Political talk

Obama: Aig Can'T Justify 'Outrage' Of Exec Bonuses

2009-06-14T23:08:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/yLD73)

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama declared Monday that insurance giant American International Group is in financial straits because of "recklessness and greed" and said he intends to stop it from paying out millions in executive bonuses.

"It's hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay," Obama said at the outset of an appearance to announce help for small businesses hurt by the deep recession.

"How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat," the president said.

Obama spoke out in the wake of reports that surfaced over the weekend saying that financially strapped American International Group Inc. was paying substantial bonuses to executives.

Noting that AIG has "received substantial sums" of federal aid from the federal government, Obama said he has asked Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner "to use that leverage and pursue every legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayers whole."

Said Obama: "All across the country, there are people who work hard and meet their responsibilities every day, without the benefit of government bailouts or multimillion-dollar bonuses. And all they ask is that everyone, from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington, play by the same rules."

"This isn't just a matter of dollars and cents," he added. "It's about our fundamental values."

The $165 million was payable to executives by Sunday and was part of a larger total payout reportedly valued at $450 million. The company has benefited from more than $170 billion in a federal rescue.

AIG reported this month that it had lost $61.7 billion for the fourth quarter of last year, the largest corporate loss in history. The bulk of the payments at issue cover AIG Financial Products, the unit of the company that sold credit default swaps, the risky contracts that caused massive losses for the insurer.

Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, earlier Monday charged that the move to pay bonuses amounted to "rewarding incompetence."

"These people may have a right to their bonuses. They don't have a right to their jobs forever," said Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat.

Frank noted that the Federal Reserve Board, using a Depression-era statute, was the institution that gave AIG its initial government bailout, before Congress passed legislation providing for additional assistance and said that no enough safeguards were built into the deal.

It also was revealed over the weekend that American International Group Inc. used more than $90 billion in federal aid to pay out foreign and domestic banks, some of whom had received their own multibillion-dollar U.S. government bailouts.

Some of the biggest recipients of the AIG money were Goldman Sachs at $12.9 billion, and three European banks - France's Societe Generale at $11.9 billion, Germany's Deutsche Bank at $11.8 billion, and Britain's Barclays PLC at $8.5 billion. Merrill Lynch, which also is undergoing federal scrutiny of its bonus plans, received $6.8 billion as of Dec. 31.

The money went to banks to cover their losses on complex mortgage investments, as well as for collateral needed for other transactions.

"We ought to explore everything that we can through the government to make sure that this money is not wasted," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. "These people brought this on themselves. Now you're rewarding failure. A lot of these people should be fired, not awarded bonuses. This is horrible. It's outrageous."

Frank said he was disgusted, asserting that "these bonuses are going to people who screwed this thing up enormously."

"Maybe it's time to fire some people," he said. "We can't keep them from getting bonuses but we can keep them from having their jobs. ... In high school, they wouldn't have gotten retention (bonuses), they would have gotten detention."

AIG has agreed to Obama administration requests to restrain future payments. Geithner had pressed the president's case with AIG's chairman, Edward Liddy, last week.

"He stepped in and berated them, got them to reduce the bonuses following every legal means he has to do this," said Austan Goolsbee, staff director of President Barack Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

Obama did note in his remarks Monday that Liddy "came on board after the contracts that led to these bonuses were agr3eed to last year."

In an interview that aired Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke did not address the bonuses but expressed his frustration with the AIG intervention.

"It makes me angry. I slammed the phone more than a few times on discussing AIG," Bernanke said. "It's - it's just absolutely - I understand why the American people are angry."

In a letter to Geithner dated Saturday, Liddy said outside lawyers had informed the company that AIG had contractual obligations to make the bonus payments and could face lawsuits if it did not do so. (http://104Inc.com)

The Obama Family and Family Values

2009-06-14T17:14:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/nZNgY)

In a recent letter to his girls, President Barack Obama wrote: "I want you to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach......" Now that's a strong message from a father to his daughters.

Some say that the Obamas are the kind of family they would like to be. Michelle has a healthy attitude about parenting that resonates for those with strong family values. And she has talked about her personal struggle of juggling work and kids, not that different from any other ordinary American working mother. More than we might expect, given her training and high-powered career, the division of labor in the marriage has been fairly traditional. Michelle is an involved mom and has said that the wellbeing of her girls comes first.

In their personal relationship, if she's hard on her husband, it's because her expectations of everyone are high. But she's also a realist. When Michelle mentions Barack's flaws, it's to make a larger point - not to put the president on a pedestal when no one can fulfill all our fantasies. Both of them think that having one person in control of a problem can only cause more of the same. They see that leadership model as not the way to run a family - or a country. In discussions, Obama is not the only boss. He welcomes engagement and wants to be challenged. And that comes across in the role that Michelle plays.

As Barack tells it, all the men in his life were fragile, but the women could always be relied upon. In his wife, he sees a lot of his grandmother - the practical, no-nonsense woman who raised him. He likes that Michelle insists he be the kind of father he never had. And just as she is a reflection of his values, their partnership is a good indication of the character strengths and listening skills he brings to the White House.

No family always runs smoothly. And there can be problems that aren't that easy to fix. As you evaluate the kind of support and strategies you need, keep the following tips in mind:

1. Keep your expectations realistic. You may have very clear ideas about how you want your family to be. But realize that every member will have their own way of handling challenges, conflicts and disappointments. Don't think that what's a priority for you will be the same for everyone. And remember that the present state of affairs won't last.

2. Be willing to compromise. With a situation you can't agree on in a family relationship that matters a lot, take the time to understand both sides of the issue. Validate everyone's feelings and try to withhold blame. It's not necessary to excuse bad behavior, but show support for what they're going through. If in the past you have gone underground and then exploded later, don't let these feelings fester. Acknowledge the part that you play in the conflict and deal with it. Negotiating an agreement that both of you can live with is often the best way to move on.

3. Set long-range goals about what you want to accomplish as well as short-term objectives that will help you reach them. These concrete plans provide the basic foundation and parameters for change in your partner, your children, your parents and yourself. As you successfully move forward, step by step, your self-confidence will grow. Ongoing action and a positive attitude will motivate you to stay on track and ultimately reach your family goals.

4. Look at your situation and decide what works for you. If you need some time by yourself, be sure to fit that into your plans. When you want to reconnect with your teenagers, plan outings that will appeal to both of you. If your parents are up to it, invite them on a family vacation. Your children will benefit from spending quality time with their grandparents. And it will give you free time and the chance for you and your partner to catch up without distractions.

5. Do what is necessary to maintain familiarity and continuity. If you nurture your family and stabilize their environment, they will feel more secure. The structure in their lives and the support you give them will relieve feelings of anxiety or stress. Children are resilient and, as you model positive thinking and hope, they will thrive. The rewards can be immeasurable for the whole family.

In this administration, with a protective mom in chief, one major focus on the home-front will be the first daughters. The goal of these devoted parents is to help the girls find their way in their new environment. And Michelle's mom is moving in for now, to provide a constant presence and keep the girls grounded. When asked about the relationship with his mother-in-law, the president, among other things, said: "I don't tell my mother-in-law what to do." Doesn't it sound like our new president is off to a really good start?

© 2009, Her Mentor Center

Phyllis Goldberg, Ph.D. & Rosemary Lichtman, Ph.D. are co-founders of www.HerMentorCenter.com, a website for midlife women and www.NourishingRelationships.blogspot.com, a blog for the sandwich generation. They are authors of a forthcoming book about family relationships and publish a free newsletter, Stepping Stones, through their website. As psychotherapists, they have over 40 years of collective private practice experience.

Is the Financial Advantage for Senator Obama Too Huge?

2009-06-14T11:14:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/is-the-financial-advantage-for-senator-obama-too-huge)

Senator Barack Obama has opted out of the public financing system in his contest for the U.S Presidency, and John McCain has decided to stay in the system. It appears that Obama may have about $250 million to invest in the months of September and October, and McCain may have only about $85 million.

Should McCain be afraid? No and Yes.

No, because I do not think that Obama's financial edge will do much for him in advertising (traditional and non-traditional) for his candidacy and causes. The reason is simple -- time is short, and there will be galore free publicity. Here are some ways that Obama may use his financial resources to increase the scale and scope of advertising. Let us look at various elements of this advertising.

First, Obama can and will probably advertise in almost all the 50 states -- even as his campaign will concede that several states like Alaska have not voted for a Democratic candidate for a very long time. The goal of this exercise to merely scare up McCain's campaign and force him to spend some of his valuable resources -- money and time -- in some of those states lest he should lose. Will this be effective? I rate the effectiveness about 3 on a 1-10 scale (10 being most effective) because when push comes to shove McCain will not divert his resources (he cannot afford to) and thus would call the bluff (not out of choice but out of necessity.)

Second, Obama can use micro-segmenting and try and use different media for diffusing his image. Money provides that luxury. Obama can also try non-traditional approaches and media.

Will be this an effective strategy? Better than the 50-states strategy but not overwhelmingly so. I would rate this strategy to be about 5. The reason is simple. The Presidential race will get plenty of free media coverage from networks, cable channels, print media, blogs, u-tube productions and those Presidential debates. Additional reach -- over and above these -- is likely to have marginal impact. Further, the content/message of the candidate does matter.

The message will determine the basic positioning of the candidate, and no amount of volume of reach can necessarily change that positioning. Two examples of this are: one, though Barack Obama invested thrice as much as Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania Democratic primary and twice as much in Ohio, the ultimate preference numbers did not change from the forecasts three weeks before the actual voting; two, with less than $1 million investment the 'Swift Boat' advertisement against John Kerry was devastatingly effective. In the first case, the message was the same but in the second case, the message was sharply different and new (whether that was true or not is besides the point -- further, since Senator Kerry did not effectively and immediately repudiate the attacks the message assumed a level of truthfulness as a default.)

Final aspect of this element is that Obama is likely to receive somewhat of a negative coverage from the mainstream media for his rejection of public financing -- this is not huge but one cannot ignore the word-of-mouth value of major networks and newspapers. In this case, the word-of-mouth effect would be negative.

Yes, because Obama might gain a very substantial advantage in voter registration, and mobilization with paid staff and localized promotion and patronage. It takes almost one-on-one to persuade a voter to register, and then actually vote on the election day. The upside of such voter mobilization is monumental. Particularly when the enthusiasm for McCain's candidacy is somewhat muted thus far. For example, in the recent USA Today-Gall Up survey 61% of Democrats said they were more enthusiastic than usual about voting in this year's election, while just 35% of Republicans said that.

Obama can employ this vast resource to mobilizing voters through registering new voters and individual contacts -- paid staff (and volunteers) knocking on the doors, telephonic calls, mobilization on the day of the election. Here, the resources can make a very big impact. I would rate the potential effectiveness of this approach about 7. There is substantially higher marginal benefit to be achieved here.

For illustration, let us examine Ohio (20 electoral votes.) In 2000, Al Gore lost the state only by about 350,000 votes even without any campaign investment. In 2004, John Kerry lost Ohio by less than 120,000 votes. If only Kerry had mobilized 10 extra votes in every precinct in Ohio, he would have won Ohio and the Presidency. Obama can pour his resources in the ground game in Ohio and quite possibly win it given the current sour political climate. Similarly, Kerry lost New Mexico and Iowa by less than 20,000 votes each -- and that can be easily overcome with strong election-day mobilization. In a state like Georgia where about 600,000 African-Americans have not registered to vote are rich Obama-votes. If they can be mobilized to register to vote and actually turn up to vote, Obama can put Georgia in play. In Florida, more than half a million black registered voters stayed home in 2004. Hundreds of thousands more African Americans are eligible to vote but not registered.

Did Obama Make the Right Choice in Joe Biden of Delaware?

2009-06-14T05:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/A2Ssn)

We are going from one sporting event (Summer Olympics) to another type of sporting event: the Democratic National Convention kicked off in Denver on Monday. The only unknown part of the convention, the vice-presidential choice, was announced on Saturday.

Joe Biden, Delaware, was named the Democratic vice-presidential candidate by Barack Obama on Saturday. The original plan by the Obama campaign was to communicate who the vice-presidential candidate would be to supporters by text message. That plan didn’t work out so well. News of the vice-presidential candidate was first reported by the traditional media, though the Obama campaign sent their text message announcement out at 3:00 AM on the 23rd.

Obama and Biden made their first appearance together in Springfield, Illinois at the Illinois State Capital. This is the same place Obama made the announcement he was running for president in 2006.

Monday night will focus on the story of Barack Obama. In a relatively new tradition, the nominee’s wife, Michelle Obama will be the featured speaker. Tuesday night’s theme will be Renewing America’s Promise and Hillary Clinton will be the featured speaker.

Wednesday night is an attempt at trying to be non-partisan in terms of foreign policy, using the theme “Securing America’s future”. The night will focus on Obama as commander in chief. The two main speakers on Wednesday are ex-President Bill Clinton and vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden. Though it seems President Clinton was upset about his speech subject for the evening - he would rather have been talking about the economy. Now it looks like the Obama campaign will let President Clinton talk about whatever floats his boat.

Thursday is the final night of the convention and the Democrats will be moving from the Pepsi Center to INVESCO Field to allow a larger audience to participate in the event. After the roll call vote, Obama will give his acceptance speech. Though there is contention between Hillary Clinton’s supporters and the Obama campaign about how long the roll call vote should continue until Obama is officially declared the candidate.

104inc.com is a website that a site that will give you the facts or if you want a little opinion you can check out 104Politics.com.

Mccain â Obama â Their Faces Tell All!

