Obama Administration
 
   In early 1980, Jimmy Carter was faced with the influx of Cuban boat refugees.  In fact, more than 120,000 flocked to America's shores after Fidel Castro emptied his prisons and mental hospitals.  Carter was forced to place many of these "less than desirable" citizens into camps across the US.  Despite a pledge to then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, Carter placed many of the Cuban's in Arkansas with disastrous results.
    Just yesterday, President Obama kept a campaign pledge to shut the US facility at Guantanamo Cuba.  But immediately questions were raised, even within his own party.  Many of the Cuba detainees are known criminals.  Will they be put in US prisons?  Congressional members from Kansas don't want them located to Leavenworth - because of potential terrorist plots to free them.  Many of the detainees don't want to be sent back home, as they face certain death.  And then there's a whole group of detainees who are known terrorist who will simply return to their homeland to plot yet another strike on the US.
    But Obama kept his pledge - he's shutting Guantanamo. In doing so, he's likely just moving the problem that much closer to the US.


PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT (Please read)!!!
I want to use today's post for a completely different type of message.

In the past few weeks, I've come across several local stories of individuals who are being scammed on the internet or via phone.
Here are some samplings:

    1. An elderly gentlemen was convinced by a phone call that he had won the Canadian Lottery (even though he'd never been to Canada or bought lottery tickets).  He was prepared to withdraw more than $50,000 from his savings to send the caller the required "taxes" that had to be paid before the money could be released.  Sadly, friends and relatives could not convince him otherwise, and the $50k is gone.

    2. An elderly female was barely dissuaded by two different banks, and three relatives from sending more than $75,000 to a caller from Africa who was going to provide her a "windfall".

    3. An elderly woman lost $4,000 in a unique scam.  Through the mail, she had received a check for $10.000.  After depositing the check into her account, as instructed, she sent a cashier's check back in the amount of $4,000, thus netting $6.000 for herself.  Of course the $10k check never cleared, but her cashiers check was already mailed.

These scams are not occurring in large metropolitan areas, but in rural communities across Central Illinois.  Elderly people are particularly susceptible to enticing offers that come to them via the mail, phone or internet.   They don't share the opportunity with their family, as they are going to "surprise" them with the windfall.  Of course, the windfall never comes, and they are too embarrassed to tell anyone what occurred.

Please take the time to talk with everyone you know about these scams.  Already, family, friends, bankers and the police have been unable to talk the victims out of sending in the money.  They are that convinced of it's legitimacy!  

It's only if people receive enough forewarning of these scams, from several different fronts, that they might not be taken in.  
Please take the time to communicate this to anyone and everyone that you can!

Thanks.