May 29, 2010 | Posted by Steve
Many years ago, I accidentally discovered that some nere-do-well had attempted to steal my identity. Not surprising, when you consider that we increasingly live in a world where our Social Security Number and other vital, personal statistics are roaming wild and free across millions of computer systems throughout the world. Just take one look at the mammoth data breaches of the past few years, where this retailer and that ruefully announces the loss of vital, client data. It’s enough to make your skin crawl.
Upon learning that somebody else’s name was affixed to my credit report, I took appropriate action. In addition to alerting every credit agency to the crime, I also immediately implemented a credit freeze, blocking all non-approved access to my credit report. This was long before Todd Davis proudly put his own Social Security Number on the sides of billboards and trucks, all to promote his LifeLock security service.
(By the way, Mr. Davis himself is up to about 17 different thefts of his identity in the years since launching his company.)
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Categories: True Life Stories | 
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May 24, 2010 | Posted by Steve
I’m a conflicted moderate when it comes to politics. When it comes to theology, I’m a conservative. When it comes to citizenship, I’m a strict Constitutionalist, believing that silly ideals like separation of church and state and a fundamental right to privacy protect my God-given calling to be a theological conservative. This all means I frequently find myself landing in a vast brownfield of political discourse known as “the middle.”
The problem with “the middle,” where thoughtful conversation and rampant curiosity trumps screaming pontification and stubborn narrow-mindedness, is that I often hear strident voices screaming into either ear with all the subtlety of a police bullhorn. Looks like this is going to be one of those times. I guess I better get some ear plugs handy.
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Categories: Greed Alert!, Politics, The Environment | Tags: bp, transocean | No Comments »
May 20, 2010 | Posted by Steve
Yes, my blood was boiling last night as I wrote my commentary on “The Texas Textbook Massacre” (copyright 2010, NoMoreGreed.com). Today, as I did further review, it went beyond boil to full-out, lid-popping explosion. The Texas Tribune did an extended annotation of the debate surrounding content changes in the proposed history curriculum and it’s a frightening read. Some of the petty debates that erupted, prompted by inane, fictional interpretations of historical events by the Board’s ultra-conservatives, are confounding to anyone with a functioning brain pan. I encourage you to read their work in its entirety. Do it on an empty stomach.
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Categories: Faith & Life, Politics | Tags: curriculum, history, texas | No Comments »
May 19, 2010 | Posted by Steve
Pop quiz time, hotshot.
Q: When is a “slave” not a “slave?”
A: When that person is actually a piece of property in the “Atlantic triangular trade.”
Huh?
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Categories: Faith & Life, Greed Alert!, Morality | Tags: | No Comments »
May 5, 2010 | Posted by Steve
Living in the Philadelphia area, I routinely flip over to Matt O’Donnell, Tamela Edwards, and the Action News Team for my weekly wake-up dose of reality. Stabbings, murders, rapes, earthquakes, lava flows… You know. Just the stuff you need to get your day started off with a “What is the world coming to!” bang. We go to sleep with Jim Gardner at 11, we wake up with Matt, Tamela, David, and Karen in the AM.
So imagine my shock this morning when I flipped on the FiOS box and was immediately met with a different kind of morning wake-up call. I guess I accidentally left the Gospel Music Channel on after watching a rerun of a rerun of a rerun of “Sue Thomas: FB-EYE” on GMC. There on my TV screen, begging for cash with the breathless earnestness of a man on the verge of starvation, was a guy I’d never heard of. Mike Murdock was his name. He was literally shouting into my face, “Don’t let your seed stay in your hand! If you don’t plant your $1000 or $2000 seed you won’t get your harvest!”
‘Scuse me?
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Categories: Faith & Life, Greed Alert! | Tags: creflo, dollar, mike murdock, name-it, parsely, scam, word-faith | No Comments »
March 24, 2010 | Posted by Steve
Just the other day I had a chat with a Christian brother and the topic quickly turned to the raging debate over health care reform. Like many folks in the religious and political right he was worried that this was just one more blatant power-grab by the liberal left, slowly chipping away at individual rights of self-determination, marching merrily on their way toward creation of a totalitarian, socialist state.
Let’s face it. He isn’t the only person worrying about stuff like that.
And then my Christian friend said something that caused me to pause and draw a long, deep breath. His words were something to the effect of…
“…and I worry that some day this is all going to get to the point of armed conflict…”
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Categories: Faith & Life, Politics | Tags: | 1 Comment »
March 22, 2010 | Posted by Steve
What does it say about our culture that nearly 20 minutes of morning show chat-time was devoted not to the passage of an endlessly controversial national health care overhaul, but rather to two, 5-minute-long, tightly-controlled interviews with golf-dumb’s philandering prodigal son, Tiger Woods?
If Barack Obama ever had reason to ring up his local branch of FTD, today is the day. Mssr. Woods managed – single-handedly, I might add – to push the Tea Party, the health care bill firefight, and just about every other global crisis into the nether regions of the morning news cycle.
“Hi, FTD? This is the Prez. I was wondering how much a gigantic bouquet of roses wrapped up in a green sport coat emblazoned with the words ‘Augusta National’ on the breast would cost me…?”
Categories: Morality, Politics | Tags: | No Comments »
November 14, 2009 | Posted by Steve
What a wonderful week it was for the NoMoreGreed eagle-eyed reporting team! From bimbos to bozos, it was a week full of chuckles, jaw-droppers, and head-scratchers. Let’s get right to the mayhem…
Bimbos, Busts, and Boneheads
There is nothing as pathetically precious as a beauty pageant contestant with skeletons in her closet. You always get the feeling that opening the door could lead to a cascading waterfall of dusty bones. It’s like watching the the David Letterman scandal unfold only she’s wearing a string bikini instead of orthopedic socks.
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Categories: Faith & Life, Greed Alert!, Politics | Tags: | No Comments »
October 1, 2009 | Posted by Steve
I’m a pretty simple guy. Once I find something that works for me I rarely deviate from the plan. Take our cars, for example. It took me years to realize that all the Fords, Chevys, and Dodges we were buying may have been cheap, but they sure didn’t hold up too well over the long haul. So once I bought my first Toyota, I realized it was game over. Hard as it is to admit for this grandson of a “made in the USA” union welder, but I’m probably not going to be buying much other than Toyotas unless Toyota completely goes off the rails and starts turning out crap.
(LOVE that 50mpg I get with the Prius, by they way!)
Pants? Dockers. They just hold up for the long-haul.
Shoes? Florsheim Comfortech. (Bad arches will do that to a guy.)
Mountains or ocean? Mountains.
Target or Walmart? Target.
Mac or PC? Once you taste an Apple you never go back.
Paper or plastic? Well… Actually, let me get back to you on that one.
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Categories: Faith & Life | Tags: | No Comments »
September 15, 2009 | Posted by Steve
The following postings are a compilation of a five-part series I did considering Brian McLaren’s decision to observe the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and one person’s reaction to my concern over McLaren’s choice. It’s called, “Who am I to judge…?” and it captures the essence of the tension in today’s post-modern Christian world between being being “judgmental” and “discerning.”
“Who am I to judge…?” Part I : Christianity Goes Ramadan
“Who am I to judge…?” Part II: Rhetorical Road Blocks
“Who am I to judge…?” Part III: Doubting McLaren, Doubting God?
“Who am I to judge…?” Part IV: So Many Questions, So Little Time.
“Who am I to judge…?” Part V: Getting Discerning
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