September 15, 2010

How to spot a scam artist

We’ve always known that Lorraine Collins had great credentials.   And now we learn that she’s also been selected for an online “Who’s Who” registry.  Of course, her discerning ways will quickly elevate her to the head of the class of folks who know “what’s what” and can size-up a scam artist just a mouse click away.   Lorraine has been a regular contributor to the Black Hills Pioneer newspaper for quite some time, and we’re delighted to offer you her latest column here on Black Hills Monitor.
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The other day I got a letter informing me that I had been "appointed as a biographical candidate to represent Spearfish, SD" for an online Who's Who registry for "executive and professional women." This was the biggest thrill I've had since I received word a couple years ago that I had been selected for membership in the Handyman Club of America.

Now, I knew that the Handyman Club was suffering from a serious case of mistaken identity when they said they wanted me to try out their chain saw, and I'm no less certain that this outfit is also laboring under some misapprehension. The misapprehension might be that any woman who receives this letter will be flattered and pleased and will immediately send the necessary biographical information to this organization for them to use as they see fit. But I thought the letterhead might as well have read SCAM instead of WHO'S WHO.

Yet it did sound awfully nice. They were pleased to inform me that my candidacy was already approved. They just wanted me to visit my personal website (one they had set up in my behalf) to verify my biographical information. The letter went on to explain that candidates are selected based on "researched executive and professional listings." Frankly, I couldn't think of any executive or professional listing I might be on and furthermore, I'd have been more impressed if the letter had been sent with a real 44 cent stamp instead of one of those indicating a mass mailing.

The letter indicated getting listed in their online directory would be free, which I sincerely doubted. I was not surprised when I did a bit of research online to find that the Better Business Bureau in several states had received complaints about the company. I guess everything is free for the first few minutes of a phone call.  But then honorees are expected to purchase lifetime membership for several hundred dollars, or buy a hardcover book with their listing, or pay to have their skimpy biography enlarged. Some people have actually made the mistake of giving the outfit their credit card number.

Moseying around their website I found that many Who's Who members (they have several different categories) were self-published authors hawking their books as well as the occasional person who seemed to be either deranged or a con artist or both. One woman claimed that "Social Security checks will begin to shrink by September 30th this year" so she suggested a website where we could "discover sound alternate investing." I was not tempted to go there.

It's puzzling, really. I wondered how people could be so vulnerable to scam artists but then I realized that in a sense we are conditioned to believe whatever unproven allegation anybody tells us. Often we are told what we want to believe and sometimes we're told what somebody else wants us to believe for their own purposes. Just think of all the lies and distortions that circulate on the Internet and land in our email inboxes. Outrageous and untrue statements are made all the time, often by people who want to spread fear and anxiety to further their political agenda.

The best defense against scam artists in either commerce or politics is a healthy dose of skepticism which I think one can develop without becoming totally cynical. When we are offered something wonderful for nothing, we have a pretty good indication that it's going to cost quite a bit. When someone appeals to our ego, or to our fear, there's a good chance that the truth may be bent just a little. Some folks can spot a snake oil salesman a mile away and still fall for a smooth talking fellow who assures us that he knows just what ails the country and how to fix it.   

The thing is, it's easier to spot a scam artist if he's not masquerading as a patriot. 

Lorraine Collins is a writer who lives in Spearfish. She can be contacted at collins1@rushmorre.com
           

September 8, 2010

Religious tolerance -- eroding everywhere?

by Larry Miller


In the past several days, we’ve received a few forwarded e-mail messages with dire warnings about Muslims. The mail comes from friends and relatives alike.


Much of it is based on seemingly scholarly work attributed to one Dr. Peter Hammond.


A bit of research reveals that Dr. Hammond is founder of the “Frontline Fellowship” in Cape Town, South Africa. Its purpose is to “glorify God” and expose the “strategies and ideologies of evil.” Listed priorities include “working for Reformation and praying for Revival.”


As something of a conservative curmudgeon, my interest was piqued by their trove of literature about the Great Reformation – from the bloody Crusades and John Calvin to Oliver Cromwell and Martin Luther. Frontline Fellowship’s library is replete with books, CDs and DVDs focusing on the Reformation. And the clear message on its web site is that there needs to be a religious reformation with zeal and commitment – some would say radicalism – and it must be mobilized today if the forces of evil are to be defeated.


