It's Finally Happened

About five years ago, I signed up for a "Safeway Club" card at the my local supermarket. As it turns out, Safeway somehow got my name wrong — to them, I'm Eric Folkey, not Folley. I certainly didn't complain, because it occured to me that this would be a great way to know if Safeway ever used my buying information for marketing purposes, or sold my profile to another company.

And today I got my first piece of mail for "Eric Folkey", telling me about the big savings I can expect the next time I purchase Heinz products at Safeway. It came from Safeway, apparently, which is a relief, but at first I couldn't understand why I would have been targeted to receive this particular mailing. Then I saw the picture of "Ore-Ida Golden Crinkles" as an example of one of the qualifying brands, so kudos to Safeway, then, for at least sending me something I might possibly be interested in. I'm a bit surprised, though, that it took Safeway five years to send out that first solicitation (surprised, but also a little relieved), and I know I won't be following up on this "special offer", since I have to buy five matching items, and I just can't eat that many Tater-Tots. Sorry, Charlie (Starkist Tuna is another qualifying brand, but one which I don't buy).

CNN: Miss World reporter faces fatwa. A Nigerian government official has called for the assassination of a reporter who penned the piece which sparked the recent riots. A depressing story, and one that raises a number of serious questions. Yet, curiously, CNN chooses to decorate this story with a photo of Miss World contestants in bathing suits.

Paul Krugman: Every Breath You Take. Krugman has an intriguing take on the Bush administration's gutting of the new source review rules mentioned a few days ago: "As long as new source review was in effect, the regulated industries had an interest in fundamental reform; a sensible cap-and-trade system could have both reduced pollution and increased profits. But now the polluters have gotten what they want; they would be hurt, not helped, by new restrictions. There's no longer any basis for a deal that clears the air."

Via Blogdex, some cute "switch" ads on Apple's site, starring Will Ferrell as Santa Claus.

E.J. Dionne: Low-Income Taxpayers: New Meat for the Right. The WSJ is concerned that poor people aren't paying enough in taxes, and that this is generating a reluctance to cut taxes for the rich. But: "…the truth is, low- and middle-income people do pay a lot in taxes. They just don't happen to pay the taxes that supply-side conservatives want to cut."