This Christmas, Give Peace & Good Will Toward Men

There was an interesting article in today's Sun-Times about how many non-profit organizations find themselves in a strange predicament: they have too many volunteers.

Around the holidays, many people's most generous side comes out and it seems they all want to work in soup kitchens or at homeless shelters. This overabundance of volunteers is also buttressed by the fact that we have a 10% national unemployment rate. Many people who are unemployed seek to fill their time by volunteering.

Unfortunately, this glut of volunteers is not a year-round problem. During other times of the year, there is a severe shortage of volunteers.

Because Little Merry Sunshine believes strongly in giving back and volunteering, I thought it would be helpful to suggest some alternative volunteer opportunities that are readily available and could use your help right now:

• Donate blood. LifeSource and other blood donation centers always need extra blood.
• Food pantries. Call your local food pantry and see what their greatest need is. Many food pantries also take personal care items (deodorant, toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, diapers, etc.). These donations are vital because food stamps cannot be used to purchase these items, which can be quite costly. Don't forget that pets are family too and there are food pantries set up for pets.
• Donate gently used clothing to a local resale shop.
• Before Santa brings your kids a new bounty of toys, why not get them into the spirit of sharing the wealth by donating some of their gently used toys to resale shops.
• Toys for Tots accepts new, unwrapped toys and books.
• Call your local school and see what items they need. I'm sure they all have a wish list.
• Check out the website for the Random Acts of Kindness Club. They always have fun and easy ways to make a difference in the community.
• Call your city or township hall and see if they offer Adopt-a-Family programs where you can sponsor Christmas gifts for the entire family.
• Check with the post office for letters to Santa from kids who are especially needy this year. Fulfill their Christmas wishes.
  
• Ask your church secretary about members who need rides to church or are alone during the holidays. Drive them to church or invite them over for Christmas dinner. It's what Jesus would do. Have a goal at your church that no member is alone on Christmas.
• Take a tray of cookies over to your local police department and/or fire department to thank them for their never-ending hard work all year long. You may not see them doing their jobs, but that's kind of the point. Trust me, they are there when you need them and they work all the holidays.
• Drop some change in a Salvation Army kettle.

If these ideas don't resonate with you, look around your neighborhood. There are plenty of opportunities to make the world better right your own backyard.

• Shovel an elderly neighbor's driveway - for free, of course.
• Are the sidewalks at the corners clear and free of snow piles at the curb for the kids walking to school? Those snow piles from the snow plows become a danger when they turn to ice and the kids have to climb them to climb the street.
• Shovel your own driveway and sidewalks. This helps kids, the postman, people walking dogs, the elderly walking for fresh air, runners, mom's walking little kids and more.
  
• Is there a neighbor who still isn't quite ready for winter and you could offer to help them with their fall clean-up?
• Do you have a neighbor you know is struggling? Maybe someone has lost a job. What if you anonymously sent them a gift card to the local grocery store or purchased tickets to the local movie theater for the family?
• Do you know someone struggling after losing a loved one this year? Reach out to them. Don't be freaked out if they cry. The holidays are difficult.
  
• Do you know a single mom (or dad) without family in the area? Invite her and her kids to spend Christmas day with you. Offer to take her kids for an afternoon to give her a break and so she can have some personal time.
  
• Nursing home residents need love too. Call a local nursing home and find out if there are residents without regular visitors. Go read to them. If they're able, let them tell you their stories. They love the trips down Memory Lane and visitors keep their spirits up. Just remember to be 100% healthy when you visit. Their immune systems are probably not as strong as yours.
  

Don't forget your own family. Charity begins at home, after all. Who in your extended family could use some extra kindness this year?

• Did someone lose a job? Collect your siblings together and each donate towards Visa Gift Card or call and offer to pay a bill this month.
• Is someone getting a divorce or newly divorced? Make sure you let them know they're not alone and you're still there for them. Often people going through divorce feel isolated especially this time of the year. This is especially true for the non-custodial parent. He or she may be spending Christmas Day alone. Invite them over for dinner.
• Do you have an elderly relative at home, in an assisted-living facility or nursing home? Offer to drive them to the doctor's office, invite them to lunch, or set up a regular visitation schedule. Take old family pictures with you because they will enjoy looking at them. Take them artwork from your kids.
  
• Have your kids write Grandma and Grandpa a letter or color some pictures for them.
  

