Tuesday, June 24, 2014


News For The Day



Financial firms fight rule that would put client interests first – CBS
By CONSTANTINE VON HOFFMAN
MONEYWATCH June 24, 2014

Investment brokers and advisers are blocking the passage of federal rules that would require them to put their clients' interests first when handling retirement accounts.

The U.S. Department of Labor, which oversees retirement plans, recently announced it was delaying the release of the rule change from August until January. Even that deadline could be missed, according to officials at Employee Benefits Security Administration.

Under current rules, brokers and advisers must believe only that an investment is "suitable" for a client, including that person's income, age and financial goals, at the time they recommend it.

But just because an investment is suitable doesn't mean it's sound, critics have long complained. Nor does that standard stop financial professionals from charging excessively high fees for their services. One reason that's a problem: Brokers often get a commission based on how many dollars flow into a given investment. Brokers and advisers also aren't required to disclose any financial incentives they might have to push particular products, even though they are paid by securities firms to do just that. For example, individual retirement accounts often charge higher fees than 401(k) plans, giving brokers an incentive to promote rollovers.

Instead, consumer advocates favor requiring brokers and advisers to adhere to what is known as the "fiduciary standard." That requires investment brokers and advisers not only to offer people the best possible advice, taking into account their financial needs, but also to put firms' own financial interests behind those of clients. Fees are also typically based on how much money a firm has under advisement, while brokers are prohibited from making trades aimed at boosting commissions.

The securities industry has long opposed subjecting investment brokers and advisers to the stricter fiduciary standard. As a result, industry groups such as the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and Financial Services Roundtable, along with companies such as Morgan Stanley and Fidelity Investments, are pushing to block or weaken the proposed rules.

"SIFMA believes the Department of Labor proposal is an overbroad expansion of the fiduciary standard that will undermine efforts by employers and service providers to educate workers on the importance of responsible retirement planning. SIFMA is concerned that this proposal will limit investment choices and drive up costs for the individuals it is intended to protect," the group said in a statement.

Not everyone in financial services takes that position, it's worth noting. A number of individual financial advisers and smaller firms strongly object to efforts to halt the rule change. Among the groups supporting the proposed rule changes is the CFA Institute, which awards the prestigious Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Elliot Weissbluth, founder and CEO of wealth management firm HighTower Advisors, says it is "obvious" why major broker-dealer firms are fighting a shift to the fiduciary standard.

"It's going to hurt their ability to sell product," he said. "It's pretty obvious -- when your current obligations are to generate profits for yourself and now you have to switch and put the clients' interests ahead of your own, that is a threat to your business model."

Weissbluth dismisses SIFMA's contention that the debate comes down to consumer choice. Rather, the main issue is whether the consumer or the broker is legally responsible for knowing all the possible risks involved in a given investment.

"Obviously, anyone who is legitimately concerned with the clients' interests shouldn't have any problem with [the rule change]," Weissbluth said. "So if you have a problem with it, that says your interests are ahead of the clients. Otherwise, what's the problem with it?"

The Government Accountability Office has previously warned about how investment firms conflicts of interest can lead to higher costs for investors. Investigators found that some organizations offering advice about Individual Retirement Accounts receive payments from mutual funds to steer clients to the funds' products.

This activity, called "revenue sharing," is legal and the consumers are never told of it. This can be done overtly or simply by highlighting one firm's products as examples of investment options under each asset class, under the guise of investor education.

"Plan participants often receive guidance and marketing favoring IRAs when seeking assistance regarding what to do with their 401(k) plan savings when they separate from their employers," GAO found in a 2011 report. "GAO found that service providers' call center representatives encouraged rolling 401(k) plan savings into an IRA even with only minimal knowledge of a caller's financial situation."

This type of behavior is inevitable given the current rules, said Scott Holsopple, managing director of retirement solutions with The Mutual Fund Store.

