Why Americans get taken on their cell phone costs

Why do Americans put up with exorbitant cell phone costs? It's because we're addicted to cheap or free phones provided by the phone companies to lock us into expensive long-term contracts.

But in the rest of the world, cell phones may cost more, but cell phone use is much more reasonable.

Here's how it works in Europe and Africa. (I haven't tried other continents yet, like Australia or Asia but I think it's the same there.)

You buy an "unlocked" cell phone for what the phone should actually cost. Then you buy a SIM card and pick your own number. And then you buy cell phone cards with however many minutes you need. You download minutes into your phone.

Simple as that and you only have to pay for your minutes going forward.

There is no nonsense about only one carrier having iPhones, like AT&T does here. You buy an "unlocked" iPhone or Blackberry or whatever, your SIM card and the minutes and you're good to go.

In the U.S., we have "locked" cell phones that are cheap or free that only work with one company like Verizon or T-Mobile or AT&T. But the companies "lock" you into a long-term contract for your minutes.

I'd like to know why our lawmakers and the Federal Communications Commission allow us to be ripped off by the cell phone companies. I think if the American public knew how badly we're being ripped off, we would all rise up and protest this fiasco.

The peace president

Last November -- about a week or so after the U.S. elections -- I was on an airliner bound for West Africa via Europe and I noticed something interesting.

It was a diverse group of people on the plane and there were at least half a dozen people on the plane sporting Barack Obama T-shirts.

That's what I don't think Americans get about now-President Barack Obama. The rest of the world has collectively exhaled after the cowboy diplomacy of our 43rd president George W. Bush and embraced our 44th president Barack Obama, who espouses peace and diplomacy first.

Obama has reached out to the rest of the world, telling them if they'll unclench their fist, we'll talk. And it's about time to start talking, instead of abusing the U.S.'s clout as the biggest bully in the world. Obama changed our perception in the world almost instantly, which underscores what a great communicator he is.

The Nobel Peace Prize was just as unexpected as the previous week's Olympic bid for Chicago was expected and unsuccessful. And who would have thought Obama would have a Nobel Peace Prize at this point in his presidency? America underestimates him, but the rest of the world doesn't.

I'm amazed that Obama won the prize, but not surprised. And I hope it does inform future years of his presidency -- for diplomacy before guns, for thoughtfulness instead of shooting from the hip.

I hope he rises above the din of all the ridiculous sniping by people who believe anyone who doesn't agree with their political point of view can possibly do anything right.

There's lots of work to be done in the world. Let's get to it.

Rio rocks as 2016 Olympic site

Rio de Janiero is celebrating today and rightfully so.

The South American city won the 2016 Olympic bid in a passionate and well-crafted appeal to the International Olympic Committee in Copenhagen. In fact, Rio pretty much swept the competition including Madrid, Tokyo and Chicago in that order.

Although it's being touted as Pres. Barack Obama's folly for having gone to Copenhagen and Chicago being so soundly rejected, it's so much more than that in implications for the United States.

The U.S. seems to be on a slippery slide downward where the Olympics are concerned.

Chicago's loss of the games really didn't have so much to do with Chicago or Obama.

Think about the recent rejection of baseball and softball from the Olympics-- two basically American games. And yet, we have curling.

Think about the past rejection of New York City, which strong bid came in next to last.

Think about the fiasco of the 2002 Winter Olympic games in Salt Lake City and the embarrassing bid scandal involving allegations of bribery to obtain the those games.

Think about the Atlanta Summer Olympic games in 1996 and how commercial the world thought they were. It was one of the cities that actually showed a profit for the games of $10 million.

I'm sure there is lots more. But it really doesn't matter. Chicago, which would have been a wonderful city to host the 2016 Olympics, will be watching them on television, just like the rest of us.

That doesn't take anything away from Rio and I was glad to see the Brazilian people dancing in the streets.

Congratulations Rio, my longtime bucket list city. I'm happy for you.

Regular Shoe

Why name my personal blog Regular Shoe?

It's shoe as in shoe leather, or what a good reporter puts in to delve into stories. Hopefully I can put up some blog posts that put my views out there in a meaningful way.

It's shoe as in my personal quest to wear regular shoes, something that's been problematic since my feet went south in 2006 and I had foot surgeries on both. All I want is to wear regular shoes.

And it's an ode to one of my favorite comic strips: the curmudgeonly Shoe created by the late three-time Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist Jeff McNelly. It's continued by his long-time assistant, Chris Cassatt, his wife, Susie MacNelly and cartoonist Gary Brookins.