Current Events in January 2014

Hey, guys. Want to cut your risk of heart failure? Get off your duff.

New research published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Heart Failure shows sitting for long periods increases heart failure risk in men -- even if they exercise regularly.

The researchers found that preventing heart failure requires a two-part behavioral approach: high levels of physical activity plus low levels of sedentary time. This is the first study to examine the link between heart failure risk and sedentary time.

"Be more active and sit less. That's the message here," said Deborah Rohm Young, Ph.D., lead researcher and a senior scientist at Kaiser Permanente in Pasadena, Calif.

What they found

Researchers followed a racially diverse group of 84,170 men ages 45 to 69 without heart failure. Exercise levels were calculated in METs, or metabolic equivalent of task, a measure of the body's energy use. Sedentary levels were measured in hours. After an average of nearly eight years of follow-up, researchers found:

Men with low levels of physical activity were 52% more likely to develop heart failure than men with high physical activity levels -- even after adjusting for differences in sedentary time.

Outside of work, men who spent five or more hours a day sitting were 34% more likely to develop heart failure than men who spent no more than two hours a day sitting, regardless of how much they exercised.

Heart failure risk more than doubled in men who sat for at least five hours a day and got little exercise compared with men who were very physically active and sat for two hours or less a day.

Study limitations

• Since no women were studied the results may not apply to them.
• Results were self-reported, which could mean physical activity was over reported.
• Results were based only on time outside of work and can't be applied to overall sedentary activity.
• Participants were members of comprehensive health plans, so results may not apply to men lacking health insurance.

The study supports the American Heart Association recommendation that people get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity to reduce their risk for heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases, Young said.

Ex-Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has added another line to his resume. He's now a "senior policy advisor" in the Washington, D.C., and Chicago offices of DLA Piper, which modestly calls itself a "global law firm" positioned to "help companies with their legal needs anywhere in the world."

Shortly before resigning his post, LaHood presided over a secret meeting at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport with Chrysler officials to craft a much-criticized deal to recall some Jeep SUVs that safety advocates say are dangerously prone to burst into flames when hit from the rear.

Making the move with LaHood is Joan DeBoer, who was his chief of staff at the Transportation Department. She also will be a policy advisor at DLA Piper.

Earlier, LaHood was named co-chair ofBuilding America’s Future, an "educational" organization that is pushing for more bridge, highway, transit and aviation construction.

David Strickland who, under LaHood, headed up the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the agency that regulates automobile safety, is joining the powerhouse Washington lobbying and law firm Venable LLP.

“There is no substitute for hands-on experience and that is what Secretary LaHood and Joan bring to DLA Piper,” said Ignacio Sanchez, co-chair of the Regulatory and Government Affairs practice. “We look forward to utilizing their talents on a variety of projects involving the intersection of government and business.”

With much ballyhoo, the Obama Administration announced at its outset that it would put a stop to the much-despised Washington revolving door, through which government officials step down, weary from their years of "public service" to take up lucrative new careers lobbying and influencing government on behalf of the industries they previously regulated.

So wouldn't this apply to LaHood, Strickland and DeBoer? Why no, of course not. They are not, after all, going to be lobbyists -- merely lawyers and policy advisors. You can, in other words, make a big show of closing the front door but it doesn't do much good if the side door remains wide open.

Toyota is once again the world's top-selling automaker, beating General Motors and Volkswagen for the second year in a row in 2013, fighting back from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that damaged much of its manufacturing capacity.

Toyota outsold GM by about 270,000 vehicles last year, and said its target for this year is 10 million. That would be a first, as no automaker has ever sold more than 10 million vehicles in a single year.

Toyota sold 9.98 million last year, up 2 percent from the previous year. GM sold 9.71 million, VW 9.5 million.

The Japanese automaker was typically understated about the accomplishment, saying it prefers to concentrate on building one car at a time.

"Toyota has come close to nearly 10 million units a year," said President Akio Toyoda, grandson of the company's founder, Automotive News reported. "But at today's Toyota, we are not pursuing volume.
 Going on the offensive means making ever-better cars and changing the way in which we produce cars."

Midwest-CBK of Cannon Falls, Minn., is recalling about 1,900 baby rattles.

The head on the rattle can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children.

The firm has received one report of the head on a rattle detaching. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves donut-shaped polyester knit fabric baby rattles with heads and arms to resemble a bear, monkey and a lion. They measure about 7 inches in diameter by 2 inches thick. Sweet-ums and Midwest-CBK are printed on a hang tag on the rattles. A label sewn into the rattles has Midwest-CBK, the production date 04/2013 and the batch #:00001281 printed on it.