"I'm a big believer that people generally do what they're incented to do," he said. "So you have to ask yourself, if you're working with someone that is paid to sell a product, whether they are doing something that is going to make them the most money or something that is in the best interest of you or your retirement goals."

Holsopple believes you only need to know two things to protect yourself in this situation. The first is how is the person you're working with going to get paid. "If they're getting paid a percentage of the product based on the sale of the product, you have to wonder if they're acting in your best interests," he said.

The second, and more obvious, rule of thumb: Don't invest in anything you don't understand.

"You have to know what you're invested in," Holsopple said. "We're big believers that unless you have significant assets, say, several million dollars, you should be in publicly traded investments. I've seen a lot of cases where people are put into non-traded real estate investment trusts. While they come with big commissions, they're very hard to get out of, and you don't necessarily have a view into what they're value is on a day-in, day-out basis."

The stakes in this fight are particularly high right -- not just for individuals but for the nation as a whole -- because the U.S. is in the middle of retirement rollover boom. In the past decade, the amount of money shifted by former employees from 401(k)-style plans to IRAs has increased 60 percent. According to Cerulli Associates, a Boston-based consulting and research firm, IRAs now hold $6.5 trillion, half a trillion dollars more than is in 401(k)-style accounts. In 2012 alone $321 billion was shifted into IRAs.




“Investment brokers and advisers are blocking the passage of federal rules that would require them to put their clients' interests first when handling retirement accounts.... Under current rules, brokers and advisers must believe only that an investment is "suitable" for a client.” The new rules would. “stop financial professionals from charging excessively high fees for their services. One reason that's a problem: Brokers often get a commission based on how many dollars flow into a given investment. Brokers and advisers also aren't required to disclose any financial incentives they might have to push particular products.... consumer advocates favor requiring brokers and advisers to adhere to what is known as the "fiduciary standard." That requires investment brokers and advisers not only to offer people the best possible advice, taking into account their financial needs, but also to put firms' own financial interests behind those of clients.”

Some large investment firms are strongly opposed to the Dept of Labor rules change, saying it weakens efforts of employers to “educate workers,” and it may make investment costs higher for the individuals. The CFA Institute and “a number of” individual brokers and smaller firms are in favor of the rules change. “Elliot Weissbluth, founder and CEO of wealth management firm HighTower Advisors... "It's going to hurt their ability to sell product," he said. "It's pretty obvious -- when your current obligations are to generate profits for yourself and now you have to switch and put the clients' interests ahead of your own, that is a threat to your business model."

The practice by brokers called “revenue sharing” involves the professional giving “advice” to the investor that amounts to pushing IRAs while getting a fee from the mutual fund for selling its product, and the investor is not informed of this. “'GAO found that service providers' call center representatives encouraged rolling 401(k) plan savings into an IRA even with only minimal knowledge of a caller's financial situation.'" Most working class people who have saved money or have a work-based retirement account don't know enough about investing to make a good decision. It seems to me that it is crucial to pick a highly principled investment company to advise them. The CFA Institute, HighTower Advisors, from this article seem to be such companies. The following article from Consumer Reports gives basic advice. http://beginnersinvest.about.com/od/choosingabroker/a/brokeraccount.htm is an article for first time investors, Before You Open a Brokerage Account, Determining What's Right for You By Joshua Kennon.





http://consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/may-2009/money/brokerage-services/overview/brokerage-services-ov.htm

Consumer Reports magazine: May 2009
Low-cost brokers score high in service
Last reviewed: May 2009

This article is the archived version of a report that appeared in May 2009 Consumer Reports Magazine.

Discount brokers did a better job shepherding their clients through the stock market upheaval of the past year than did traditional investment banks such as Merrill Lynch, according to a Consumer Reports National Research Center survey of almost 9,000 online subscribers.

Though half of our survey respondents said their investment portfolios plummeted, most were relatively happy with the level of service and advice they received. But generally those who used discount brokers were considerably more satisfied than clients of pricier, full-service firms.

