Posts Tagged With ‘ Personalities ’

Google has reached a tentative settlement with the attorneys general from 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico on one of three major antitrust lawsuits against the company for its anticompetitive conduct in the Google Play Store. In July 2021, 37 attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Google alleging that the company used its monopoly power in the Android app market to inflate prices for paid apps and in-app purchases. “No company is too big to play by the rules, including Google,” the attorneys general who led the lawsuit, from the states of New York, California, North... Continue Reading

Whether you’re celebrating at a picnic, barbecue, rally, football game, or work, happy Labor Day. Sunday I went to our local Olympia Harbor Days celebration that’s always scheduled for Labor Day weekend. It was cloudy, so my photos aren’t as good as the years where there’s nice blue sky. Thankfully, we had only a sprinkle of rain. I wore my raincoat, but didn’t have my rain hood or umbrella. On Labor Day, I’m thankful for unions and their history of helping working people. I benefited from union membership when I worked for state government. I’m glad these days more young people... Continue Reading

Do you know your rights on tarmac delays? American Airlines will pay $4.1 million for violating federal laws prohibiting tarmac delays of three hours or more on domestic flights without providing passengers an opportunity to deplane, the U.S. Department of Transportation said Monday. DOT’s investigation found that American kept dozens of flights stuck on the tarmac for long periods of time. It’s the largest fine ever issued for tarmac delays. “This is the latest action in our continued drive to enforce the rights of airline passengers,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said... Continue Reading

Time is running out if you want to get in on a big Facebook settlement. If you were a Facebook user in the United States between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, you may be eligible for a cash payment from a class action settlement of $725 million. Today, Aug. 25, is the deadline to file a claim. Go to https://facebookuserprivacysettlement.com/. It’s easy to fill out the form. You don’t need to give any personal information. And, watch out for scammers who may ask for money to fill out a claim form for the settlement. How much you get depends on how many people file claims. Facebook had... Continue Reading

To help consumers, the Biden administration is cracking down on junk fees, price-fixing and price gouging on food, and mergers. President Joe Biden announced the actions Wednesday the day before the fifth meeting of White House Competition Council, which he appointed in 2021. The council is made up of 10 cabinet members and the heads of seven independent agencies. “It’s about basic fairness,” Biden said when he addressed cabinet members and other council members. “Folks are tired of being played for suckers.” The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission will be publishing... Continue Reading

I love the beautiful summer days here in the Seattle area. People are streaming into Western Washington due to the mild weather, attractive as climate change worsens, and the job opportunities. It’s so nice to be enjoying 70 degree weather as many areas of the country swelter. I’m also appreciating my wonderful garden with its abundant Swiss chard and kale. And my raspberry patch is yielding its usual pints of raspberries to freeze.   My blogger friends also are enjoying summer and other happenings: The value of staycations Let’s face it, we only get so many summers in our lives. And there’s... Continue Reading

It was almost comical when – on Dr. Phil’s program trashing cancel culture that included support for antivaxxers – at the end of the program, Dr. Phil and his wife suggested that people “talk to each other” in a divided America. America isn’t a divided country. What’s happening is that the far right is trying to take over the country and make everyone live according to its fundamentalist “values.” Before Newt Gingrich and Ronald Reagan, the political parties worked together to pass legislation to benefit the country. Remember, Richard Nixon signed the National Environmental... Continue Reading

When I worked at The Anchorage Times during the 1980s, I was fortunate to get my dream job writing a consumer action column. However, along with the job as columnist, I also had to be the religion editor. It meant that every week, I had to write a big feature article on religion along with compiling the Church Circuit, a listing of religious events in the anchorage area for that week. In 1986, I interviewed Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of ‘When Bad Things Happen to Good People,’ about his new book “When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough.” Kushner was coming to Anchorage to take... Continue Reading

About 100 infants have died in Fisher Price Rock ‘n Play infant sleepers. And, unfortunately, kids are continuing to die because the deadly sleepers are still being used and sold second hand. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is upset with Mattel and Meta for not doing enough to keep the dangerous infant sleepers away from consumers. “At best, CPSC is catching these unlawful products after they have been listed for sale and made available to the public,” CPSC Chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric said in a letter to Meta. “Facebook is uniquely positioned to identify recalled and violative... Continue Reading

Movies continue to be one of the most popular past times in the United States. Joseph Campbell, American author and teacher, called them the great American dream machine. However, in my opinion, movies fall short because they focus so much on violence. For many years, I’ve written about how violence in the media is harmful to children. Despite this finding, movie makers continue to produce violent movies, and, the violence gets worse every year. In this list of the Oscar contenders, my picks are shown in bold. At the end of the article, you’ll find my recommendations listed, along with those... Continue Reading