Attorney Robert E. Duff takes a look at recent Indiana case law that makes it difficult for consumers to challenge averse arbitration awards in state court.
The cases are Weldon v. Asset Acceptance, LLC, 896 N.E.2d 1181 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008) and [...]
The Boston Herald has a good overview of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for business — as well as debtors.
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Fair Debt Collection Practices Act overview
Technorati Tags: Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
[...]A lawsuit was filed in Cook County, Illinois recently after a bank’s skip trace firm placed comment on a debtor’s daughter’s Myspace page threatening her with imprisonment if her father didn’t contact the skip tracer.
The Plaintiff’s complaint in Ricobene v. JP Morgan Chase Bank and Universal Tracing Services, Cause [...]
The Indiana Court of Appeals recently reversed a trial court’s order requiring a defendant to serve his previously suspended sentence in a not for publication decision issued Monday in Noor Adnan Sobuh v. State of Indiana (PDF). Merrillville criminal law attorney Edward J. Wartman was [...]
Mortgage foreclosure training for judges and attorneys is scheduled for next week in Northwest Indiana.
From the Indiana Lawyer:
The Indiana Supreme Court has announced its second training session for attorneys, judges and mediators to learn how to handle foreclosure cases, including through pro bono [...]
Valparaiso’s social media hero — Kathy Sipple — organizer of Northwest Indiana’s first #nwitweetup — writes about her adventure of being interviewed on Vocalo.org’s WBEW in Chicago.
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If you’re running Google Adsense ads, it’s time to update your site’s privacy policy because they are rolling out interest based ads. Â (My privacy policy is available on my “About” page).
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How long will the recession last?
Some questions to discuss:
Have we hit the bottom yet?
Has the banking system stabilized?
How will increasing unemployment affect any recovery plans?
Will the housing market improve?
How do we fix this mess?
Here’s one view on how long the recession will last:
Video: Nouriel Roubini on how long the recession [...]
The Crisis of Credit Visualized
By Jonathan Jarvis
The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.
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The Crisis of Credit Visualized
Technorati Tags: credit crisis, economy, video
[...]Irish Supreme Court Chief Justice John L. Murray will visit Indianapolis next week with stops to have lunch with the Indiana Supreme Court justices and to give a lecture at the Indiana University School of Law.
From the Indiana Lawyer:
Chief Justice John L. Murray [...]
Cook County, Illlinois Sheriff Tom Dart filed a law suit against Craigslist because it offers an advertising category that he says promotes prostitution.
From the New York Times:
The sheriff, Thomas J. Dart, wants the Web site to eliminate its “erotic services” section, suggesting that many of the section’s ads are [...]
I’m passing this along for anyone who might be interested and who lives in Tippecanoe County.
From Masson’s Blog:
Tippecanoe County Legal Aid will be hosting one of its “Legal Aid 101″ series at the Tippecanoe County Public Library … on March 11, [...]
Indiana has a tough anti-spam law in the Indiana Code 24-5-22, et seq. titled “Deceptive Commercial Electronic Mail.” Â It provides for presumptive damages and reasonable attorneys fees.
I can’t find that anyone has filed a law suit in Indiana that has resulted in an appeals court [...]
Social media and the traditional news meet up at the #nwitweetup as the Northwest Indiana Times covers a group of Twitter users who met to forge real-life connections in Valparaiso recently. Â Both local newspapers have Twitter streams — [...]
Marci Oddi at the Indiana Law Blog spotted an interesting Indiana Appeals Court decision (NFP) reversing a reckless driving conviction.
From Wright v. Indiana:
To prove reckless driving, the State was required to prove that Wright operated a motor vehicle and recklessly drove [...]
The Northwest Indiana Times reports foreclosures in Lake County have “surged” by 40% during 2008 — the highest number of foreclosures, according to Lake County Sheriff Roy Dominguez.