The rattles, manufactured in China, were sold at small gift stores from July 2013, through December 2013, for about $10.

Consumers should take the recalled rattles away from young children immediately and contact Midwest-CBK for a full refund.

Consumers may contact Midwest-CBK at (800) 394-4225 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday.

Lochiel Enterprises Limited of Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia, is recalling 56 lbs of St. Mary’s River Smokehouses Oven Smoked Salmon Stix, Chili Mango Flavor.

The product has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

The product, distributed in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont and New York through retail stores, comes in a 4-oz, black styrofoam tray with an outer sleeve bearing the UPC Code 6 2642510092 9. The recall is specific to product marked with the production code 347 31## on a sticker on the end of the styrofoam tray.

Consumers who have purchased the product are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1 902 522-2005.

Flat Creek Farm & Dairy of Swainsboro, Ga., is correcting information contained in an earlier recall of its Heavenly Blue Cheese and Aztec Cheddar cheese.

The lot number that appears on the Aztec Cheddar cheese is 130823XCAZ, not 130823XAZ as previously reported. As of December 24, 2013, all customers that purchased the product had been notified and all products have been either recovered or destroyed.

The 90 pounds of Heavenly Blue and 78 pounds of Aztec Cheddar cheese, were recalled because of potential contamination by Salmonella.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

The cheeses were distributed in certain parts of Georgia and Florida and (6) online orders (www.flatcreekdairy.com), which have all been notified. The product was packed in clear plastic and ranged in sizes from ½ pound to whole wheels. T

he recall was specific to product marked with the lot codes 130916XHB (Heavenly Blue) and 130823XCAZ (Aztec Cheddar), which can be found on the front of the package.

The recall was the result of a routine sampling program conducted by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, which revealed that the finished products were potentially contaminated.

Consumers with concerns about this recall may call Flat Creek Dairy & Farm at 478-237-0123 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Identity theft is already a growing consumer problem. When a hacker assumes your identity they can open up lines of credit in your name and even clean our your bank account.

To add insult to injury, they can even steal your federal income tax refund. In fact, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reports this is happening with alarming frequency.

All a hacker needs is your Social Security number. With it, they can file a phony tax return with a made-up W-2 form that shows you are getting a big refund. When the IRS gets the return it processes it, sending out the refund check to the bad guy. The theft isn't discovered until you get around to filing your real return.

Easy money

To the hacker it's easy money. If he has somehow gotten his hands on your actual W-2, you may have a very difficult time getting your money back. In any case, the U.S. taxpayers end up getting victimized as well.

The IRS has stepped up efforts in recent years on finding and prosecuting these specialized identity thieves. In Fiscal Year 2013 the agency began nearly 1,500 criminal investigations related to tax return identity theft, a 66% increase over the previous year. It's better, of course, to stop identity theft before it happens.

“The IRS has taken numerous steps to combat identity theft and protect taxpayers,” the agency said in a statement. “We are continually looking at ways to increase data security and protect taxpayers' identities with assistance from our Identity Protection Specialized Unit. Identity theft cases are among the most complex ones we handle.”

Take action

If you have reason to believe that someone has stolen your personal information you need to take action. For example, you may receive a letter from the IRS stating or learn from a tax professional that you filed more than one tax return, or that someone has already filed a return using your information. You may also learn that you have a balance due, refund offset or have had collection actions taken against you for a year you did not file.

Your identity may also have been stolen if you receive a notification of wages form an employer you have not worked for. If you receive such a letter from the IRS and you suspect your identity has been stolen, respond immediately to the name, address, phone number or fax listed on the IRS letter. Better yet, contact the IRS to determine if the letter is a legitimate IRS letter.

Another tip-off is when you learn that someone is using your Social Security number to seek employment, or for some other purpose not connected to your activities.

People to call

When you find out you have been a victim of identity theft, or suspect that you have been, there is a long list of people to call. First, contact the three credit reporting agencies to place a fraud alert on your credit files. Next, cancel all your credit cards. If someone is using your Social Security number, contact the Social Security Administration.

The IRS asks that you also place it on the list of people to call. Once you do it will place a hold on your account so that the thief will be unable to file a bogus return.

For other identity theft protection tips, check out the IRS video below:

We're huge fans of secondhand shopping as a way to save money, but there are some things you should not buy secondhand and child safety seats are one of them, especially since safety standards are evolving all the time.  Consider this Jan. 22 announcement from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, proposing the “first-ever side impact test for child restraint systems.”

