors put most or all of their funds in this one plan. One of the wisest rules of investing is to spread the risk.

Bernard Madoff ran a vast options game made popular by inviting investors into the fold. Anxious for an invitation to join, investors entrusted their money to Madoff. A part-time resident of Palm Beach, Madoff convinced many neighbors, friends and acquaintances to invest in his funds. This type of affinity fraud grows from the natural trust among friends and relatives.

Never make an investment based solely on the recommendation of a member of an organization or religious or ethnic group to which you belong. Remember that the person telling you about the investment may have been fooled into believing it is legitimate. Before considering an investment, independently verify any offer by calling the Department of Financial Services Consumer Helpline toll-free at 1-877-MY-FL-CFO (1-877-693-5236) to find out if the company, broker and investment are legitimately registered, and if there is a complaint history.

Watch out for an investment manager who wants total control of your money, and asks for checks to be made out to the manager individually or to a company he/she controls. Your funds are safest when held separately, in custody at a broker-dealer firm regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and backed by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. Contact the firm directly to make sure your money is with them, and check it out through FINRA. Get copies of your statements directly from the broker-dealer firm. A broker who guarantees or assures investment performance, brags of great returns or is very aggressive or overly persuasive should alarm you. And check any investment record that looks too steady over the long term: Ponzis like to keep it looking steady to avoid redemptions.

If an investment seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Similarly, be wary of any investment that is said to have no risks. The greater the potential return from an investment, the greater your risk of losing money.

Scam artists frequently pay out high returns to early investors using money from later arrivals. Accordingly, early investors — including friends you’ve known for years — may be wildly enthusiastic about a scheme that may collapse entirely once you’ve invested.

Everyone wants the perfect investment, offering high returns with little or no risk. The problem is, no legitimate investment is like that. High returns involve high risk, which means you could lose some or all of the money you invest. Investment frauds target those who don’t understand this basic rule of investing. Many are nothing more than illegal Ponzi schemes, in which early investors are paid with money collected from later ones. Don’t risk losing your money.

* Make sure you understand the terms of the investment, including fees.
* Don’t give in to pressure to invest your life’s savings.
* Don’t fall for the talk of high returns with little or no risk.
* Before you invest, call the DFS Consumer Helpline at 1-877-MY-FL-CFO (1-877-693-5236) to make sure that the company, agent, and the securities you are considering are all registered in Florida and to find out if any complaints are on file.
* If you encounter problems with a company or agent, file a complaint by calling DFS at the number above.

Good run down of the scandal and some good advice. Obviously aimed primarily at Florida residents, but also good advice for everyone.

Here is this week's newsletter:

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

OBAMA'S BRILLIANT CABINET

REPUBLICAN ELECTION FRAUD: Evidence Mounts

NYC FOCUS: Defeating Bloomberg and His Tame City Council

NY STATE

TEXAS

GEORGIA

CALIFORNIA

VIRGINIA

FLORIDA

COLORADO

NEW JERSEY

PENNSYLVANIA

WASHINGTON

IOWA

NORTH CAROLINA

WISCONSIN

ILLINOIS

ARIZONA

NEVADA