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Lake County Sheriff Rogelio “Roy” Dominguez said his department’s civil division held public auctions to [...]
Avoiding unnecessary motions and hearings is another goal of the Lake County Family Law rules, according to its commentary for L.R.45-F.L.00-3.Â
“Attorneys must change their primary focus in family cases,” states the commentary.
“Instead of gathering evidence or other ‘case building,’ the attorney’s primary focus must be on defusing the underlying source(s) [...]
Lake County, Indiana’s new family law rules shake up the old notions of family law often portrayed on television shows and movies. If the Lake County local rules work, divorce and other family law matters not be so filled with conflict and tension as they may have been in the [...]
As the harsh economy threatens the financial security of thousands of Hoosiers across the state, Indiana lawyers and judges are gathering to learn how to handle mortgage foreclosure cases, reports the Indiana [...]
Lake County, Indiana’s Circuit and Superior Courts have adopted mandatory new local rules for Family Law matters, including divorce that require parents, attorneys, and courts to demonstrate a commitment to the cooperative model of handling family law cases, as opposed to the old style adversarial model.
“These rules shall apply to family cases [...]
Don’t forget there’s a “Tweet Up” set for this Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. at Valparaiso, Indiana’s Evelyn Bay Coffee on Calumet Avenue.
You don’t have to even be on Twitter to come out and network with fellow Northwest Indiana residents using Twitter, blogs and other internet services for their [...]
A high speed police chase was caught on tape in Houston, Texas the other day. Â The driver of the car police chased crashed into a police car, flipping it over, before crashing into a police truck, according to the news report.
Always be careful out there on the roads because crazy [...]
It doesn’t look like it is going to get any better in the coming week for financial market news, if the predictions are accurate.
Get out of debt and keep networking with potential employers to prepare for tough times as employers continue to shed staff as an expense cutting measure. Â Nobody [...]
Anyone up for a Chicago Tea Party with CNBC’s Rick Santelli?
Rick Santelli calls for a Chicago Tea Party because we’re not going to solve our country’s financial crisis by spending more and more money.
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This may be the story that most affects American national security in the coming years that we aren’t paying attention to at this time but is most influenced by things that we do every day in the United States.
Drug cartels and the Mexican military are battling each other for control [...]
Police learn driving skills in Little Rock, Arkansas in the video below.
One portion of the emergency driving course teaches police rookies what to do when chasing someone on foot after approaching from their patrol car. An important lesson — criminals will steal your police cruiser if you don’t take your [...]
Incredible things are happening in our state that are getting attention across the country. One such thing is an incredible basketball shot that a Boonville, Indiana player made recently.
Video: Amazing Basketball Shot. Brad Allstadt of Boonville High School in Indiana makes an incredible shot.
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The financial crisis facing Gary, Indiana has inspired Embassies of Christ Church to donate $36,500 to pay for a police officer’s yearly salary, reports the Post-Tribune’s Michelle L. Quinn.
Don’t count Gary, Indiana out just yet when its church-going citizens are willing to chip [...]
The Urbanophile writes that Crown Point would make a logical place for a high speed rail station on an Indy-Chicago line. Â As an added bonus, the high speed rail line could run along the proposed Illiana Expressway.
We have to connect, [...]
Teens are arrested and charged with battery against a girl on a Portage school bus.
After the news of the arrests spread around Portage, more victims come forward telling stories to police of being terrorized by the three, according to news reports and [...]
What happens after President Barack Obama visits your town to promote his stimulus package?
People in Elkhart, Indiana say their businesses aren’t out — they’re just down — and hope some of the stimulus money President Obama wants is sent their way. Â Despite being held up as an example of the [...]
Steve Dalton is covering the legislature from Indianapolis as they decide what to do with Indiana’s system of township governance.
Should we get rid of all those township trustees and consolidate government functions to reflect changes in transportation, communications and to just generally update the system for [...]