Topping the list in overall satisfaction was USAA. Mutual-fund company Vanguard followed closely in the rankings. Bigger brokerages, such as Merrill Lynch and Ameriprise, placed lower in our Ratings.

Advice and service

Yet even among discount brokers there were some problems. E-Trade clients reported a higher number of phone-service problems and said they were unable to find information on the company's Web site 35 percent of the time. E-Trade, Scottrade, and TD Ameritrade were among the lower-rated companies for advice. That isn't surprising because they're bare-bones discounters most suitable for investors who make their own decisions.

The type of broker you use depends largely on how you invest. If you follow our long-standing advice and invest regularly in a diversified portfolio of index stock and bond funds, which can help you weather volatility in the market, pick a company that sells a range of low-cost funds tracking domestic and foreign stock indexes, such as Vanguard, Fidelity, or T. Rowe Price. That way you won't pay a commission every time you buy shares. Some discount brokers offer no-fee funds, but they might be limited to that company's funds or those in a preferred network. For example, you'll pay $50 to buy a Vanguard or T. Rowe Price fund in a Charles Schwab account and another $25 if a Schwab broker places the trade.

If you buy stocks or exchange-traded funds (ETF), online trading is the cheapest way to invest. Automated phone orders cost slightly more, and broker-assisted trades are the most expensive. Scottrade.com charges only $7 per stock or ETF trade online and $27 for broker-assisted trades. It offers some no-fee mutual funds in its preferred network; other funds cost $17 per trade. Merrill Lynch Direct charges $30 per online stock trade and a base rate of $50 to $150 (plus a possible surcharge, depending on the number of shares) for broker-assisted trades, though fund purchases are free.

Unexpected fees
Watch out for management and maintenance fees, which tend to be higher with full-service brokers. About 4 percent of respondents said they were hit with unexpected fees. Banc of America clients reported the most, with 11 percent saying they were charged unexpected fees. The priciest brokerages might charge 1 percent or more of assets per year for actively managing your money. And the brokers charging the highest management fees also sell some of the most expensive funds, with 4 to 5 percent sales commissions, or loads.






Warmest May temperatures on record worldwide – CBS
AP June 23, 2014

Driven by exceptionally warm ocean waters, Earth smashed a record for heat in May and is likely to keep on breaking high temperature marks, experts say.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Monday said May's average temperature on Earth of 59.93 degrees Fahrenheit (15.54 degrees Celsius) beat the old record set four years ago. In April, the globe tied the 2010 record for that month. Records go back to 1880.

May was especially hot in parts of Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Spain, South Korea and Australia, while the United States was not close to a record, just 1 degree warmer than the 20th century average. However, California is having a record hot first five months of the year, a full 5 degrees above normal.

Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb and other experts say there's a good chance global heat records will keep being broken, especially next year because an El Nino weather event is brewing on top of man-made global warming. An El Nino is a warming of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean that alters climate worldwide and usually spikes global temperatures.

Ocean temperatures in May also set a record for the month. But an El Nino isn't considered in effect till the warm water changes the air and that hasn't happened yet, NOAA said.

With the El Nino on top of higher temperatures from heat-trapping greenhouse gases, "we will see temperature records fall all over the world," wrote Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann in an email.

May was 1.33 degrees (0.74 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 20th century world average. The last month that was cooler than normal was February 1985, marking 351 hotter than average months in a row.

This possibly could quiet people claiming global warming has stopped, but more importantly it "should remind everyone that global warming is a long-term trend," Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer said.

Setting or tying monthly global heat records has happened frequently in recent years. The last global monthly cold record was set in December 1916.

This Spring, lasting March through May, was the second warmest on record globally, behind only 2010.




