Try cutting costs?
I wonder how many Marylanders are aware that their governor intends to place yet another tax burden on them amid this economic turmoil?
It was Thomas Jefferson who once advised, "We have the greatest opportunity the world has ever seen, as long as we remain honest, which will be as long as we can keep the attention of our people alive. If they once become inattentive to public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, judges and governors would all become wolves."
Those words of wisdom came to mind when I read that Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's proposed budget includes a six percent sales tax on virtually every downloaded product.
For example, if Marylanders purchase a downloaded song from iTunes for 99-cents, it would cost them $1.05.
TRENDING: Jihad against Christians is due to … climate change?
Why does the guv need the extra dough? A $1.1 billion shortfall. Apparently the idea of cutting waste hasn't occurred to Hizzoner the Guv.
Kiddie multi-tasking: A trend parents had better address now
Young girls who spend the most time multitasking between various digital devices, communicating online or watching video are the least likely to develop normal social tendencies, according to a study by Stanford University of 3,461 American girls aged 8 to 12 who volunteered responses.
The study was conducted as a survey in Discovery Girls magazine and measured only girls. But researchers say the results should apply to boys too.
There is a cure for this hyper-digital phenomenon, and it's pretty straightforward.
Facebook Timeline, whether you want it or not
If you're on Facebook, you have just a few more days to update your home page to the new Timeline before Facebook does it for you. Timeline, according to Facebook, is a new kind of profile that lets you highlight the photos, posts and life events that help you tell your story.
You'll be notified on your home page when Timeline is available at your account. You'll have seven days to preview your information before publishing it to the world.
Facebook describes its new product: "Timeline gives you an easy way to rediscover the things you shared and collect your most important moments. It also lets you share new experiences, like the music you listen to or the miles you run."
Facebook IPO possibly next week. Are you invited to the party?
Over the past few weeks, we've been telling you that Facebook's initial public offering is imminent. The IPO is speculated to be worth as much as $100 billion whenever it arrives. Some speculate Facebook could file for its IPO as early as this week.
As we wrote in our Jan. 2 column, you might want to contact your member of Congress and ask them if they might enrich their stock portfolio with an invitation to FaceBook's IPO. To make direct contact with your member, I suggest you use Gradegov.com, as this is the personal email account of each member of Congress. Let me know if you get a response.
Ask your Congressional representative: "Have you received an invitation to the FaceBook initial public offering?" or "Will you have any involvement whatsoever in the FaceBook IPO?"
Quoting Sarah Palin: "Thanks to the solid new research and recent revelations in Peter Schweizer's book 'Throw Them All Out' and the subsequent coverage on '60 Minutes,' we have concrete proof to explain how members of Congress accumulate wealth at a rate astonishingly faster than the rest of Americans and have stock portfolios that outperform even the best hedge-fund managers (Full disclosure: Schweizer is employed by my political action committee as a foreign policy adviser)."
Bits & Bytes
Apple's iPhone, iPad sales. MASSIVE!
Leading political candidates coming into Florida
Last week we told you about Intrade. This week we found another source to help you try to figure who's pulling ahead: the number of new Facebook fans that each candidate is getting, according to the Inside Facebook Election Tracker.
Time capsule
1835 – Attempted assassination of President Andrew Jackson
1943 – German 6th defeated at Stalingrad
1968 – Martial law declared as "Tet Offensive" continues
1974 – Newspaper heiress Patty Hearst kidnapped
1979 – Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran, ends 14 years of exile
1996 – France halts nuclear testing
2003 – Shuttle Columbia destroyed on re-entry, crew of seven lost
2003 – "Shoebomber" Richard Reid gets life in prison
Now playing at the Princess Theater, Urbana, Ill.
Congratulations to WND readers Georgia Smithfield of Pensacola, Fla., and Harrison Tyler of Tipton, Ga., who were among the first to correctly guess actor Billy Bob Thornton in his portrayal of Richard Jemmons in the 1998 movie "Primary Colors." The film was based on the best seller by "Anonymous" (Joe Klein).
The selection was tied to last week's item when in 1998 President Clinton denied an affair with Monica Lewinsky.
The quote was: "That's what these guys do. They love you and then stop lovin' you."
This week's quote: "Why are they doing this? Why are they doing this? They said when you got here the whole thing started. Who are you? What are you? Where did you come from! I think you're evil. EVIL!"
Name the movie, the actor and the character. Send your answer to me at the email address below. Please be sure to add your town and state. Good luck!