2009-06-13T23:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/9guFZ)

The Chinese have done it for longer than 2500 years â they still are. And more and more Westerners are doing it today. From a personâs face you can read amazing amount of information: the facial features and other characteristics show personality qualities such as the temperament, potential, disposition, creativity, and whether the person is, or will be, fortunate or not so fortunate. It also reveals sex life, popularity and life expectancy. The face provides the answers to your most important questions about compatibility with a potential life partner and prospects for success in business. Face reading provides valuable knowledge that can help us make the right decisions about the people we meet and deal with, and it can give us insight into ourselves. And, it may help us make the right decision in the U.S. upcoming presidential election.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Some people say,âA politician is someone who belongs to the opposite party.â Pay no attention to them. Chinese face reading is neither cynical nor political. Its focus is character.

JOHN MCCAIN

The main elements on John McCainâs face are Earth and Fire. It means he has the sense of showmanship and he is adventurous. He is willing to take chances and wants to be in the public eye.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Overall the features on his face are balanced, which is good. But at the same time his face has a lot of unevenness, different kinds of dimples and cavities. They may mean that the person has an uneven personality and temper.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The lines on his forehead do not go evenly from one side to another. They are crooked. The area of forehead describes the personâs years 14-30, and according to the Chinese studies, that shows McCain had a lot of problems and difficulties during those years. His forehead is dominant. It is fairly high and broad, meaning he had good education and family background. He is intelligent and can form beneficial relationships in deciding what the future will be like.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The eyes are rather small, suggesting that he can see things only in narrow focus, not exercising the command that his intelligence merits. He has a tendency to be self-satisfied about his accomplishment. People find him hard to get to know.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â His nose is straight, telling that he is doing financially well and he is honest. The person with this nose often seems to have achieved success easily. Things just fall into his lap. This person chooses and follows a direction to a goal.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Even though the nose tells how reliable John McCain is, his ears reveal totally opposite. A person with his ears, where the inner rim of the ear is strong, is not considered reliable and he likes to go his own way. He does not want to depend on others.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Senator McCainâs mouth is balanced. It tells he is adaptable; he smiles easily and has good vitality. He handles people well and finds it easy to deal with the public.

BARACK OBAMA

The main element on Senator Obamaâs face is Gold. According to the Chinese studies, the genuine gold personality is easy to spot in a crowd with the personâs radiant eyes, perfect face shape, beautiful smile and the posture of royalty. It seems that anything a Gold person does will be a huge success. Very often they have a high social standing and enjoy the limelight. Unfortunately they often lack inner strength.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Everything in Barack Obamaâs face is in balance. His forehead is very smooth, hardly any lines, telling that all the way back to his youth, heâs had good intellectual ability and excellent values.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The nose is straight, evenly built from top to bottom. It suggests an excellent career, happy family life, and very good health in the middle years and even longer. People with this kind of nose are trustful and extremely understanding. Everything has to be logical and sensible.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The ears are protruding. The Chinese art of face reading informs that ears like that usually belong to a person who is easygoing, but somewhat irresponsible. Also, just like Senator McCain, the inner rim of his ears is strong and that can suggest the person not being reliable. Barack Obamaâs ears also reveal that he is sophisticated, worldly, likes to live in big cities. He wants to take chances, but on his own, not depending on others. He is sociable, interested in color, sound and effect, and leads a rich life. He always looks for new people, new ideas, new trends and eagerly looks for a chance to express his views. He is successful, and because of determination and influential friends, he can make a mark for himself in the world.

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The mouth represents the personality. Mr. Obamaâs mouth discloses that he is outgoing, strong and has a high status in life. And he will get lots of money!

Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â

How serious is this? Well, electing the next president to our great country is dead serious! If the thousands of years of facial feature studies and this totally non-political interpretation of the two candidatesâ faces helps, that is great â and serious!

Face reading is fascinating. Read more at facereading.cx

Obamaâs Misplaced Robin Hood Complex

2009-06-13T17:15:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/CQiIi)

Barack Obama, like any good liberal, has a Robin Hood complex. This came out plainly when he bluntly told âJoe the Plumberâ, a man who has been vilified by the left and has had his actual comment distorted into things he never said, that he wanted to, âspread the wealth around,â by taxing people who make too much. In this case, Obama has set that bar at a level of $250,000.

When it became clear to the Marxist left who believe in, âfrom each according to his ability, to each according to his needs,â that such ideas were not going to fly in America as they had across Europe, they started to sing a different tune. In singing that different tune they have co-opted the figure of Robin Hood whose claim to fame, they believe, was that he âstole from the richâ to âgive to the poorâ. To an extent it is true, but not to the extent that liberals want you to believe.

Robin Hood is a beloved story told to many children and has admittedly undergone many tweaks and changes over time. As time has worn on, the left has been able to portray themselves as modern day Robin Hoods who want to take from those that have too much to give to those that have little or nothing. But the true story of Robin Hood is not simply that he âstole from the richâ and dispersed those spoils to the poor. Rather, those that Robin Hood fought against were the bureaucrats and the corrupt that kept the people under the heal of their boot. He fought against what was, at the time, excessive government and those that controlled the reins of power and the feudal order of the time.

In early tales Robin Hood was a member of the freeholder class and a land owner â not someone that was poor himself. He had no real reason to stand up against the feudal system except that he saw it as wrong.

The Sheriff of Nottingham is perhaps Robin Hoodâs best known adversary. In other tellings of the story Prince John was also right up there with the Sherriff and a cruel leader in the absence of King Richard who was off fighting in the crusades. Both were of the nobility, the âchosenâ class, and given fiat powers to rule over the people without consent of the people. There were, for all intents and purposes, tyrannical politicians. The Sheriff was in fact, the âtax collectorâ of the day.

The second most famous enemy Robin Hood fights is Guy of Gisborne, whose roll changes depending on the exact story being told. Whatever version of the story however, Guy of Gisborne is a corrupt figure in the service of the Sheriff either directly or indirectly and a partner in the corruption seeking out Robin Hood.

Others of Robinâs foes are members of the Catholic Church who have turned to corruption like the Bishop of Hereford who was fleecing his congregation for his own betterment.

In fact, Robin Hood was not just a champion of âthe poorâ but of what was right. He regularly befriended tradesmen who would join his band of Merry Men. Businessmen oppressed under the yoke of taxes, farmers, workers and even nobles rallied behind Robin Hood. In fact, in early tales the âMerry Menâ of Robin Hood were pretty well to do yeomen like figures. They wielded swords, not the quarter staffs of later tales and of poorer folk, and swords were not cheap so one had to have money to have one.

Yes, depending on the telling of the story, the exact circumstances do change. But overall the theme remains the same â Robin Hood fought against oppressive government and corrupt public officials and even church officials on behalf of the citizenry. Not just the poor, but all the citizenry.

This is a far cry from what liberals like Barack Obama want to do. But for some reason they still envision themselves as modern day Robin Hoods. Is it because of ignorance? Is it because of stupidity? No, it is because liberals do what they always do. They change the meaning of words to suit their goals. They rewrite history to clean their own consciousness while relabeling all the bad things their fellow travelers have done from slavery, to the formation of the KKK to Jim Crow laws to the murder of Jews during Hitlerâs reign in Germany as somehow âright wingâ and the product of conservative ideologies. Meanwhile they portray themselves as heroic and fighting for the downtrodden. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain, the one at the switches and levers that wants to oppress and intimidate you into service.

They ignore the fact that Robin Hood was really more of a conservative than a liberal by todayâs definitions of the terms and not a fellow traveler of theirs. They ignore the fact that he fought against tyranny, the established political order of oppression and high taxes. They ignore that that he took on corrupt religious leaders and called them to the carpet. And while ignoring all this, they supplant themselves as the true heir to a false legacy they have created for Robin Hood.

Yes, Robin Hood did steal from the ârichâ. And by ârichâ I mean the corrupt politicians and leaders of the day in which the stories are set. But he did not run around, much to the dismay of liberals, taking on good people who worked hard to make a living for themselves, stripping coin from their purse and running off to give it to another man who had not earned it.

On the other hand, liberals like Barack Obama are all about empowering big government and high taxation. Which makes them more like the Sheriff of Nottingham or Prince John than any sort of Robin Hood.

Author Self Publishes a Book on President Obama as a Global Inspiration

2009-06-13T11:10:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/BNlBp)

Philip Ephraim self publishes a book depicting President Barack Obama as an inspiration not only to American citizenry but also to people from different countries all over the world in ‘Barack Obama, The Audacity of Inspiring the World’.

The book author underscores how President Obama’s ‘yes we can’ mantra positively energizes and influences people from different walks of life in different countries.

“His generational appeal shatters age and geographic limits. The impact of his unique qualities and likeliness is felt by every one in every nation. He doesn’t only stir up political activism, build coalition, but unleashes energy for creativity and personal positive ambition,” Ephraim says.

The self published book attempts to highlight President Obama’s symbolic significance being an icon of boundless possibility and hope not only among Americans but also among different groups of people coming from different ages and social status in different countries.

“He has inspired public service in the young and political involvement in the old, thus brining back to the fold those who were politically apathetic and cynical… He summons the better angels in us,” Ephraim says in the preface of his self published book.

Philip Ephraim has written extensively in international journals including A Review of Qualitative and Quantitative Measures in Collection Analysis and ERIC, the database initiative of the US Department of Education.

The author is formerly a Senior Librarian at the University of Calabar, a consultant Law Librarian to the African Development Bank, consultant to Bobel International and Associate Ltd., and After School Leader in the Andorra Library in Philadelphia. He owns Innovative Ventures Group in Philadelphia.

Ephraim also authors ‘Barack Obama, The Audacity of Being a Global President’. His books are published by Xlibris.

For more information, please visit http://ping.fm/YRJmh , e-mail pressrelease@xlibris.com or call at 1-888-795-4247, to receive a free publishing guide.

Obama's Campaign of Hope Now Has a Prayer

2009-06-13T05:06:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/f9UXX)

Hillary Clinton had run a disciplined, mistake-free campaign for the first nine months of 2007. She had been able to portray herself as an experienced candidate for change. By contrast, the Obama campaign had an anemic nine months on the campaign trail without a clear message or momentum. Mrs. Clinton had Obama in a tough political spot.

To remain competitive in the race, Barack Obama needed to attack Mrs. Clinton as a candidate. The attack ads and negative campaigning would have left Obama open to criticism of abandoning his campaign's primary theme of hope. It would challenge his assertion that he was a different kind of politician and it would appear to the voting public as a cynical attempt by him to get back in the race. Obama would look desperate and Hillary Clinton's candidacy for the Democratic nomination would be inevitable.

However, Obama never had to go "negative" because Mrs. Clinton started making a series of unforced mistakes. Her political mistakes from late September through early December have allowed the Obama campaign to surge into the lead in the first voting state of Iowa. In addition Obama has moved back into contention in the state primary in New Hampshire.

Clinton started her parade of mistakes in the debate of September 26, 2007. Her handling of a hypothetical question on terrorist torture from moderator Tim Russert was inconsistent with answers she has given on that same question posed to her in the past.

The mistakes continued for Hillary in the Democratic debate of October 30, 2007. Her answer to a debate question concerning granting illegal aliens drivers licenses was incoherent. She appeared to take a position on both sides of the issue within about sixty seconds. Her performance validated her Democratic opponent's claim that she was trying to parse her position on issues and have it both ways.

Next, Bill Clinton showed up stumping for votes for Hillary in Iowa to remind us how slick and parsing he can be. In Iowa, it was all about Bill and little about Hillary on the campaign trail. Bill even tried to convince us that he was against the Iraq war from the beginning, which is clearly not true. It sounded like Bill Clinton was running again and reminded the voting public about the fact that in electing Hillary, we would get Team Clinton back for President in the White House. This back to the future Clinton reminder to the voting public did not go over well.

Then, the voters got to see a Hillary Clinton interview with Katie Couric. This interview should have been a positive thing for Hillary. However, her poll numbers continued to drop after her appearance. In this interview, Hillary told Katie Couric that she has never contemplated losing this election. That she had not even considered the possibility that she would lose. The manner which she handle that question appeared presumptious to many voters. In fact, it fed into the negative image many people have of Hillary's need and hunger for power. It was a continuation of the impression that she would say anything to win.

These mistakes from the Hillary Clinton campaign have helped to tighten the Democratic race for the 2008 Presidential nomination just weeks before the first vote is to be cast in Iowa. Barrack Obama clearly has the momentum in the race. Now it will be Hillary Clinton who will have to go negative to try and slow his campaign down.

For Obama to win the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2008, he must win Iowa in a decisive fashion. He also must win in New Hampshire or Hillary Clinton will absorb the Iowa defeat and move on. If Obama wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton would be reeling and John Edwards would be out of the race. The Edwards vote would probably move to Obama and he would have a chance to defeat Clinton, one-on-one in the subsequent primaries. Democratic voters would certainly be questioning Hillary’s prospects as a candidate against the Republican Presidential nominee in the general election in 2008. A primary election battle between Clinton and Obama could go unresolved for weeks since Obama has the campaign war chest to contest Clinton in every primary state.

An Obama victory against Hillary Clinton is still a long shot. However, a series of unforced Hillary Clinton mistakes since September 26, 2007 have allowed Obama to remain competitive. Indeed, the result of her political mistakes have, at the very least, given Barack Obama's campaign of hope a prayer.

Republicans Get Barack'd

2009-06-12T23:12:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/dpThK)

Well, esteemed ladies and gentlemen of this fine nation otherwise known as the United States of America. Kind of ironic that this country is called 'united', when we seem to spend so much time bickering about things that have no consequential ramifications on our personal lives (i.e. Britney Spear's toothpaste choice, Amy Winehouse's current rehab status, etc.), and don't spend enough time on important topics such as health care, why the hell we're still in Iraq, etc.