I was watching TruTV’s Stringers LA — the show about news stringers who drive around Los Angeles shooting video for local television stations that don’t have enough reporters to cover every car chase, crime scene and accident that might be of interest to television news viewers.
While I [...]
The NWI Times has a video of the funeral for Merrillville Police Sgt. Edward Westbury who died recently while on duty. Thanks for your service. Rest in peace.
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Funeral for MPD Sgt. Edward Westbury
Technorati Tags: Merrillville Police, Sgt. Edward Westbury
[...]
Northwest Indiana always has spectacular sunrises and sunsets. Â Especially when the sun shines through winter clouds.
This sunset photo was taken in Dyer last Sunday.
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Northwest Indiana Winter Sunset
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Technorati Tags: Dyer, Northwest Indiana, photography, sunset, winter
[...]The lake effect snow clean up has begun in Porter and LaPorte Counties. I heard one Valparaiso city resident say that she received over 24 inches of snow the other day. That’s a lot of snow, even in Northwest Indiana where people are generally well-prepared for heavy snow falls.
I does [...]
Some worry stimulus package is loaded with pork.
The Democrats are pushing for passage of the economic stimulus package.
Despite GOP opposition, the Democrats are predicting the bill will pass and that they have 60 votes to defeat any filibuster, reports Reuters.
Some are calling [...]
Want to keep track of your power usage and let your friends and other Twitter followers know if you’re keeping up with your power reduction (or usage) goals? Â Greener Gadgets has a DYI project for just such a Twitter power monitor that will Tweet your daily [...]
Drivers traveling near 93rd and Broadway in Merrillville found dangerous conditions as drifting snow caused near white-out conditions during yesterday’s evening rush hour.
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Blowing Snow Makes Driving Dangerous in Merrillville
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Drifting Snow Makes For Dangerous Driving
Technorati Tags: Lake County, [...]
Make history as Northwest Indiana’s Twitter users gather to network and plot to take over the world in 140 characters or less in Valparaiso later this month at Evelyn Bay Coffee on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m.
Twitter user @kathysipple is the organizer of [...]
Jennifer Hudson did a great job singing the National Anthem at yesterday’s Superbowl. Enjoy!
Video: Jennifer Hudson sings the National Anthem
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Jennifer Hudson Does A Great Job Singing National Anthem
Technorati Tags: Jennifer Hudson, National Anthem
Related posts:Jennifer Hudson and David Otunga The hot news [...]
Rod R. Blagojevich’s name is coming off of the Illinois Tollway signs to be replaced by Toll Plaza names and numbers.
As an Illinois Tollway consumer, I’m glad to see that the authority is saving money by changing the signs in such a way that they won’t have to be changed [...]
I have a radio post up over at Vocalo.org: My Non-Hometown.
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Technorati Tags: Vocalo.org
Related posts:ScribeFire Test Post Just a quick test to see how the Firefox addon...Crossing Blogs & Radio I just learned about a project [...]
I checked my Page Rank the other day after noticing that my toolbar rank was showing zero. Â Now, the PR is back to normal — 4/10.
I have been dumping some parked domains that I had been hoarding for a while that were pointing to this site. Â I also dropped a [...]
American Idol time again with the crew listening to hopeful contestants in Jacksonville, Florida.
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Joshua Ulloa looks like Justin. Will he impress the judges with his unique style and sound effects? Simon says Joshua Ulloa reminded him of Inspector Gadget. Joshua Ulloa gets four yeses.
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Sharon Wilbur is a cutie with a [...]
I had a chat with someone earlier today about various subjects and the economy came up. I suggested — the optimist that I am — that I’m hoping the economic downturn doesn’t last much longer than a few more quarters. My friend suggested we could be looking at 10-years of [...]
The Sun-Times says Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s impeachment trial seems fair to them so far.
Gov. Blagojevich on Friday called upon the editorial board of the Chicago Sun-Times and other newspapers to come to his defense and ensure that he gets a [...]