“The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Monday said May's average temperature on Earth of 59.93 degrees Fahrenheit (15.54 degrees Celsius) beat the old record set four years ago. In April, the globe tied the 2010 record for that month. Records go back to 1880.... the United States was not close to a record, just 1 degree warmer than the 20th century average. However, California is having a record hot first five months of the year, a full 5 degrees above normal.... Setting or tying monthly global heat records has happened frequently in recent years. The last global monthly cold record was set in December 1916.”

I'm adjusting to seeing global warming in action, and when I look back at the last 20 years of hurricanes, though there aren't too many each year, there have been some fierce and dangerous storms. I have vivid memories of Hurricane Floyd moving toward Jacksonville. I decided to leave the area, but couldn't get off work until the day before. I tried to join the northbound traffic on I-95 and met a virtual road block of cars filling all the available lanes. I turned around and came back into the city, looking for a shelter, which I did find. Luckily that storm turned north at the last minute and we only got side winds and rain from it. I will never forget the way the sky looked, though. There was an endless number of thick, black rolls of cloud moving inland in rows like an army. It looked like rolls of dirty cotton. I remember my stomach tightening up at the sight. We really were lucky that year, because Floyd was either a number 4 or number 5 and would have damaged properties with the wind, plus the storm surge. If it had come into Jacksonville it would have gone up the river which runs all the way through the city, undoubtedly causing major flooding. Jacksonville floods in places with nothing more than a severe rain storm due to our drainage problems. We're in the hurricane season now. I'm just waiting to see what storms it brings. Luckily I live up high above the ground, but I will have to find a place to put the car if we have one. There is a high rise parking lot downtown that I may be able to use.







​Lifetime of learning may help prevent dementia – CBS
By ALAN MOZES HEALTHDAY June 24, 2014

A lifetime engaging in intellectually stimulating pursuits may significantly lower your risk for dementia in your golden years, new research suggests.

Even people with relatively low educational and professional achievements can gain protection against late-life dementia if they adopt a mentally stimulating lifestyle -- reading and playing music and games, for example -- by the time they enter middle-age, the new study contended.

"In terms of preventing cognitive [mental] impairment, education and occupation are important," said study lead author Prashanthi Vemuri, an assistant professor of radiology at the Mayo Clinic and Foundation in Rochester, Minn. "But so is intellectually stimulating activity during mid- to late life," she added.

"This is very encouraging news, because even if you don't have a lot of education, or get exposure to a lot of intellectual stimulation during non-leisure activity, intellectual leisure activity later in life can really help," she said.

Artistic endeavors -- including crafts -- participation in group activities and computer work also benefit the aging brain, according to the study, published in the June 23 online issue of JAMA Neurology.

Seniors in the United States accounted for roughly 35 million people in 2000, and that figure is projected to more than double by 2030, the study authors said. Keeping seniors' brains healthy is considered a public health imperative.

To explore how routine intellectual "exercise" might translate into a lower risk forage-related dementia, the team tracked nearly 2,000 men and women between the ages of 70 and 89, who enrolled in a Mayo Clinic aging investigation between 2004 and 2009.

Initial testing revealed that more than 1,700 of the participants were "cognitively normal" at enrollment, while nearly 300 had "mild cognitive impairment." Cognition refers to thinking and memory abilities.

All participants were subsequently "scored" on their level of past educational achievements, while occupational histories were ranked by degree of intellectual complexity.

Participants also completed questionnaires designed to pinpoint how much they engaged in intellectually demanding activities during the prior 12 months and during middle age (from age 50 to 65).

Lastly, all were examined to see if they carried a specific variant of the APOE gene, considered the most significant genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's.

At the time of the study's launch, mental functioning was lower among carriers of the APOE4 genotype, and among those who scored lowest on education, job, and/or activity measures, the researchers determined. Lower mental functioning scores were also seen among older participants and men.

However, APOE4 carriers who ranked near the top in terms of all measures of lifetime intellectual engagement -- including education, occupation and activity routines -- saw their risk for dementia delayed by nearly nine years, compared with those whose intellectual stimulation ranking hovered near the bottom.