Well, up until a week ago, I wondered what this country would do. While I heard countless people speak, and read dozens of articles that Obama would win in a landslide, I must admit I was scared out of my gore that Bush III and his evil step-daughter would soon be in the oval office. On a tangent, why is it called the oval office? Why isn't it a circle. Don't want a typical rectangular shape domicile, eh? How about a triangle? OK, enough with the shapes. You get the idea.

So, am I the only one that was worried that McCan't and Failin' Palin would somehow finagle millions of people that they could effectively run this country? I doubt it.

But alas, America has woken up. They realized that talk is cheap, and that action is necessary. Enter President-elect Barack Obama. While there are millions of people in the south and other segregated parts of the country rolling around in the pseudo-graves that an African-American is a president, all I can say is three words: DEAL WITH IT. More importantly, somewhere up above, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is pumping his fists in the air in utter glee and victorious harmony. Yes, Dr. King, thanks to Obama and the path you paved decades ago, the USA is finally 'free at last.'

So, now that the man is in office, what now? Well, let's get the party started, shall we? I'm slightly upset that I won't have these articles to rank on Sarah Palin, but then again, the way the GOP is blaming the whole campaign on her, I'm sure I'll have plenty of ammunition. Ohh, I'm sorry Mr. McCan't. Are you using Sarah Palin as a scapegoat for losing the election? Hmmm...you mean to tell me you just figured out she's not qualified? Well, it was that horrible selection and misjudgment (not to mention a 10 trillion dollar deficit courtesy of your party) that led to your annihilation in the plls.

In short, and to conclude, Obama wants change and will bring change. God knows we need it.

Well, much like this election, when it comes to all your advertising needs, there's one easy choice. Log on to 104Vote.com for related articles, as well as simple and easy ways to accommodate all your needs!

Michelle Obama

2009-06-12T17:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/PabNR)

The soft version was on display Monday night in Denver and the lady does have a soft side and I'm not talking about her soft flowing hair. As she said, she's a daughter, a mother, a wife, and a proud American. I mean that totally covers the bases doesn't it? It was not only the content, but the constant smile and humble spirit that was on display.

Michelle Obama, whose husband calls her "the star" of their family, introduced herself Monday to the Democratic convention in a heartfelt speech invoking the dreams of her father and the hopes of her husband for the nation. "Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you're going to do," Obama said. "You treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them."

The self-described daughter, wife and mother also gave a nod to Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama's chief rival for the Democratic nomination. She hailed the New York senator as someone who put "18 million cracks in the glass ceiling" by winning nearly that many votes in state nominating contests.

She told those watching on television that, like them, she and the candidate value strong family ties, a belief in hard work and upward mobility, and a determination to create "the world as it should be."

And then there was Teddy!

Sen. Edward Kennedy declared there was "new hope" for the nation in his surprise appearance at the Democratic National Convention, while Michelle Obama addressed critics of her patriotism and stressed her love for the country. "Nothing is going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight," Kennedy told an arena of teary-eyed delegates as he pledged to see Barack Obama to the White House and his own return to the Senate floor.

So, the Democratic Convention is off and rolling: with Hillary and Bubba to follow. :-)

Leahy for Obama!

2009-06-12T11:07:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/CdbLZ)

Hillary's automatic run to the Democratic nomination keeps hitting these speed bumps. This week, a judge in Nevada allowed the culinary union to caucus in the casinos. The Nevada caucus Saturday now gives a slight lead to Barack Obama. And that's not all.

Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, endorsed presidential candidate Barack Obama on Thursday. "We need a president who can reintroduce America to the world and actually reintroduce America to ourselves," Leahy, D-Vt., said in a conference call with reporters. "I believe Barack Obama is the best person to do that."

Leahy's endorsement gives Obama 8 among Democratic senators, compared to 11 for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Many Democratic senators have held off on public endorsements in the presidential race, in part because there were at one time four Democratic senators and a former one in the race.

More endorsements could follow now that Sens. Christopher Dodd and Joseph Biden have dropped out, though the Democratic field remains crowded with senators: Obama, Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards are still in the race. Leahy, 65, was elected to the Senate in the post-Watergate class of 1974 and presides over the committee's hearings on nominations to the Supreme Court and the Justice Department. A former state prosecutor, he also established his panel's first subcommittee on human rights and is an avid advocate for a worldwide ban on land mines.

The Vegas odds are changing!

Whatever the results may be come Saturday from Nevada, the Hillary nomination train has been slowed and may actually be derailed. And if not by Obama, maybe by Michael Bloomberg? A third party run is still a possibility and my bet is a very, very good possibility.

Leahy for Obama!

2009-06-12T11:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/5bHb0)

Published Book Features President-elect Obama as the Choice of the World

2009-06-12T05:11:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/JoilU)

Philip Ephraim publishes how the world outside the United States influenced the results of the 2008 American elections in his self-published book ‘Barack Obama, The Audacity of Being a Global President’.

The book author presents statistical analysis and worldwide events that point to the fact that big and small countries all over the world, enemies of America included, want Obama to emerge as the 44th president of the United States.

Ephraim explains how world economic borders are collapsing, making more and more countries allied with the US. The author also underscores that people all over the world are hopeful that Obama will make diplomacy a priority, double foreign assistance, build healthy and educated communities, develop markets and reduce poverty.

Philip Ephraim quotes President-elect Barack Obama in his victory speech: “And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you.”

Obama is not only “president of the country, but of the world,” Philip Ephraim says. “The world likes Obama and wanted him to win.”

The book author owns Innovative Ventures Group in Philadelphia. He was formerly a Senior Librarian at the University of Calabar and is a consultant to the African Development Bank and Bobel International and Associate Ltd.

Ephraim has written extensively in international journals. He is also the author of Barack Obama, The Audacity of Inspiring the World. His books are published by Xlibris.

For more information, please visit http://ping.fm/VXGNg , e-mail pressrelease@xlibris.com or call at 1-888-795-4247, to receive a free publishing guide.

Obama Chia Pet

2009-06-11T23:06:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/7B2mg)

The Obama Chia Pet Controversy

So, have you heard about the Barack Obama Chia pet head? It's the HOTTEST product to be released in years from the creators of the world famous Original Chia Pet.

It's also turned out to be very controversial as well and has been pulled from retail chains afraid of offending their customers.

So lets take a look at this crazy product that like Barack Obama himself, could "Only Happen in America"......

Although you will usually hear this product referred to as the "Obama Chia Pet", officially this product is referred to as the "Chia Obama Handmade Decorative Planter". It doesn't quite have the same ring, does it?

The Obama Chia was created by Joseph Enterprises, Inc, the same company who created the Original Chia Pet in 1977. This also the same company that brought us "The Clapper", which was famous for it's old "Clap on, Clap Off - The Clapper!" jingle.

The Obama Chia Head is a handmade pottery planter and comes with a Chia seed packet with enough for 3 plantings, a plastic drip tray and planting & care instructions.

The Obama Chia Pet was licensed exclusively to Walgreens to sell at their nationwide retail /convenience outlets. Their company policy allows stores to choose their own merchandise so they can better serve their individual locations. In the case of the Obama Chia though, once company management received some complaints that the product was "offensive", Walgreens ordered stores to remove the Obama Chia headfrom the shelves.

The controversy around the Obama Chia and the it's subsequent removal from stores has created an incredible demand for the Chia Obama head planter. The only other major retailer to stock the collectible was Amazon.com, and they have sold out of the Obama Chia. Now the Obama Chia has become a hard to find collectors item. Only in America!

A Struggle of Class: Obama Vs. Mccain

2009-06-11T17:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/cw2dS)

Two symbolic ends of the social spectrum are embodied in the men running for President. In big picture terms we have the culmination of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, Mr. Obama, seen as a Black man of modest birth, running against Mr. McCain, the archetypal white Republican candidate, a senior citizen, a career politician, and a decorated veteran from an accomplished military family. What better defines the separation of people in this country than these two men? In one corner, we have a liberal community activist, a political social worker if you will, and in the other corner, a conservative POW veteran and career politician, a hawk.

One of the big questions in my mind is this; can Obama bring together a coalition of the underclass of all colors? Can he meld them into one powerful voting bloc? If he can succeed at that then perhaps the political landscape of America will be forever changed. Whether or not John McCain is wealthy, he represents the wealthy as a Republican in the minds of most. Since he’s earning well over $200k per year in a military pension, social security and his Senate salary, I’d say he’s at the very least upper-middle class. Obama may have started out middle class but barring some personal flub of epic proportions, he’s never destined to be there again. And yet, despite his Harvard education and potential wealth, he represents as a Black man, the underclass of America. He has worked in the inner city so he has some “street-cred”. He can also legitimately articulate the interests of the middle class white man as part of the larger underclass of America.

Since the country was formed, powerful white men have ruled it. For just as long, underclass whites have identified with the powerful. They’ve worked for them and they’ve served them hoping some day to be included in their club. A select few now and then have earned a spot in the club by becoming wealthy. Most of the underclass in America has seen the gap between rich and poor widen. Even the focus of the unions has turned to government and service jobs, away from the shrinking traditional labor in manufacturing. The rich are served by government and they are the primary consumers of the service sector. American society is increasingly structured to serve the wealthiest among us.

Now along comes Obama who speaks about change and simply by being Black presents the very picture of change. Does he have the power of will and the charisma to draw in the blue collar, white worker? Can he weave together a coalition of the underclass with a message they will accept? It will take a shift in thinking for the Archie Bunkers of America to accept that they are part of the poor underclass that includes the Black man. Can blue collar workers be shaken out of the “American Dream”? Can Barack prove that despite their color they have never been invited to the club and that they probably never will be? Can Barack help them see that the only color that actually matters to the rich is green?

I am fascinated and fearful. There could be an opportunity for real change that hidden racism could erase; that is, if blue collar white people vote based on color. I see a youth movement behind Obama that may well propel him into the White House if the underclass coalition is successfully constructed.

I question whether the young people working in Barack’s campaign understand why his election is in doubt at all. It should not be, not given the state of the crippled Republican party. Are the young people familiar with the fears and prejudices of their parents that produce such indignation at the words of his former pastor?

I wonder if everyone knows what changes they want once Barack Obama elected. Is this merely a raucous ride on a parade float? Do they have the will to make sacrifices to make changes happen? If the parade ends at the White House and the crowd simply disappears into the scenery then nothing new will have happened. We cannot afford to vote color in this election and we cannot afford to end our parade with a victory only to be left unheard outside the gates of power.

Obama Shirts Becoming a Popular Seller

2009-06-11T11:11:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/5ZHrw)

The name Barack Obama has become notorious in recent months and there are many American voters who are closely following what he has to say, his ideas on how to run the country have opened the eyes of many people that some real problems are and how they can be treated.

Obama has also provided new ideas for some very old problems, such as medical care, and while each candidate has something to say about medical care ultimately, which is a candidate to the idea that work is done the present population without medical care.

He also showed a more personal with some of his television appearances on programs that are not policies and seems to be very comfortable in these formats rather than the cumbersome policy that many politicians to keep to leave voters to wonder what their real personality as May be. This may seem unimportant to some people but the candidate elected in Whitehouse ultimately, at some point show their human side and it is a great advantage of knowing a head of time what the candidate is.

One interesting policies that Obama want to create is a teacher residency program, which would train teachers in management, higher education and hands on training. This would end the country out about 30000 new teachers a year, which would end a shortage of untrained teachers providing education to children in USA. There is currently a lack of teachers and there are also some states that do not require as high a level as other states for teachers in their school systems. When the national average is considered to student achievement levels, it can be easily seen that it takes more effort placed on education and the requirements of the curriculum.

Obama is the only candidate to have recognized this growing problem with educating the youth of the country and has developed a thought and a plan that not only help to properly educate students, but will also help boost employment with this program 30000 training with new teachers trained each year.

This is what makes voters sit down and listen to the ideas of Obama and take into consideration that it might well be the next President of the USA and one who brings new ideas from some old problems in the country .

One of the many things that are underway to raise funds for the campaign are Obama Obama t-shirts that many voters and those who are not of voting age are proud to support.

Do you buy a shirt and Obama to help support by all possible means to help get elected as president. You can help us promote Barack Obama through the port connected Barack Obama t-shirts or making a donation to the campaign. All Obama t-shirts mentioned here are not official, but rather inspired by whom could possibly be one of the most influential politicians for a long time.

The Obama Meltdown?

2009-06-11T05:12:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/XyCYj)

What a week for Barack Obama.

He (accidentally) refers to his "Muslim faith" on George Stephanopolous' show, waivers and quakes on every position he has hitherto held (abortion, taxes, Iraq, the surge), and now faces a 10 point deficit to McCain/Palin in the latest USA Today likely voter poll.

And as we all know, it is the likely voter polls, not the registered voter polls, that really count.

I can hear the Democrats now, wondering aloud in polite company how the rest of America could be so stupid. I would respectfully take that question and redirect it in the direction from whence it came.

Barack Obama's entire primary campaign was a personality contest and a "change" event (which really just kept reminding me of this particular South Park episode, where his supporters were the homeless). Between he and Hillary, there was little difference on the issues, ergo the issues were not discussed. Except maybe health care, though from a conservative point-of-view, government control is government control. A skunk is still a skunk, no matter how wide his (or her) stripe.

Now that the general election is upon him, and real questions, voter scrutiny and his own soaring oratory begin to descend, the plaster of Paris that is Barack Obama's candidacy has begun to crack.

And it is not the "Republican attack machine" that is dismantling him, contrary to his echoes of Hillary Clinton's mythical "vast right-wing conspiracy" from Democrat whines of yore. It is his own failure to stand for anything worth supporting, and like a Seinfeld episode that never ends, pinning his political future on a campaign about nothing. As he added substance to his campaign-speak, we learn what many of us already knew. He isn't about "change" - he is just another tired old liberal, advocating policies that would balloon the federal government, destroy federalism, and transform this country in ways that would make her completely unrecognizable to her Founders. His proposals stem from a childish admiration of that pathetic 1960s hippy mindset of free love and free everything, except that you and I pay for it.