This does not mean that changes to seats currently on the market are imminent, though it could well prove the first step on a road that eventually leads to new standards for child safety seats.

For now, safety seats are tested for front and back impact crashes, but have not yet been tested in so-called “T-bone” crashes, where the front of one vehicle hits the side of another. This is what NHTSA proposes to change.

NHTSA also posted its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (in .pdf form), and any members of the public wishing to comment on the proposal will have 90 days to do so. NHTSA even has a free app available for parents seeking recall information about child-safety seats — though this app is only available for Apple-enabled devices through the Apple App Store.

Now's the time to visit the post office and lay in a stockpile of first-class “Forever” stamps, before the price rises again this Sunday.

Today stamps will cost you 46 cents apiece, but that price rises to 49 cents on Jan. 26. This hardly counts as a surprise, though; the postmaster general requested the three-cent increase last September.

If you don't have time to visit the post office yet want to stockpile stamps anyway, the post office also sells them online.

There is perhaps a slight bit of irony there, as analysts agree the rise of the Internet and subsequent decline of the old-fashioned mailed letter as the most affordable means of communication between people separated by distance is the main reason the modern U.S. postal service is having such financial troubles in the first place.

That three extra cents per letter probably isn't enough to cover the loss — but it's bound to be better than nothing.

For all the undeniable health benefits of exercise and working out, we admit to taking a pretty dim view of long-term gym memberships. This is partly due to a flaw in human nature – rare indeed is the person with enough free time and willpower to visit the gym often enough to make the membership fees worthwhile (and if you have that much determination you probably don't need a gym membership to stay fit, anyway).

Furthermore, there's no way of knowing what the future will hold — that great deal on the gym down the street isn't so great when you have to move to a new state and are still stuck paying monthly membership fees. And a lifetime membership to a bankrupt gym is pretty much identical to no gym membership at all, except the latter option is free whereas the former can cost you a lot of money.

To pick an example at random: We recently heard complaints from two different people whose lifetime memberships to Bally Total Fitness proved useless after Bally closed. Lynn in Maryland kept an old out-of-state membership active just in case she needed it later, but by the time she did it proved useless:

“After having a lifetime membership that started back in the late 80's in Willow Grove, PA, and [paying] a small fortune for it, it was finally paid off and after moving to another state, I would receive a $5 yearly bill to keep it going.”

For several years, she paid that small annual fee without ever setting foot in the gym. Then what? “I just found out in December through a friend that Bally was sold ... I never got anything in the mail to me! I decided to go to the local LA Fitness and was told my membership had expired!”

Dismayed in Ohio

Glenn in Ohio was similarly dismayed when his local Bally was bought out by Red Fitness 24/7, which did not want to honor the old Bally lifetime memberships. “If you were paying $1 to $50 they want you to pay $79 plus 10% tax plus a $20.99 CIF so the new annual fee is $109. If you are between 50 and 100 they want $99 plus [tax and fees] so you will pay $130. They now have very upset members and will probably file a class action lawsuit for this also.”

If filed, such a class-action attempt would not be the first; in January 2012 some plaintiffs in northern Illinois filed suit (.pdf) against Bally and LA Fitness alleging violation of various state-level anti-fraud acts, specifically after Bally sold lifetime memberships to people just before selling the company to LA Fitness, which did not honor the old Bally contracts; instead, Bally lifetime membership holders were allegedly told their memberships were only valid at the nearest Bally some three hours away.

But that Illinois lawsuit wouldn't likely help people with complaints in Ohio, Maryland or Pennsylvania. Oddly enough, in December 2011, one month before the Illinois plantiffs filed that class action suit against Bally and LA Fitness, the Norristown Patch in Pennsylvania reported that, due to similar complaints from former Bally members, LA Fitness has henceforth decided to honor all former Bally membership agreements.

As of presstime, there exists a Facebook page dedicated to “Bally /LA Fitness Class Action Lawsuit.” But the most recent post, dated December 11, 2013, says this: “UPDATE: Page will be closing down soon” and includes more detail:

As you may recall, there were initially a number of different lawsuits against Bally’s Total Fitness and LA Fitness, including the federal action which we began in the Pennsylvania courts. A number of those lawsuits have been dismissed or withdrawn — including our case (Tobia, et al. v. Bally’s Total Fitness, et al). However, you are all still protected. You may choose to be included in one of the remaining lawsuits, and you always retain your right to proceed on your own, in your own lawsuit.