Digging deeper, Vemuri and her associates also found that regardless of educational and professional background, all participants who routinely engaged in intellectually stimulating activities in middle-age and their later years also ended up seeing their relative risk for dementia drop.

The dementia protection afforded by routine intellectual activity alone was weaker than when intellectual activity was also paired up with stimulating jobs and education.

But in a twist, the authors found that those with the lowest educational and occupational scores actually gained the most protection against dementia by embarking on intellectual activities from middle-age onward.

"This was a little surprising," said Vemuri. "But it turns out that even if you don't have a lifetime of educational and occupational development, intellectual activity in later life can really help -- perhaps delaying cognitive impairment by at least three years."

Cheryl Grady, a professor with the University of Toronto's department of psychology and psychiatry, said the findings are both "interesting" and encouraging.

"The association between lower cognitive function and lower education has been known for some time," she said. "But as far as I know no one has [previously] shown that midlife cognitive activity and education interact."

However, the association seen in this study does not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

But, Grady added, "It looks like the bottom-line is that it's never too late to exercise your brain, and that is good news."





“At the time of the study's launch, mental functioning was lower among carriers of the APOE4 genotype, and among those who scored lowest on education, job, and/or activity measures, the researchers determined. Lower mental functioning scores were also seen among older participants and men.” Age and gender both affect the decrease in mental functioning. That's interesting. APOE4 carriers who had a higher educational level and life habits that were stimulating to the brain were 9 years later in developing Alzheimer's than people who didn't do challenging mental activities. This was true even among people who had not reached a higher level of education, or held down a very challenging job. Mentally challenging life habits were highly influential in avoiding the disease. I wonder if “Dementia” which is not diagnosed as Alzheimer's runs a similar path.

My parents didn't have Alzheimer's. My father died when he was 76 from a massive heart attack, and my mother in her 80's did have symptoms of dementia, but her doctors didn't call it Alzheimer's. I wonder if people who are not carrying APOE4 can get Alzheimer's. I'm not worried about it, and I have always read avidly, sometimes fiction and sometimes non-fiction. I am continuing that, plus I have written three murder mysteries and am doing this blog. Hopefully I'm keeping my brain young.







17th-century shipwreck found in Lake Michigan? Explorer "99.9 percent sure" – CBS
AP June 24, 2014

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- A debris field at the bottom of Lake Michigan may be the remains of the long-lost Griffin, a vessel commanded by a 17th-century French explorer, said a shipwreck hunter who has sought the wreckage for decades.

Steve Libert told The Associated Press that his crew found the debris this month about 120 feet from the spot where they removed a wooden slab a year ago that was protruding from the lake bottom. Libert believes that timber was the bowsprit of Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle's ship, although scientists who joined the 2013 expedition say the slab more likely was an abandoned fishing net stake.

"This is definitely the Griffin - I'm 99.9 percent sure it is," Libert said. "This is the real deal."

He described the bottomland area as littered with wooden planks that could belong to a ship's bow, along with nails and pegs that would have fastened the hull to the rest of the vessel and what appeared to be sections of a mast.

He acknowledged his dive team had found no "smoking gun" such as a cannon or other artifacts with markings identifying them as belonging to the Griffin. But the nails and other implements appeared similar to those from La Belle, another of La Salle's ships that sank near the Gulf of Mexico, Libert said.

He said his organization has sent images of the debris to three French underwater archaeologists who took part in last year's search. They plan to seek state and federal permits to excavate in the area in September, Libert said.

Dean Anderson, Michigan's state archaeologist, said Monday he hadn't been notified of the find and could not speculate about whether the Griffin had finally been located. Anderson supports the theory that the timber discovered earlier was a fishing apparatus.

The area strewn with debris is roughly the size of a football field, said Brian Abbott of Nautilus Marine Group, who joined Libert's search this month and took sonar readings of the bottomlands. It is near tiny Poverty Island in northwestern Lake Michigan and about 50 feet below the water's surface.

