The View From the Outback

• Thoughts While Staring at the Ceiling Fan
• Raise the Mandatory Retirement Age for FBI Agents
• The Battle Over Copy-Protected CDs and DVDs
• The Microsoft Bullies Continue to Dump on Us
• A Pinkie in the Dike of Telemarketers
• Suggested Reading From Past Columns

Every time I go back and read an installment of the Outback, I find spelling errors, missing words, incomplete phrases, and so forth. It is very hard to proofread your own material, even with spelling checkers. Somebody who has time on their hands please e-mail me when I mangle things. These columns may be out there on the Internet for a long time. Let's do our best to get it right.

A teenager on the Island of Kauai, in Hawaii, lost his foot to a shark at Brennecke's Beach. I broke my ribs in the surf at that beach. I was lucky it seems.

Dr. Richard Carmona has been nominated by the president to become the Surgeon General. Dr. Carmona has both medical and law-enforcement backgrounds. Once, in a gun-battle with a murder suspect, the doctor shot and killed the man. Finally, we may get someone in Washington who is a "straight shooter." Seriously, many are surprised that Dr. Kenneth Cooper, of "Aerobics" fame in Dallas, was not chosen, since early published reports indicated he probably was the president's choice. Now, I have to scrap my article entitled "My Friend the Surgeon General," which was to be a tribute to Dr. Cooper, whom I have known for 30 years.

The INS is under heavy fire, and rightly so. As I watch the INS Commissioner, James W. Ziglar, testify before congressional committees, I get bad vibes. He seems to be yet another career bureaucrat who knows how to give "all the right answers." But, I question his suitability for the job. He served in several high administrative posts in the government, in Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Mines, and so forth, as an aide to a Senator, as a law clerk at the Supreme Court, and as a lawyer. He was also Sergeant at Arms for the U.S. Senate. Just how does this qualify him to run one of the critical "law enforcement" agencies in the country? Especially when it needs a complete restructuring. It seems to me that the president should have selected someone with federal law-enforcement experience and perhaps some federal criminal- law practice. Mr. Ziglar seems like a very nice person. What we need is a fire-breathing tyrant in that job. Mr. Ziglar might be one of the first high officials to leave his post prematurely. At least, it would not come as a surprise to me.

Alex "The Bachelor," on ABC's new show, graduated from Harvard and from Stanford with an M.B.A. degree. It would be nice if he had more than two responses to everything, "Cool," and "Awesome." His favorite TV show is "The Simpsons." But he is so cute, nobody but me will notice. A friend called to say that a gal he knew from Dallas was one of the contestants. Her name is Shannon, and my friend said she is a terrific person. I caught the show later from the West Coast feed. When Alex was handing out the 15 roses to the ladies he wanted to get to know better, there were perfunctory kisses on the cheek from most. But, Shannon and Alex reached out, in what seemed to me to be a mutually-coincidental gesture, to hug each other after she was presented a rose. I'm putting my money on Shannon - and there are some marvelous ladies in the group. I don't normally watch reality shows, but I am going to make an exception - at least until Shannon fails to make the cut.

One of the best computer tips I have seen recently was on page 68 of the April 9th issue of "PC Magazine." Some Web sites will take over your Back button and not let you get out. If you right- click on the Back button in Internet Explorer 6.0 (and other versions, I presume), you see a list of recently-visited sites. You can click on one to move back in time during your surfing expedition. A good tip just in everyday surfing, like when you decide to check out some back issues of the Outback and lose your way. So much to learn. So little time.

It is heartening to see that some of our "Domestic Terrorist" organizations are finally getting some much-needed attention. The FBI has classified "The Animal Liberation Front" as a domestic terrorist group and is on their trail for several acts of burglary, arson, and other anti- social conduct. A group has complained to the IRS that PETA (the radical animal-rights group) induces or encourages unlawful acts. They are asking the IRS to revoke PETA's tax-exempt status. It is interesting that it took a monumental act of foreign-sponsored terrorism for Americans to wake up to the fact that domestic terrorists have operated with near impunity for years.

In an earlier Outback, I was pretty skeptical of the Segway scooter. Now, the boss has people running all over the country trying to drum up support for local and state laws that would allow the scooters to operate on sidewalks. One argument they give is that the Segway would stop if it ran into something or somebody. Wonderful news. If this traveling legal dog-and-pony show comes to your town or state capitol, be alert and voice your opposition to sharing your sidewalks with an electric scooter that might be traveling about 4-7 times faster than you are. Beep! Beep! Bang! Ooops! Scuzi! "You'll hear from my lawyer." And while you are at it, get the jump and prohibit robots from using public sidewalks.