To me, the holidays are a time to spread peace and good will. No matter how we may each have been affected by the economy this past year, we are each still better off than the majority of the world and many people in our own communities. By reaching out and lifting them up, even in what may seem like insignificant ways, we will not only improve the lives of others, we will feel better about ourselves.

Happy 1st 100 Days, President Obama!

Today is President Barack Obama's 100th Day in office. 100 days since Barack Obama became the first African-American President of the United States. Wow.

When I moved from Washington DC to Chicago almost 9 years ago, it took me almost 100 days to get unpacked and believe me, my entire house is probably about the size of the Oval Office. Not only have President Obama and his wonderful family managed to get unpacked (okay, sure, their staff is just a little bigger than mine), get enrolled in school, get a dog, plant a garden and throw some fabulous parties, President Obama has managed to get some work done too.

In his first 100 days, President Obama has:

• signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law (click here for my take on it) as his first piece of legislation;
• signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act;
• extended health care coverage for 4 million uninsured children through SCHIP;
• announced that he would help approximately 9 million homeowners get better mortgage terms through his foreclosure prevention package;
• increased funding for education through the Head Start program and Pell Grants to college;
• announced the withdrawal of all combat forces in Iraq by August 2010;
• signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act;
• ordered the closing Guantanamo Bay prison camp with 1 year;
  
• attended the G-20 Summit and improved relationships with world leaders;
• successfully and with minimal blood shed fought off pirates;
• opened lines of communication with the American people in ways that no other administration has ever done including live streaming events and blogging;
  
• promised the world that the US will no longer engage in torture including water boarding;
• and remained cool, calm, and collected during it all which serves to reassure everyone that he is in control. We never see him lose his temper and his demeanor and body language give us all hope. While hope alone will not fix our problems, hope allows us to move forward from the paralysis of fear and take action.
  

Congratulations President Obama!

Yes, we've got some huge issues left to deal with including increasing unemployment, a Dow on incredibly shaky ground, two wars, an auto industry that's hanging on by a shredding thread, and the imminent pandemic known as Swine Flu. And clearly none of these problems will be solved overnight. But we're off to a great start.

More on President Obama's first 100 days in office:

• Obama's First 100 Days: 10 Achievements You Didn't Know About, Huffington Post
  
• One Hundred, New York Times
• Retrospective in Missouri, WhiteHouse.gov
• Delivering On Change, An Inside Look, WhiteHouse.gov
• Foundation for Change, BarackObama.com
  

Dear President Obama

Dear Mr. President,

Early Friday morning, I received a text message from my dad confirming the news I'd been expecting since Thanksgiving: He had lost his job because his company went out of business.

His company had previously been one of the largest retail bedroom furniture companies in the entire state of Indiana. And now they are out of business.

My dad had long seen the writing on the wall. Last summer, he told me about how their business had been adversely affected because the Chinese government, in preparation for the Olympics, stopped all furniture shipments leaving China. As you probably know, over the last decade, almost all U.S. furniture production has ceased to exist because it was simply unable to compete with the cost of furniture made in China. Consequently because of the Olympics, my dad's company (and I'm sure many others) were held hostage by the Chinese government last summer.

With no time to recover from that, the economy collapsed in September. You know exactly how deeply Indiana has felt the impact. You've visited the state multiple times yourself and seen the devastation to people's lives first hand.

Yes, my dad stayed with his company until the end. He's been an employee there for 12 years. What other choice did he have? I know he's been looking for a new job for months, in hopes that he'd avoid being unemployed, but so far he's found nothing.

My dad is a college graduate and has worked hard his entire career, all of it spent in the retail industry. He's loyal, patient, great with customers, knowledgeable and has always been one of the top sales people at his various companies. He's been in management, but prefers not being the boss.

It's been great hearing you talk about expanded health care benefits for the unemployed, but I don't think your programs go far enough because they only benefit those eligible for COBRA. You see, my dad's not eligible for COBRA because his company went under. So now he's completely uninsured and that's a problem. My dad has epilepsy and asthma. I can't tell you the last time he had a seizure, but that's only because of the medicine he's taken daily for the last 40 years. How will he afford this medicine now? He's not eligible for Medicare yet because he's only 63 1/2.

In fact, because my dad is 63 1/2, who is going to hire him? Yes, we both know that equal employment laws prohibit discrimination based on age, but that's nearly impossible to prove. He looks pretty good for his age, but a cursory glance at his resume by anyone with rudimentary math skills and his age becomes obvious. In spite of it being illegal to do so, I worry that companies will realize his age and not hire him because they'll think he'll retire in a year or so and not around for the long haul.