The Griffin is believed to be the first ship of European design to sail the upper Great Lakes. It disappeared with a crew of six on its maiden voyage in 1679 after La Salle had disembarked near the mouth of Wisconsin's Green Bay.





Steve Libert, who has been seeking this ship “for decades,” so he has a lot of investment in the site, but he found a debris field containing objects similar to another of La Salle's ships which went down near the Gulf of Mexico. Some scientists, however, think that the piece of wood found last year was part of some fishing aparatus rather than a ship. The lake bottom at that point is “littered with wooden planks that could belong to a ship's bow, along with nails and pegs that would have fastened the hull to the rest of the vessel and what appeared to be sections of a mast.” “He said his organization has sent images of the debris to three French underwater archaeologists who took part in last year's search. They plan to seek state and federal permits to excavate in the area in September, Libert said.” Hopefully they will find a cannon or something else more decisively belonging to a ship. I remember the TV show with Lloyd Bridges called Sea Hunt. It's very exciting to find things on the ocean bottom, especially if it makes a bit of history more conclusive.






http://www.9news.com/story/life/pets/2014/06/19/dog-may-have-used-scent-to-find-family-after-2-years/11013005/

Dog may have used scent to find family after 2 years
KXTV, Sacramento June 20, 2014

FORESTHILL ( KXTV-TV) - In what would be an amazing story of survival, an El Dorado Hills family hopes a golden retriever found wandering through a campground in the Tahoe National Forest is the dog they lost while camping more than a year-and-a-half ago.

Murphy, a 5-year-old female, was separated from Nathan Braun during a camping trip at Hell Hole Reservoir in October 2012. The family posted ads and flyers and never gave up hope that Murphy would one day be found.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, the family was notified that a stray golden retriever had been spotted at a campground on French Meadows Reservoir - about 11 miles from where Murphy disappeared.

The family drove up on June 7 with Murphy's blanket and a ball cap belonging to Nathan.

Camp host Jason Smith said he placed the items on the ground at his campsite and was stunned by what happened next.

"The very first night I laid it out, I heard some movement," Smith said. "There was Murphy sleeping on the blanket. And right there I knew, that's Murphy. That's their dog. It was curled up with its head on the hat."

By the end of the week, Smith was able to get a leash on the dog and a friend drove to a spot with cell service to notify the family.

The Brauns returned to French Meadows Sunday to pick up the dog.

"It was very touching," Smith said. "The whole family was crying. I was doing my best to not cry."

Smith speculated the dog could have survived by eating road kill and campground Then, a couple of weeks ago, the family was notified that a stray golden retriever had been spotted at a campground on French Meadows Reservoir - about 11 miles from where Murphy disappeared.

The family drove up on June 7 with Murphy's blanket and a ball cap belonging to Nathan.

Camp host Jason Smith said he placed the items on the ground at his campsite and was stunned by what happened next.

"The very first night I laid it out, I heard some movement," Smith said. "There was Murphy sleeping on the blanket. And right there I knew, that's Murphy. That's their dog. It was curled up with its head on the hat."

By the end of the week, Smith was able to get a leash on the dog and a friend drove to a spot with cell service to notify the family.

The Brauns returned to French Meadows Sunday to pick up the dog.

"It was very touching," Smith said. "The whole family was crying. I was doing my best to not cry."

Smith speculated the dog could have survived by eating road kill and campground scraps.

On Tuesday, Nathan Braun told News10 the family noticed some subtle physical differences between Murphy and the dog they brought home, creating a shred of doubt about the dog's identity.

He said the dog's behavior has convinced his wife that Murphy has finally come home, and while he's "99-percent certain" the dog is Murphy, he's waiting for a DNA test to confirm it.