American Idol listens to contestants at Louisville’s Churchill Downs and the last to sing tonight — Laneshe Young — might end up being the winner of the whole competition.
My reason for thinking Laneshe Young could take the whole American Idol competition this early in the season is Laneshe Young’s stage [...]
American Idol heads to San Francisco for more auditions which airs on this historic day when Barack Obama was worn into office as the 44th United States president.
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Will AI’s judges find the next American Idol in SF?
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Tatiana Del Toro is a hottie with a huge resume, psychic friend and silly [...]
Hoosier Access has a post about speculation that U.S. Rep. Mike Pence might make a run for Indiana governor in 2012. Pence is third highest ranking GOP official — Chairman of the House Republican Conference, so maybe he won’t be running in 2012. Officially, [...]
Hard economic times are slamming the legal industry, as seen by continual bad news facing Big Law firms on the coasts and in Chicago. Â Even Indianapolis law firms are merging with other firms to harden their defenses against a recession in the legal industry.
Evidence [...]
Hearing about -20F temperatures on the radio. Â Wondering if the car will crank over. Â Bundling up to make sure fingers and earlobes don’t fall off. Â It’s all getting old.
Luckily for us in Northwest Indiana, we’re going to get some climate change. Â It’s supposed to warm up to 20 degrees F! [...]
According to the U.S. Joint Forces Command’s report:
“The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, [...]
American Idol does Kansas City auditions Wednesday night and since it’s early in the show it’s time to separate those who can from those who can’t. Thousands showed up and only 27 made it through to Hollywood.
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A blonde cutie — Chelsea Marquart — tries to sing but isn’t able to [...]
It’s American Idol season again and the show is off to its usual beginning with auditions featuring people who can’t sing along with a few who can.
There weren’t many standouts so far, except for Katrina Darrell, the bikini girl.
Simon and Randy were smitten at first sight lovely Katrina Darrell aka [...]
I had to travel out to Northeast Indiana this morning for work today. Â Predictions of a blizzard have been pushed off to tomorrow, but this morning I was preparing for the worst. Â Even though there wasn’t a blizzard, there were many times during my drive today where there were white-out [...]
What are the best things about Northwest Indiana?
I’ll put out my nominations to spark the conversation and to get everyone thinking.
My best of the region list is:
1. Northwest Indiana’s proximity to Chicago without having all of the costs of living associated [...]
Posting by email can be challenging for users wishing to use their Gmail accounts.
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The built-in WordPress post by email feature doesn’t work with SSL email accounts such as Gmail.
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Postie — a WordPress plug-in — also doesn’t work with SSL when downloaded from the site that appears [...]
I haven’t installed TweetBacks for WordPress yet, but the plug-in looks like a winner. TweetBacks promises to grab Twitter comments — Tweets — about ones blog posts and will display them in the comments section. I like it already.
I’ll load up TweetBacks for WordPress when I get [...]
Posted via SMS from chrishedges’s posterous
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Initial post to Posterous to see if it will autopost to Wordpress.
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A government audit raises the question of whether Gary, Indiana will be able to continue operating in light of its financial crisis and current taxation situation. Auditors also found problems with Gary, Indiana’s control of its money, notably credit card purchases weren’t sufficiently documented, reports the Post-Tribune.
From the Post-Tribune report [...]
Local bloggers from Northwest Indiana met-up tonight at IT provider Golden Technologies in Valparaiso to get to know each other and to share some ideas of what they want to do in 2009.
It was nice to match up people with their blogs and to get the mind thinking [...]
I haven’t been in a fire drill for quite time, so it was a surprise — but not that large of a surprise because I heard a staffer give a clerk a three minute warning of the impending drill — when a fire drill was held at the Daley Center [...]
It’s tough to be Republican in a county that has a city that is ranked the second most liberal in the United States.Â
More news showing how tough it can be.