Finally, the thing that upsets me the most about this horrible situation is that because his company no longer exists, he didn't get paid for his four weeks of paid vacation and he discovered yesterday that he wasn't getting paid for his final two weeks of work. That's 6 weeks of pay he's lost and no way to recover it.

I won't get into how big of a hit his retirement savings have taken in the last 6 months.

He's got no debt, except for his mortgage, which I'm certain he's up-to-date with. My dad's a frugal guy

Mr. President, what do I tell my dad? How do I help him? I wish your health care benefits through the stimulus package also helped people who aren't COBRA eligible. It's not my dad's fault he's not COBRA eligible. He's just a guy who's worked hard his entire adult life and through no fault of his own, finds himself completely unemployed 18 months before he's eligible for retirement.

I listened to your press conference last night, but didn't hear anything that gave me reassurance that anyone really yet "gets" the plight of Main Street and not just the loud whining from Wall Street. Please prove me wrong. Please do something to help my dad.

Thank you.

Little Merry Sunshine

Cool Free Stuff: Tomato Seeds, Aveda Shampoo, Kashi & More!

Thanks to the Chicago Sun-Times Fixer for all this cool free stuff! In these tough economic times, who couldn't use good freebies?

Seriously, I've taken advantage of most of these . . . I'm going to let you guess which ones! :)

Free tomato seeds from Campbell's! The super cool thing about this one is that when you request free seeds, Campbell's will donate seeds to the National FFA Organization to plant seeds in community gardens and schools across the country. When you visit the site, you'll need some codes from the bottom of any 2 condensed soups (try: CX and HY) and what kind of soup the codes are from (try: Cream of Broccoli). Expires June 21st.

Free Bikini Undies from American Eagle! You've got to print this coupon. HURRY! It expires March 18th.

Free Aveda Black Malva Pure Plant® Shampoo! Fill out the online form. I have no idea how long this is available.

Free Kashi Frozen Entree! Fill out the online form. HURRY! This expires March 15th!

For more great deals, visit The Bargainist regularly.

John Stewart vs. Rick Santelli

Don't mess with John Stewart and The Daily Show.

Rick Santelli of CNBC was supposed to be on The Daily Show last night, but CNBC nixed that after Santelli's recent rant against President Obama and the firestorm that has occurred. John Stewart then lit into Santelli, Jim Kramer, and all of CNBC.

While it was depressing to see just how far we've fallen over the last 2 years, Stewart, as always, was spot on and the result was hilarious.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

CNBC Gives Financial Advice

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

Score one for John Stewart and The Daily Show. Rick Santelli, the ball is in your court.

Update: Read "What Battered Newsrooms Can Learn from Stewart's CNBC Takedown" by Will Bunch on the Huffington Post.

Recovery.gov - Accountability, What A Novel Concept

President Obama promised us complete transparency during the campaign. And after 8 years of Bush & Co., transparency and accountability and openness feel like a new and novel concepts. It's refreshing to be talked to like we're adults rather than as though we are 5 years old and some ideas are just too big and scary for us.

So let's all hold them accountable. Bookmark Recovery.gov and track how the Stimulus Package money is being spent. Keep our elected officials, both local and national, on their toes. They owe us complete transparency. We deserve it after all we've been through.

Recovery.gov - Your Money at Work

Government Bailout Solution - Damn I'm Brilliant

My cell phone notified me this morning through Fox News (seriously, I throw up a little everytime I remember that my phone gets streaming news only from FauxNews) that Exxon Mobil reported record profits for 2008. $45.2 BILLION.

We all know where this came from: $4.50 per gallon gas.

$4.50 was the necessary price, my ass. If it $4.50 per gallon was required because the cost of oil demanded it, then Exxon Mobil shouldn't be showing $45.2 BILLION in profits.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Big 3 Automakers are struggling to make it from day to day. And the Federal Government helped them out to the tune of $14 BILLION in a bridge loan last month.

It seems to me that the Exxon Mobil can thank automakers for these windfall profits. I mean, without cars, who would Exxon Mobil sell the majority of its gas to? And if the Big 3 fail, I don't really see Exxon Mobil having another banner year.