The remaining federal lawsuits, which we are aware of, are Grabianski v. Bally Total Fitness Holding Corporation, Case No. 12-C-284, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and Piegaro v. Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp., Case No. 3:12-cv-04595, pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. …. Neither case has been certified as a class action lawsuit. Likewise, the federal courts have not seen fit to consolidate the cases for handling in one single location.... If either of these cases ever becomes a class action, you may be automatically included among the Plaintiffs who were damaged by Bally’s misconduct.”

Remember: this refers specifically to former Bally locations bought by LA Fitness. Thus far we've not found attempts at actual class-action suits against Red Fitness 24/7 – though a brief search of Pissedconsumer.com netted other Ohio residents and former Bally members with complaints similat to Glenn's.

We tried calling the specific Red Fitness gym that Glenn complained about, to ask what if any policy they had regarding former Bally  members, but nobody answered the phone.

If something like this happens to you, what can you do? The first step should be to complain to your state's Attorney General. Many AGs have taken action against gyms in recent years and may do so again if they get enough complaints.

You can find the AG in your state by typing "[your state] Attorney General" in your favorite search engine and then locating the site's complaint-submission page. 

It was not a good showing for minicars.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says only one of the 11 minicars it tested achieved an acceptable rating in the institute's small overlap front crash test. That makes them the worst performing group of any evaluated so far.

The Chevrolet Spark earned a 2014 TOP SAFETY PICK award after achieving an acceptable rating in the test, along with good ratings in four other IIHS crashworthiness evaluations. The Spark was among the initial award winners announced in December. The small overlap test results for the rest of the minicar group mean that no other models in this size category join the Spark in the winner's circle yet.

Difficult test

The small overlap test, which was introduced in 2012, replicates what happens when the front corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or an object such as a tree or utility pole. In the test, 25% of a vehicle's front end on the driver's side strikes a rigid barrier at 40 mph.

The test is more difficult than the head-on crashes conducted by the government or the longstanding IIHS moderate overlap test because most of the vehicle's front-end crush zone is bypassed. That makes it hard for the vehicle to manage crash energy, and the occupant compartment can collapse as a result. Nevertheless, in many size categories, manufacturers have found ways to improve vehicle structures to meet this challenge.

"Small, lightweight vehicles have an inherent safety disadvantage. That’s why it’s even more important to choose one with the best occupant protection," says Joe Nolan, IIHS senior vice president for vehicle research. "Unfortunately, as a group, minicars aren’t performing as well as other vehicle categories in the small overlap crash.”

In contrast to the minicar group’s performance, most models in the small car category -- which are a little larger -- have done much better in the test. There are five good ratings and five acceptable ratings among 17 small cars that have been evaluated so far.

Low marks all around

Looking at the component ratings that make up the overall marks, every minicar -- including the Spark -- rates marginal or poor for structure, the most fundamental element of occupant protection. When a vehicle’s structure doesn’t hold up, injury risk is high. Collapsing structures can knock frontal airbags and seats out of position, making things worse. The Chevrolet Spark is the only minicar tested to earn an acceptable rating in the small overlap front test.

All the vehicles except the Spark and the Mazda 2 also earn low ratings for restraints and kinematics. Seven of the 11 were downgraded for allowing too much occupant forward motion during the crash. In these cases, either the safety belt didn't do a good enough job holding the dummy in place, or the dummy's head missed or slid off the frontal airbag.

The side curtain airbag, which has an important role to play in small overlap frontal crashes, provided insufficient forward coverage in eight of the minicars and didn’t deploy at all in the Toyota Yaris. In many models, the steering column moved sideways, and in three cars the seat tipped.

Fit and Fiat flunk

The two worst performers are the Honda Fit and the Fiat 500. In both cases, intruding structure seriously compromised the driver’s space, and the steering column was pushed back toward the driver.

In the case of the Fit, the dummy’s head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off and hitting the instrument panel. During the test of the 500, the driver door opened after the hinges tore. An open door creates a risk that the driver could be partially or completely ejected.

Injury measures on the dummy’s left legs are marginal or poor for many models. In most cases, potential injuries involved the lower leg, but the Fit, 500 and Hyundai Accent were downgraded for left thigh or hip injury. The Fit and 500 were the only vehicles to record elevated injury risk to the right leg as well.