In the "Where Have You Been?" department: FOXNews.com reported (March 5, 2002) an AP story that the U.S. knew of the suicide hijack threat in 1995. They cited information that came from Manila where an apartment fire led to discovery of the information from two terrorists about planned air hijackings and the ramming of U.S. buildings. One of the men was later convicted in the first World Trade Center bombing. I covered this in my Outback column of Nov. 4, 2001 ("U.S. Government in a Frantic Scramble to Catch Up").This is hardly news. And the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) has concluded that the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 in October of 1999, was caused by the co-pilot - who cut power to the engines and flew the airliner into the sea. In the Outback for Aug.14, 2000 (Outback #1!), I suggested that the crash was the result of a deliberate act by the co-pilot. Nobody can accuse the NTSB of making hasty judgments.

In an earlier Outback, I raved about my new hero, Hamid Karzi, the interim leader in Afghanistan. He had vowed to stamp out the growing of opium poppies, which in the 1990s provided 70% of the world supply. And you thought Colombia and SE Asia were the problem? So did I. Sadly, the crop this year will be allowed to grow. Ironically, the Taliban had nearly completely shut down the opium growing. This is but one sign of the nearly ungovernable nature of Afghanistan, in part due to the tribal rivalries. The U.S. and its allies will be involved in Afghanistan for decades - for a variety of reasons. We will no doubt have a DEA office in the U.S. Embassy. And a huge contingent of AID people (Agency for International Development). And so forth. It reminds me of our early commitment in Laos. Eventually, we gave up in Laos and gave the keys to the Communists. Did we learn anything from that experience?

The audience for the Oscars was the lowest on record. Whoopi Goldberg and her vulgar, racist, humor was undoubtedly one reason. She actually thinks she is beautiful and sexy. That borders on being a serious delusion. I watched the History channel during the great Hollywood look into the mirror of narcissism. It seems that during WW II, three American B-29 bombers made emergency landings in the Soviet Union. Although they were ostensibly our allies, the Soviets reverse engineered the B-29, down to a rivet and a radio tube, and produced a carbon copy called the TU-4. It was thus capable of carrying an Atomic bomb, which of course, they were also in the process of stealing from us. What did you learn while watching the Oscars?"

Hotmail and Yahoo are tightening their e-mail programs with some pay-for-service options. Other than the fact that you can create an entirely bogus account name in either service, with virtually no link to your true identity, I don't see the merit in these services. Most ISPs that I am familiar with have a WebMail option, where you can log on to your account from anywhere in the world and check you e-mail on the Web. My ISP, Neato (neto.com), in Paris, Texas, (pop. 25,000) has a WebMail function. They also have 5,000 phone numbers around the country where you can dial in and get directly into your account, just as if you were at home. If you have an ISP, you no doubt have an e-mail account. If they don't offer a WebMail function, suggest that they implement one. Of course, you will have to quit sending Sen. Daschle hate mail as "Ihateyourguts2243@hotmail.com - and use your real name.

Tom Ridge, the Director of Homeland Security, announced a color-coded terrorist alert system. Two of the colors are very similar, especially on some computers with not-so-good video cards and monitors, or on TVs with poor color balance. Also, what does a blind person do if he hears on the news that the threat is Yellow? You have to have the color-code memorized. And what about color-blind people? What in heaven's name is wrong with Code 1, 2, 3, 4,5 , with 5 meaning "head for your fallout shelter"?

On "Wheel of Fortune," nearly every woman says she is married to her "wonderful" husband. Just once, I would like to see a woman come on and say, "Pat, I am married to an abusive jerk and a slob. I came on this show to try and win enough money to pay the lawyer to divorce the bum and maybe get set up in my new place."

I thought I had seen all levels of computer frustration and challenges. However. The other day, I was helping a young man named Solon bring back to life his Windows-95 machine. The mouse was so erratic that I could not use it. I handed it to him in frustration. He took out the ball and rolled the rollers inside with his fingertip to navigate the desktop and the menus! I went to my stash of useless gear in the closet and gave him a serial mouse, which worked perfectly. How people put up with these frustrations in beyond me.

Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and his group have published the initial guidelines for the Military Tribunals. They have no candidates for trial at this point. In addition to terrorists, they might include drug dealers, and telemarketers - that would encompass the three lowest forms of human life.

Raise the Mandatory Retirement Age for FBI Agents

The FBI is seeking to hire 930 additional special agents. One reason is that the FBI has a mandatory retirement age of 57-years-of-age! I know that the public perception is that FBI agents spend their time in shootouts with bank robbers and rescuing hostages. The most taxing thing most FBI agents face is trying to stay awake on a stakeout at 3 o'clock in the morning - or plowing though 250 boxes of records from Enron or the like.

Somebody needs to look at the retirement-age limit and reconsider. For example, if a person's mental faculties are still intact, and they can walk without a cane, why force a person out who does mostly white-collar crime investigations or espionage or terrorism investigations? Or is a profiler, or a crime-scene specialist? And on and on. Most FBI investigations are simply tedious and require talking to a lot of people and looking at a bunch of records. There are many 70-year- old-plus sheriffs in this country who are doing a fine job. They deal with more real knock-down, drag-out situations than most FBI agents are ever exposed to. Push the dope-offs out the door at 57 - or younger. Keep the good guys and gals at least into their mid-sixties.

The Battle Over Copy-Protected Music CDs and DVDs

There have been thousands of pages written and hundreds of hours of TV and radio time devoted to Napster, downloading music, downloading movies, and makings copies of CDs or DVDs. The best summary I have heard came from Peter Chernin, president of News Corp., during a speech to some media group - which was broadcast on C-SPAN. Mr. Chernin said that the sharing of copyrighted material on peer-to-peer services like Napster, the downloading of movies without paying a fee, and so forth, was "stealing." And that parents tend to look the other way when their kids download mega files of copyrighted material. He likened this to ignoring it if your child stole CDs or VCR tapes from a local store. We are raising a generation who is being taught that it is okay to steal, he said. My sentiments exactly!

Somehow people got the idea that anything posted on the Internet, or any files that a friend had, were okay to copy. It was as if there was a Constitutional provision for "freedom to download." Not so. The Copyright laws were carefully crafted to protect "intellectual property," and worked very well until the advent of the Internet. If you write a book, compose a song, or paint a landscape, you have the right for other people not to trade in your intellectual property without paying a fee. Is that so hard to grasp? Is it somehow unfair to the consumer? No way.

On the other hand, there is a "fair use" policy. If you buy a music CD, you can do pretty much what you want to with it for personal use. You can make a dupe to play in your car. You can rip the CD to MP3 on your hard drive. But, when you start putting the music on that CD online or in a peer-to-peer network, you are stealing from the creator of that work. Suppose you worked for 10 years to write a great book. It gets published and somebody scans it into word processing and duplicates the $29 book and sells it for $5? Or gives the book away by posting the word- processing file online? Why there was such a long court battle with Napster about such a simple concept, I will never understand. Napster always was in clear violation of the Copyright laws.

The only lawsuit I ever threatened to file was against a magazine. The editor had lifted an entire chapter from a short book I had written on residential security. He published it word-for-word as an article. To be honest, about a third of the way through the article, I said to myself, "this is really a good article." Then it dawned on me. No wonder. It had been part of a good book. The Dallas police used it for years in community crime-prevention programs. We settled for what the magazine should have paid me to write the article. It was the principle involved that caused me to hire a lawyer. I think I ended up with enough to buy lunch.

Now comes the Napster, et al. backlash. Record companies are starting to produce CDs that cannot be duped or ripped to MP3, not even for personal use. The same kind of copy-protection has been applied to DVDs. Immediately the nerds went to work on the schemes to defeat them. But, the average user, like those of us non-nerds in the Outback, are disadvantaged by copy- protection.

I will never buy a music CD that I cannot rip to my hard drive or make a dupe to play in the truck. You should not either. I am not about to open my 60-CD changer each day and decide which CDs I will take in the truck, not to mention the potential for damage in the vehicular environment. And my stereo system is not in my computer room, so I play the MP3 music here on a software jukebox - just like millions of others. Amazon.com has started to post a notice when they are aware that a CD is disabled. Bravo!

Sen. Fritz Hollings has introduced a bill that is cloaked in a grand-sounding title that has little to do with its intent, called the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act of 2002 (S. 2048). In simplest terms, Sen. Hollings and pals want there to be "security system standards for use in digital media devices and encoding rules" to prevent the transmission of copyrighted music, movies, et al., primarily over the Internet. At the same time, Sen. Hollings insists that the rights of consumers to "fair use" of their digital products, such as CDs and DVDs, not be restricted. That's an interesting dilemma.

