Media Watch

Whoa, stop with all the so-called reality TV. There's nothing genuine about it; it's meant to pull in ad dollars at the expense of (and perpetuates) the lowest common denominator. But I like "The Apprentice". No apologies. It inspires me and makes me think. About something worthwhile, for a change. Donald Trump has churned the imagination of many would-be entrepreneurs and this show puts on display the unusual personalities you see in business -- the same devious people we might really have to deal with in such an arena. UPDATE -- Who the hell does Trump's hair!?

It isn't fine with me that we're telling foreign nationals to ignore the legal standards for immigrating to the US, and 'W' didn't ask me about it. I fully recognize that we're a country built on immigration, but there's some paper work we ask people to fill out at the door. If you don't like the process, then let's work to change it, but don't reduce the standards based on unacceptable behavior and make breaking the law acceptable.  War exists where there are no effective laws; chaos reigns where there is no order; and Americans lose their jobs where illegal immigration is permitted!

I read a poster once that said essentially we learn most of everything we need to know while in kindergarten.  Much of it important even as adults.  It's still a good idea to hold hands while crossing the street; not stealing and generally obeying the rules.  I'm more than a little concerned that our society has forgotten the most fundamental of these rules. Dennis Miller may have said it best, and I'm paraphrasing, "We encourage immigrants to come to the US.  Just sign the guest book on your way in".  He's exactly right, in a euphemistic sort of way. I really want to know who thinks we shouldn't have immigration standards in this country, then enforce them.  Not liking laws has never been a good reason to break them.  I know I'm not alone in thinking there's a much closer relationship to 9-11 with border security than with Saddam's Iraq.  So where is there wiggle room?  Obey the laws.  If you disagree with the laws, lobby to have t

When you want to allow any kind of attachment to get through, you may have to chenge a setting manually. Click TOOLS, OPTIONS, then the SECURITY tab. Uncheck the box that says "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus". Now all attachments will be available. Use this etting only if you understand the risks of opening certain kinds of attachments in your email.

Zone Alarm from Zone Labs is one of the most popular personal firewalls we've seen -- and you can get it for free. If you're already using Symantec's Norton Antivirus and it's bundled with Internet security, we think that's as much as you can do to protect yourself. Be sure to read all the literature so you have a good basic understanding of how to set it up for your situation.

Most people buy a used car at some point in their lives, but how many do a little investigation before buying?  You should know what you're buying before laying down the cash -- or worse yet, financing.  Many dealers will now show you a CarFax data sheet.  They punch in the Vehicle Identification Number (or VIN) and the computer spits out all it knows about that particular car.  A VIN is unique to each car and can tell a lot about the car, including make, model, body style, manufacturing plant, etc.  Try this out.  Go to your car and carefully write down your VIN, then enter it in one of the boxes below.  You may be surprised at what you can learn. AnalogX Vin Decoder VIN: CarFax Vin Decoder VIN: AutoCheck Vin Decoder VIN: Model years 1981 and later have 17-digit vehicle identification numbers (VIN).  Anyone can decode them with a few basics. Digit Meaning

According to the Reuters news agency, police in Dortmund, Germany say a Crow attacked a woman and young girl over the weekend, but the bird managed to evade their efforts -- that is until they laced some cat food with high-alcohol fruit schnapps. The bird could not resist. A police department spokesman said the crow was completely smashed when they caught up with it, and is now sleeping off its hangover in a local animal home.