And why does it seem he is running against Sarah Palin? Is he really that afraid of John McCain?

I now feel free to offer a bit of advice for you Democrats who think that the debates will work in his favor. Barack Obama may be the most scripted presidential candidate in history. Though well produced, Ronald Reagan (as Bill Clinton) was great off-the-cuff, had their own ideas, and knew their subject matter. Obama, certainly unworthy of Reagan's dirty sock, and not a sliver as tough as Bill Clinton, loses his unicorn-like luster when required to think on his feet. John McCain does not.

This may be the beginning of the end for the Obama candidacy. If it is, the country will be better off for it.

Obamaâs Speech: How Does it Stack Up to History?

2009-06-10T23:09:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/nrAGB)

In January, Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States, taking his oath of office on the steps of the Capitol before what is believed to be the largest crowd ever to witness a presidential inaugural in person.

Following the swearing in ceremonyâwhich was conducted on Abraham Lincolnâs bibleâObama gave a powerful speech, promising the American people that they could and would unite to overcome the economic and military difficulties facing the nation. âOur challenges may be new,â the president said. âThe instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success dependsâhonesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotismâthese things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibilityâa recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task. This is the price and the promise of citizenship.â

Instant reviews of Obamaâs speech from the TV talking heads were quite positive, and the huge crowds along the Washington Mall roared their approval. But will Obamaâs inaugural address stand the test of time? How will Obamaâs speech go down in history?

Only time will tell. But truth be told, the historical bar against Obamaâs words will be judged is actually pretty low.

Yes, a few presidentsâ inaugurals have gone down as great moments in our history.

In 1981, Ronald Reagan memorably encapsulated his own philosophy and set the political agenda for an entire generation with his declaration that âGovernment is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.â

In 1961, John F. Kennedy captured the imaginations of a more idealistic generation by asking his fellow citizens, âAsk not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt helped lift his countrymenâs spirits at the darkest hour of the Great Depression by declaring, âThe only thing we have to fear is fear itself.â

In 1865, Abraham Lincoln began to heal the wounds of the Civil War by closing his second inaugural with the words, âWith malice toward none; with charity for allâ¦ let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nationâs woundsâ¦ to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.â

And in 1801, Thomas Jefferson tried to soothe the nationâs original partisan discord by proclaiming, in the wake of a bitter election fight, âWe are all Republicans; we are all Federalists.â
Those were all, without a doubt, successful inaugural speeches. (And perhaps not coincidentally, those were all successful presidents.)
But what about the other 39 presidents and the other 50 inaugural addresses? They mostly fall somewhere on a spectrum ranging from forgettably mediocre to memorably awful.

John Quincy Adams, who was often criticized for being an out-of-touch elitist with no clue how to relate to ordinary people, did nothing to challenge that reputation in 1825 when he began his presidency with this whopper of a sentence: âIn compliance with an usage coeval with the existence of our Federal Constitution, and sanctioned by the example of my predecessors in the career upon which I am about to enter, I appear, my fellow-citizens, in your presence and in that of Heaven to bind myself by the solemnities of religious obligation to the faithful performance of the duties allotted to me in the station to which I have been called.â No one was too shocked when Adams was defeated four years later by âman of the peopleâ Andrew Jackson.

James Buchanan, often ranked by historians as the worst president ever, took office in 1857 at a moment when the nation was torn by bitter sectional controversy over slavery. In his inaugural address, he essentially told the country to just get over it: âMost happy it will be for the country when the public mind shall be diverted from this question to others of more pressing and practical importance,â he said. Most unhappy it was for the country when Buchananâs head-in-the-sand approach led directly to the Civil War.

Warren G. Harding turned his inaugural into a long discourse on his personal philosophy of business. The speech was said to bore listeners to tears.

But the worst inaugural address in American history, without a doubt, belonged to William Henry Harrison. For his 1841 inauguration, Harrison penned a monumental 8,500-word treatise, much of it devoted to explainingâfor reasons that remain baffling even todayâobscure lessons from ancient Roman history. Undeterred by a ferocious blizzard on inauguration day, Harrison refused to wear his overcoat and insisted on plowing through the entire two-hour speech, bitter cold be damned. Then he caught a wicked case of pneumonia and died 31 days later.

To this day, William Henry Harrison holds the all-time records for both the longest inaugural speech and the shortest presidency. At Shmoop, we hope that neither record will ever be broken.

If we can be fairly certain that no incoming presidentâs inaugural address will ever beat William Henry Harrison for length, we can be equally sure that none will ever beat George Washington for brevity. Washingtonâs second inaugural, delivered in 1793, was exactly four sentences longâless than 150 words. While no one made a recording of the speech, for obvious reasons, our best guess is that the address lasted two or maybe three minutes.

And that, friends and countrymen, is why George Washington is on the dollar bill and William Henry Harrison isâ¦ dead of pneumonia.

Obamaâs speech, delivered on another cold winterâs day in Washington, clocked in at about 17 minutes, which is just about average for modern times; every inaugural since 1980 has lasted between 14 and 22 minutes.

While itâs too soon to say whether Obamaâs words will go down in history alongside the great speeches from Lincoln, Roosevelt, Kennedy et al, there is no question that Obama's inaugural was historic in nature. Apart from the obviousâyet still remarkableâfact that Barack Obama just became our nationâs first black president, his inaugural itself was unlike any that ever came before. More people crowded into Washington, DC, to see Januaryâs events in person than for any previous presidential inauguration. That crowdâwhich reflected the Obama campaign organization in its unusual size, diversity, and enthusiasmâmay well end up being the feature of Obama's inauguration best remembered by history. That crowd reflected the feeling that something special happened, that Obamaâs inauguration into the White House marked the renewal of Americaâs democratic spirit.

Like most eruptions of democratic enthusiasm, Obama's inaugural festivities had both their positive and negative aspects. On the one hand, it was hard not to be moved by images of American flags waving over hundreds of thousands of happy faces, all wide smiles and tears of joy, their voices filling the Mall with chants and cheers of jubilation. On the other hand, the same crowd greeted outgoing president George W. Bush with widespread booing and even a taunting song of âNah nah nah nah, hey hey hey, goodbye!â Not too classyâ¦ but still not nearly as bad as the crowd of Andrew Jackson supporters who trashed the White House in 1829, breaking antique furniture and tracking mud all over the place, or the mob of Abraham Lincoln fans who ran off with the White House silverware in 1865.

Will Barack Obamaâs presidency live up to the phenomenal excitement of his inauguration day? History will be the judge of that.

Barack Sure Knows How to Say it

2009-06-10T17:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/gYh8Q)

Entertainment is my first priority and without it life is a big bore. The first thing I look for in a politician is their ability to be entertaining. That is why my first choice for the democratic nomination and president is Barack Obama. He is loaded with charisma and is a pleasure to watch and listen to. The rest of the candidates could not hold my attention for more than five minutes no matter what they are talking about.

American presidents are viewed as very powerful people but that is far from the truth, they are chained to those that put them in office. Before the president makes any major policy decision it has to meet the approval of others that are much more powerful. He is no more than just a messenger or figurehead. If I want to find out about our nation I will read the business section of the newspapers or turn on my computer and browse the Internet. Listening to speeches by the president puts me to sleep. That is why we need a guy in the white house like Barack Obama, he will awaken us with his charisma.

Once Obama becomes president, the international image of the United States will reach new heights. His charisma will also improve our international political position and help our economy. He is an extremely talented speaker that has the power to charm his listeners, they will love every word he says. The last thing we need is a boring figurehead that just puts us to sleep. Nobody will ever fall asleep when Obama is speaking, that fact alone makes him deserving to be our next president. It is not a super politician we need but a great entertainer.

There are those that are worried that Obama will turn out to be a crazy liberal and give away the country to the needy. But even if he is sympathetic to the poor, his obligations to wealthy backers will always be respected. He is not a left wing radical, but is basically conservative in his views. His powerful supporters are very comfortable with him holding the highest office, and he is fully trusted as being one of them. But it is important for him to maintain an image as a defender of the poor and abused. That is why he will fill his cabinet with politicians that are in close contact with those agencies that help the needy. But his real friends will always be the rich and powerful.

If Obama becomes president he will surely turn out to be just another politician looking to survive, but at least he will be entertaining. We will be enjoying his well spoken words. “It’s not what you say but the way that you say it” And Barack Obama sure knows how to say it.

melpol

Obama Is Coming, Clear The Way!

2009-06-10T11:16:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/obama-is-coming-clear-the-way)

"Obama biro, yawne yo!" (Obama is coming, clear the way)—Tens of thousands of cheering Luo "Tribesmen" and ululating women screamed as they welcomed Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) back to his father's ancestral land—Nyangoma Kogelo village in Luo Land, Western Kenya, several weeks ago.

In a matter of hours Obama had soared to unprecedented political prominence in Kenya, eclipsing a bunch of corrupt and heartless nincompoops—The (Mt. Kenya Mafia), who are ruthlessly grinding beautiful Kenya to the ground.

The only difference between the Mt. Kenya Mafia and the current U.S. Republican administration, is that the former have brought Kenya down to it's "Economic Knees," while it's virtually impossible for George Bush's government to bring down the mighty economy of the United States, no matter how much they misappropriate it's coffers by way of inflated Iraq reconstruction contracts or Katrina FEMA trailers. Otherwise both groups employ similar schemes – exploiting and manipulating ethnic (racial) intolerance and promoting rampant corruption—a bunch of "cold-blooded" louts.

The six year cesspool of a mess presided over by the Bush administration might not be in vain after all. It has made America hungry for a messenger with a message of hope.

In the NBC "Meet The Press" interview of Sunday 22nd October, I watched Senator Obama intimate that—based on the responses he has been receiving across the country, he is considering running for the presidency of The United States in 2008.

What impressed me most about him is how he tackled the question regarding his previous assertion in 2004—that he would complete his six year Senate term and not run for President in 2008: "I have thought about the possibility, but I have not thought about it with the seriousness and depth I think is required," Obama said. "My main focus is on 2006, and making sure that we re-take the Congress. After November 7th, I will sit down and consider it."

Unlike the shifty, programmed, and selfishly partisan politicians I am used to watching on Sunday morning political TV, Barack Obama countered Tim Russert's questions with poise, spontaneity and most important, he seemed very genuine.

In a political system muddied and tainted by arrogance, corruption and incompetence, watching and listening to Obama is inordinately refreshing.

In Obama I see an intelligent and capable man, unlike the current President who constantly reminds me of an unprepared and confused "open book, open notes" exam taker, badly rehearsed and totally incapable of articulating his views without the stewardship of his father's cronies, Karl Rove his "Political Architect" and a bone breaking conglomeration of "Hyena" special interest groups.

Obama's apparent good human qualities added to the fact that he is a great American story, makes the Senator a very attractive prospect for the ultimate prize in politics—The Presidency of The United States.

Is Obama Presidential material?

Many cite his lack of political experience, claiming his resume is too thin for a run at the Presidency. I disagree and here is why:

1. Unlike other black leaders, Obama doesn't grind "white noses" in Racism, and at the same time he is a symbol of hope to millions of dis-affected blacks and other minorities.

Judging by his Senatorial election win of a 70% majority, Obama has proven that he is a very powerful vote magnet across racial lines. He has established an "inclusive" track record that would be vital in a presidential election if he decides to run. His candidacy would draw out millions of dormant black voters thus making the Democratic candidacy more viable.

On the flipside, we all know that there are some whites such as the right wing gutter constituents of con-man Rush Limbaugh, who will forever embrace Racism and will never accept a black president. A President Obama would mark the beginning of the placement this irritant breed to the fringes of political obscurity.

2. He is NOT a bumbling idiot, appears humble and has not been tainted with partisan politics. Perhaps even more important is that he is a confident intellectual, which I think is a necessary pre-requisite for handling the complex issues of the highest political office in the world.

3. The last Republican President who had some smarts was the foul-mouthed bigot—Richard Milhouse Nixon, who engineered his own downfall with a lethal concoction of homophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-black and "Communist Paranoia." As a matter of fact Nixon's political career spanned three decades of scare mongering, witch-hunts and dirty tricks, the same tactics that have been successfully deployed by the current administration over the last six years.

All others after him have been bumbling buffoons with slight exceptions in George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.

Reagan the Serial Liar who made Americans feel good about themselves, was not only ill informed but partially senile towards the end of his second term – not particularly smart, but a great "Political Actor," whose major achievements included presiding over the disintegration of the Soviet Empire (which was inevitable anyway), misuse of the World Bank and funding of CIA death squads to safeguard the corporate thievery by US multinational companies in Latin American countries…. and the worst in my opinion; propping the racist Apartheid regime in South Africa.

The "Great Communicator" was just another Republican crook!

Bill Clinton and John Kennedy did not have that much experience. Abraham Lincoln ran after two years in the House, Woodrow Wilson after two years as governor, and Franklin D. Roosevelt & Jimmy Carter after four years as governor.

Perhaps Dr. Martin Luther King summed it up best in his "The Drum Major Instinct" sermon delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, February 4, 1968 – He said: "Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve…. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant," qualities that are thoroughly lacking in the Republican base – the "self-chosen" people of "Faith."

If the Democrats nominate Hillary Clinton, a very polarizing Democrat, the Republican smear spigots will spill out of control and flood the whole country to an extent that the Katrina calamity will look like a storm in a teacup. On the other hand, an Obama nomination would fuel vicious racial and below the belt "Nyangau" attacks from the right wing, like the slime being spewed by Republican troglodytes against black Democrat Harold Ford Jr. in the Tennessee, or by incumbent Senator George "Macaca" Allen in Virginia.