"Fair Use" has meant that you could copy a CD to play in your car, or rip a CD into MP3 files to carry on your portable music player, or make a backup copy of your CD for safekeeping. Already, some of those rights have eroded. DVDs are copy-protected and anyone who breaks the protection code is subject to criminal sanctions.

The copy-protection approach is analogous to gun-control. All of the gun-control laws we have, about 20,000, have not made much of a difference in gun crime. Copy-protection schemes and "I-chips" (chips to block the transmission of copyrighted material over the Internet) will not prevent piracy. The nerds are simply too smart. The answer to gun-crime has proven to be enforcement against those who shoot people and those who traffic in illegal guns. We need to attack the illegal traffic on the Internet and the people who do it. Don't mess with our computers, our TVs, or our Tivos. Pirating software over a certain value is now a crime, and the same approach could be taken with music and movie piracy.

There is another powerful gun-control analogy. In Sen. Holling's bill, there is a provision that would exempt from these new digital controls any equipment that was made before the date of the passage of the law. What this says is that if they decide to put an "I-chip" in all new CD- ROM drives, CD-RW drives, and DVD drives, you can still use any CD-RW drive, for example, that was made before the law was passed. And in another section, the bill directs the Register of Copyrights to take into consideration, in passing judgement on a standard, whether the new security rules or standards would impair the use of these "legacy" devices.

As part of gun-control legislation, ammunition magazines (clips) of greater than 10-round capacity were outlawed for sale. But, you could still use and buy any high-capacity magazines that were made before the law passed. Years later, you can still legally buy a 30-round magazine for your Uzi, or a high-capacity magazine for your Glock pistol. That moronic provision did not do one thing to limit gun crime. There were already enough high-capacity magazines on the market to supply the consumers for years, if not decades! If a law is passed that "cripples" new CD-ROM/RW drives, for example, there will be enough in the pipeline and on desktops to keep the illegal disseminators of copyrighted material in business for years.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein is a co-sponsor of the Holling's bill. As I recall, the moronic 10-round ammunition magazine limit thing was her idea. At least she was one of the leaders in getting it passed. It is the same pattern of Liberal thinking. If there is a problem, punish the innocent consumer instead of the persons guilty of the crime.

We already have some precedents for controlling content over the Internet and over the airwaves. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) routine use filtering software to stop SPAM e-mail before it is even sent to their customers. The Secure Socket Layer (SSL), and other encryption techniques, are used to conduct secure transactions over the Internet. I'm no programming or Internet genius, but I have been doing some common-sense thinking. There are only about 43 major Internet Backbone providers in this country, and only a handful of really big ones. These are the major Internet pipelines to which your local ISPs connect.

It seems to me that if a music CD-ROM, a movie DVD, or a TV digital movie (HDTV and satellite) had embedded in it an encrypted packet, that packet could be filtered (intercepted) at the various backbones with software that would bounce back a file that contained the "digital copyright encrypted packet" with a message like: "Sorry! File Refused as it Contains Copyrighted Material." That embedded packet (which many are calling a "digital watermark") in the CD disk should not affect the way the CD operates in your CD-ROM/RW drive. It should not affect your Tivo or your DishNetwork Personal Video Recorder, or your TV.

That is, you would still be able to copy the disk for the truck, rip it to MP3, and make a backup copy. If, however, you ripped it to MP3 and tried to send it over the Internet, the encrypted packet would be in the file and the routers at the Backbones would reject that file. But, what do I know? Maybe this is not possible. Chips that cripple CD-ROM drives probably are not the answer, certainly not if, as Sen. Hollings states, "the consumers' Fair Use rights must be preserved."

Some say that the "block it on the Internet" scheme is not feasible. Maybe not totally, and partly because of what is known as the "analog hole." Many existing TVs and stereos send an analog signal (in which no digital watermark can be embedded) to a computer, which could copy the copyrighted material and send it over the Internet. Maybe so, but isn't the copying of digital material the main problem? Searching for the 100% solution may prevent anything sensible from getting done. Attack the digital now. Work on the analog in time, if in truth it is a real problem.