Despite its marginal structure, the Spark achieves an acceptable overall rating because the dummy’s movement was fairly well controlled and its injury measures were low. The Spark is the only vehicle with good injury measures for all body regions, including the lower leg and foot, generally a problematic area in the small overlap test. This may be related to the fact that the structure around the lower part of the occupant compartment held up better than other minicars, despite intrusion in the upper part.

What to do

Consumers should remember that the Spark, while offering more small overlap protection than other minicars, weighs less than 2,500 pounds and doesn't protect as well as a larger and heavier vehicle with a comparable rating. Frontal crash test results can't be compared across weight classes.

In addition, neither the Spark nor the other minicars in the test group offer front crash prevention, an increasingly common safety feature that can prevent or mitigate some kinds of frontal crashes. For 2014, vehicles must be available with front crash prevention to qualify for the highest safety award from IIHS -- TOP SAFETY PICK+.  

There's general agreement that unmarried teen-age girls should not be encouraged to have babies. So when MTV came up with reality TV shows like “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom,” social critics went ballistic.

They warned that the shows glamorized teen motherhood and thousands of young girls would think they, too could land a reality show if they just got pregnant. While the concern is understandable, there is some evidence to suggest the shows had just the opposite effect.

Research by Wellesley College economist Phillip B. Levine and University of Maryland economist Melissa Schettini Kearney finds that since the shows began, there has been a 5.7% drop in births to teen-age mothers.

Could there be a link?

Whether there is any direct link has yet to be proven. After all, the teen birth rate was already in decline. But the economists say the introduction of the series does in fact coincide with a significant drop in the pregnancy rate. They say the critics may have been right that the media holds enormous influence over young viewers. They may have just been wrong about what the young female viewers would take away from the programs.

"In some circles, the idea that teenagers respond to media content is a foregone conclusion, but determining whether the media images themselves cause the behavior is a very difficult empirical task," Kearney said.

Negative reinforcement

And maybe the images of being up all night with a crying baby and not being able to go out with friends send a sobering message. The researchers believe there may be something to this and theorize that the timing of the shows and the rather significant drop in pregnancies do in fact have a link.

Kearney and Levine reached that conclusion after conducting an in-depth empirical study, analyzing Nielsen ratings data and metrics from Google and Twitter. The researchers then examined the impact on teen birth rates using Vital Statistics Natality microdata.

"Our use of data from Google Trends and Twitter enable us to provide some gauge of what viewers are thinking about when they watch the show,” Levine said. “We conclude that exposure to '16 and Pregnant' and 'Teen Mom' was high and that it had an influence on teens' thinking regarding birth control and abortion."

Abortions down too

While teen births were down, so were teen abortions, leading Kearney and Levine to conclude the drop in the teen birth rate is attributable to a reduction in pregnancies, not in an increase in abortion.

They further suggest that "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom" drew in female viewers who were most at risk of an early pregnancy. What they saw as the programs unfolded was akin to the drivers education films of yester-year, which showed graphic footage from real auto accidents. In other words, after seeing what it was like to be a mother, not that many teens were all that keen on trying it.

Kearney and Levine have advanced the contrarian notion that not all reality TV is worthless trash. Some may, in fact, have redeeming social value. The researchers, in fact, would like to see more.

"This approach has the potential to yield large results with important social consequences," they conclude. "Typically, the public concern addresses potential negative influences of media exposure, but this study finds it may have positive influences as well."

Robert Passikoff is president of Brand Keys, a retailing consultancy.

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For nearly 100 years Sears, Roebuck & Co. was America's greatest retailer and consumers loved them. Hard to believe today? Well here's a bit from a 1949 song by Ray Gilbert, William Okie, and Al Gannay. The first verse went like this:

Dear Mister Sears and Roebuck:
I been sittin' here a-thumbin' through your book.
Page a hundred ninety-nine
Shows a stove that's mighty fine
And a feller in an apron like a cook.
Dear Mister Sears and Roebuck:
That electric stove's away above my class.
It's a beauty, yes indeed,
But the thing I really need
Is that man to teach me how to cook with gas.

It ended as follows:

Don't mean to fuss, poor Roebuck,
But you'll never fill my order, it appears.
If the shortage is acute,
I'm an easy girl to suit.
I'll shut up if you send me Mister Sears.

The "book" the song referred to was the Sears catalog, first published in 1888. It eventually came to be known as "the Consumers' Bible," offering catalogs as large as 500 pages long, featuring everything from phonographs to bicycles, milk pails to automobiles, even headstones and ready-to-assemble house kits.