Today’s Post-Tribune details a [...]
Word about the first 2009 Northwest Indiana blogger meet up comes from Steve Dalton:
From: “Steve Dalton” <email redacted>
Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2009 01:43:13 +00006 pm Thursday
Location - Golden Technologies 2402 Beech Valpo (Golden has agreed to sponsor our meet up!)
Open to bloggers from NW Indiana, pls help spread the [...]
The Urbanophile writes that Indianapolis suburbs could outgrow many Northwest and Northern Indiana cities as a result of annexation and plans for major growth. Â
What these actions are doing are creating a far larger type of suburban city than previously existed in Indianapolis. As these [...]
My neighborhood has disappeared from Google Maps. Â I’m hoping that it’s just a function of Google having many different servers that sometimes aren’t synchronized with each other.
I did notice that Mapquest was up to date with the right location.
It just shows that it is always good to check multiple sources [...]
It’s a joy to mobile blog.
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I didn’t write this post while connected to the net — although that’s always a possibility in these days of data plans — it’s nice to be free from the constraints of the laptop or desktop computer when the inspiration to write happens.
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If I feel [...]
Time to get back to work in 2009 and to help build up the economy.
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Technorati Tags: economy
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Northwest Indiana Tweeter users have a new hashtag to make it easier to keep up with NW Indiana tweets — #nwindiana.
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Want to see what posts feature the hashtag? Just point your browser to search.twitter.com and search for #nwindiana (or anything else you want to find). Now that you know [...]
Happy 2009 everyone in Northwest Indiana and beyond!
FYI — Steve Dalton is working on setting up the NW Indiana blogger get-together. Â I’ll post when I have more information and I’m sure he’ll make sure everyone knows.
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Technorati Tags: Happy New Year
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Herd the bots for better search engine placement.
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Technorati Tags: blogging, blogging tips
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The Palm operating system is old-school, but it’s nice to have in my Centro.
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Palm’s OS is what I used many years ago when I still had a pager and a company cell phone didn’t have all of the bells and whistles of today’s modern phones. The phone didn’t have text [...]
The economic situation will start to improve next year.
Watch for news coverage discovering new optimism about the nation’s and the world’s economic situation after mid January. Increased consumer confidence will increase spending by formerly nervous individuals and families. Said optimism will spread to the financial sector which will loosen up [...]
Ever since the demise of the “masters of the universe” broke on the 24-hour news channels, continual reports of ailing businesses, layoffs (stealth or otherwise) and all of the daily bad financial news dominating the news cycles, spending time focusing on the petty political concerns of the past that do [...]
Merry Christmas to all!
Quick note to all Northwest Indiana bloggers of all types: Â Steve Dalton is planning to set up a blogger get together on January 8, 2009 in Valparaiso at 6 p.m. Â At this time, it is something to pencil onto the calendar while more information and details become [...]
Shore Magazine’s election wrap-up email arrived in my inbox with an interesting tid-bit of information that bodes well for Lake Michigan communities in Southwest Michigan and possibly Northwest Indiana, if the presidential power-brokers discover Beverly Shores.
Democrats have been weekending and vacationing in second homes—usually known as cottages—along [...]
A huge turnout in Northwest Indiana is expected on a nice election day
I went to my polling place this morning and spotted long lines of people waiting to vote — cars were lined up [...]
Spotted on a Democratic message board “Why we call him Joe Biden (D-MBNA).”
If Joe Biden is elected VP tomorrow, maybe things won’t be so bad after all for certain segments of the business community.
After all, all of those rich people donating money [...]
Just a quick note to remind that Steve Walsh will have local election coverage from Northwest Indiana tomorrow. I’m sure the other hosts will have tons of election coverage with Vocalo’s unique user-created twist on 89.5 FM, so make sure to listen on your radio or [...]
Being in the top 20% of American earners isn’t necessarily a difficult thing to achieve with the right education and occupation, according to US News and World Reports.
