Bingo.... when I buy gas and pay at the pump, I *always* use credit option. If a skimmer got my PIN code I'm on the hook for all charges. With a credit card, the skimmer can still nab me, but I'm not on the hook. Funny thing is, if someone stole my wallet, they'd have the zip code that the CC auth wants. Not secure at all.

I see in many of the comments that the probable method of attack was sniffing the outbound traffic... but w hat if the hack was embedded in a firmware update on all the cash registers? The cash register gets the CC number from the POS keypad, right?

.....unless that president happens to be named JFK and then the agency stops him.

We'll have martial law before the 2016 election. All it will take is a small tweak to the SNAP welfare system and there'll be riots. Once we have riots in multiple cities, the natural progression will be martial law. Good thing the DHS has been "giving" away MRAPs to a bunch of cities... just in time too.

The problem with the president going to war without congress having declared it is that Congress has two lines of recourse... 1)Impeach, 2)defund the military. Thanks to political ideologues, impeaching the current president would be impossible, and 2)defunding the military is political suicide when it is sold to the public as not supporting the troops.



You may recall from the vietnam era that congress enacted the war power act that gave the president the authority to dispatch the military w/o congress declaring war, but he had to answer to them within 60-90 days. BHO has all but snubbed his nose at this and said it is unconstitutional. Funny how he seems to pick and chose what is and is not constitutional.

He's technically right. It was stupid of the government to save GM the way they did. This too big to fail mentality has got to stop. If GM had failed, someone would have bought up the pieces and they would have gone forward under a new name. Shame on the government for saving them. At this point, "we" should heed the addage "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me".

The schools encourage it since they get money for children with disabilities. Some disabilities cost a lot of money to accomodate, some like ADD don't cost much at all. My favorite "low budget" accommodation is giving a child more time to take a standardized test. Yes, that test which makes the school sink or swim according to NCLB.

It's like we don't have any crummugeons any more! Get off my lawn!

What I love is that when a Snowden or an Assange comes along, they cue up the character assassinations. Why didnt you know Snowden's girlfriend was a stripper? That he made little ladies at the local bingo parlor say the F word by yelling BINGO at inappropriate times?

It's to the point that I tend to believe a person is morally right as I hear more and more dirt on them.

The do not call registry hasn't stopped telemarketers from calling.... but it works great for me.... it means that ANY company I get a call is a scam.

... unless the airline charges a high fee to use their micro cell.

Cell towers tilt the antennas downward a few degrees. This brings the horizon in artifically closer than the real horizon. Years ago, when travelling on mountaintops. cell phones would jump to a distant tower for a brief instant and then drop the call. The solution was to make sure the towers didn't see any cellphones past the horizon. Since the antennas are pointed downward, if you are above them you won't get service, never mind the fact that you are switching between towers so rapidly.

The fun part about this is that if I leave my phone on, I could get texts which cost me a roaming fee. This will really usher in an entirely new reason for "airplane mode" on the cell phones.... to avoid unexpected telco fees.

1)Encourage FAA and FCC to permit cell phones on airplanes

2)Provide a microcell that charges exorbitant roaming fees

3)Wait for any of 300 people to get texts or push notifications

4) profit!

....except for the DING each time that teen girl beside you gets a text or snapchat.

The cell tower antennas are actually tilted downward at a slight angle to force the signals to an actual point on the ground at the horizon. You can't use a cell phone if you wanted to on a terrestrial tower if you are 5 miles up. You'll have to use a microcell in the airplane itself.