Two years later, in 1896, you could order toys and groceries. It was a kind of 19th century paperback Amazon.com. In 1933, Sears issued the first of its famous Christmas catalogs, the "Sears Wishbook."

Based on actual market results, along with some actual market research à la our annual Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, it's apparent that there aren't a lot of consumers singing love songs to Sears today, and that Sears Holdings is wishing for happier days. Sears Holdings just announced they plan to close its flagship Loop location in Chicago this April, and will begin liquidating merchandise at the store next week.

Less Space, Fewer Stores Serves Better?

CEO Edward Lampert indicated that he believes Sears can better serve customers with less space and fewer stores. When you figure that one out, let us know. Sears ranked 4th (of 5) national Department Stores we track in the annual survey. The stores' own customers do the brand evaluations, but alas, for Sears this is becoming a smaller and smaller segment of the buying public.

Brands like Sears end up at the bottom of their respective lists because they fail to meet expectations consumers hold for what drives loyalty in their category. You've got to watch those expectations because they almost always move up and brands have a hard time keeping up in the best of circumstances.

Engagement and loyalty metrics prove it out: meet those expectations and you do well. Don't, and it always shows up on the bottom line because emotional engagement and loyalty metrics are leading-indicators of consumer behavior. And it's axiomatic that it consumers don't behave well toward a brand, it's not likely that the brand is going to do well.

How is Sears doing? Well, the struggling department store reported same-store sales declines of 7.4% earlier this month, with year-to-date sales down 3.9%. The closure shouldn't come as a surprise, though. Sears has been selling off stores and leases to raise desperately needed cash for a financial infusion to stem declining revenues.

Co-Founder Richard Sears was once quoted as saying, "If you buy a good watch you will always be satisfied, and at our prices a good watch will influence the sale of another good watch; and that's our motto: "Make a Watch Sell a Watch." Today a better motto for Sears Holdings would be: "Watch Those Expectations, Sell A Lot of Product."

You might say that what Congress does or doesn't do isn't really a consumer issue. Ah, but think again; to put it in the crudest possible terms, we are all consumers of government services and every few years we get a chance to decide which group of candidates we want to employ to manage those services for us.

If you look at it that way, we didn't get much for our money the last year or two -- not much legislation was passed and the entire enterprise was shut down for 16 days through the failure of our employees to manage it properly.

Given that rather dismal record, it may be irksome to learn that for the first time in the history of our fair land, most members of Congress are millionaires, according to a new analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Of 534 current members of Congress, at least 268 had an average net worth of $1 million or more in 2012, according to disclosures filed last year by all members of Congress and candidates. The median net worth for the 530 current lawmakers who were in Congress as of the May filing deadline was $1,008,767 -- an increase from the previous year when it was $966,000.

Last year only 257 members, or about 48 percent of lawmakers, had a median net worth of at least $1 million.

It's not so much that Representatives and Senators are getting rich on their annual salaries of $174,000 but rather that they were rich when they got there. After all, it takes a lot of money to run for Congress.

So it's not surprising that Members of Congress have for a long time been far wealthier than the typical American, but the fact that now a majority of members -- just a hair over 50 percent -- are millionaires represents what CRP called "a watershed moment at a time when lawmakers are debating issues like unemployment benefits, food stamps and the minimum wage, which affect people with far fewer resources, as well as considering an overhaul of the tax code."

"Despite the fact that polls show how dissatisfied Americans are with Congress overall, there's been no change in our appetite to elect affluent politicians to represent our concerns in Washington," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center. "Of course, it's undeniable that in our electoral system, candidates need access to wealth to run financially viable campaigns, and the most successful fundraisers are politicians who swim in those circles to begin with."

Champions of the poor

Well, but at least the Democrats -- champions of the downtrodden -- come from humbler roots, you say? Not really. The latest figures find that congressional Democrats had a median net worth of $1.04 million, while congressional Republicans had a median net worth of almost exactly $1 million, both up from last year.

Republicans are actually the party of economic diversity, at least relatively speaking, taking both the top and bottom steps on the ladder.

The poorest member of Congress in 2012, at least on paper, was Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) -- who reported an average net worth of negative $12.1 million in 2012, thanks to huge debts incurred by his family dairy farm.

The richest member of Congress was, once again, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) chairman of the House Oversight Committee. Issa, who made his fortune in the car alarm business, had an average net worth of $464 million in 2012.

So next time you're feeling bad about the state of the nation, you may perhaps find comfort in the fact that least your Congresspersons aren't suffering unduly.