What if, instead of the Federal Government handing the Big 3 $14 Billion with all kinds of strings attached, the Feds turned to Exxon and said, "You've got the biggest stake in a healthy auto industry of anyone in the country. In 2008, you screwed all Americans with your price gouging and as your punishment, we're going to require you to turn over your entire $45.2 BILLION to the Big 3 in order to help them get back on their feet."

That's a win-win. Good jobs would stay in America. The Big 3 would have plenty of money to bring new, more fuel efficient cars onto the market. Taxpayers wouldn't be shelling out additional money to help Detroit. And Exxon Mobil would learn that there's a new sheriff in town and grown-ups are now in charge. There's no more free rides like under W.

This idea is free, Mr. President. Consider it an inauguration gift.

News You Can REALLY Use If You Live in Chicago

Are you like me and you like to dine out, but that your eyes are way bigger than your wallet?

Fret no more. The Chicago Tribune has come to our rescue with news we can actually use today, rather than simply running more stories about Drew Peterson's new fiance and Jessica Simpson's weight gain. Side note: Chicago Tribune, please let People magazine do what it does best and you stick to the news.

As part of their on-going series, Recession Survival Guide, the Tribune has provided us with "Deals to suit your taste and budget" by restaurant critic Phil Vettel. Bon appetite!

One other great way to save money while dining out is to visit Restaurant.com and purchase their gift certificates. You can purchase a $25 gift certificate for just $10 and once you sign up with them (for free), you'll get emails offering awesome discounts. Not a week goes by that I don't receive some special from Restaurant.com where I can purchase $25 gift certificates for $6 or less. Check it out. There are tons of restaurants in all price ranges.

Deals to suit your taste and budget
By Phil Vettel, Tribune critic
January 29, 2009

What's your deal? Using this list, you can find restaurant discounts for every day of the week. But that's not how we organized them. We divided them by type, separating the beverage-based deals (half-price wines, no-corkage nights) from the burger discounts (on the cover), the multicourse fixed-price deals (you spend more, but you get more) from the limited-hours deals (happy hour, early bird, lunch). Will these deals help restaurants weather the financial storm? Only if enough people take advantage of them.

MULTICOURSE DEALS

Adobo Grill (356 Yorktown Center, Lombard; 630-627-9990). "Economy Buster" menu (any three tacos, margarita, churros dessert) for $20 Sundays-Thursdays.

Angelina Ristorante (3561 N. Broadway; 773-935-5933). Three-course dinner (any appetizer, any entree, any dessert) for $27 on Tuesdays.

Bistro 110 (110 E. Pearson St.; 312-266-3110). "Family & Friends" dinner features chicken blanquette (chicken pot pie) and gateau Breton (traditional French cake) for $15 (large carafe of wine, $10); available Sundays-Mondays.

Chaise Lounge (1840 W. North Ave.; 773-342-1840). Two small plates plus entree for $25 on Tuesdays.

Chez Colette (Sofitel Chicago O'Hare, 5550 N. River Rd., Rosemont; 847-678-4488). Three-course dinner (soup/salad, entree, dessert) for $26; available Mondays-Sundays.

Duchamp (2118 N. Damen Ave.; 773-235-6434). Three-course dinner (any appetizer, any entree, dessert trio) for $25 on Tuesdays.

Feast (1616 N. Damen Ave.; 773-772-7100). Any two courses and glass of wine for $25 on Wednesdays.

Nacional 27 (325 W. Huron St.; 312-664-2727). Five-course tasting menu paired with wines for $45 on Wednesdays.

Park 52 (5201 S. Harper Ave.; 773-241-5200). The restaurant that displays a portrait of Michelle Obama (in the front bar area) offers an " Obama Prix-Fixe" menu, a four-course menu with wines, for $44. Available seven days.

Sola (3868 N. Lincoln Ave.; 773-327-3868). Three-course menu for $30 (add wine pairings, $15); available Mondays-Wednesdays.

Zealous (419 W. Superior St.; 312-475-9112). Five-course tasting menu for $49; through Feb. 13.

Zocalo (358 W. Ontario St.; 312-302-9977). Three-course dinner for $25, Corona Light beer $3, on Tuesdays and Sundays.

HAPPY-HOUR DEALS

C-House (Affinia Hotel, 166 E. Superior St.; 312-523-0923). From 4:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays in lobby bar, two pick-your-toppings seafood tacos and a beer are priced at $9.