We have a "V chip" in TVs. We could have an "I-Chip" in CD-ROM/RW, or on computer motherboards, that would block anything with a "digital copyright watermark" from leaving the computer to reach the Internet. How do you do that without eroding the "fair use" rights to make personal copies, rip to MP3 and make backup copies of disks? Perhaps with a chip on the motherboard, which only monitors traffic that is leaving the computer via modem or network connection. Again, it will take maybe 10 years for this approach to have any real effect on piracy, because of the exemption of "legacy" devices and computers.

There are also problem with colleges and network file sharing that does not traverse the Internet. Colleges need to get some balls. Some are already limiting music and movie downloads because they sap the bandwidth of systems that are sometimes put to serious use. Colleges should simply treat copyrighted file downloading or network transfer like any other form of theft or cheating - by expelling the people who do it. Next case.

Complicated schemes that cripple computers, TVs, and Personal Video Recorders will be counterproductive. First, the schemes will be defeated by the nerds. Second, people will stop buying CDs that they cannot play on their computer, dupe for personal use, and rip to MP3. Walter Mossberg, writing in the March 14, 2002 issue of the WSJ, says that if computers (CD- ROM drives, one assumes) are crippled so that you cannot play CDs or DVDs, people will hang onto their old computers. That will stall sales of computers. All of that, Mr. recording industry, Mr. Congressman, is shooting yourself in the foot.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said, "I think it would be a disaster to have legislation go through now." In truth, Sen. Holling's bill is probably meant more of a threat to the intellectual-property and tech industries to set some standards, or the government will intervene. It has language that requires the affected parties to submit reports of progress, and so on.

The bright side is that there is a huge industry philosophically opposed, one would assume, to "crippling their equipment with chips or software." Thus, we should see Intel, AMD, all the personal computer manufacturers, the manufacturers of CD-ROM/RW/DVD devices, motherboard manufacturers, modem manufacturers, DirecTv, DishNetwork, Tivo, the TV makers, and others lining up to fight any Draconian crippling of their equipment and technology. So, it is the recording, TV, and movie folks against the tech folks - in a gargantuan battle. I put my money on the tech folks and the poor put-upon consumer to successfully resist any dumb and pointless solutions. But, we will have to speak up. Break out the C-SPAN Congressional Directory and get cracking.

Remember that I said in the beginning that downloading copyrighted material for free is stealing. But, rather than punish all consumers, the emphasis ought to be on those Internet sites that provide the material and against those who facilitate peer-to-peer sharing.

One group is calling for the passage in Congress of a "Consumer Technology Bill of Rights," which would protect personal copying of disks, ripping CDs to MP3, time shifting of TV broadcasts, and so forth. (digitalconsumer.org) Take a look at their site, as there are several links and references that bear on the whole copy-protection versus fair use argument.

The Microsoft Bullies Continue to Dump on Us

Microsoft's predatory and coercive business practices are still being questioned in the courts, even after the so-called settlement of the case by the Justice Department. A Gateway executive testified about contracts with what they considered to be coercive and unfair provisions regarding the installation of Windows operating systems on Gateway computers. An executive of Novell testified that Microsoft withheld critical information that competitors needed to make their server software work well with Microsoft Windows. An executive from Palm (Palm Pilot) testified that Microsoft refused them access to the Visual Studio Integration Program software, although it was supposed to be open to the entire computer industry. The parade of nine complaining witnesses continued in federal court.

Nine states are not satisfied with the settlement in the antitrust case against Microsoft and continue to press their legal remedies in federal court. Microsoft's attorneys have succeeded in raising questions about some of complaints against them. But, the hearings in the case are expected to run into May. Why don't they call a few thousand consumers to the stand? Try and weasel out of our complaints, Microsoft.

Microsoft makes things as hard as they can for the average consumer to install their software. My guess is that the casual copying of Microsoft program disks for a friend is a tiny fraction of the worldwide piracy problem. Yet, we are all treated like criminals before the fact. We went through a copy-protection frenzy in the early days of PCs. Public opposition eventually forced most companies to abandon the schemes. The difference now is that Microsoft is so dominant in the software area that it can do pretty much what it wants.

I try never to use Microsoft programs, but Publisher, Encarta Reference Suite, Flight Simulator, and IE 6.0 are such good programs that I bite my lip and use them.

The latest version of Publisher requires a digital registration associated with your specific computer, just like XP. I'm sure it is the same for the Office suites. No thanks, I use the WordPerfect suite. You just install their products, make your backup copies, and go about your business. Corel even sent me a complete upgrade CD set for WordPerfect Office 2002 for nothing, and paid the postage! Sure, the original release was very buggy, but I don't see MS sending out any free CDs for their buggy programs.