I wonder if Senator Obama has the stomach for such personal and racist attacks—a GOP staple!

Colin Powell assessed these circumstances in 2000 and chickened out, and subsequently dimmed his star serving in this ham-fisted administration for four years before being pushed out in favor of "yes-woman" Condoleezza Rice. It is rumored that he feared political assassination.

Will Obama follow through or is his potential candidacy just hype?

It is time for America to put it's Racist legacy behind it, to re-assess its future, and take a closer look at this rising star, for I think Barack Obama is ready—to cleanse the "maligned" soul of America.

Can Obama Really Win?

2009-06-10T05:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/IXShz)

Many thought the day would never come. A day that all Americans could prove to their children that they could become whatever they want in life no matter what their background is. A day that Americans could put aside their differences and see their neighbors for the content of their character and not the color of their skin.

Barack Obama's stunning victory at the Iowa Caucus ignited a spark among Democratic voters, reminiscent of the days of Camelot and John F. Kennedy. Many believed that a state like Iowa, with a miniscule Black population, would never elect an African American to such a high position, but Obama's message of change resonated in the Hawkeye State, as 37.6 percent of Iowa voters selected him to represent the Democratic party in November.

More shocking was Hillary Rodham Clinton's third place finish with 29.5 percent of Iowa Democrats supporting the New York Senator.

According to the Associated Press, Obama's victory marked the first time an African American candidate has won such a vital caucus or primary.

"Years from now you'll be able to say, 'This was the moment when it all began.' This is the moment when we finally beat back the politics of fear and doubt and cynicism," a victorious Obama told a crowd of supporters at a Des Moines, Iowa sports arena.

Obama dominated the college-age vote and enjoyed enormous success among Blacks in Waterloo, Iowa.

His success among African Americans should assist in his chances in November because many Black voters still believe he is not electable.

Obama's wife Michelle believes America is ready for a Black president despite the skepticism.

"Ain't no Black people in Iowa. Something big, something new is happening. Let's build the future we all know is possible. Let's show our kids that America is ready for Barack Obama right now," said Michelle Obama at the Trumpet Awards, a gala celebrating achievement in Black America.

Despite his resounding win in Iowa, and pollsters predicting a double-digit win in the first primary of 2008, Obama finished a close second to Clinton in New Hampshire days later. Surprisingly, Clinton defeated Obama 39 percent to 37 percent in the Granite State. However, the Illinois senator was still upbeat and optimistic in defeat.

"We always knew our climb would be steep. You made it clear that at this moment in this election, there is something happening in America ... You can be a new majority," Obama told his supporters in New Hampshire. Clinton recently won the primary in Michigan and the Nevada caucus also.

According to Allen G. Breed of the A.P., "Obama's stunning victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Iowa caucuses and strong second in New Hampshire's primary showed he could win White votes. But some say the South Carolina contest offers a new test of his viability. Can he energize Black voters in places where their numbers could help him win in November?"

On January 26, Obama won the South Carolina primary in a landslide, winning 55 percent of the Democratic vote.

At least half of South Carolina Democrats are Black and they could have been persuaded to distance themselves from Clinton because comments she and her husband Bill Clinton made, which some people view as racially insensitive.

Clinton recently stated that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream of racial equality was realized only when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The former president later said that Obama was telling a "fairy tale" about his opposition to the war in Iraq, and that he has received a free pass in this election.

Clinton later went on "Meet the Press" to explain her comments and implied that Obama was injecting race into the election.

"I think it offended some folks who felt that somehow diminished King's role in bringing about the Civil Rights Act. She is free to explain that, but the notion that somehow this is our doing is ludicrous," Obama replied.

According to the A.P., Clinton's advisors claim that an Obama staffer has compiled examples of comments by Clinton and her surrogates that could be construed as racially insensitive. The memo later surfaced on some political Web sites.

"To me, as an African American, I am frankly insulted the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think that Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in Black issues-when Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood; I won't say what he was doing, but he said it in his book-when they have been involved," argued BET founder Bob Johnson in a reference to Obama's past drug use.

Johnson later said he was talking about Obama's community activism and not his past drug use.

Former North Carolina senator John Edwards replied, "I must say I was troubled recently to see a suggestion that real change came not through Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King but through a Washington politician. I fundamentally disagree with that."

Ironically, the change that Dr. King gave his life for could be the same change that gives America its first Black president. As Obama's campaign slogan says, it is a "change we can all believe in."

Barack Wins, One Proud Black Man's Thoughts

2009-06-09T23:09:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/vrRWV)

Barack wins, the feelings of one black man
by George Cook www.letstalkhonestly.com 11/06/08

On Tuesday November 4, 2008 Barack Obama won the presidential election to become the 44th President of the United States. This was a great day for my family. It so moved me that I haven't been able to sleep for two days and am still trying to come to grips with the Barack Obama victory.

Everything is like a blur and I am just starting to realize on November 6 that we have a black president. Even now in my slightly delirious state I keep waiting for some reporter on Fox News to start screaming about a voter discrepancy somewhere. Most likely Alaska.

I knew I had to write something but I was just too emotional or exhausted. Probably a combination of both. That and a few celebratory Heinekens.

Election Day was very special for me and besides the 3 hour wait to vote ( which will become six hours as I age and tell the story of how I walked in six inches of snow with no shoes to vote for Obama 30 years from now ) it was a beautiful day.

Early on I drove 3 elderly African American women who were all over 75 years old to the polls. They were acting like little school girls giggling and smiling. I almost said, "Don't make me pull this car over."

But it hit me that as happy as I was that I could not really appreciate what they felt. At only forty I have not faced real overt racism. But they had, They lived through Jim Crow and segregation. They saw America's ugly side.

Their joy was really one of "We have overcome" and I knew they really appreciated and understood what was happening in their lifetime.

That made me think of my daughter who will in her lifetime think it's normal for a black man to be president and hopefully one day will see a woman attain the highest office in the land. Now when I tell my daughter she can be president I wont be talking out one side of my mouth.

All these thoughts brought a few tears to my eyes. That's a big deal for me since I can only remember crying three times in my adult life. Those three being when my great grandmother died, when my daughter was born, and when the Giants lost the Super Bowl in 2000.

I want to close by returning to those three old women I drove to the polls. Now everyone who has ever been in an old black persons home knows along with plastic covers on the furniture there are pictures of three people you will always see on the wall.

Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King, and John F. Kennedy.

Now they can add one more..............

George L. Cook III www.letstalkhonestly.com

Why are There so Many Crazy Obama Products Being Created and Sold?

2009-06-09T17:10:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/wM5T8)

Its not surprising to see people buying books, newspapers and magazines about our new First Family Obamas. But the other items that seem to be growing in popularity, are truly different and unique. Why, in this time of predicted recession and hard times, are people spending money and all this First Family Obama products?

Besides the usual day after the election, newspapers and magazine craze and stampede, what other types of products are emerging? Well lets see, how about a life size cardboard cutout of Barack Obama, going for almost $30 at amazon. Or if you are into bobble-head collections, you can get a Barack Obama Bobble-Head that talks. What does he say, well, yep, you guessed it, "Yes We Can."

TV Commercials are gracing the airwaves promoting supposedly genuine from the US Mint Department, comemmerative, Barack Obama Coins. Of course they are a limited edition. News sources on MSNBC and CNN stated yesterday that the Obama team advises that these are not created by the government, so you have to be careful as to the validity of the items being peddled.

So why are people buying these items off the internet, and store shelves faster than ice cream sells on a hot august day? Maybe its because his election is one of the most historically significant days in modern day times. It might be that by getting a First Family Obama Product, it makes them feel more like they are somehow attached and included in that history. Maybe it is because they see these items as investments that may be worth more in the future. Of course it could be as easy of an answer to why they get these First Family Obama products is simply because they saw something that they just had to have and bought it impulsively as so many of us do on a regular basis. Just because it makes you temporarily feel happy.

Whatever the reason, the items you can find about the First Family Obama, are as different unique and fun as the popular culture of our American society is, and almost just as diverse, too.

Obama Appears Inevitable While Clinton Only Has Hope

2009-06-09T11:09:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/obama-appears-inevitable-while-clinton-only-has-hope)

Political pundits are beginning to sense an end to the Presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton. Last week Peggy Noonan wrote a column questioning how gracious Hillary Clinton would be in defeat. This week Dick Morris predicted an eventual nomination victory for Barack Obama and the end of the pursuit of the White House by the former First Lady.

So are these pundits correct? Is the race for the Democratic party nomination over? Will it in fact be Barack Obama and John McCain in a race for the White House in the fall? Since at this point in the campaign it is all about the delegate count, let's look at the possibilities.

The delegate count after last night's Potomac Primaries is still very close with Obama leading Clinton by just 67 delegates (1242 to 1175) according to CBS News. The magic number for the Democratic Party Presidential nomination is 2025. Nevertheless the campaign of Hillary Clinton certainly appears to be in big trouble.

Hillary Clinton has lost every primary and caucus since Super Tuesday and her prospects for victory are slim for the rest of the month of February. She has loaned her campaign five million dollars according to various news reports. Her senior staff has been working without pay and her campaign is currently raising half of the amount of new campaign funds on a daily basis in comparison to the campaign of her opponent. She has just replaced her campaign manager.

The Clinton current campaign strategy is to conserve money and concede the remaining state primaries in February to Obama. The campaign is concentrating on winning the remaining primaries in March, April, and May. This would give Barack Obama substantial victories in all the remaining primaries in February (Hawaii, Wisconsin, and Washington). It should give him about 1300 total delegates on March 1, 2008.

This February election result would insure that Clinton would trail Obama by around 90 - 100 delegates entering the March 4, 2008 primary contests of Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont. She will have not beaten Obama in a primary or caucus for a month. To remain in the race, Clinton would need victories approaching 60% of the vote in every remaining state except Mississippi in the month of March. If she somehow pulled this result off she would have about 1436 delegates on April 1, 2007. Obama would win about 165 delegates and his total would be 1465. The dubious news for Hillary Clinton is that Obama would still remain ahead at the end of March in delegates even if Clinton ran the table in March and won each contest (except Mississippi) by a 60-40% margin.

In April, 151 delegates will be at stake in the state of Pennsylvania. Let's assume that Hillary Clinton wins that state with 60% of the vote and captures the same proportion of delegates. Her delegate total would be 1556 to Obama's 1522, giving her a slight lead in delegate count. There would be 214 remaining delegates for the candidates to battle for during the primaries in the month of May.

Therefore, for Hillary Clinton to regain the lead on pledged delegates from Obama, she needs to win all the primaries (except Mississippi) with at least 60% of the vote in March and April. She needs to win the primaries in Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Wyoming, and Pennsylvania. She needs to achieve these primary victories with 60% or more of the vote. She will be outspent by the Obama campaign since he is raising more money. She also needs to produce these victories after a month of non-stop primary losses. Clinton also must realize that this is the same dubious strategy that did not turn out well for Republican Rudy Giuliani at the beginning of the 2008 election season. Based on all these factors, her chance to secure the Democratic Party nomination at this point look like a long shot indeed.

It is true that there are still about 500 remaining Democratic Party super delegates that remain uncommitted to any candidate. These delegates are Democratic party members and insiders. The problem for Hillary Clinton is that these delegates will quickly jump aboard the campaign that looks like a winner during March. After the primaries on March 4, 2008, if Obama is still ahead by at least 100 delegates and has won most of the state primaries and caucuses ( he has won 23 of the 35 to date), the super delegates will begin to endorse him in significant numbers and the Democratic race will be all but over.

The fact is that Obama has been endorsed by too many Democratic party regulars to be a victim of a back room deal that would have most of the remaining super delegates endorse Hillary Clinton. Also, the Democratic party will be careful not to allow insiders to appear to overturn the actual voting results of the primary states. However, in a last desperate attempt to stave off defeat, Hillary Clinton will probably try to use the disqualified delegates in the Michigan and Florida primaries to her advantage. These delegates were disqualified because each state moved its primary forward in the 2008 election calendar. As a result of breaking party rules the states delegates are not currently included in the delegate totals of either candidate.

In general, Hillary Clinton has to hope she can stop Obama's political momentum very soon. Indeed, it now looks like she will be behind by nearly 100 delegates after all the February primaries are finished. One hundred delegates is a dangerous number to be trailing in this election year with the Democratic Party rule of proportionate allocation of the vote for each states delegates. Her only remaining hope is to run the table with big (twenty percentage point) wins in all the remaining primaries during the months of March, April, and May. However, her campaign's last stand may well turn out to be on March 4, 2008 in either Ohio or Texas.

It is interesting to see how things can change so quickly in politics. Six months ago, Hillary Clinton was the candidate of inevitability and Barack Obama was the candidate of hope. In February 2008, each candidate's prospects for the Democratic Presidential nomination are now exactly the reverse.

Obama Mania

2009-06-09T05:09:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/GoMub)

Barack Obama began his term in the Senate in 2005 for the state of Illinois. On February 10, 2007, he officially announced his candidacy for president of the United States. His historic campaign and subsequent election led to a fever in this country; a fever known as Obama mania. Much has led to the mania, but Obama himself has led to most of it. Obama is a man of great charisma and influential articulation; this combined with the country's eagerness for change has led to this Obama mania in the United States and abroad.

People seem to come out of the woodwork when it comes to expressing their belief that Obama is the man who shall clean up our great nation. Oprah certainly added to the furor when she publicly endorsed Barack Obama. She said she felt he is "the One," as if he were a messiah. Savior or not, we have yet to see, but the hope sparked in that comment echoes the hopes expressed all over the country.

Obama is not your normal political candidate. A self-described "mutt," many Americans feel they can relate to him. This is just one aspect of his unending charm and wit. I know I am not alone in this opinion, as millions publicly flaunt these same feelings. Just look at the Obama Girl! Obama did not just campaign with town hall meetings and university speeches; this man was speaking to sold-out stadiums of 50,000 or more. This is a virtually unheard of status among politicians.

