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Kayce T. Ataiyero
Consumer advocates urge against income tax return loans - February 17, 2009 - With many eager to get extra cash fast these days, an income tax refund loan can be pretty tempting. Some tax preparers entice consumers with the promise of reducing refund wait times from weeks to days and, in some cases, the same day.
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Dear Abby
Neighbor takes advantage of trusting elderly woman - February 18, 2009 - DEAR ABBY: My elderly mother lives in a rural area. Luckily, she is surrounded by wonderful neighbors who enable her to continue living in her home without assistance. They shop for her, maintain her lawn, do handyman repairs, cook for her and regularly check on her well-being.
Eric Benderoff
Microsoft to unveil Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system for cell phones - February 16, 2009 - Microsoft Corp. plans to officially announce on Monday a new mobile operating system for smart phones. Called Windows Mobile 6.5, it will be the latest version of software found on phones from a number of companies, including LG, Motorola and Samsung.
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Barbara Brotman
No cell phone, no Internet service, no long distance? No way! - February 10, 2009 - I felt desperate as I drove. My second trip to Starbucks in four hours; how pathetic was this? But I had to have a fix.
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Steve Chapman
Reality intrudes on the drug war - February 15, 2009 - In the story of the emperor with no clothes, it took someone whose observations are rarely heeded—a child—to point out the obvious fact that no one else could acknowledge. In the case of drug policy, it takes people who are usually ignored by Washington policymakers—Latin Americans—to perform the same invaluable service.
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Steve Dahl
Lingerie league - February 12, 2009 - Now that the 2008-09 NFL season has ended with the anticlimactic Pro Bowl, I am looking for something to do on Sundays. I could start going to church, but many of them seem to be catching on fire these days.
Bill Daley
Report from The Stew - February 18, 2009 - Here are some recent items from the Stew, our food and dining blog.
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Julie Deardorff
9 things you should unlearn about tea - February 15, 2009 - It's true that, unlike the rest of the world, Americans more often drink our tea instant and iced. But a revolution is brewing.
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Amy Dickinson
The etiquette of abstaining from sex - February 18, 2009 - Dear Amy: My girlfriend and I had an argument about sexual etiquette. We are hoping that you could give your opinion and decide who did the right thing.
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Eric Gwinn
Need a pocket camcorder? Wait for Webbie - February 5, 2009 - We've all seen so much cell phone video on the Web now that we can readily spot footage that was shot on a camera phone. Blurry, washed-out figures move like shadows as the action jitters about. We accept it because it's great to have a window to an event we couldn't attend.
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Jon Hilkevitch
More Getting Around - February 16, 2009 - Read past Getting Around columns at chicagotribune.com/gettingaround
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Steve Johnson
Error on new 'Simpsons' - February 17, 2009 - There is—gasp!—a continuity error in the new opening to "The Simpsons," the first all-new intro in the show's 20 seasons on air.
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John Kass
Blame for Burris mess isn't Blagojevich's alone - February 18, 2009 - Sen. Roland "Tombstone" Burris (D-Lying Weasel) hatches his lies by the minute; they bubble out of his mouth like insect larvae from the mud.
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Garrison Keillor
Speaking of obituaries: Upward and onward - February 18, 2009 - I enjoy a well-crafted obituary as much as the next man, and now that people of my own generation (what?) are appearing there, the obituary page becomes closer and closer to my heart.
Julia Keller
When authors go on attack - February 16, 2009 - Ali and Frazier had their legendary clash, McCain and Obama had a few testy exchanges, and we recall hearing something about a recent matchup between the Cardinals and the Steelers—but for a real fight, for a titanic tiff, for a competition worthy of the epic battles waged on the windy plains of Troy, behold:
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Gail MarksJarvis
Abandon all hope ye still awaiting market rebound, then healing can begin - February 18, 2009 - After climbing more than 20 percent during the so-called Obama rally in late November, stocks lost it again Tuesday and dropped to nearly the worst levels of this harsh bear market.
Jim Mateja
The future of auto shows, real and virtual - February 15, 2009 - What to do for an encore? The 2009 Chicago Auto Show will be the first of its second hundred. With 100 shows already in the books, it's time to look ahead—far, far ahead.
Clarence Page
Partisan tally can't shake Obama's optimism - February 18, 2009 - After the most action-packed first three weeks of any president since maybe Abraham Lincoln, President Barack Obama revealed a subtle but significant change in tone: Maybe bipartisanship wasn't all that it had been cracked up to be.
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Kathleen Parker
Young president in obvious need of seasoning - February 11, 2009 - WASHINGTON — The first however-many days of Barack Obama's presidency have been a study in amateurism.
Phil Rosenthal
A serving of odds and ends from the media buffet - February 18, 2009 - Welcome to today's media buffet. Take all you want, but read all you take:
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Mary Schmich
Facebook's birthday grind saps the magic - February 18, 2009 - Birthdays used to be a measure of intimacy. Who remembered yours? Whose did you remember?
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Dawn Turner Trice
Recalling a man who made a difference for minority students - February 16, 2009 - In elementary school, my friend Thomas and I were nerdy and in constant competition. I graduated No. 1 in our class, and Thomas was No. 3. In sports, if he was among the last to be picked for a team, I was even last-er.
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Mary Umberger
Is 'good' credit the best you can do? - February 15, 2009 - "Good" credit is not a black-and-white matter these days. To mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, there's good credit, better credit and best credit.
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Ellen Warren
Road-testing tights - February 12, 2009 - Getting a little sick of winter? Gee, do ya think?
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Bob Weber
5, 6, 7, 8 ways to more m.p.g. - February 15, 2009 - Most of us can't recall a time without automatic transmissions.
Jon Yates
Memorial to triplets never materialized - February 15, 2009 - A tragedy led Linda Horneck to The World of Bronzes, a California sculpture company.
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Eric Zorn
Madigan can quiet moment of silence - February 12, 2009 - Let's hope that a bill now advancing in Springfield proves to be just another bit of unnecessary legislation.
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