Due to re-formatting my hard drive, I have installed Encarta Reference Suite 2001 three times. To install the various elements permanently to the hard drive, it is a typical Microsoft high- hurdle. Insert the Install disk, then a data disk, then re-insert the main install disk, insert the next data disk and so on. Each time, I have had to do the process over and over to get the Atlas, the Encyclopedia, and the Dictionary to copy to the hard drive. Once again, I am unable to make a backup copy of the Encarta Install Disk. Of all the 50 or so programs I have around the place, Microsoft products are the only ones I can think of that will not allow me to make a backup disk.

You can't download a full version of Internet Explorer 6.0 to install. At least I have never been able to do it. You get only a Setup file that takes you right back to the Internet for the main download. If you are on a 28.8 modem (as in rural areas), you seldom can download such a huge file. Even if you leave the computer on half the night, it will probably drop out somewhere along the way. I can download on one computer pretty fast from my satellite Internet, but I am 28.8 on the other one. If they are giving the damn program away, why can't you download it, copy it to a CD, and put it on all your computers or install it on a friend's computer? Defies a logical explanation. They offer a CD for $10, I think it is. I ordered one once, but never got it. The best place to get IE is from another program's install disk, since IE has become the defacto standard for reading Help files, etc. Usually these IE installs are one version behind the current one.

There has been some concern about the Microsoft Media Player ID number, which is unique to each Player. Unless you know where to turn it off, any site on the Web you visit and use Media Player will know your unique ID - and who knows what goes along with that information? (To disable the unique identifier click on: Tools/Options/Player and uncheck the box "Allow Internet sites to uniquely identify your Player.") My solution is to never use Media Player unless it is the only thing that will work at a particular site. In the meantime, I block its access to the Internet with Zone Alarm Pro. I trust Microsoft about as far as I can throw my pickup truck. And like so many, I use Musicmatch Jukebox to play music CDs or rip CDs.

I read a letter in a computer magazine where a fellow said that in order to get Flight Simulator 2002 to work, you have to register it online or by phone, just like XP. I am tired of this. Over the years, I have paid several hundred dollars for upgrades to Flight Sim. I think I will pass this time.

Thank God I know enough about computers and am willing to search the Internet for answers, that I have never in 20 years called Microsoft support. I understand that is the thrill of a lifetime.

So, how do I get anything done without a hard drive full of Microsoft products? Eudora Pro for e-mail, Alpha V database, NoteTab Pro for building my Web page, WS_FTP Pro to move my files to the Web, Quicken 2002, Paint Shop Pro 7, PowerDesk 4.0 to manage files, Easy CD Creator 5.1, WordPerfect Suite, Musicmatch Jukebox, and so on. There are choices - other than for the operating system. Unless you want to go Mac. Not enough programs run on Linux for most of us to switch to it. With operating system choices, we are pretty much captives of the 800-pound Gorilla called Microsoft. And we don't even get a kiss.

A Pinkie in the Dike of Telemarketers

The Texas No-Call telemarketing list is ready to make its initial cut. Telemarketers must buy the list and fines for violations are up to $1000 per violation. But, charities, non-profits, and debt- collectors are exempt. Also, state-licensed insurance agents, stockbrokers, and real-estate agents can still call, but must complete the transactions with face-to-face meetings. Debt collectors are not selling anything. Other than that group, why must we still be subjected to calls from all these other people? An invasive and annoying call is such in any guise and for any reason.

As for charities, I once got a call on my unpublished number from some fellow who said he was collecting donations for a fund connected with Texas State Troopers. He called me by name, so it was not a random computer call. I wrote the Superintendent of the Troopers in Austin and asked if he knew anything about this organization in such-and-such city. He wrote back and said that there were five charities collecting funds "for Texas State Troopers" in the Austin general area. None of them were officially associated with the Texas Department of Public Safety (Texas State Troopers). So, my advice is that if you get a call from a charity, hang up. Odds are that it is questionable at best. My apologies to any outfit that is actually substantially helping the Texas State Troopers with the money they collect.

