Most of us have trouble scratching a simple customer service call off our to-do list, but The Red Tape Chronicles profiles a college kid who has turned taking companies to small claims court into a bit of a hobby. And he’s won 10 out of 12 times. [More]
Government Policy
TSA Tries To Explain Need For Patting Down An Infant
By 5.10.11
Over the weekend, TSA agents at the Kansas City International Airport felt the full furor of the internet when a camera phone image of a baby being patted-down hit the web. The world wanted to know if we’d moved from worrying about dirty bombs to hunting for poopy bombs. In an attempt to diffuse the explosive situation, the folks behind the curtains of Security Theater took to their blog to offer an explanation. [More]
Sick Of Comcast Rate Hikes, Boston Mayor Asks FCC To Let City Regulate Cable Prices
By 5.9.11
In the city of Boston, where most residents only have access to Comcast service, the price of basic cable has soared 60% over the last three years. So the city’s mayor, Thomas Menino, has asked the Federal Communications Commission to let the city regulate the cost of cable. [More]
NHTSA Investigating 2.7 Million Ford F-150s For Potential Fuel Tank Problems
By 5.9.11
It’s been a bad spring for the Ford F-150 pickup truck brand. First, there was the recall of around 1.3 million vehicles for faulty airbags. Now comes news that NHTSA is investigating a problem with rusting fuel tank straps that could impact 2.7 million F-150 trucks. [More]
Judge Throws Out Doctor's Defamation Lawsuit
By 5.9.11
A Minnesota judge weighed a touchy healthcare issue in a defamation lawsuit, deciding whether or not a doctor’s right to protect his reputation outweighs the family of a patient’s intentions to publicize their grievances against the doc. The District Court judge sided with the family, tossing out the doctor’s defamation lawsuit. [More]
Senator Proposes "No-Ride List" For Amtrak
By 5.9.11
Apparently the only way for a terrorist to plant a bomb on any of the thousands and thousands miles of completely unsecured railroad track in this country is to actually be a passenger on a train — specifically an Amtrak train. Thus, Senator Chuck Schumer of NY has figured out a way to keep our entire rail system safe: A “no-ride list.” [More]
TSA Considers Making Airport Screenings Less Annoying For "Trusted Travelers"
By 5.6.11
You might have heard that some airline passengers haven’t exactly been overjoyed with the TSA’s recent rollouts of revealing full-body scanners and like-groping-teenagers-in-heat pat-down procedures. But now the agency is reportedly considering the idea of giving “trusted travelers” an express pass through airport security screenings. [More]
Senate Republicans To Block Consumer Financial Protection Chief
By 5.6.11
Following their colleagues in the House, who earlier this week offered legislation that would weaken the powers of the planned Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, nearly all Republican Senators have sent a letter to President Obama vowing to block the confirmation of any nominee to head the new agency, unless there are “structural changes that will make the Bureau accountable to the American people.” [More]
Toy Story 3 Bowling Set Recalled Because Kids Apparently Aren't Supposed To Play With Lead Paint Anymore
By 5.6.11
Considering the menagerie of toys that come to life in Pixar’s Toy Story movies — and considering the number of toys out there that are slathered in lead paint — it’s surprising that not one of them has exhibited any definitive symptoms of lead poisoning (well, maybe those three-eyed alien things). But that hasn’t stopped the makers of a Toy Story 3 bowling set from using lead paint. [More]
Telemarketer Won't Show "Do Not Call" Policy? You Can Sue For $500
By 5.6.11
If you can’t get rid of annoying telemarketers, you can at least make a profit off them. Under Federal law, they have to give you a written copy of their “Do Not Call” policy for free if you ask them to. If they don’t, you can take them to court and sue them for a cool statutory $500. Here’s a sample script for doing this from a guy who has sued several telemarketers over this violation and won. [More]
GM Recalls 170,000 2011 Cars, Trucks & Vans
By 5.5.11
General Motors announced three recalls affecting several 2011 model year vehicles, including its popular Chevrolet Cruze sedan–recently recalled for steering wheel concerns. [More]
Teachers, Sign Up For Free Kid's Product Safety Alerts And You Could Win $100
By 5.5.11
If you’re a teacher, parent or caregiver, take 10 seconds today and sign up for safety. Get the latest alerts about food and products that affect children in a free weekly email from the National School Safety Coalition, of which Consumers Union is one of three founding members. As an added incentive, if you’re a teacher, you may be able to win $100: the five teachers who get the most parents to sign up will win $100 each (you don’t need to be a teacher to sign up for the email alerts). So sign up here and pass it along, especially to any teachers you know! No child should be put in harm’s way simply because we couldn’t get the word out. [More]
Rappers Sue CBS Interactive, Alleging It Profited From Music Piracy
By 5.5.11
A lawsuit led by rap artists alleges CBS Interactive, the parent company of CNET, aided copyright infringement by promoting and profiting on downloads of file-sharing service LimeWire. [More]
Judge Dismisses College Athletes' Case Against EA
By 5.5.11
As far as the justice system is concerned, EA Sports is allowed to continue using rough approximations of player likenesses in its college sports games. [More]
College Football Bowl System Apparently Warrants DOJ's Attention
By 5.4.11
Because antitrust investigators at the Justice Department made such quick work of their investigations into the United/Continental and NBC/Universal mergers, they apparently have plenty of free time to wonder why there are no playoffs in the Bowl Championship Series. [More]
House Subcommittee Approves Bills That Would Effectively Shackle Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
By 5.4.11
As we reported yesterday, a House of Representatives subcommittee was set to review various proposed bills that would effectively disarm the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau before it even had a chance to do any protecting of consumers. Sadly, but not surprisingly, all three bits of proposed legislation have been approved. [More]
Do You Live Near A Food Desert?
By 5.4.11
If you’ve ever wanted to find out if you live in a wasteland with a dearth of access to fresh and nutritious food, boy have we got the government-sponsored data mashup for you! The USDA just launched the “Food Desert Locator” which lets you see where it’s hard to get a decent bite to eat in America. A “food desert” (remember: not dessert, that has two s’s because you want more of it) is a low-income area where a most of the people live more than one mile from the nearest grocery store/supermarket. Thanks to this map, now we know why North Dakotans are so sad: no one will make them a sandwich! [More]
