Mar 15 commentary. "For links to the articles I read on the air, guest websites, archived shows, my commentaries, a listener's discussion forum, and the text of Mark Stanneart’s latest commentary, visit: www.rabblerousing.org."

king geo was featured on bbc news as being concerned that the us denying the middle eastern country of dubai the right to manage the most sensitive American ports will damage relationships with other mid east countries. In an obvious oversite, his regal eminence failed to mention how our invasions and conquests of Afghanistan and iraq has affected relations with those same countries.

Next item: Snopes verifies this as true. Most of us take those summonses for jury duty seriously, but enough people skip out on their civic duty, that a new and ominous kind of scam has surfaced.  Fall for it and your identity could be stolen. In this con, someone calls pretending to be a court official who threateningly says a warrant has been issued for your arrest because you didn't show up for jury duty.  The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Sometimes they even ask for credit card numbers. Give out any of this information and bingo! Your identity just got stolen.  The scam has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma, Illinois, and Colorado. This (scam) is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the phone to try and bully people into giving information by pretending they're with the court system. The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their websites, warning consumers about the fraud.

Next item: Cell Numbers Going Public JUST A REMINDER, right around 20 mar, cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sale calls. YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS! These telemarketers will eat up your free minutes and end up costing you money in the long run. To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888/382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years. PASS THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS. You can register on line at: http://www.donotcall.gov

Here is news of a really cool scam: By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer Thu Mar 2, WASHINGTON - How it happened or who's responsible is a his stery eight years after the fact. But what may have been a simple error — or perhaps something more ominous — has given a multimillion-dollar windfall to a group of oil and gas companies and could cost the government billions of dollars more in the years to come. The Interior Department disclosed Wednesday that a provision was his steriously deleted from hundreds of federal drilling leases in the late 1990s that would have required producers to pay royalties, once prices reached a certain level, on oil or gas taken from deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. In 1995, Congress exempted deep-water oil from royalty payments to spur development. But a price threshold was included in leases issued in 1996 and 1997 and again in leases sold in each year since 2000 that reinstates the royalties if market prices reach a certain level. For some reason the language "was inadvertently dropped" from an addendum attached to more than 1,100 leases the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service issued for 1998 and 1999, Walter Cruickshank, the agency's deputy director, told a House Government Reform subcommittee Wednesday. He said officials have not been able to determine who made the change, although he said it had to have been a human act, not a computer glitch. "It is clear that there is no record telling people to take the language out," he said, and it was widely known that the department wanted the price threshold restriction in any oil and gas leases as a matter of policy. In the late 1990s, when oil prices were well below the threshold, the issue may not have attracted attention. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the subcommittee chairman, called the whole matter "suspicious."

While we are on the subject of scams: SCENE 1
A man went to a gym and placed his belongings in the locker. After the workout and a shower, he came out, saw the locker open, and thought to himself, "Funny, I thought I locked the locker. Hmmmmm."
He dressed and just flipped the wallet to make sure all was in order. Everything looked okay - all cards were in place. A few weeks later his credit card bill came - a whooping bill of $14,000! He called the credit card company and started yelling at them, saying that he did not make the transactions. Customer care personnel verified that there was no mistake in the system and asked if his card had been stolen "No," he said, but then took out his w! allet, pulled out the credit card, and yep - you guessed it - a switch had been made. An expired similar credit card from the same bank was in the wallet. The thief broke into his locker at the gym and switched cards.
Verdict: The credit card issuer said since he did not report the card missing earlier, he would have to pay the amount owed to them. How much did he have! to pay for items he did not buy? $9,000!
Why were there no calls made to verify the amount swiped? Small amounts rarely trigger a "warning bell" with some credit card companies. It just so happens that all the small amounts added up to big one!
SCENE 2 A man at a restaurant paid for his meal with his credit card. The bill for the meal came, he signed it, and the waitress folded the receipt and passed the credit card along. U! sually, he would just take it and place it in his wallet or pocket. Funny enough, though, he actually took a look at the card and, lo and behold, it was the expired card of another person.
He called the waitress and she looked perplexed. She took it back, apologized, and hurried back to the counter under the watchful eye of the man. All the waitress did while walking to the counter was wave the wrong expired card to the counter cashier, and the counter cashier immediately looked down and took out the real card. No exchange of words --- nothing! She took it and came back to the man with an apology.
Verdict: Make sure the credit cards in your wallet are yours. Check the name on the card every time you sign for something and/or the card is taken away for even a short period of time. Many people just take back the credit card without even looking at it, thinking that it has to be theirs.
so, you might want to , DEVELOP THE HABIT OF CHECKING YOU! R CREDIT CARD EACH TIME IT IS RETURNED TO YOU AFTER A TRANSACTION!
SCENE 3
the writer of this web message went into a pizza restaurant to pick up an order that he had called in. he paid by using his Visa Check Card which, of course, is linked directly to his checking account. The young man behind the counter took his card, swiped it, and then laid it flat on the counter as he waited for the approval, which is pretty standard procedure.
While he waited, he picked up his cell phone and started dialing. he noticed the phone because it is the same model he have, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then he heard a click that sounded like his phone sounds when he take a picture. He then gave me back his card but kept the phone in his hand as if he was still pressing buttons.
Meanwhile, I'm thinking: he wonder what he is taking a picture of, oblivious to what was really going on. It then dawned on me: the only thing there was his credit card, so now I'm paying close att! ention to what he is doing.
He set his phone on the counter, leaving it open. About five seconds later, he heard the chime that tells you that the picture has been saved. Now I'm standing there struggling with the fact that this boy just took a picture of his credit card. Yes, he played it off well, because had we not had the same kind of phone, he probably would never have known what happened. Needless to say, he immediately canceled that card as he was walking out of the pizza parlor. So, : be aware of your surroundings at all times. Whenever you are using your credit cards, take caution and don't be careless. Notice who is standing near you and ! what they are doing when you use your card. Be aware of phones because many have a camera phone these days. When you are in a restaurant and the waiter/waitress brings your card and receipt for you to sign, make sure you scratch the number off. Some restaurants are using only the last four digits, but a lot of them are still putting the entire credit card number on the vendor's receipt. he have many friends and a child who has already been a victim of credit card fraud and, believe me, it is not fun