Even other countries are catching this Obama mania fever. Foreign nationals the world over were watching on election night as America declared Obama its president. Kenya, where Obama's father hails from, declared November 5th a national holiday. Couples around the globe named their newborns after the President-elect. Obama mania is sure to stick around!

In a campaign full of historic significance, Obama stood out. Running in the primaries against the most formidable of female candidates, Barack showed he can take on the goliaths of Washington. Then, in the actual election, with opposition from yet another historic opponent, he showed that America can rise above its past. On Election Day, 2008, the United States made history and the Obama mania flames were fueled once again.

Black Jew Paves the Way in âisrael for Obamaâ

2009-06-08T23:11:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/JAiVo)

Yeshiyah Amariel, a recognized Orthodox Jew of Hispanic (Cherokee) American descent, is all about Torah, unity and support for Israel.Â His slender form, Chassidic styled black suit, black hat, and dark skin to match would give the first impression that he was a Black Hebrew or Ethiopian Jew, but there is much more to him than meets the eye.Â He is a contributor to AIPAC, member of United Jewish Communities, and has also lived in Israel for several years as a volunteer for an Israeli archaeologist, the Nature and Park Authority and other worthy causes.Â He has been involved in translations of artifacts and excavations of Tel Arad, which is considered the only archaeologically discovered âBYT-YHWHâ in Israel, and received recommendations from colleagues to attend any university in the country to become an archaeologist.Â He is also currently studying to take exams to receive semicha from the Chief rabbinicâs office in Israel.Â

Amarielâs family are among the Native American tribes that many historical figures, such as the 1800s Jew Mordecai Noah, regarded as brothers to the Jewish people and a lost tribe of Israel.Â In 2005 Yeshiyahâs father was published in a Jerusalem Post article by Sheera Frenkel that traced their familyâs Jewish links through Cherokee roots and also spoke concerning his translation of the ancient Hebrew Tanakh into English (referred to as the first of its kind).Â Howshua Amariel (Yeshiyahâs father) is also a rabbi who sits on a Torah-based judicial committee of black Jews with Rabbi Capers C. Funnye Jr., cousin of Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (Senator Barack Obamaâs wife).

In our interview, Yeshiyah Amariel claimed that his grandfather knew Senator Obama back when he was originally running for the Illinois State senate.Â Amariel added âMy grandfather told us that we should support Obama because he has good intentions.Â And given Obamaâs record of support toward Israel since he has been in the US Senate, I was inclined to agree with my grandfather.âÂ âFrom my work, I have received letters of recommendations from Rabbis, Jewish community leaders, and Orthodox Israeli Jews in support of my goals to become an official rabbi in the State; but it wasnât easyâ said Amariel, stating that it took years for them to know that he was sincere in his objectives.Â He imagined that the same would be for Obama and decided to offer his assistance.Â So Amariel called the Obama Headquarters in Chicago and volunteered directly with officials and offered his aid to anything he and other supporters in Israel could give.Â âWhen we called the operators were excited to hear from Americans calling from Israel to volunteer for the movement for change.â Â âFrom then I got in contact with Obamaâs Mid-East and Jewish advisor Eric Lynn and let him know that we were starting this âcampaignâ in Israel to support Obama.Â I also urged him that Obama should consider a visit to Israel and if he did we would be there to show our support.â

On the political scene, Amariel is a member of Democrats Abroad in Israel, and the lead manager and strategist for the âIsrael for Obamaâ campaign started in Israel.Â His group of American Israelis helped comfort Jews and Israelis to the idea of an Obama presidency and organize Americans living in Israel to vote for Barack Obama. Â One of the members of the group Samson Altman-Schevitz also lived in Chicago and knew Michelle Obama when she served as the Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago.Â They have a blog on Obamaâs official page, but beside that Yeshiyah is also a member of other pro-Obama Jewish groups in the United States like Orthodox Jews for Obama and Jews for Obama (whom have supported their efforts in Israel).Â After Senator Obamaâs visit to Israel, Yeshiyah and his group have received letters of cooperation with DA Israel chair Joanne Yaron and DNC supported Middle-East regional director Bob Barad in Italy.

Amariel also has written and received at least two letters from the Senator concerning his positions on Iran (Sanction bills passed), Israel (his commit to their continued aid) and the Palestinian conflict (to abstain from additional fighting that could prevent the peace process).Â Â Yeshiyah hopes to provide the Israeli people with a direct link to the Illinois senator to better understand his positions when concerning Israel and the Jewish people.Â He also wants to establish this connection for average Israelis to express their views from the grassroots.

âWe interview American Israelis all over Israelâ stated Amariel as he referred to their âIsraelforObamaâ YouTube Channel.Â ââ¦the number one reason why most Jews we talk to have a good opinion of Obama is because of the idea of unity within his campaignâs message.Â Some believe that kind of idea of harmony may be what the Middle East could use to become peaceful.Â I believe itâs what should be used to bring Jews together around our common goals.â

Sources:

Barack Obama Israel for Obama blog [http://ping.fm/Dw2CF]

Americanâs Election HQ; Wednesday, July 23, 2008; âObama Calls for âLasting Peaceâ in Israel, Warns of Iranian Threatâ by FOXNews.com.Â Â [http://ping.fm/PHIt6]

TIME Magazine; Wednesday, Jul. 23, 2008 âObama Tours Holocaust Memorialâ By AP/DAVID ESPOÂ [http://ping.fm/P7lks]

Barack ObamaÂ Orthodox Jews For BO group [http://ping.fm/mBS0g]

The Philadelphia Jewish Voice- Democrats Abroad Israel; Bridging the Gap between Israel and America Israeli-Americans: The Hyphenated Citizens. [http://ping.fm/czGkk]

Democrats Abroad Israel Â [http://ping.fm/Gu9zX]

Barrack Hussein Obama

2009-06-08T17:15:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/SlHZO)

His Cup Is Empty – His Life A Mystery

Barack Hussein has been on a long leave of absence for over 20 years, or maybe he suffers from amnesia or early Alzheimers and yet America is willing to gamble on a “dark horse” an “unknown” as President of our United States.

This man’s cup is empty, his life a mystery and the Liberal News Media are scrambling to hide his many secrets, because they are determined to play politics and spend millions of dollars to get this man in the Presidential seat.

CNN should hide their head in shame, because their news is not just biased and laced with propaganda – it shows their allegiance isn’t for their country, their children or children’s children, but for a man whose core values are radical and so extreme that many liberals are rejecting Barack Hussein Obama.

Real men are proud to share their accomplishments, goals and dreams – others show shame by refusing to discuss their past. Barack Hussein obviously is a man with a dark past – he’s ashamed and frightened that his so-called friends will expose him, before November 4th, 2008.

It seems Hussein spends his waking hours trying to run from his Columbia and Harvard days, his community service, his Senate voting record, his campaign problems and his closest friends.

Well, Mr. Barack Hussein Obama can run, but he can’t hide. Fox, Newsmax, Hometown, Red State and many, many more journalists, political commentators and concerned Americans will spend every waking hour of each day prior to 10/04/08 telling voters about this Democratic President Elect.

The story that will be shared with Americans will be “non fiction” and like a puzzle with missing pieces, his whole life story will be retrieved piece by piece for all to see. This isn’t a matter of politics – it’s a matter of life, our life and what will happen if this man becomes the next President of the United States.

These Americans who love their country will give you facts, the “real truth,” and the necessary tools to discover who Barack Hussein Obama really is and what he’s been doing for 20 plus years.

Hillary Clinton knows that Obama plays dirty, refuses to listen to FEC, refuses to produce Senate records (as requested) and has unlimited funds behind him. As a grandmother, I pray Hillary and Bill Clinton will step forward and do the right thing before the election.

Reverend Jeremiah Wright will definitely have a surprise for Hussein very soon, because no one has a right to step on Wright’s toes and defame him in front of the world. Jeremiah will no doubt do the “Wright” thing whatever that may be…

The Acorn group, Weathermen underground and many other “radical” groups are getting tired of Hussein’s reluctance to support them and exhibit leadership abilities – they didn’t spend all of their money, time and support for naught and they won’t let Barack Obama destroy them. Before November 4th, some of these people will step forward!

Americans do your homework, find out who this man really is, what he stands for and what his plans are for you and your families. This isn’t about “crappy politics” as usual this is about a devious, self centered individual that wants to place his fellow Americans in dangers way.

As Always, Annie

Lawsuit Claims Obama not a US Citizen

2009-06-08T11:11:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/JZqt5)

By Michael Webster: Investigative Reporter Aug 22, 2008 10:30 AM PST

The complaint is asking for declaratory (asking the court to declare Obama is not a US citizen, a “natural born” citizen and not eligible under the qualifications of the US Constitution to run for Office of President).

The law suite is asking for a temporary restraining order (TRO) prohibiting Obama from running for President until documents are provided proving he is eligible to run for POTUS.

The lawsuit was filed by a Phillip J. Berg (former chair of the PA democratic party) in Philadelphia courthouse against Barack Obama and the DNC for Obama’s ineligibility to run for President of the United States based on his not being a “natural born” citizen:

The lawsuit contends that Obama has held multiple (Kenya and Indonesia citizenships) and that he was actually born in Kenya, not Hawaii as Obama has claimed. The lawsuit has also been filed against the DNC.

The prominent Philadelphia attorney and Hillary Clinton supporter filed the suite in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee. The suite further seeks an injunction preventing the senator from continuing his candidacy and a court order enjoining the DNC from nominating him at the upcoming Demo convention. The law suite claims that Sen. Obama is constitutionally ineligible to run for and hold the office of President of the United States.

Phillip Berg, the filing attorney, is a former gubernatorial and senatorial candidate, former chair of the Democratic Party in Montgomery (PA) County, former member of the Democratic State Committee, and former Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania. According to Berg, he filed the suit--just days before the DNC are to hold its nominating convention in Denver--for the health of the Democratic Party.

"I filed this action at this time," Berg stated, "to avoid the obvious problems that will occur when the Republican Party raises these issues after Obama is nominated."

Berg cited a number of unanswered questions regarding the Illinois senator's background, and in the lawsuit documents maintained that Sen. Obama is not a naturalized U.S. citizen or that, if he ever was, he lost his citizenship when he was adopted in Indonesia. Berg also cites what he calls "dual loyalties" due to his citizenship and ties with Kenya and Indonesia.

Even if Sen. Obama can prove his U.S. citizenship, Berg stated, citing the senator's use of a birth certificate from the state of Hawaii verified as a forgery by three independent document forensic experts, the issue of "multi-citizenship with responsibilities owed to and allegiance to other countries" remains on the table.

In the lawsuit, Berg states that Sen. Obama was born in Kenya, and not in Hawaii as the senator maintains. Before giving birth, according to the lawsuit, Obama's mother traveled to Kenya with his father but was prevented from flying back to Hawaii because of the late stage of her pregnancy, "apparently a normal restriction to avoid births during a flight." As Sen. Obama's own paternal grandmother, half-brother and half-sister have also claimed, Berg maintains that Stanley Ann Dunham--Obama's mother--gave birth to little Barack in Kenya and subsequently flew to Hawaii to register the birth.

Berg cites inconsistent accounts of Sen. Obama's birth, including reports that he was born at two separate hospitals--Kapiolani Hospital and Queens Hospital--in Honolulu, as well a profound lack of birthing records for Stanley Ann Dunham, though simple "registry of birth" records for Barack Obama are available in a Hawaiian public records office.

Should Sen. Obama truly have been born in Kenya, Berg writes, the laws on the books at the time of his birth hold that U.S. citizenship may only pass to a child born overseas to a U.S. citizen parent and non-citizen parent if the former was at least 19 years of age. Sen. Obama's mother was only 18 at the time. Therefore, because U.S. citizenship could not legally be passed on to him, Obama could not be registered as a "natural born" citizen and would therefore be ineligible to seek the presidency pursuant to Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution.

Moreover, even if Sen. Obama could have somehow been deemed "natural born," that citizenship was lost in or around 1967 when he and his mother took up residency in Indonesia, where Stanley Ann Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian citizen. Berg also states that he possesses copies of Sen. Obama's registration to Fransiskus Assisi School in Jakarta, Indonesia which clearly show that he was registered under the name "Barry Soetoro" and his citizenship listed as Indonesian.

The Hawaiian birth certificate, Berg says, is a forgery. In the suit, the attorney states that the birth certificate on record is a forgery, has been identified as such by three independent document forensic experts, and actually belonged to Maya Kasandra Soetoro, Sen. Obama's half-sister.

"Voters donated money, goods and services to elect a nominee and were defrauded by Sen. Obama's lies and obfuscations," Berg stated. "If the DNC officers ... had performed one ounce of due diligence we would not find ourselves in this emergency predicament, one week away from making a person the nominee who has lost their citizenship as a child and failed to even perform the basic steps of regaining citizenship as prescribed by constitutional laws."

"It is unfair to the country," he continued, "for candidates of either party to become the nominee when there is any question of the ability to serve if elected."

For more articles by Michael Webster go to: www.lagunajournal.com

Obama Popularizes Himself Among Youth Through E-marketing

2009-06-07T17:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/obama-popularizes-himself-among-youth-through-e-marketing)

If Barack Obama becomes the next President of the United States of America, the country can assure that they will not fall short on one account, e-marketing. Demagogic run by Obama among the youth in the ongoing Democratic presidential primaries have stunned analysts and psephologists alike.

The curiosity led the experts to pry into how Obama was able to muster the positive vibes of the youth in favor of him. It was evident in the final lab report Barack camp extensively used social networking and video sharing sites to great effect in garnering votes of the youth. His success in using social medium as an electioneering tool clearly shows that a new guru has arrived in the world of e-marketing.

