| Editorial: Cutting Debt
For 22 years, Nick Yarris sat on death row in Pennsylvania for the rape and murder of a Delaware County woman. Yarris would have died in prison if not for a DNA test that showed he wasn't the rapist or killer. His conviction was overturned in 2003, and last week he received the final installment of a $4 million settlement stemming from a malicious-prosecution lawsuit he brought against prosecutors in Delaware County. Yarris' case is just the latest example of why Pennsylvania should follow New Jersey's lead and give the death penalty a dose of sodium thiopental. Beyond the fact that there is scant evidence that the death penalty acts as a deterrent, the overriding reason to eliminate capital punishment is that innocent people may be executed for crimes they didn't commit. DNA testing has helped exonerate 210 people wrongly convicted of various crimes in 30 states.
Different Clinton, more painful bill
It was like turning the clocks back 16 years when Hillary Clinton put her campaign to become the first woman president of the United States back on track with victory in New Hampshire. It was, of course, the same small north-eastern state where Bill first won his spurs as the comeback kid. The similarity does not end there. Just as in 1992, the US economy is a mess. Unemployment is rising, the federal deficit is enormous, personal debt frighteningly high, the real estate market is in freefall. For the first time since George Bush Sr was booted out of the White House, the economy is going to be absolutely central to this year's struggle for the presidency. Whoever wins the race - be it a Republican or Democrat - will take comfort from the fact that if economic recovery could be achieved in the 1990s it can be achieved again.
Super-charging your credit score
For Natasha Horne, trying to buy a house all came down to a three-digit number. A 33-year-old home health care worker who lives with her husband and two kids in a rental in the Parkchester section of the Bronx, Horne was hampered by a low credit score of 612. But with the help of Marilyn Bell, a counselor at Neighborhood Housing Services, which has offices in all five boroughs, Horne went to work. She called her creditors; some were willing to negotiate a settlement. The big push, starting last May, wiped $4,000 off her debt load. Bell contacted the credit reporting agencies about Horne's efforts. Within three months, her credit score rose to 679. Now, she's eligible for a mortgage at better rates than those offered to people with very poor credit.
War against fiscal rascality
A new era of fiscal responsibility and prudent husbandry of budgetary votes seems to be on the horizon. In President Yar'Adua's typical approach to governance, a battle that is bound to liberate the nation's budget allocations from predatory forces appears to have quietly taken off. Those who have been closely monitoring the progress of the 2008 Appropriation Bill at the National Assembly should not have any problem agreeing that a new fiscal dawn, together with its salutary impact on development, is in the offing. .
The Facts on the Trilateral Commission Show New World Order Plot
The Facts on the Trilateral Commission Reveal That David Rockefeller and Other Elite Crooks Want Global Government Tyranny. "The Trilateral Commission is international and is intended to be the vehicle for multinational consolidation of the commercial and banking interests by seizing control of the political government of the U.S." - Sen. Barry Goldwater When looking at the facts on the Trilateral Commission, it's important to understand that it was set up as a front for the exact same goals of the Council on Foreign Relations. The Trilateral Commission is another tool used by the leaders of the CFR shadow government. The world's elite utilizes secretive organizations such as the Committee of 300 structure, the CFR, the Bilderberg Society, and the Trilateral Commission to further its ultimate goal of global domination.
Talk of the bay: Auto dealers' ads can take you for a ride
This just in: Some auto-dealership ads may be misleading. The less-than-surprising warning issued Thursday by the Florida Attorney General's Office says car buyers should steer clear of dealer offers to pay off their existing car loan or lease. The loan or lease obligation does not disappear in such cases; instead, the buyer ends up owing the dealer, and because of penalties the loan balance often increases. A dealer may try to hide the extra debt burden by lengthening the repayment period. In an unrelated settlement reached in November, Bill Heard Chevrolet of Plant City and Orlando agreed to pay the state $400,000 and not run misleading radio or print ads. Ruling nets Spain shipwreck details The Spanish government will receive detailed information about a shipwreck site where Tampa's Odyssey Marine Exploration found $500-million worth of coins and artifacts last year, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
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