Spend a lot of time sitting? That doesn't mean you can't get any exercise, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers who experimented with a small elliptical device.

"Adults in the United States spend more than 11 hours per day sitting while doing things like watching television and working on a computer," said Liza Rovniak, assistant professor of medicine and public health sciences. "Evidence suggests that this sedentary lifestyle has contributed to average weight gains of one to two pounds per year among U.S. adults over the last 20 years."

While moderate and vigorous physical activity are usually emphasized in exercise programs, low-intensity physical activity may also help with weight control. Combining low-intensity physical activity with things like watching television could also help eliminate the time barrier that prevents regular physical activity.

Exercise while seated

The researchers looked at using a compact elliptical device to increase physical activity while sitting. They chose this device because it is lower in cost than other options like treadmill desks, is quiet and requires only a small floor area.

Scientists selected 32 participants who used the elliptical device while sitting in a standard office chair. The researchers monitored their energy use, heart rate and other biometrics. They were also asked how much interest they had in using the device while watching television, using a computer, reading, in a meeting and in general.

The results suggest a majority -- 86 percent -- of participants could expend enough energy in one hour a day to prevent weight gain. The other 14 percent would have had the same result if they increased the pace of pedaling slightly.

"Assuming participants held other components of energy balance constant, daily use of the elliptical device for one hour might result in a weight loss of 5.2 pounds per year and help prevent the one-to-two pound annual weight gain among U.S. adults," Rovniak said.

Not good for meetings

Participants also reported a high interest in using an elliptical device while watching television and using a computer, but not while in office meetings.

"Since watching television and using a computer are among the most common reasons people sit, the compact elliptical device might hold potential as a way to increase people's daily caloric expenditure," Rovniak said.

Because of its compact design, it can be placed in areas that are close to where a person sits, giving visual prompts to use the device.

The researchers still need to study whether compact elliptical devices can sustain increases in the amount of energy expended over longer periods of time and whether the devices improve health.

"By continuing to explore how best to use elliptical devices and other energy expenditure strategies across diverse settings, it may ultimately be possible to reach enough people to alter rates of chronic diseases associated with inactive lifestyles," Rovniak said.

The nation's airlines reported 11 tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights and four delays of more than four hours on international flights in November. But you can't blame the carriers this time.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division says all of the reported tarmac delays involved flights that arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 1. The delays, which are under investigation by DOT, were due to a shooting at the airport.

A drop in complaints

DOT also says airline consumer complaints that same month were down 23.6% from a year earlier, and posted a decline of 11.9% from October 2013. There were 755 complaints in November 2013, compared with the 988 complaints filed in November 2012 and the 857 received in October 2013.

The consumer report, which can be found on the DOT website, also includes data on cancellations, chronically delayed flights, and the causes of flight delays, along with consumer service, disability, and discrimination complaints received. Also included are reports of incidents involving the loss, death, or injury of pets traveling by air.

Chrysler is now officially a subsidiary of Fiat, the Italian automaker that cranks out everything from Fiat econocars to sleek Ferrari and Maserati racers.

Fiat picked up the remaining 41% stake in Chrysler that it didn't already own from a retiree healthcare trust affiliated with the United Auto Workers, completing Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne's year-long effort to complete the deal.

The company says that Marchionne, 61, will remain as CEO through at least 2016. With the addition of Chrysler, Fiat is thought to be the seventh-largest carmaker worldwide, selling about 4.4 million vehicles last year.

That's less than half the output of Volkswagen, General Motors and Toyota, Automotive News reported.

Lots of details remain to be worked out, including the new company's name, its headquaters and stock listing. That may all be decided at a board meeting Jan 29.

David Strickland hasn't even officially started his job as a lobbyist and already he's sounding like an auto industry mouthpiece.

Widely criticized for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's failure to take decisive action on allegations that older Jeep SUVs are dangerously prone to burst into flames in rear-end collisions, outgoing NHTSA Administrator Strickland is now chiming in to support billionaire Elon Musk, impresario of the $90,000 Tesla S.

Musk, you see, is feeling miffed that NHTSA used the word "recall" to describe fixes to the Tesla S software and adapter used to recharge the car's battery. The fix is being made through an over-the-air software update and Musk has complained that since the cars don't have to be taken to the dealer, the fix shouldn't be called a recall. Tesla has also mailed new adapters to Tesla S owners, but that's also not a recall, apparently.

