Holiday Tips

As everyone prepares to celebrate Christmas (or Hanukkah, or Kwanza, or the Winter Solstice, or simply a few days off from work), the USA.gov website has some tips for you on celebrating safely, finding seasonal employment, traveling without hassles, watching your weight, and more:

http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Happy-Holidays.shtml

And for those who'd like to track Santa's progress on Christmas Eve, don't forget the NORAD Santa Tracker - http://www.noradsanta.org/.  Happy holidays!  :-)

Senate Report on CIA Interrogation

Yesterday the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released its "Study of the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program - Foreword, Findings, and Conclusions, and Executive Summary."  The study is linked from the Committee's home page: 

http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/

The report's findings, that the harsh interrogation techniques used by the CIA right after the 9/11 attacks were "torture" and did not result in significant new intelligence, are quite controversial.  Many current and former CIA officials are defending the effectiveness of the methods that were used.  The report is 525 pages, heavily redacted, and includes graphic details about the techniques used by the CIA.  Simply reading it might well qualify as "torture."

Unclaimed Money

Are you planning on doing some shopping, or possibly some traveling before the end of the year?  Wouldn't some extra money come in handy right about now?  After you've checked your car and couch cushions for loose change, another place to look is your state or federal government.  They may have money waiting for you and all you'll have to do is claim it.  This site from USA.gov provides a list of places to look for many types of unclaimed money, from tax refunds, to bank accounts, to pensions, and savings bonds:

http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Government-Unclaimed-Money.shtml

If you don't find any money waiting for yourself, look for your family members.  If you find enough loot for them, perhaps they'll pay you a finder's fee.  Happy hunting!

Thanksgiving Food Safety

Yes, there's football, but Thanksgiving is the Super Bowl of cooking.  To make sure you cook your feast safely and ensure that no one pays a penalty for your mistakes, take the advice of the bloggers on the FoodSafety.gov site: 

http://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/archive/2014/index.html

They offer tips on buying and cooking your turkey, as well as general information about food safety.  If you're feeling particularly inept in the kitchen, read their "Top 5 Thanksgiving Turkey Fails" and you're sure to feel much better about your own skills.  Have a safe and happy holiday!

Keystone Pipeline

The proposed Keystone Pipeline has been under discussion for the past few years, but the project seems to have gained some momentum in the last few weeks.  If you're still not sure exactly what the Pipeline would do or where it would be, this page from the Department of State may help to answer your questions: 

http://www.keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/

The project documents are extensive and the links provided lead to other informative sites maintained by TransCanada.  If the project does become a reality some day, we can only hope that the Keystone Pipeline people will be much more efficient and much less accident-prone than the Keystone Cops.

Veterans Day

On this Veterans Day, you may be wondering if the correct spelling is "Veterans Day," or "Veteran's Day," or maybe even "Veterans' Day."  This FAQ from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will answer that question for you, and many others:

http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetday_faq.asp

It explains why some schools close and others don't, why Veterans Day doesn't always fall on a Monday like most Federal holidays, and why poppies are more closely associated with Memorial Day than Veterans Day.  It even provides links to posters and Teacher's Guides that can be downloaded.  As the site says, "Veterans Day is largely intended to thank LIVING veterans for their service."  So, many thanks to all who served and all who are serving now!

Federal Reserve Centennial

The Federal Reserve Act was signed in 1913, but the Federal Reserve banks first opened their doors in 1914.  So, the Fed has been celebrating its Centennial all year.  Although we hear about the Fed Chair all the time in relation to raising or lowering interest rates, the Fed also performs a number of other important functions to keep America's financial system running efficiently.  You can learn a lot about the Fed's current activities as well as its history on its Centennial website: 

http://www.federalreserveeducation.org/centennial/

The site even provides lesson plans about both the Centennial and the basics of personal finance.  Spending some time learning about the Fed might be a wise investment.