HerringLaw: Civil Rights & Discrimination Law in Iowa

Some hints for Computer Safety

Every now and then I provide friends with answers to questions about computers [my experience is all with Apple Macintosh computers, the iPad and the iPhone, but these general thoughts apply regardless of what system you use].  It's good to remember some of these points.

1.  Murphy’s Law is always in charge:  If something can go wrong at the worst possible time, it will.

2.  Think ahead:  what would you do if your computer ‘died’ when you had a school paper or report to get out in the next hour or two?  What would you do if a tornado or hurricane were bearing down or a fire threatened your home or apartment?  Be prepared for disaster to strike and hope/pray it doesn’t.

3.  Have a backup strategy.  Generally speaking, get an external harddrive 

about 1.5 to 2 times the size of your harddrive and do incremental backups on a regular basis.  There are better or other backup options, but for most people at least copying your computer’s harddrive onto that drive on a regular basis will suffice.  

4.  Keep your computer’s operating system current;  update your essential software.  And before doing any of these things, do a backup ‘just in case’.

5.  Research which systems utilities [software to assist in keeping the computer running in tip-top shape] would work best in your situation and use them on a regular basis [it doesn’t have to be frequent, but at least every now and then].  Programs such as Onyx and others are designed to get rid of unnecessary clutter in the computer’s system without being a ‘computer geek’.

6.  There are plenty of Internet articles and magazines devoted to maximizing your use of computers.  Apple’s site provides a plethora of manuals and materials, video instruction, and a community of people who can [often] answer your questions.  That is true of other sites as well.   Use these resources.

7.  Do everything you can to stop the spread of disease.  People who create viruses an hack into sensitive data do so having a feel for ‘social engineering’, how people will usually act.  Don’t act ‘usual’ on your computer.  Have and use a virus program [especially if you’re using Windows], don’t click on those irritating blinking rectangles that tell you you’ve won something or need to do something now!  If something is that important, you’ll get a phone call not a web-surfing blinking rectangle.  As much as possible, avoid sending on chain letters and especially emails with images and pictures.  If you get an email from someone you don’t know who has a wonderful opportunity for you, don’t believe it.  Things on the Internet which are too good to be true, are.

Robert Reich pulls it all together

On TalkingPointsMemo

The Anatomy of Intolerance

By Robert Reich - August 25, 2010, 6:00PM

Connect the dots:

Many Americans (and politicians who the polls) don't want a mosque at Manhattan's Ground Zero.

An increasing percent believe the President is a Muslim.

Most Americans approve of Arizona's new law allowing police to stop anyone who looks Hispanic and demand proof of citizenship.

Most would deny citizenship to children born in the United States to parents who are here illegally.

Where is all this coming from?

It's called fear. When people are deeply anxious about holding on to their homes, their jobs, and their savings, they look for someone to blame. And all too often they find it in "the other" - in people who look or act differently, who come from foreign lands, who have what seem to be strange religions, who cross our borders illegally.

Americans who feel economically insecure may even become paranoid, believing, say, that the President of the United States is secretly one of "them."

Economic fear is the handmaiden of intolerance. It's used by demagogues who redirect the fear and anger toward people and groups who aren't really to blame but are easy scapegoats.

It has happened before.

Economic crises animated the pre-Civil War Know-Nothings and Anti-Masonic movements, the Chinese exclusion acts, the Ku Klux Klan in the economically-ravaged South, and the anti-immigrant movements of the early decades of the 20th century.

In different places around the world, mass economic stress has had far worse results. At its most extreme it has spawned genocide.

We are far from that. But it's important to understand the roots of America's growing intolerance. And to fight the hate-mongers and cynical opportunists who are using the fears unleashed by this awful economy to advance their own sordid agendas.

Apparently 'feelings' should govern, not the Constitution.

I was just reading TalkingPointsMemo's commentary on Time's polling on the issue of American views of Muslims, Islam and Obama's religion [which is, factually, Christian, and not what 18% seem to believe, not that it matters].  TPM on Time Poll 

The following jumped out at me: " As for the Cordoba House project, opposition remains very high among the American public. Sixty-one percent of respondents to the poll said they oppose building the cultural center,"

So, if 50+ % of the American public think we should not abide by the U.S. Constitution, which thousands have fought and died for and that we fought a Civil War over, then we should just scrap the provision people don't like because it offends our 'feelings'?  By that measure [feelings trump law], we might as well abandon the Constitution in full.  Many people don't like guns, so why have a 2nd amendment?  And if we put free speech or the free press to a vote, they might not do so well either.  Not to mention the Income Tax, women's right to vote, popular vote of the Senate, etc.

The Constitution [& its Amendments] is needed because if we allow "feelings"  to organize our lives and society, then any popular, fashionable, belief of the moment, will be in charge.  The see-saw of public opinion shouldn't control our rights.

The Credit CARD Act of 2009 takes hold - A good thing

I received a credit card statement and as I went to pay it off, saw the new format required by the Credit CARD Act passed last year.  It's a welcome change from all the verbiage used before.  Fair warning to those who use credit cards:  There's a late payment warning and a minimum payment warning and a calculation that if you make only the minimum payment on the balance it'll take 16 years [!!] to pay it off and end up costing one close to $4,000.00.  And paying even a small amount monthly is an improvement, but it stretches the debt out over three years and ends up costing an extra $800 or so more than the money 'borrowed' on credit.  I'll be paying it off asap but good to know in real terms the effects of not paying off one's credit card.

One point to make - when you elect electronic billing/statements, unless you scrutinize the statement images you might not get these warnings.  So, it's helpful to see it 'live' so to speak, to remember the cost of borrowing on a credit card.

 

Iowa Flooding

I just put a few pictures up to my Flickr page/site to let people see how the flooding in Iowa has been.  I was driving east of Des Moines and got off at the Colfax exit and found the uploaded images there at that exit and also along Country Road F34 which runs E-W through the countryside.  Lots of tragedy also [ruined houses, crops and lost lives].  

 

VictoriaJZ at Flickr - the link to the flood images.