Interestingly, if you want to join the Frontline Fellowship, you’re asked to fill out a 20-page application and tell them about your military service. They also want a copy of your discharge papers.


Dr. Hammond seems something other than an objective biblical scholar.


And the data he offers is designed to scare the socks off you. And apparently it’s working, as more and more people seem to be expressing great fear of Muslims, whether moderate or extremist. Hammond correlates increasing Muslim populations with terrorism and lawlessness everywhere from France and India to Israel and Guyana. But he probably wasn’t counting when one-time-Christian-turned-extremist Jim Jones engineered mass suicides in Guyana a generation ago.


Hammond writes that he’d like Hollywood to come to his aid and produce films consistent with his view of the world, but overall, he’s not very thrilled with westerners. He charges that “the West is quick to intervene to help Muslims – but not Christians. They’ll help Muslims in Bosnia, Muslims in Kuwait, Muslims in Somalia – but not Christians in Rwanda or Sudan.”


Religious extremists everywhere are seeking followers for their causes. And most peddle misinformation and fear. They seem to be everywhere, from Afghanistan to the United States – and, yes, South Africa.


I am reminded of the hysteria perpetuated by the media a half century ago when John Kennedy was a candidate for President. It warned that if Kennedy were elected, the Pope would be de facto president of the United States. In retrospect, that anti-Catholic diatribe now seems ludicrous.


Fear of the unknown can be a real and very powerful force. Much of what many Americans think we know about Islam arrives in our homes via e-mail, predicting dire consequences for the United States. There are lots of “facts” in these e-mails, but little rational thought concerning the context or honest implications of those “facts.” Recipients of this stuff would do better to explore more credible research done by the likes of the Pew Research Center, which has found that most Muslims in the United States consider themselves U.S. citizens first, and Muslims second. And most of them – according to Pew – “are very concerned about Islamic extremism in the world.”


I am a Christian. While I’ve never been accused of being a devout Christian, I am an inquiring Christian, trying to learn and understand more about my faith – and the faiths of others who value the freedom of religion that our country has embraced since its inception.


As a journalist, I am also a skeptic. Radicals of all stripes get my attention, wherever they reside – in the news, in schools, in Congress, or in the pulpit. When they begin hatemongering, I refuse to sit idly by and blithely accept their versions of the truth.


The latest irrational salvo to hit my mailbox is a “fox guarding the henhouse” claim spewed out against Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Arif Alikhan. Not because Alikhan is alleged to be incompetent or crooked; but simply because he happens to be a Muslim – like nearly three million other Americans!


If the good folks who forward these ill-conceived e-mails would dig beneath the surface a bit, they’ll discover that Mr. Alikhan has pretty good credentials: he’s a former federal prosecutor, who also had “operational oversight of Los Angeles Police, Fire and Emergency Management Departments.” I would expect that he also has sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States, something I suspect many authors of these anti-Muslim missives have never done.


With a bit of inquiry, and a closer examination of the Constitution, we might all learn more about the letter and the spirit of “freedom of religion,” something that our forefathers took seriously.


And so should we.

September 7, 2010

The problem with August

We always enjoy sharing the writings of our good neighbor Lorraine Collins, who pens columns regularly for the Black Hills Pioneer newspaper.   For some time now, we've suspected there was something awry with the month of August -- but we just didn't know what!  Lorraine spells it out here.  You may contact her at collins1@rushmore.com.

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A friend in Toronto called me the first Monday in August and after we had chatted for a while she expressed surprise that the first Monday is not a holiday in the United States. In Canada it's "Civic Holiday." Now, it seems to me that this is a typical Canadian practical solution to a problem. In this case, the problem is August.

August is 31 days long and there are no public holidays. Therefore, declare a "Civic Holiday." It doesn't have to commemorate any historic event, the birth or death of any great person, or anything else. Just realize that August needs a holiday and put one in. Close government offices and banks and go fishing.

