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THE RED TAPE CHRONICLES

Technology has hidden side effects -- we reveal them here

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Dog tales: Lucky and Rusty

Pet stores keep ignoring puppy mill laws, but you don’t have to

October 17, 2013 Bob Sullivan 0

Puppy mills have attracted a lot of attention recently, with many states passing high-profile laws designed to make inhumane breeders clean up their act of get out of the business.  But as we all know, passing a law can be a meaningless gesture.    If a society is judged by [Keep reading]

Credit cards

What’s all this fuss about the debt ceiling? A disaster that will come, not with a bang, but a whimper

October 16, 2013 Bob Sullivan 0

What will happen this week if the U.S. government has maxed out its credit cards, as is expected to occur on Thursday? Here’s the truth: No one really knows. It’s quite likely Oct. 17 will come and go and no one will notice. Markets may yawn that day, and Americans [Keep reading]

Privacy

Twitter now a lot more like text messaging; that’s good and bad

October 15, 2013 Bob Sullivan 1

Twitter has changed a major privacy setting, but it’s done so in the right way. It’s now possible for strangers to send private messages to users, making the service more like e-mail or text messaging. But by default, nothing has changed, so users have to take a step to do something [Keep reading]

Privacy

Alert: Facebook, Google make your face less private. Here’s the settings you should update right now

October 12, 2013 Bob Sullivan 6

Facebook and Google both announced huge changes with major privacy implications in the past 48 hours. Once again, both companies have made subtle steps designed to erode your privacy to benefit their invasive business models. Here’s what happened: Facebook made it easier for strangers to search for you and find [Keep reading]

No Picture
Gotchas / Consumer

Gotcha! Why a 5-mile ambulance ride costs $800 — or more

October 11, 2013 Bob Sullivan 3

Jim Mathes took one bad step out of his apartment in early September and wrenched his back. The pain was so intense he had to crawl back inside on all fours. He needed medical care, but there was no chance he could get himself down three flights of stairs to [Keep reading]

Money and Life

Is your bar serving you (a little less than) a pint?

October 11, 2013 Bob Sullivan 0

In most states, it’s illegal to over-serve patrons in bars. A law proposed in Michigan would make it illegal to under-serve them, too. The legislation would ban bars and restaurants from delivering anything less than 16 ounces when a customer orders a “pint” of beer. There’s no research to suggest [Keep reading]

Technology run amok

Did technology ruin your summer vacation? Why gadgets are killing the measly breaks Americans get

October 10, 2013 Bob Sullivan 3

Now that fall has fully arrived, can I play a game with you? What did you do on your summer vacation? I don’t want to know where you went, though you can tell me that, I bet it would have been somewhere exotic like somewhere in Southeast Asia, did you [Keep reading]

Technology run amok

Just how many people have dropped their phone in the toilet? Why one local sewer authority cares

October 10, 2013 Bob Sullivan 0

Studies are the engine of the news business these days. One out of three adults say they hate their job. Nine out of 10 adults say they’ve considered buying a new cell phone lately. Two out of three say they don’t trust the government. Four out of five like dogs [Keep reading]

Privacy

Pay a fee to remove your naked pix or mug shot? That’s the web we’ve weaved

October 7, 2013 Bob Sullivan 3

You can feel the desperation in the woman’s short message. “My boyfriend posted sexually explicit photos of me on an ‘ex-girlfriend’ porn site,” she wrote on a legal advice website, AVVO.com. “I want them removed, but the website charges $500. Can I take legal action? Against the website or my [Keep reading]

No Picture
Dog tales: Lucky and Rusty

Rusty, St. Francis Day blessing, and Catholic fun

October 6, 2013 Bob Sullivan 3

The words “fun” and “Catholic” don’t seem like they go together, but sometimes they do. Like on St. Francis Day! St. Francis is known for the way he cared for animals, and at many parishes, St. Francis Day means the Blessing of the Animals.  Often, priests will greet animals and [Keep reading]

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About me

BOB SULLIVAN is a veteran journalist and the author of four books, including the 2008 New York Times Best-Seller, Gotcha Capitalism, and the 2010 New York Times Best Seller, Stop Getting Ripped Off! His latest, The Plateau Effect, was published in 2013, and as a paperback, called Getting Unstuck in 2014. He has won the Society of Professional Journalists prestigious Public Service award, a Peabody award, and The Consumer Federation of America Betty Furness award, and been given Consumer Action’s Consumer Excellence Award.

Bob Sullivan

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