The (Washington)
Examiner says the new tax law that took effect in January 2005 has slashed charitable car donations.
The paper said:
This year a new federal tax law that went into effect Jan. 1 is scaring some people away from donating their vehicles to charity. Officials said donations are down 35 percent to 40 percent in 2005.
The new law no longer allows people to deduct the vehicle's "fair market value" but only the amount the car actually sells for at auction.
Congress passed the new law because people were turning in old clunker cars and claiming their donations were worth unrealistic amounts of money. There were also concerns that donations were going to nonprofits who would sell the donated cars, keep a hunk of cash and donate a small portion to real charities. This is no small deal since close to three-quarters of a million cars were donated to charities in 2002 alone, and that number, the Examiner says, almost certainly is higher now.
The Holiday Season Suicide Myth
It is conventional wisdom that suicides go up this time of year. There is one big problem: the facts do not support the theory. In fact, when you look at the number of people who claim their own lives at this time of year (PDF), it is among the lowest time of the year for suicide, not the highest. Suicides are most likely to occur in spring and summer.
The Annenberg Public Policy Center points out:
Reporting erroneous information isn't the only problem with perpetuating the holiday-suicide myth, says Dr. Dan Romer, who is Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center's Adolescent Risk Communication Institute. Although there is no solid evidence that repeating the myth encourages vulnerable individuals to commit suicide, news reports of suicides can have a "copy-cat" effect among such persons. Suicide ranks as the eighth leading cause of death among adults; among adolescents, it is the third leading cause.
Here's a Suicide fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control.
Millions Lost in Unpaid Tickets
The Montgomery (Alabama) Advertiser included a fairly brave story about why the city should raise parking fines in the downtown area. The fines are so low and the collection of unpaid tickets is so lax that downtown workers can afford to pay tickets and hog the best spaces while downtown merchants are losing business because potential customers have no place to park. How do your city parking fines compare to others and how much is uncollected?
Ways to Take Action on the Most Popular Resolutions
Gallup says fewer than one in five people surveyed kept their New Year's resolutions for two years. Firstgov.gov has ideas to get your readers, listeners and viewers started on the big things they want to do in 2006.
Latinos Battle Diabetes
The Modesto Bee included a worthwhile story about the alarming rate of diabetes in Hispanics; it is significantly higher than blacks or whites. The story said:
Traditional Mexican foods are rich in fats and carbohydrates. In addition, immigrants from Mexico and Central America tend to work seasonal jobs, followed by months of unemployment and decreased activity.
Latinos also consume their share of fast-foods laden with sugar.
"Once they become more Americanized, they start adopting the diet that everyone else follows," said Elizabeth Martinez, a nurse and health educator who works with diabetics.
Martinez said she usually advises Latinos with diabetes to consume fewer carbohydrates, which convert to sugar in the bloodstream.
That means fewer stops at the drive-thru, smaller portions of tortillas, rice and beans, and larger helpings of vegetables.
"A tortilla alone has 15 grams of carbohydrates," she said. "We usually recommend 45 to 50 grams of carbohydrates per meal."
The 61-Second MinuteI don't know what you will do with your extra second,
but scientists will add a "leap second" on New Year's Eve to adjust the atomic clock. They have to make this adjustment in order to keep up with changes in the Earth's rotation.
Here is a LOT more than you probably will want to know about this.
The adjustment will occur at one second before 7 p.m. Eastern Time on New Year's Eve. I wonder what this will throw off. TV stations, banks, computers, compulsive people all will have to reset clocks somehow won't they?
It seems to me that we should use this extra second wisely.
I polled my family about how I could wisely use the leap second:
- My wife said I could kiss her.
- My daughter said she'd light a candle hoping for a peaceful 2006. (This is a 12-year-old kid!)
- My son said we could pet the dog.
We kicked around some other ideas. You could say something nice for no reason at all to the person standing next to you at the moment. If you were alone, you could offer a silent prayer or meditation. You could choose THAT second to start your New Year's resolution.
This could be fun fodder for online chats, reader forums and such.
Let me know how it turns out... if you have "an extra second" to drop me a line.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. 