Camp host Jason Smith said he placed the items on the ground at his campsite and was stunned by what happened next. 'The very first night I laid it out, I heard some movement,' Smith said. 'There was Murphy sleeping on the blanket. And right there I knew, that's Murphy. That's their dog. It was curled up with its head on the hat.'" Smith worked with the dog for a number of days and was finally able to put a leash on it, then he called the family members, who came to the campground and had a tearful reunion with the dog. Nathan Braun is unsure that the dog is Murphy, but his wife believes it is, going by the dog's behavior toward the family. Every now and then there is a story of a dog or a cat that walks home to its family after being lost somewhere as this dog was. They have some uncanny abilities, and their noses are almost infallible. Murphy didn't forget the smells of home and family. This is a heartwarming story. I feel sure the dog is really Murphy. I saw it on television interacting with family members, and it was joyously affectionate. I hope the DNA test turns out to be positive.






Reason Why Man Gave Drinking Strangers Free Ride – ABC
By Alyssa Newcomb
via Good Morning America
June 24, 2014

On the first anniversary of a fatal drunken driving crash, Alex Sheen stood outside the busiest bar in his Ohio neighborhood with a sign offering strangers a free ride.

As the founder of the "Because I Said I Would" movement, Sheen was making good on a promise.

On Sept. 3, 2013, he helped Matthew Cordle, the man responsible for killing Vincent Canzani, 61, in a drunken driving crash, upload a powerful video confession to YouTube that ultimately led to Cordle’s being sentenced to six and a half years in prison.

Cordle wanted him to "bring good to the world," Sheen told ABC News. So on the one-year anniversary of the crash that took Canzani's life, he tried to do just that.

"It’s hard to say what you’re going to do,” Sheen told ABC News. “The first thing you do is to make the promise not to drink and drive, but what after that?"

Sheen decided to stand outside an Ohio bar Saturday with a dry erase board offering strangers who had been drinking a potentially lifesaving act of kindness, while also sharing his inspiration for the good deed.

"At first people look at you very weird," Sheen said. "But I think as they read the sign, they understood what the purpose was -- to honor a man who passed away. I was busy the whole time, picking people up, dropping them off."

The first group he picked up was a bachelorette party. Sheen was happy to turn over control of his stereo to them. Their song of choice was "Call Me Maybe," and Sheen said they played it twice in a row.

He wouldn't accept tips, but said the women sneakily left behind $38, which he plans to donate to Mothers Against Drunk Driving in memory of Canzani.

The next couple he gave a lift to were new homeowners. They flashed a thumbs-up sign in the backseat while Sheen gave them a safe ride home.

Aside from being potentially life-altering, Sheen added that "DUIs can be financially devastating" and lauded the couple for making a smart choice.

The next man he picked up said he helped create the "We are the World" remake music video for Haiti in 2010.

"I will give him the benefit of the doubt. He seemed sincere," Sheen wrote in the photo caption.

After a busy night of shuttling strangers around town, Sheen stopped at Taco Bell around 3 a.m. for some late-night sustenance.

"I definitely enjoyed it and thought it made a small impact," Sheen said. "And that’s what we have to do."




I do like to see someone do a good thing without being required to. The local taxi drivers sometimes pick up people for free if they have been drinking on certain holidays, like New Years Eve. This man talked to his riders and got to know them a little bit, too, so he enjoyed his effort on their behalf. This is a fun story about a good deed. I enjoyed it.






Will Mississippi's Black Democrats Save A Republican?
by FRANK JAMES
June 24, 2014

It's a rich irony that on the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riders risking life and limb in Mississippi to help African-Americans register to vote, black Democrats may decide which Republican wins Tuesday's runoff for the GOP Senate nomination.

Then again, maybe they won't. A big unknown on the morning of the election is just how many African-American Democrats might actually visit polling places across party lines to vote for Sen. Thad Cochran, age 76, who's been in the Senate for 35 years, in his contest against Chris McDaniel, 41, his Tea Party-backedchallenger.