In El Paso, Texas, a household earning $126,000 per year is in [...]
Did anyone else notice that Barack Obama’s tax plan has changed. The bar has moved from from $250,000 to $200,000? It was right in Barack Obama’s half-hour commercial last night.
Will it end up being lowered even more to take into account the need to [...]
If you had the chance to run for president this year, would you want to be president considering all of the foreign and domestic challenges that face whoever is elected this year?
Is the next president doomed to fighting economic and foreign affairs fires the rest of his term?
Or, will the [...]
Update: News agencies are reporting that the report of an attack against a McCain support is a hoax.
A John McCain volunteer was attacked and mutilated in Pittsburgh, according to news reports. Â The victim told police that someone robbed her and carved a “B” [...]
A millionaire hedge fund manager retires at 37 and insults his clients calling them “idiots” for giving him a multimillion dollar salary.
Yo, hedge fund boy. Remember the tax rate was up to 75% back in [...]
Everything is on sale.
The “fear index” is on a downward trend!
If you have the money, now is the time to buy equities — don’t sell low.
I have to admit, I am hedging a little by also purchasing some treasuries and bonds within my 401k, but [...]
Americans must ready themselves for a serious international test, if Barack Obama is elected, said Sen. Joe Biden, Obama’s running mate.
Says Biden, warning of some coming “international incident:”
“It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John [...]
Want to make a difference in energy policy issues affecting the United States and your personal pocketbook during this election season?
An opportunity to stand up and voice your opinion in a forum that promises attention throughout Chicago and Northwest Indiana presents itself.
All you need to do is show up and [...]
Despite all of the economic stuff on here lately — and the hiatus to sit back and concentrate on matters in the real world — I am optimistic about the future.
To wit:
The markets may have turned a corner and buyers will start picking up bargains. If they don’t, it is [...]
World Party’s “Ship of Fools.”
“Avarice and greed are gonna drive you over the endless sea / They will leave you drifting in the shallows or drowning in the oceans of history.”
Why does this song seem so appropriate right now?
I’m optimistic, even if I’m focusing on the current economic situation. I [...]
This financial analyst scares me — could we be heading for a depression as bailout after bailout continues without end?
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Technorati Tags: economy
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The on-going political corruption investigations in Illinois continue:
Illinois’ governor Rod Blagojevich might be indicted — the evidence is there say the feds, the question is when will the axe drop, according to WBBM CBS Chicago.
Another investigation is looking into [...]
The President called on Congress to take action and approve a bailout bill for Wall Street banks. Sen. John McCain has suspended his campaign in the face of the banking meltdown. Sen. Barack Obama is multitasking saying that the future president will have to focus on solving the banking crisis [...]
Is Google Adsense dead or is it just a sign of the economic times that advertisers aren’t spending the same money they were on ad budgets? Times are tough and businesses are cutting back — just as everyone else is because of these days of tight budgets.
However, don’t assume just [...]
Get ready for a new form of political campaign this fall — a street-level, in-your-face confrontation from neighbors and others who want to convert the non-believers.
Barack Obama: I want you to argue with them and get into their face.
Sounds appealing, doesn’t it?
Says [...]
The hot news buzzing through the Hollywood gossip circles is the engagement of Jennifer Hudson to David Otunga after a quick six month romance.
Everyone knows Dreamgirls and Chicago’s own Jennifer Hudson who gained fame on American Idol that propelled [...]
After reading all of the comments and letters to the editor in the paper recently dealing with the “controversy” of the possibility of a working mother being elected as Vice President of the United States, I just wanted to let all of the working women who are moms, grandmothers and [...]
I tuned into SNL for a few minutes last night to what might happen since Barack Obama cancelled his guest host slot on the show in the wake of Hurricane Ike slamming into Texas yesterday. Â Any comedic appearance on television could have [...]