Next item: Traces of a drug used to treat leprosy and tuberculosis were found in a blood sample taken in recent months from former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, a news report has said. Doctors found traces of the drug when they were searching for an answer to why Milosevic's medication for high blood pressure was not working, the report said. The report came hours after Milosevic's legal adviser revealed a letter the late Serb leader wrote on Friday, one day before his body was discovered in prison, alleging that he was being poisoned. In the report by state broadcaster NOS, a lawyer and commentator for the channel, Heikelina Verrijn Stuart, said she had confirmation that doctors first noticed the medicine in his blood in January. Stuart said the drugs interfered with other medicine Milosevic was taking for high blood pressure and vascular disease.

HUMOR AT END

Next item: a listener informs me that Donald  Duck comics were  banned from Finland because he doesn't
wear  pants.  I find this matter so serious that im issuing a call to action. I want everyone listening to immediately go to your nearest comic book seller and either picket in front of the store, or go inside with marker pens and black out the lower half of every depiction of this offensive Donald duck. And we thought that walt Disney produced wholesome, family entertainment. Harrumph.

Next item: The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law, which  stated that  you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your  thumb. That’s progress folks. It took centuries, but We have finally reached the point where you cant beat anyone at all. Unless of course you are a prisoner of the us govt. in that unfortunate case, there are no rules. Thank you king geo for returning us to the middle ages.

Next item: An elderly gentleman went to the local drug store and asked the Pharmacist  for the little blue "Viagra" pill.  The pharmacist asked "How many?" The man replied, "Just a few, maybe a half dozen. I cut each one into four  pieces." The pharmacist said, "That's too small a dose. That won't get you through  sex."
 The old fellow replied, "Oh, you don’t understand. I'm almost ninety years old and I don't even  think about sex anymore. I just want it to stick out far enough so I  don't pee on my new golf shoes...."

Next item: we now take you to wash dc in the year 2009One sunny day in 2009, an old man approached the White House front gate. He spoke to the U. S. Marine standing guard and said, "I would like to go in and meet with President Bush." The Marine looked at the man and said, "Sir, Mr.Bush is no longer president and no longer resides here." The old man said, "Okay" and walked away. The following day, the same man approached the White House and said to the same Marine, "I would like to go in and meet with President Bush." The Marine again told the man, "Sir, Mr. Bush is no longer president and No longer resides here." The man thanked him and, again, just walked away. The third day, the same man approached the White House and spoke to the very same U. S. Marine, saying, "I would like to go in and meet with President Bush." The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looked at the man and said, "Sir, this is the third day in a row you have been here asking to speak to Mr. Bush. I have told you already that Mr. Bush is no longer the president and no longer resides here. Do you understand?" The old man looked at the Marine and said, "Oh, I understand. I just love hearing it." The Marine snapped to attention, saluted, and said, "See you tomorrow, SIR."

Ok, time to get serious again. A listener sent in these suggestions from a q and a session with a famous doctor.

rabble rousing passes them on as a public service, in hopes this clears up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?

 A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

 Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio? A: very simple: if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables? A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system.. cows also eat field grass , which is of course a green leafy vegetable. 

 Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake? A: why? . Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

q- are fried foods bad for me? A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!!... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

 Q: Is swimming good for your figure? A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

 Q: Is getting in shape important for my lifestyle? A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!

 Q: Is chocolate bad for me? A: Are you crazy? HELLO . Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

And finally, please remember: "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming Whoo what a ride".