A survey showed that if one does not include social media in one's election campaigns it would be hard to draw the attention of the youth. Majority of the youth interact through social networking sites since internet connectivity has increased to larger areas. Blog sites have virtually become e-diaries of today's youth as outlets to vent their social and emotional feelings as well.

As a result, social media have supplanted televisions, radios and other advertising spaces for election campaigns. Hence, it has been proved, it would be preposterous to avoid employing social media especially, in a high voltage election campaigns such as, the US presidential primaries.

A statistics from a section of the press stated, immediately after the Second Super Saturday, Hillary Rodham Clinton had a comfortable margin of 15 percent lead over Barack Hussein Obama in Pennsylvania. But the same team of public opinion poll managers gave Clinton just 5 percent lead over Obama just two days before the same primary election.

Creating a huge 10 percent swing in favor of any candidate, that too in a month's time, was unheard of in Pennsylvania. The credit goes to Barack camp, their stupendous game plan to engage with the youth through sublime tentacles of social suggestion has succeeded in gaining an all important 10 percentage points. If the alleged ‘terror tactics’ of releasing an Al Qaida video by Hillary camp would not have happened, Barack's positive campaigning might have closed in the gap, and even he would have won the Pennsylvania primary. Still he has lost by only 10% as compared to the projection of 15% a month ago.

Comparative study on the usage of social networking and video sharing sites, one can see, again Obama winning hands down over his rival. Hillary uses the services of leading six e-communities where as Obama has made him available on 16 e-communities. On one hand, Hillary's e-community spaces are sprawled with unpopular class room content, but Obama occupies his spaces with youthful jargons and related video contents on the other. Such measures have endeared Barack among the youth, which ultimately turned into votes all through the election, where Obama was trailing far behind Hillary before the start of the primaries.

Whether Barack Obama makes it to the White House or not, something is sure, his election strategy is here to stay for a long time. Hitherto, such marketing strategies were confined to e-commerce portals including Business to Consumer and Business to Business portals. For a successful business, one should know to market oneself well, and Obama has succeeded in doing so. Thereby, his business sense leaves a trail of new strategy in the field of election campaigning which could be replicated elsewhere. He also gives businesses a new lesson to use this social media to market one's products or services which is until now used sparingly with stereo-typed content.

The Obama Train Rolls On!

2009-06-07T11:06:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/BBeou)

There's a big debate in tinsle-town tonight and the TWO BIG GUNS get to square off at each other and I am sure they will. Hillary needs to regain some MO as in momentum. The uncontested win in Florida where no delegate seats were up for grabs didn't get Hillary anything but a few minutes of TV exposure. The South Carolina landslide is still sliding for Barack Obama- even past the Ted Kennedy kudos!

If you wondered whether if the Barack-Star could compete for the Super Tuesday sweepstakes. Think no longer! $32,000,000.00 says he can!

Barack Obama raised $32 million in the single month of January, matching his best three-month period last year, aides said Thursday. The money positions Obama for the sweeping Feb. 5 primary contests, when 22 states will be in play for the Democratic nomination. Aides also announced that with their money they can now advertise in states beyond the Super Tuesday.

Obama is advertising in all but two of the Feb. 5 states and plans to begin advertising in states with upcoming contests, including Louisiana, Washington, Nebraska, Maine, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Campaign manager David Plouffe said the campaign attracted 170,000 new donors for a total of 650,000 donors overall.

"We think that the strength of our financial position and the number of donors does speak to financial sustainability if it ends up going through March and April," Plouffe said of the race. "We think we will have the financial resources to conduct vigorous campaigns in the states to come."

And one of those contributors came from Hillary's home state of New York.

The late New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan threw his considerable political weight behind Hillary Clinton, helping her win her Senate seat from a state where she had never lived, but that hasn't deterred his widow from backing Hillary's rival Barack Obama for 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

In a statement e-mailed to David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Obama, Elizabeth B. Moynihan attributed her support for Obama to Caroline Kennedy Schlosberg's Times Op-Ed article where JFK's daughter endorsed Barack Obama, as well as her own displeasure with Bill and Hillary Clinton's recent hostility toward Obama’s candidacy. You just never know what one person's endorsement might bring.

Mrs. Moynihan wrote that her husband, who died in 2003, “would have become excited, as I have, to see Barack Obama rekindle hope in our young as he encourages them to participate in the political process, and I know Pat would approve, applaud and encourage me to join Caroline Kennedy in supporting Barack Obama’s candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president. It is a rare gift to be able to inspire people to share a vision that requires commitment and dedication.

Barack should be all smiles before the debate tonight. We'll have to wait until the debate is over to see if he's still smiling. With John Edwards out for the Democrats (and Rudy for the Republicans) the stage is really small now for tonights Democratic debate.

Obama for âchangeâ? Heâs Got My Vote!

2009-06-07T05:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/zq9Da)

Have you heard the good news? Barack Obama is for change! Well, that seals it! Heâs got my vote!

Why you ask? Isnât he a liberal Democrat? Well yeah, but heâs for change! So letâs look at the status quo which he will be looking at changing shall we?

First up is McCain/Feingold which is a horrible restriction on free speech despite the constitutional provision prohibiting Congress from making any law that restricts our freedom of speech. Elect Obama and he will âchangeâ this and end this horrible law.

Next are the constant infringements on our second amendment rights by the myriad of gun laws on the books which do not punish criminal activity but rather simply infringe on the rights of law abiding citizens to own arms. Elect Obama and he will âchangeâ this.

Then there is the horrid income tax which basically allows the government to take money you worked hard for before you get a chance to spend or save it unless you put it in one of their approved forms of investment. Since I firmly believe that the money earned by people in compensation for their labor belongs to them first and not the government I have to vote for Obama because he will âchangeâ this.

Moving on, there is that pesky problem of unborn children who are both alive (see basic definition of life if you disagree) and human being denied their constitutional protections and being murdered. That is definitely something that needs changing. So Barack Obama appears to be our man!

Oh, and then there is the constant treasonous messages coming from our elected officials during a time of war which continually go unpunished. Personally Iâm tired of the claims that our troops are cold-blooded murderers and that the war is lost being echoed by terrorists around the world to give aid and comfort to their followers. With his campaign promise of âchangeâ, President Obama will undoubtedly correct this and start prosecuting the offenders.

And what about Social Security? After all it is clearly above and beyond the limited powers of the federal government to tax and spend. Just read Thomas Jefferson, James Madison (including his Federalist 41) and any other of a myriad of founding fathers that actually wrote the Constitution. So apparently with Barack Obama in the White House we can expect this massive mortgaging of our future to be ended in the name of âchangeâ.

Along those same lines we can obviously expect an end to Welfare.

War on Poverty? Gone - ended in the name of âchangeâ. Weâve spent trillions and still have âpovertyâ so it apparently hasnât worked. Elect Barack Obama and we can get away from this failed policy and save us billions.

Then of course Barack Obama will obviously terminate the Department of Education which is also specified nowhere as a power of our government. Can you feel the winds of âchangeâ blowing yet?

Ah! Iâm swelling with pride at knowing that there is a candidate that is going to help âchangeâ America for the better! But wait, more âchangeâ would be on the way if Obama is elected!

How about policies and laws that classify people by the color of their skin, ethnic background, sex, and so on and grant them special rights and privileges based on that classification? Gone! All in the name of âchangeâ!

Huh? Whatâs that? Thatâs not the sort of âchangeâ Barack Obama is talking about? Well, of course itâs not. And Iâm not really going to vote for him either because I know that.

What I was demonstrating to you was how many people will vote for him based on his broad based message of simply âchangeâ. Every speech Barack Obama gives he makes sure that the center point of it is this one word and repeats it as often as he thinks he can get away with it because to claim to be for âchangeâ gives people a blank slate upon which to project their own hopes and desires.

Donât like a certain policy? Well, Barack Obama is for âchangeâ. So he hopes that you will consider voting for him in the hope that when he talks about simply being for change. Heâll only talk about specifics of his policy for âchangeâ when he has to. No need to give people willing to believe what they want to believe anything to not like after all.

But when he does talk about specifics we really see that what he calls âchangeâ is not much more than the status quo; bigger government and less liberty on a greater scale than we already have.

The only question is how long he can ride this wave of nebulousness before he actually has to start delving a little deeper into what changes he actually proposes. And how much longer until people figure out that when he is talking about âchangeâ he really means more of the same failed policies that have put America in the precarious situation it is in today? And will people even care?

I shudder to think that they will not.

Obama, 2009 Election, Prophecy & Godâs Blessing on Black Americans

2009-06-06T23:08:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/obama-2009-election-prophecy-goda%c2%80%c2%99s-blessing-on-black-americans)

An ancient blessing on black Americans will take full effect in 2009. Thousands of years ago God had placed a blessing on black Israelites through Jeremiah. It was not to come about until a certain number of years expired. Those years will have expired in 2009. There might be a spectacular manifestation of Godâs blessing as two black men, Barack Obama and Colin Powell, ascend to the very top of national and world power.

Godâs 2500-year span for Israel and Judah

Standard lengths of Biblical dispersions have been 2500 and 390 years. This information is not new.

Researchers have already noted that the modern nation of Israel (Judea) began to form after the Balfour Declaration in 1917, which was 2500 was years after Jews were dispersed in 583 BC. Researchers have also noted that the United States began in 1776, which was 2500 years after Old Testament Israel was dispersed in 724 BC.

Applying the 2500-year dispersion to the black experience

Researchers have always applied the 2500-year span to the white experience. I believe I am adding completely unique and original information to studies of the 2500-year span by applying it to the black experience. This information provides the Biblical significance of Barack Obamaâs meteoric success in his campaign for the White House. Obama would not have been successful if God had forgotten the blessing that He had made to black Israelites through Jeremiah.

Refreshing your memory about the 2500-year span

The Israelite capital of Samaria was built in 880 BC. Israelites were dispersed by God to be without a homeland for 2500 years. Those 2500 years ended in exactly 1620 when Pilgrims built the Plymouth Colony in the New Testament Promised Land of North America.

The people of Israel had lost their nation in 724 BC after their defeat by Assyria. God set a span of years for them to go without a nation. Exactly 2500 years later, in 1776, New Testament Israel won a war of independence and again became a nation.

The 2500-year blessing on black Israelites

My study explains the timely rise of black Americans to the top leadership positions in New Testament Israel (USA). Their rise was set to occur in 2009, which seems to be the year Barack Obama will become President or Vice President of the United States. It appears that God will make a spectacular and welcomed manifestation of a blessing He once pronounced through the prophet Jeremiah.

In order to comprehend black Israelite history, you need to review the Books of Kings and recognize the distinction between Israel and Judah. Israelites left the Promised Land when Assyrians dispersed them in 724 BC. Jews were dispersed by Babylonians over a hundred years later.

A black Remnant was left behind

In my opinion, Assyrians and Babylonians ignored black and white laborers when they sought captives to take back to their countries. The Biblical account seems to indicate that captors took only nobility and highly skilled artisans. Everyone else was left behind. I think that many black and white laborers remained in the Promised Land after wealthy Israelites and Jews were taken captive. Jeremiah called them the Remnant.

The government in Jerusalem had remained for over a hundred years after Assyrians took the Israelite government away. So, for a while the government in Jerusalem protected the Remnant from raiders. But, after Jewish leaders were taken captive by Babylonians, the remaining government was gone. Police protection was gone. The black Remnant was left without protection from hostile tribes that stole their harvests and burned their homes. So, they decided to give up on the Promised Land and move to Egypt, which was part of Africa.

Jeremiahâs promise of a blessing for the Remnant

The prophet Jeremiah was dispatched by God to announce a double-edged blessing for black Israelites. Essentially God said that He intended to make the black Remnant into a great nation. The Remnant would have become a world empire if it had remained in the Promised Land. I hope nobody passes up an opportunity like that again.

God essentially said, âWe can do this the short way or we can do this the long way (Jeremiah 42-45). Either way, you are going to be my people and I am going to bless you.â

The Remnant decided to do it the long way and they proceeded into Egypt and Africa. The Remnant also decided to continue to celebrate Ishtar (Easter) and make Easter cakes. They didnât want to give up pagan observations. If a lesson were to be learned, it would be to drop the pagan aspects of the Resurrection celebration.

It must have been a spectacle to behold. Jeremiah was a blue-eyed white man according to an account written by the Jewish Princess Tephi. He probably stood on a rock to address the Remnant and announce Godâs blessings. I assume Jeremiah was very disappointed when the Remnant chose to proceed to Egypt/Africa. In retrospect we see that the blessing to the Remnant was postponed for the same 2500-year span that had been applied to those Israelites who had been taken captive by Assyrians. We shall see that additional time was added. Eventually, Godâs blessing would take effect in 2009.

Godâs blessing is becoming apparent as the year 2009 approaches. Amazingly enough, another blue-eyed white man is addressing black Americans and reminding them that God is keeping His promise and will now bless them. The elections of Barack Obama and Colin Powell are proof that God is keeping his word.

Black American researchers have believed that Isaiah 45:14 was a prophecy of African slaves brought to America. I will add my belief that God brought His wayward Remnant back to Him when slave ships landed in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. Recall that Israelites who had once been taken captive by Assyrians had completed their 2500-year dispersion in 1620? Normally, the Remnant would have also finished their dispersion in 1620. But, God added time to the Remnant because they had once refused to return to the Promised Land. The time that was added matched standard Biblical lengths.

If you are doing the math as you read along, you need to understand that the year 1619 is the same as 1620. This is because spans of years from one date to another can be figured inclusively and exclusively. Plus, Old Testament Israelites used the Hebrew Calendar, which began in September. The point is that 1619 and 1620 can be reckoned to be the same year.