Carlucci (1801 Butterfield Rd., Downers Grove; 630-512-0990). $2 appetizers in the bar, 4-7 p.m. Mondays-Fridays.

Pops For Champagne (601 N. State St.; 312-266-7677). Featuring 37 percent discount on all food items (except for caviar), 3-7 p.m. Mondays-Fridays.

PRE-THEATER DEALS

312 Chicago (136 N. LaSalle St.; 312-696-2420). Three-course dinner $40, available Tuesdays-Sundays.

Boka (1729 N. Halsted St.; 312-337-6070). Three-course dinner $35, available 5-6:30 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays. Through February.

Cuatro (2030 S. Wabash Ave.; 312-842-8856). Three-course dinner $30; available 5-7 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays.

Lockwood ( Palmer House Hilton, 17 E. Monroe St.; 312-917-3404). Three-course menu (choice in all courses) $38; available 5-7 p.m. daily.

DRINK DEALS

Adelle's (1060 College Ave., Wheaton; 630-784-8015). No corkage fee Tuesdays, half-price wine bottles Wednesdays.

Birch River Grill (75 W. Algonquin Rd., Arlington Heights; 847-427-4242). Half-price bottles of wine, with purchase of entree, Saturdays.

D.O.C. Wine Bar (2602 N. Clark St.; 773-883-5101). Wine flights $10 Sundays; 20 wine bottles for $20 each on Mondays.

D.O.C Wine Bar (326 Yorktown Center Mall, Lombard; 630-627-6666). Wine flights half-price Sundays; wine bottles half-price Mondays; wine glasses half-price Tuesdays; specialty martinis half-price Wednesdays.

Duchamp (2118 N. Damen Ave.; 773-235-6434). Half-price off every bottle of wine Sundays.

Dunlay's on Clark (2600 N. Clark St.; 773-883-6000) and Dunlay's on the Square (3137 W. Logan Blvd.; 773-227-2400). Wine glasses half-price Mondays; 20 wine bottles $20 each Tuesdays; Stoli martinis $6 Thursdays.

Feast (1616 N. Damen Ave.; 773-772-7100). No corkage Sundays-Thursdays in February.

Frasca Pizzeria & Wine Bar (3358 N. Paulina St.; 773-248-5222). Wine bottles half-price Mondays; wine glasses $5 Tuesdays; martinis $6 Thursdays; $3 drafts Fridays.

Mexique (1529 W. Chicago Ave.; 312-850-0288). Half-price off every bottle of wine Tuesdays.

Shanghai Terrace (Peninsula Hotel, 108 E. Superior St.; 312-573-6744). No-corkage BYO on Tuesdays.

Tizi Melloul (531 N. Wells St.; 312-670-4338). Any wine bottle half-price with purchase of two entrees on Wednesdays.

LUNCH DEALS

Blackbird (619 W. Randolph St.; 312-715-0708). Three-course lunch includes salad, any sandwich and doughnuts to go, $15; available Mondays-Fridays.

Dine (733 W. Madison St.; 312-602-2100). Express lunch (in and out in 30 minutes) soup and half-sandwich, $7; soup, half-sandwich and salad, $9. Available Mondays-Fridays.

Farmerie 58 (58 E. Ontario St.; 312-440-1818). Two-course lunch, $18, three-courses, $22; Mondays-Saturdays.

Le Colonial (937 N. Rush St.; 312-255-0088). Two-course lunch menu (appetizer, main course, rice, coffee), $22.50; Mondays-Sundays.

Prairie Grass Cafe (601 N. Skokie Blvd., Northbrook; 847-205-4433). February lunch specials include Tallgrass beef sloppy joes, $12, Tuesdays; chili made with Tallgrass beef, $13.50, Wednesdays; meatloaf and mashed potatoes, $14.50, Fridays.

Zest (Inter-Continental Chicago, 505 N. Michigan Ave.; 312-321-8766). Soup and sandwich (choice of six sandwiches, four soups), $12; Mondays-Fridays.

. . . AND A FEW MORE

Everest (440 S. LaSalle St.; 312-663-8920). Luxury Town-car transportation to and from the restaurant, $15 per route (available within 15-mile radius of restaurant).

Pizzeria Via Stato (620 N. State St.; 312-337-6634). If snow is two inches or more downtown, all carryout orders receive a free pizza. Carryout only; lunch or dinner, Sundays-Thursdays.

