I’ve decided to decline any of the “special offers” I receive from credit card companies and others when the call does not originate in the U.S. Take to asking the person that calls if the the call originates in the U.S. If it doesn’t, politely explain that you only consider such offers when the offer originates in the U.S. Ask customer service people to transfer your call to a U.S.-based call center. It might help save a job or two.

I read an interesting commentary/Op.ed. piece in Sunday’s St. Petersburg Times. It was written by Francis Fukuyama, a professor of international political economy at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and is entitled “Latest threat on horizon: transhumans.”

On top of a major hurricane bearing down on Tampa Bay, Tampa City Council members couldn’t get FREE Coffee at Thursday’s meeting. And they had to gripe about it.

Ralph Reed, Southeast regional chairman of the Bush-Cheney ’04 campaign and former executive director of the Christian Coalition, “confirmed on Sunday that he accepted more than $1 million in fees from a lobbyist and a public relations specialist whose work on behalf of American Indian casinos prompted a federal investigation.”

Members of Congress are currently holding hearings and considering rapid action on the recommendations issued by the 9/11 Commission in early August. While the Commission’s report contains beneficial analysis and recommendations, there are also proposals which, if enacted, would have a long-lasting and negative impact on the privacy and freedoms of future generations of Americans.