Ragbag Headliners

Former Surgeon General Calls For Marijuana Legalization

Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders told CNN Sunday she supports legalizing marijuana.

The trend-setting state of California is voting next month on a ballot initiative to legalize pot, also known as Proposition 19. The measure would legalize recreational use in the state, though federal officials have said they would continue to enforce drug laws in California if the initiative is approved.

"What I think is horrible about all of this, is that we criminalize young people. And we use so many of our excellent resources ... for things that aren't really causing any problems," said Elders. "It's not a toxic substance."

Supporters of California's Prop. 19 say it would raise revenue and cut the cost of enforcement, while opponents point to drug's harmful side-effects. –Read more at CNN Health

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Gift Card Smarts

In 2009, Americans spent more than $87 billion on gift cards. But for years, a confusing system of fees, regulations and expiration dates hampered recipients' attempts to redeem the cards. New laws have reformed gift cards, making them an even more attractive option. Whether giving or receiving, you still need to know what you're getting into with pre-loaded plastic.

Consumer protection has improved. The Credit CARD Act of 2009 stipulates that gift cards won't incur fees during the first 12 months after purchase, and they won't expire before 5 years post-purchase. Some states have even stronger consumer protection laws.

There are options if you don't want it. There are many online sites that give people a place to sell and buy unwanted gift cards at a discount—sellers get cash, and buyers get deals on gift cards. Leah Ingram, whose book Suddenly Frugal: How to Live Happier and Healthier for Less offers advice for those giving and receiving gift cards, prefers the old-fashioned way of dealing with an unwanted card. "You can always re-gift it," she says.

You may not have to spend it all. When they make a $47 purchase on a $50 gift card, most people probably write off the remaining $3. But more states are enacting laws requiring stores to give cash change for partial gift card purchases. If you have less than $10 on a card in California, you can request the balance in cash. In Maine, Massachusetts and Montana, it's a $5 or less limit. In Vermont, the limit is $1 or less.

You lose it, it's gone. Unlike a credit card, most gift cards don't offer any protection if lost or stolen. "I always advise the gift-giver to include a receipt with the card so that if there are any problems or it gets lost, at least they have some proof the gift card existed," Ingram says. –State Farm

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America's Poor: Where Poverty Is Rising In America

Thanks to the recession, 2009 was one of the worst years for poverty in America in more than half a century. The total number of Americans living in poverty  hit 43.6 million, the highest level in 51 years and the national poverty rate rose to 14.3 percent from 13.2 percent, according to data released last month by the Census Bureau.

All told, one in seven Americans are living in poverty. To visualize America's startling rise in poverty, Mint, the personal finance site, put together this interactive chart of regional poverty rates.

Among the hardest-hit states are Louisiana, Mississippi and certain areas of Texas. States with the lowest poverty statistics include Wyoming, Hawaii, Minnesota and several East Coast states. (See: List of the poorest states in America.) (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/29/11-poorest-states-in-the-_n_742967.html#s146774) -Yahoo News

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Opposition To DADT Repeal

With Colorado Senate candidate Ken Buck's recent comments comparing being gay to alcoholism  raising eyebrows, another Republican candidate in Kentucky came out last week and seemed to compare homosexuality with obesity.

In an Oct. 12 debate hosted by KET's "Kentucky Tonight," KY-3 Republican candidate Todd Lally said he is firmly against repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT), based on his many years serving in the military. He further added that he doesn't want to "trample" on the rights" of "straight" soldiers:

LALLY: I'm a 22-year veteran, I've been to war three times. I know what it's like to live for a year in a tent with 10 men, and I can tell you, it poses a lot of problems for the military. It does absolutely nothing for military readiness, and two, it's a logistics issue. Now are we going to have dorms and facilities for men, gay men, women, gay women -- and at what cost to the taxpayer are we going to do that?

So we have only discharged only 13,000 people under Don't Ask, Don't Tell. It is a policy that works, and it has kept the troops very happy over the years, and I'm not going to sit there and trample on any troop's rights that is straight because this is not a place for this. -Read more & view video at The Huffington Post

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Military Recruiters Told They Can Accept Openly Gay Applicants

The Pentagon has advised recruiting commands that they can accept openly gay and lesbian recruit candidates, given the recent federal court decision that bars the military from expelling openly gay service members, according to a Pentagon spokeswoman.

The guidance from the Personnel and Readiness office was sent to recruiting commands on Friday, according to spokeswoman Cynthia Smith.

The recruiters were told that if a candidate admits he or she is openly gay, and qualify under normal recruiting guidelines, their application can be processed. Recruiters are not allowed to ask candidates if they are gay as part of the application process.

The notice also reminded recruiters that they have to "manage expectations" of applicants by informing them that a reversal of the court decision might occur, whereby the "don't ask, don't tell" policy could be reinstated, Smith said. –Read more at CNN U.S.

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Rapleaf Is Selling Your Identity

Rapleaf knows your name, your age and where you live. It knows your e-mail address, your income and what social networks you use. It knows your likes and dislikes. And it makes money by selling much of that personal information to advertisers.

Of course, Rapleaf is far from the only company that does this. Acxiom, ChoicePoint, Quantcast, and BluKai also collect and sell your data, as do many others. Google (GOOG, Fortune 500), Facebook and other Web companies also gather data about you in an attempt to target very personal ads.

But Rapleaf was thrust into the spotlight this week after the Wall Street Journal reported that the San Francisco-based company obtained Facebook IDs from many of the social network's apps and sold those IDs to advertisers -- even from users who requested that data be kept private.

By merging a user's Facebook ID with other data about them, Rapleaf gave advertisers a detailed window into many Web users' personal information. In a recent blog post on the issue, Rapleaf called it "a serious potential privacy risk." -Read more at CNN Money