Nobel Peace prize for starting a new religion

Congratulations to former Vice President Al Gore who was declared the 2007 winner of the Nobel Peace prize for his efforts in founding and advancing the new religion of Global Warming Hysteria.

I'd say this silly award lowers the prestige of the Nobel prize, but after their choices over the recent past it would be difficult to go much lower.

Texas Student Booted From School for Wearing John Edwards T-Shirt

There are a couple problems with this article "Texas Student Booted From School for Wearing John Edwards T-Shirt." First, the headline does not match the facts. The student was booted from school for wearing a political shirt period. Whether the child was supporting Edwards, Clinton, Giuliani or a conservative candidate was not the problem the issue was any shirt with a political theme is prohibited as potentially disruptive to the learning environment. The next problem is the article is it quotes the kid's dad demonstrating a lack of reading comprehension.

“It’s a First Amendment constitutional right that people have fought and died for and I don’t know why he should give it up just because Waxahachie thinks it would be okay or neat for him to do so,” Paul Palmer said.

Sorry, Mr. Palmer, but the First Amendment does not say what you imagine it does. For future reference, here is what it does say:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Huh, what do you know, nothing in the Constitution prohibiting schools from having dress codes.

Lastly, the article says the parents are considering a lawsuit, demonstrating that Ambulance Chasing John is definitely the candidate for them. I wonder if they are even aware of the irony.

Is the group rate the best rate?

Common sense would lead one to believe that a group rate for insurance or other financial products would be better than going it alone. Turns out that isn't necessarily the case. The Star Ledger has an article on this subject today.

When financial planner Andrew Tignanelli's clients first came to him saying they were planning to buy financial products from AARP, he said he was thrilled. He assumed the products the group sold to its members, whether TVs or financial products such as insurance or mutual funds, would be the best and least expensive.

"But then when they showed me what they were getting and the price, I told them that I thought they could do better elsewhere," the Baltimore-based adviser said. "People assume that AARP is their advocate and doing the best for them. That isn't always the case." Tignanelli has since done a market comparison of AARP products and those offered elsewhere, and he found the senior advocacy group's offerings were often more costly. That's because the nonprofit group in fact has a profit motive, he said. About $400 million of the group's $1 billion annual budget comes from royalties and "service provider relationship management fees" earned on products AARP sells, according to the organization's 2006 financial statement.

It is counter-intuitive, but seems to be true. Before anyone assumes I'm dumping on AARP just because they are a left wing organization, I'll go on record with my opinion that this is probably the case with most large organizations. I've received insurance offers from various veterans organizations and when I checked the rates they were higher than I was able to find elsewhere. These organizations may officially be non-profit, but over time their management teams have realized how to line their own pockets. Bottom line: Don't assume anyone is looking out for your best interest except yourself. Do comparison shopping and find the best product for your needs.

Browns NOT in last place!

Just thought I'd mention that the Browns are NOT in last place while I still can. After the first game debacle against the Steelers I didn't think I'd be saying anything positive about the Browns this year. However, I've started to see some signs of improvement particularly on offense. The biggest change from the first game to now is the line is giving the quarterback some protection. Success begins and ends with the line. Doesn't matter how talented the quarterback is if he is slammed into the ground repeatedly. Defensively they are still not getting enough pressure on the opposing quarterback. The game against the Patriots on Sunday should give us a better understanding of how far they are from contending.