The fact is that there are far too many "charities" that claim to have an association with law- enforcement, but are scams. Wanna bet that there are now a rash of "help the fire fighter" scams? The best policy is not to answer the phone unless you recognize the Caller-ID as belonging to someone you want to talk with. If there is no Caller-ID, let the machine handle it. You can never get swindled over the phone, or buy something you don't need, if you don't answer it! There is no law that you must answer your phone. We have been programmed since childhood to believe otherwise.

Suggested Reading From Past Columns

(Right-click on an underlined link and select: "Open in New Window" to leave this window in place)

Terrorism:

"The Murder of WSJ Reporter Danny Pearl" Saturday, Feb.23, 2002
"Profiles, Stereotypes, and Common Sense" Saturday, Jan. 12, 2002
"John Magaw is Transportation Security Director (TSA)" Saturday, Dec. 29, 2001
"Are We Shredding the Constitution?" (Must Read!) Sunday, Dec. 16, 2001
"Enviro-Terrorists Operate With Near Impunity - But Not for Long?" Saturday, Nov. 10, 2001
"Hackers Are Terrorists, Too" Saturday, Nov. 10, 2001
"U.S. Government in a Frantic Scramble to Catch Up" Sunday, Nov. 4, 2001
"Americans Succumbing to a Climate of Fear" Sunday, October 28, 2001
"Secure ID Cards and Visas" Sunday, October 28, 2001
"Anti-Terrorism Bill Sniping Begins" Sunday, October 28, 2001
"Various reflections on the events of Sept. 11, 2001 Thursday, Sept 20. Must read Outback re Sept 11 Events
"The World Trade Center & Pentagon Attacks!" Update on Sept. 11 to Outback for September 8, 2001

The American Red Cross:

"Red Cross Gets More Scrutiny" Saturday, Feb.23, 2002
"The American Red Cross Needs a Complete Overhaul" (Must Read!) Saturday, Feb. 9, 2002

Global warming and environmental debate:

"Rush to Glacier National Park Before All the Glaciers are Gone" September 8, 2001
"Chipping Away at the Global Warming and Environmental Alarmists," September 1, 2001
"John Stossel And ABC's 'Tampering With Nature,'" June 29, 2001
"The Kyoto Protocol & Global Warming - A Monumental Scam?" June 16, 2001
"Public Interest Groups With Sometimes Very Little Public Interest," May 12, 2001
"Environmentalism For Dummies - Part II," April 21, 2001
"Environmentalism For Dummies," April 7, 2001
"Environmental and Animal-Rights Terrorists," March 24, 2001

Politics:

"Sen. Daschle Keeps Digging a Bigger Hole for Himself" Saturday, Feb. 9, 2002
"Sen. Tom Daschle for President - How Absurd" Saturday, Jan. 12, 2002
"Buckley & Moynihan - Obfuscating the Obvious" Saturday, Dec. 29, 2001
"My Friend Senator Jesse Helms," September 8, 2001
"Forget Liar & Adulterer - Cong. Gary Condit is Simply Stupid," September 1, 2001
"Government Waste and Fraud," August 18, 2001
"President Bush's Excellent Adventure," June 29, 2001
"The Bush Budget - Fighting Over 4% Growth Versus 8% Growth Is Nonsense," April 21, 2001
"The Chinese Demand for an Apology Regarding the Aircraft Accident is Preposterous," April 7, 2001
"Campaign Finance Reform - A Senatorial Catharsis - And National Snow Job," March 31, 2001
"Florida Secretary Of State Literally Begged Networks Not To Call Election Early," March 24, 2001
"Charlton Heston Speech at Harvard," March 10, 2001 (about free speech, PC, et al.)
"The Ever-Expanding First Amendment," January 26, 2001
"Bush Administration Needs To Review The Mission Of Federal Law Enforcement," January 26, 2001
"New York, What Were You Thinking?" November 13, 2000 (Re: Hillary Clinton)
"Lessons Learned In Election 2000?" November 13, 2000
"How the Federal Government Corrupts the Constitution to Intrude Into Your Life," October 30, 2000
"Let's All Make Fun of the Dumb Guy From Texas," (Must Read!)December 15, 2000 (Pres. Bush)

The Media:

"You Can't 'Hone-in' on Anything" Saturday, March 16, 2002
" 'BIAS' by Bernard Goldberg" Sunday Dec. 16, 2001
"How the Media Should Cover a Covert War" Sunday, November 4, 2001

Prescription drugs - advertised on TV - abuses in the pharmaceutical industry - supplements:

"Prescription Drug Plans," September 8, 2001
"Baycol Cholesterol Drug Withdrawn From the Market," August 18, 2001
"Prozac Gets New Life!" July 28,2001
"The New Cholesterol Guidelines - Everybody Gets A Pill," (Must Read!) July 7, 2001
"Bitter Pills To Swallow," June 2, 2001
"The Drug Companies Continue Their Assault On Your Pocketbook," May 19, 2001
"FDA Questions Practice of TV Ads for Prescription Drugs," March 31, 2001
"Prescription for Disaster," September 11, 2000

Health - General:

"Does High Cholesterol Really Cause Heart Disease?" Saturday, Feb.23, 2002 (Must Read!)
"America's Obesity Crisis" Saturday, Jan. 12, 2002
"Trans Fatty Acids - The Hidden Fat," August 4, 2001
"Your Body Clock," August 4, 2001
"My Medical Writing Credentials - Such As They Are," July 7, 2001
"The 'Eggs Are Bad For You' Alarmists Strike Again," May 12, 2001
"Herbal Remedies, Supplements, And Alternative Therapies," September 18, 2000

Computers and Technology:

"Windows XP - Files, NTFS vs FAT32, DOS Commands, Batch Files" Saturday, March 16, 2002
"Dragon NaturallySpeaking 6.0 - Voice-Recognition Software" Saturday, Feb. 9, 2002
"Build Your Own Computer? Are You Crazy?" Saturday, Dec. 29, 2001
"The Microsoft Settlement" Sunday Dec. 16, 2001
"Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 and Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P)" Saturday, Nov. 10, 2001
"LCD Flat Panel Displays & Dual Monitor Video Boards," August 18, 2001
"DishNetwork's Personal Video Recorder Dish Pro 501," July 28, 2001
"Internet Via Satellite," June 16, 2001
"The Internet in China," April 21, 2001
"Mark Cuban is the Posterboy for Dotcom Mania," April 21, 2001

Interesting Books to Read:

" 'BIAS' by Bernard Goldberg" Sunday Dec. 16, 2001
"Your Body Clock," August 4, 2001
"Body of Secrets," by James Bamford, July 28, 2001 (About NSA)

A case history of horrendous abuse by Federal law enforcement:

"FBI Sniper At Ruby Ridge My Be Tried For Manslaughter," June 9, 2001.

Crime, guns, gun-control:

"Real Anxiety - Texas Jail Inmates Break Out Weekly" Saturday, Nov. 10, 2001
"Eyewitness Testimony is Suspect," August 18, 2001
"The AMA Is Losing Its Way," June 29 2001
"Doctors Have Written the Wrong Prescription for Guns," April 14, 2001
"The FBI and the Hanssen Case," March 10, 2001
"FBI Director Freeh Stays On," January 26, 2001 (Some clues to recent FBI failures)
"Aircraft Cockpit Security," December 29, 2000

Late Night TV Cruel Humor, et al.:

(I quit watching late night in disgust during the Bush/Gore campaign. Since Sept. 11, most of the late-night comedians have been a little more responsible.)

"David Letterman Grovels For The Colombians," May 19, 2001
"Are Leno And Letterman Using The Same CD-ROM For Constructing Jokes?" May 12, 2001
"Late Night Comedians Struggle To Lampoon Bush," May 5, 2001
"Late-Night TV Sick Humor," August 28, 2000
"Late-Night TV Political Comedy," August 14, 2000

Hollywood, TV, Entertainers, Celebrities:

"Late-night Musical Guests - What Did They Say?" Saturday, March 16, 2002
" 'Boston Public' on FOX Under Fire" Saturday, Feb. 9, 2002
"Celebrities Rush to Move Overseas in Protest of Bush Victory," January 5, 2001
"The Mother of all Hollywood Activists," December 22, 2000 (Jane Fonda)
"Elton John, Political Pundit - Druggie - Drunk - Compulsive Spender," Dec. 15, 2000

Telemarketing:

"Telemarketers, Caller-ID, et al.," August 4, 2001
"Rid Yourself of Telemarketers," October 23, 2000

Miscellaneous:

"Speaking English is Often a Fuzzy Concept" Saturday, Feb. 9, 2002
"TV 'Crawls' - Annoying and Distracting"Sunday, October 28, 2001
"The Decline in the American Work Ethic," May 12, 2001
"Made in USA," January 5, 20001
"How Many Gigabytes in Your Brain?," December 15, 2000

COPYRIGHT 2000 Richard C. Rhodes

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