Revolving door

Strickland, who is leaving NHTSA through the revolving door that leads to Washington's lobbying and influence-brokering community to join Venable LLP, told Bloomberg News he thinks Musk is partly right.

"As much as Tesla disagrees and Elon disagrees with the characterization of a recall, I would have to say he's partially right there," Bloomberg quoted Strickland as saying. "What people think of in terms of a recall is you get a letter from the manufacturer to bring your car in to the dealership."

Musk's followers, who are starting to resemble Mac acolytes at the height of the Mac Conquers All era, have taken up Musk's cudgel, emailing and writing ConsumerAffairs and other media outlets to complain about the recall notice, many of them characterizing it as a dastardly plot by the oil industry to besmirch the Tesla image.

"You are another writer who is falling for the agency's error in citing this as a recall. There is no recall. Tesla has replaced 30,000 adapter plugs (by mail) to save the owner from errors due to faulty wiring in their home," said David Clifford of Bonita Springs, Fla., who described himself as a "happy Tesla owner for 15 months," apparently thinking this adds to his credibility as an unbiased observer.

"How is this a vehicle recall if Tesla recognizes the problem, immediately sends out a software upgrade that reduces the power draw by 25% if the car recognizes a flow variance, informs the NHTSA of their correction, then sends out replacement adapters to every owner," Clifford asked, going on to answer his own question: "It sounds like someone from the oil or auto industry has a connection with the agency and is involved in destroying Tesla's reputation."

Clifford actually describes the recall process perfectly, leaving out the last step, which is NHTSA's approval of the manufacturer's proposed fix. Tesla recognized the problem, proposed a solution and NHTSA accepted it. End of story.

Another Teslian, Tony Shakesby, drove even farther into Fantasyland, accusing us of plotting to destroy Tesla: "Why would you twist this information to make it seem there is a problem with Tesla, when in fact, this is just another safety improvement to the safest car on the road today?"

Technically, of course, all recalls are safety improvements. That's why they're conducted. And, not to belabor the obvious, but an improvement would not be necessary were it not for a defect or potential problem. 

Such an outpouring of emotion and adrenalin hardly seems in order given the routine nature of safety recalls, a daily occurrence involving everything from frozen pork to high-end automobiles. A quick review of our Recall Section reveals recalls involving Porsche, Maserati, Lotus, Rolls Royce and other high-end brands over the last year as well as a steady stream of recalls for such lesser vehicles as Fords, Hondas and Subarus, among others. None of these brands has been destroyed by any of their recalls, as far as we've been able to determine.

To suggest that a simple 18-line recall notice is evidence of a dastardly plot financed by the global oil cartel should perhaps be taken as a sign that the accusers need to take themselves -- and their cars -- a little less seriously. And maybe cut back on the coffee.

Twelve U.S. businesses have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they falsely claimed they were abiding by an international privacy framework known as the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor that enables U.S. companies to transfer consumer data from the European Union to the United States in compliance with EU law.

The companies settling with the FTC represent a cross-section of industries, including retail, professional sports, laboratory science, data broker, debt collection, and information security. The companies handle a variety of consumer information, including in some instances sensitive data about health and employment. The twelve companies are:

Apperian, Inc.: Company specializing in mobile applications for business enterprises and security;
Atlanta Falcons Football Club, LLC: National Football League team;
Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP: Accounting firm;
BitTorrent, Inc.: Provider of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing protocol;
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.: Global developer of early-stage drug discovery processes;
DataMotion, Inc.: Provider of platform for encrypted email and secure file transport;
DDC Laboratories, Inc.: DNA testing lab and the world’s largest paternity testing company;
Level 3 Communications, LLC: One of the six largest ISPs in the world;
PDB Sports, Ltd., d/b/a Denver Broncos Football Club: National Football League team;
Reynolds Consumer Products Inc.: Maker of foil and other consumer products;
Receivable Management Services Corporation: Global provider of accounts receivable, third-party recovery, bankruptcy and other services; and
Tennessee Football, Inc.: National Football League team.

“Enforcement of the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework is a Commission priority. These twelve cases help ensure the integrity of the Safe Harbor Framework and send the signal to companies that they cannot falsely claim participation in the program,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez.

According to the twelve complaints filed by the FTC, the companies deceptively claimed they held current certifications under the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor framework and, in three of the complaints, also deceptively claimed certifications under the U.S.-Swiss Safe Harbor framework.

The U.S.-EU and U.S.-Swiss Safe Harbor frameworks are voluntary programs administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce in consultation with the European Commission and Switzerland, respectively.