Of course, I think the solution to the no-holiday problem in August is to finally make an official public holiday of Women's Equality Day which is celebrated modestly by a few on August 26th, tomorrow. It commemorates the day in 1920 when the 19th Amendment took effect after it was ratified by the last state to do so on the 18th, so women in the United States were finally  allowed to vote. This day was first proposed in 1971 by Rep. Bella Abzug of New York who managed to get Congress to declare in a Joint Resolution that August 26th is a day worthy of official commemoration.

But somehow, it has never been able to make it onto the calendar, even though one calendar in my house notes Ground Hog Day, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, First Days of Spring ,Summer, Fall and Winter,  various Jewish and Christian holidays, Earth Day, Administrative Professionals Day, Armed Forces Day, Father's Day, Mother's Day, as well as all of the legal holidays like President's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, and so forth.

I tell you, it makes one a little paranoid to realize that calendar companies give more respect to  ground hogs than to women. However, I try not to fret about it. I know that many women suffered, were imprisoned, went on hunger strikes, were force fed, were sent to mental institutions for demanding the right to vote. But that's only 90 years ago, so I suppose we shouldn't be too impatient waiting for recognition of the sacrifices made to achieve equality.

 I also realize that there are many other worthy causes that are not on the calendar in August, though they could be if people just pushed hard enough to get them recognized. When I went online to find what various people thought we should be celebrating in August, I found that just about every day was designated to celebrate one thing or another.

It's amazing, really. There's International Left-hander's day on August 13 and there's Income Tax Day commemorating the date of the first Income Tax in the U.S. in1861. But I don't suppose there would be many patriotic parades for that one.

There are days in which we are asked to commemorate many nice things--friendship, parents, Switzerland, the Coast Guard, and even Bad Poetry Day. Personally, I think I'd skip that one. There are an amazing number of days in August devoted to recognizing food. These include days devoted to toasted marshmallows, filet mignon, potatoes, waffles, sponge cake, ice cream sandwiches, mustard, rice pudding and a host of others. I like all that stuff except mustard so I'm sorry I didn't learn of the various Days until it was too late.

I suddenly realized that August 26th is not only Women's Equality Day but also is National Dog Day, I wondered whether we could join forces to try to get on the calendar together, celebrating our mutual virtues. But when I went to the website for National Dog Day, I realized it honors dogs for offering "Love--all you want, unconditionally, forever, no contract required."

Hmm. That sounds more like Mother's Day to me.

September 4, 2010

Accepting the Journal's "Page Too"

My bride and I often vote for opposing candidates in elections, thereby cancelling any impact our votes might have upon public office holders from U.S. president to mayor.

But politics isn’t the only place we’ve seen things differently.

When the Rapid City Journal created its shrine to wayward celebrities on “Page Too,” my spouse became an almost instant fan. Curmudgeon that I am, I would not allow myself to forage through these juicy tidbits of “human interest” stories that have little relevance to my life. As a journalism school graduate, I thought there was just too much weightier stuff that I should be reading – everything from health care issues to the plight of Social Security. And surely the war in Afghanistan and our faltering economy deserve more of my attention!

But to get from the Journal’s front page to local and state news on page A3, I’ve always felt I had to hurriedly ignore “Page Too,” lest my eyes and curiosity be aroused by those fluffy features.

Alas, it’s no use. The longer that I worry that the Journal is only feeding the frenzy over all things celebrity, the more I catch myself shamelessly devouring the latest gossip about David Letterman, Lady Gaga, or Barbra Streisand.

I am a reluctant, if guilt-ridden, convert.

So now it’s time to pay homage to the Rapid City Journal for hatching “Page Too.” Without it, I wouldn’t know about the tax woes of actor Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee), the non-injury accident outside the home of author Stephen King, or the seemingly endless drug problems of Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, rapper T.I., and a litany of other celebrities.

Commercial television long ago realized the value of dumbing down its programming to “give the people what they want.” And it’s so much less expensive than providing all that confusing news stuff.  Newspapers have just been slower to abandon their journalistic souls in adopting this “eye candy” media strategy.

Tomorrow, I may even discontinue my search for elusive world news in the back pages of the Journal, while also cancelling my subscriptions to Time and the Wall Street Journal. That way I can focus more on Page Too, contributing my “Two Cents” worth of anonymous opinion, catching up on “The Odd” blurbs, and maybe even digressing to more on-line computer time, Twittering and exploring Facebook.

Maybe Paris Hilton will be my friend.