Zapatista (1307 S. Wabash Ave.; 312-435-1307). "Muchos Tacos" (all you can eat), $13.99, and margaritas $5; Mondays.

Go Do This NOW!

I don't mean to be alarmist with that title, but I really want you to do this because I care about you and your money. Because if you have money, you won't come begging me for some. And I have none as I learned earlier this evening when I opened my year-end financial statement.

The other part of my "do it NOW" commandment is that you can only do this until January 15th and then the opportunity will be gone forever.

What is it I'd like you to do? Glad you asked.

Go visit Oprah.com and download Suze Orman's new book "2009 Action Plan: Keeping Your Money Safe and Sound."

It's free. Yes, I said FREE. Free. As in it doesn't cost you any money, which is really the first step in keeping your money safe and sound: do not spend it.

Once you download it, READ IT.

After the year we've all had financially, we could use some free advice from a financial expert on how to keep our money safe and sound.

Here's more on Suze Orman from Oprah.com and from Huffington Post.

Why is Congress so Classist?

I simply do not understand. Congress had no problem handing Wall Street $700 BILLION with no questions asked just 2 months ago. They didn't make Wall Street CEOs work for $1.00. They didn't make Wall Street employees forgo bonuses or benefits or take cuts in salary. They let AIG have their spa weekends on my dime (hey Uncle Sam, I'd like a massage too!).

Yet the Big 3, which employs hundreds of thousands Americans directly and probably a couple million Americans in ancillary industries, can't get a measly $34 billion LOAN? The Big 3 asked for less than 5% of what Wall Street got handed to them on a silver platter and Congress refuses to give it to them.

Until a few minutes ago, Congress seemed to be willing to give them about $15 billion (less than 1/2 of what they asked for), but that seems to have just fallen apart thanks to some asshole GOPers. If they'd been able to reach an agreement to give the American automobile industry a loan, there were going to be all kinds of stipulations - CEOs working for $1, employees receive huge salary and benefits cuts, and more.

Call me crazy, but this feels very classist to me. Wall Street is white collar while the Big 3 is blue collar. Just one more example of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer under George W. Bush. Why are we so willing to save Wall Street, but not Main Street?

Update 10:47pm: I'm watching CNN and they're reporting about how AIG is giving "retention payments" to employees earning between $160,000 - $3 million and the payments are up to $1 million! Now you may be wondering what these "retention payments" are. Well, they're BONUSES. And yet Congress is letting the Big 3 die. Nice. I don't think I've ever been so ashamed of my government and I've got a lot to be embarrassed by given that I live in Illinois.

It IS About The Economy, Stupid.

Okay, maybe that's kind of a snarky title for a post about President-elect Barack Obama's Weekly Radio Address, but it fits, so I'm using it.

This week's address is all about the economy and how President-elect Obama will work to fix it. He's got some exciting ideas for job creation.

Foreclosure Angel

This story will warm your heart. In the midst of all the horrible economic news in the world, one woman steps forward to save the home of a perfect stranger. The world needs more women like Marilyn Mock.

I dare you to try not to get a little misty.

It's Hard for Me to Love Barack More Than I Already Do

But this new ad may just do it for me.

I love that he speaks to us in clear terms without trashing anyone. I love that he speaks to us like we're adults rather than children who need to be scolded or schooled. I love that his messages are uplifting, speak of better days to come, and convey that he clearly believes in ability of Americans to rise up to challenges.

Barack is my choice for President and I hope yours too.

State of the Union

As I've discussed quite a few times, I am a huge fan of Freecycle. I give things away and get cool stuff I can use too. In fact, I'm going to pick up my mom's Christmas present in a few minutes from a Freecycler!

Yesterday, while out and about, I received two coupons that I just won't use. Normally I don't put coupons on Freecycle, but these were $5 coupons and that's real money.

As I started to throw them out last night, I thought I'd stick them on Freecycle and see if anyone wanted them.

Within 5 minutes (and this was at 11:00pm), I had multiple requests for each coupon.

What does it say about the economy that so many people are searching the net at 11pm for coupons?

Monday Morning Light Reading aka $700 Billion Bailout Plan

Because I'm sure you're looking for a little light reading for your commute this morning, here's the $700 BILLION Rescue Plan straight from the House Committee on Financial Services website.

Here's the full 110 page Bailout Plan aka "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008’’.

Here's the 1 page Cliff Notes version aka "Summary of the 'Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008."

And from The Swamp, here's their explanation.

You're welcome.