The Real Clear Politics average of publicly available polls gives McDaniel, a state senator and former talk-radio host, a roughly 6-point lead over Cochran, 49 percent to 43.3 percent. It will take 51 percent of the vote for either man to win the nomination. In the June 3 primary itself, neither man attained the 50 percent that would have averted the runoff, though they came close: McDaniel had 49.5 percent, Cochran 49 percent.

This is where black Democrats could be a factor in the racially polarized politics of Mississippi, where blacks make up about 36 percent of the electorate.

Mississippi law allows Democrats to vote in the Republican runoff if they didn't vote in the June 3 Democratic primary, and if they plan to support the Republican candidate in the general election. The second part of that law is very hard to enforce.

Cochran's campaign has made a concerted effort to appeal to blacks. Some of the first people he greets in his most recent ad, for instance, are African-Americans.

This strategy may seem born of desperation on Cochran's part, but it's also logical. Cochran may be right of the political center, but he's certainly closer to that center than McDaniel, who argues for a much smaller government and significantly lower spending and taxes. (Cochran has a 78.9 percent lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union.)

Cochran serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, an assignment important to a state with some dubious distinctions: the state budget with the largest percentage of revenue coming from the federal government; and relatively high poverty rates for whites and blacks alike. Cochran, for instance, supports the $1.5 billion in federal funding the state gets for education. McDaniel opposes it.

There's a risk to Cochran's outreach to black voters, however. It could result in a backlash that prompts more Republicans to come to the polls for McDaniel.

Some blacks are responding to Cochran's entreaties. An open letterfrom a local African-American politician, who quoted Martin Luther King Jr., urged Democrats (that is, blacks) to "VOTE YOUR BEST INTERESTS. VOTE COCHRAN!"

McDaniel's conservative supporters aren't taking this lightly. They intend to deploy poll watchers. "Mississippi has total transparency in the conduct of elections," wrote J. Christian Adams in a PJ Media post. "Observers are permitted to observe the process to ensure that Mississippi election laws are followed."

Critics of the conservative poll-watching effort claim it's reminiscent of 20th century efforts to suppress the black vote in the South. A headline on a post on Rick Hasen's Election Law Blog expressed the concern: "Conservative 'Election Observers' in Mississippi May Be Meant to Intimidate Democratic Voters in Cochran-McDaniel Race."

This may not exactly be the future the Freedom Riders risked their lives for back in 1964. But the fact that people think the contest might hinge on black votes is progress, of a sort.




This Republican candidate is apparently that rarity nowadays, a moderate candidate who is not out to rob the poor of their last few dollars by squeezing the Federal budget ever tighter. Mississippi has “the state budget with the largest percentage of revenue coming from the federal government; and relatively high poverty rates for whites and blacks alike. Cochran, for instance, supports the $1.5 billion in federal funding the state gets for education. McDaniel opposes it.”

Blacks in Mississippi are 36% of the population, so they would be a prize if either candidate can bring in their vote, especially since neither candidate had 50% of the vote in the June 3 primary. Technically, a Democrat crossing the line at the primary is supposed to follow through and vote Republican in the general election. In North Carolina, Republican voters are suspected of registering as a Democrat so they can vote in the Democratic primary and manipulate which Democrat they will have to face in the general election.

It's all games. I notice in this article it says that the Tea Party plans to have poll watchers “to ensure that Mississippi election laws are followed." A blog by Rick Hasen says the activity may be to “intimidate Democratic voters,” instead, comparing it to “20th century efforts to suppress the black vote in the South.” Florida's Republican party is heavy into the practice of going through voter registrations looking for Hispanic or Black names and removing them from the registry, with a letter telling them how they have to proceed to get their name added back in again. Often the rigmarole is too complex or takes too long, so they effectively remove Democrats from the registry. It's really disgusting to me, but politics is important even if it's dirty half the time. Some people say they just refuse to participate in it, but I think every Democrat should put in their “two cents” and vote. I am sure all the Republicans will.