An additional 250-year span

You might ask why the Remnant continued as slaves after the 2500-year curse ended in 1620. The answer is that God had told the Remnant they would lose their connection to Him. This disconnection happened over time. The Remnant blended into African populations and lost its connection to God and the Promised Land.

Because the Remnant became disconnected from the true God, it had to be reconnected. This is where an additional 250-year span came in. Disobedient forefathers in the time of Jeremiah had condemned their descendants to an additional 10% (2500 x 10%=250). During this additional 250-year period the Remnant reconnected to the God their ancient ancestors had forsaken.

This additional 250-year span ended in 1868 when black men were finally given American citizenship as a result of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. By 1868, the Remnant had thoroughly reconnected with God and God rewarded them with citizenship in their New Testament Promised Land. Whatâs more, black Americans have become champions of Christianity. In contrast, many white Americans are dangerously drifting from God. White Americans ought to consider the severe punishment that God has had for backsliders.

390 years and Godâs fulfilled promises

The Remnant had another span of time to fulfill before they could rise to the blessing God had promised them. God said He would make the Remnant a great people. In retrospect we see that Godâs promise would come about 390 years after they arrived in Jamestown in 1620. That would be 2009. In 2009, when Barack Obama takes office, we will see that God did indeed keep His promise. And it would not surprise me to find that both Barack Obama and Colin Powell are the descendants of the very leaders to whom Jeremiah promised this blessing at the time of the dispersion (Diaspora).

In Ezekiel 4, we see that God applied a 390-year time span to Israelites. It is now apparent that the 390-year span was applied to the Remnant. The Remnant had been brought back to God in 1619/1920. But, it would not be for another 390 years that the blessing would take full effect. After 390 years, which will be exactly 2009, God will raise black leaders up to the height of power in Godâs great nation. God had promised the Remnant through Jeremiah that He would do this- and we are about to see God fulfill His promise in 2009 in a spectacular way.

Barack Obama is the champion of the Democratic Party and Colin Powell will become the champion of the Republican Party. It appears that a black person will henceforth be in the White House simply to capture the black vote in every future presidential election.

I brought up the 2500-year span for Judah. I believe when we see that the 2500-year time span for Judah was fulfilled, we will be assured that the 390-year time span for black Americans will be fulfilled.

Researchers have noted that a 2500-year time span applied to Judah. In 533 BC some Jews had returned to Jerusalem after their Babylonian captivity. 2500 years later, in 1969, they took possession of the City of Jerusalem after the 6-day War.

40 years, Ezekiel and Ethiopian Jews

In Ezekiel 4, we see that God applied a 40-year time span to Judah. This is in contrast to the 390-year span applied to Israelites. These are actually positive and beneficial years for Black Jews and Black Israelites. They are years of reconnection to God that end in great blessings.

Black Israelites: Ezekiel 4:5 I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the house of Israel.

Black Jews: Ezekiel 4:6 "After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the house of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.

A 40-year reconnection process for Black Jews began in 1969 when an explorer discovered a large population of Black Orthodox Jews in Ethiopia and brought them to world attention. In that same year, the first of a serious of efforts began to connect Ethiopian Jews to the modern nation of Israel. In 1969 Dr. Graenum Berger founded the American Association for Ethiopian Jews. Since that year, investigators declared Ethiopian Jews to be blood descendants ancient Jews. Remnant Jews began migration back to the Promised Land.

We see Ezekielâs 40-year time span between 1969 and 2009. The 390-year span that was applied to Remnant Israelites will have run concurrent to the 40-year span applied to Remnant Jews. Both spans will end in 2009.

You might ask why Black Jews faired better than Black Israelites when it came to lengths of time spans. One reason might be that the Remnant in Ethiopia continued to worship God and retained its identity. In contrast, Remnant Israelites totally disconnected from God and lost their identity. This necessitated a painful reconnection period. Slavery was utilized as a means to cleanse Remnant Israelites and to acculturate them. Unlike Remnant Israelites, Ethiopian Jews have had no need to be acculturated.

Can all this be true? I donât think the experiences of Black Jews and Black Israelites, in light of Ezekielâs prophecies, can be dismissed as pure coincidence. Plus, the experience of white Jews and white Israelites blends in perfectly. Time spans and dates are too exact to be coincidental. Of course, there are always atheists and racist religious leaders that are emotionally motivated to âdisproveâ anything that substantiates prophecy and/or elevates the status of Black people.

What is the message and the moral?

The message is that God controls everything He wants to control, including presidential elections. If you think the election of Barack Obama and Colin Powell are Godâs decisions, you are right. If you think the return of Jews to Jerusalem was Godâs decision, you are right. And the Bible clearly states that Palestinians and Jews will live in peace. That now seems impossible but prophecy states it will happen.

The moral of this research is that Christians and Jews, whether black or white, had better remain close to God and do what He tells them to do. Also, do not adopt foreign religions, pagan practices and atheism. 2500 years is a long time to wander the earth as prey to other people. It is a long time to be without a place to call home. Chains of love can be miserable, even when they are Godâs chains.

Do the math

I am including the math for your convenience and I hope you will search the Internet for related information provided by other researchers.

Judah White:

583 BC Diaspora + 2500 = 1917 Balfour Declaration & return of Jews.

533 BC Reenter Jerusalem + 2500 = Jews Reenter Jerusalem after 6-Day War.

Judah Black:

1969 AD Orthodox Ethiopians Discovered + 40 = 2009

Israel White:

880 BC Samaria built + 2500 = 1620 Pilgrims built Plymouth Colony.

724 BC Israelites lost nation + 2500 = 1776 Americans became a nation.

Israel Black:

1620 Slaves from Africa + 250 = 1868 14th Amendment citizenship.

1619 + 390 = 2009 Election of Barack Obama to White House.

_____________________________________

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Obama to Make First Pentagon Visit

2009-06-06T17:10:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/RlH4c)

President Barack Obama will make a short trip from the White House to the Pentagon on Wednesday, for fresh "unvarnished" advice from military brass on his Iraq withdrawal plan and the Afghan war.

In his first week in office, the new US commander-in-chief Obama has already instructed military planners to draw up proposals which would allow him to honor his campaign pledge to get most troops out of Iraq within 16 months.

The meetings on Wednesday were the latest step of a process initiated by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to introduce Obama to all the key players in formulating his war strategy, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

The president will get to meet "all the people that are involved in these decisions and all the people that are involved in committing the lives of men and women in our uniform," said Gibbs.

The ultimate idea was for the generals to offer Obama advice in an "unvarnished way," he said.

In his first days in office last week, Obama sat down with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, and General David Petraeus, head of US Central Command.

During his first visit to the Pentagon, Obama is to meet with Mullen and Gates. He is also to meet for the first time with the chiefs of staff of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Marine Corps.

"They want an opportunity to talk about Afghanistan and continue the discussion on Iraq," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said on Monday.

Obama will also, at a later date, get some time for in-depth talks with General David McKiernan, commander of NATO forces and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, Gibbs said.

The new president has pledged to boost US forces in that country amid deteriorating security.

Some 36,000 US troops are currently deployed in Afghanistan, half of them operating under NATO. The Pentagon has promised to deploy up to 30,000 additional forces to Afghanistan, nearly doubling the US force there.

Obama argued last week that the war in Afghanistan, which he called "the central front in our enduring struggle against terrorism and extremism," could not be separated from the volatile border area with Pakistan, where Al-Qaeda and Taliban elements have regrouped.

"My administration is committed to refocusing attention and resources on Afghanistan and Pakistan and to spending those resources wisely," said Obama when he appointed Richard Holbrooke as US envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan on Thursday.

As part of his diplomatic push, the president said he would work with NATO allies and other states in the region, which could include central Asian countries and India -- Pakistan's arch-rival.

A debate is brewing over Obama's 16-month timeline for withdrawal from Iraq, where 143,000 US troops are currently deployed.

Following their meeting with Obama on January 21, Gates and Mullen shied away from endorsing the accelerated timetable. Gates cautioned that the session was just "the beginning of a process of evaluating various options."

Gates and Mullen have stressed that a series of elections in Iraq make this an important year for stabilizing the country.

Provincial elections are scheduled for January 31, marking the first time that Iraq's Sunnis will be going to the polls in large numbers after boycotting the last elections in 2005.

Obama will face the demands of the military joint chiefs, who want to ease the stress on their forces deployed on both fronts for several years, and those of General Raymond Odierno, commander of US forces in Iraq, who worries that a precipitous withdrawal could threaten security gains there.

US Marines Corps Commandant James Conway said he was ready to send "20,000 or less" Marines to Afghanistan, where about 2,200 Marines are currently deployed. He cautioned however that "anything you put into Afghanistan must necessarily come from a reduction of the number of Marines in Iraq."

Under an agreement signed between Washington and Baghdad in November, the US military is due to withdraw its combat troops from the country by the end of 2011.

In his first formal interview as president earlier this week, Obama told the pan-Arab Al-Arabiya television network his administration would be more actively engaged in Middle East diplomacy than Bush.

He told the Muslim world that "Americans are not your enemy," and pledged that his administration would "do a more effective job of reaching out, listening as well as speaking to the Muslim world."

Property in North Cyprus - Barack Obama Outlines His Position

2009-06-06T05:08:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/X8tya)

This November's American election already dominates the global media, with diplomats, politicians, journalists and commentators all hanging on each twist of the would-be most powerful man on Earth's policy and any hint, poll or rumor that suggests who might finally win.

The Cyprus reunification talks, which are now underway, are fused with the interest and support of the wider international community, but especially that of the UN, Turkey and Greece, whose input to the negotiations taking place between Demetris Christofias, of the Republic of Cyprus, and his Turkish counterpart, Mehmet Ali Talat is crucial.

The fact that Cyprus is now a member of the EU also plays a huge bearing on the reunification talks, because discussions regarding Turkey's entry into the EU are due to officially restart next year. With Cyprus now having the right to veto Turkey's membership, the Greek Cypriots have made no secret of their desire to see Ankara contributing to the reunification attempts - through their relationship to Talat - in a proactive and positive way.

The EU itself cannot mediate the talks because now that Cyprus is a member there would be an obvious issue with neutrality, not least because so many of the EU leaders greeted Christofias with enthusiasm and friendship following his successful election this February. For this reason the UN, who brokered the 2004 attempt at reunification - the Annan Plan - are going to play a crucial role in this current attempt at reunification. Already the UN has Alexander Downer as a special envoy for Cyprus, and the liberal, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, seems to have proven a good choice for the role.

In the future the UN's role may be fairly broad - from organising a PR exercise that does for civil society what Greek Cypriot state media entirely failed to do during the crucial referendum stage of the Annan plan, to running opinion polls in an attempt to foster social unison.

Addressing the UN General Assembly for the first time, Christofias described the UN as 'an essential institution for our global survival and for the further development of humanity in a balanced and fair way in increasingly difficult conditions.'

Christofias added that the UN represented the 'will of the international community for Cyprus to survive' and this week Obama described his vision of this surviving little island in the east of the Mediterranean.

Obama, and his running mate Joe Biden, issued a statement this week regarding the future of the long divided island. The democrat ticket suggested that they would support a reunification plan that led to an island where 'two communities... [are] able to exercise substantial political authority in ... [their] own geographical zone.'

The presidential hopeful went on to qualify his hopes by adding that 'a just and mutually agreed settlement' would be dependent on resolving those 'difficult issues like property refugees, land and security', which is exactly what Talat and Christofias are attempting to do during their weekly meetings which are now going on.

The international recognition of the current round of reunification talks further emphasizes the fact that a workable solution to the Cyprus issue is more graspable now than it has ever been in the past. Even the basic fact that Talat and Christofias share a left-wing ideology and appear to get on is a massive improvement on the stalled and pessimistic attitude that was allowed to fester under the five year incumbent Tassos Papadopoulos.

This means that people wondering where the best place to buy investment property is should be keeping an eye on the property market in North Cyprus, where property is far cheaper than in the Republic of Cyprus. For when reunification comes to the island, property values, which are already increasing at an unprecedented rate, will truly boom.

Getting Adequate House Indemnity Exposure for Enormous Prices Without Concession

2009-06-06T05:08:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/jeWq1)

You can get sufficient home insurance quotes without paying top charge if you know and apply the little things that make the variation. Even though this does not deal with your house assurance strategy straightforwardly we'll add it since it decides what you'd have to procure before you'll be deemed to have sufficient exposure for your house. Dwellings in flood-prone regions are not considered as passably assured without a deluge assurance strategy and this means around five hundred yearly. Apart from if you're purchasing your house; just know that any mortgagor would claim deluge assurance if your house is in a flood-prone area.

Unless you know the extra spend is a wise conciliation, you'll spend less if you purchase a dwelling in an area that won't claim deluge assurance. Do you have a conflagration extinguisher in your house? If you do not have any other place, make sure your kitchen has one. It's essential that the conflagration extinguisher be ample for the region it is meant to defend. And, do not disregard that you must make them very simply available. This will help decrease your house assurance payment. Many assurance consumers do not take benefit of their states branch of assurance. I

f you need clean information you can this is the exact place. Having admittance to information you can trust will make it easier for you to make the preeminent choices in your circumstances. Ask those close to you about their assurance businesses. What was the quality of overhaul they changed from and what price do they get from their current representatives or insurers? You can ask them to refer you to their representative if they give frenzied appraisals of their overhauls.

Even though it looks fine to use an insurer or representative that has been highly suggested by an associate, it still pays to think more than one highly suggested representative. This will boost your chances of getting a representative who will give better price and home insurance quotes. Get referred to a lot of representatives. Ask for quotations from each representative. Have general discussion with each of them and you'll find out who has the preeminent for you. Even though this procedure is very effectual, it will engross a lot of time to complete. Customer guides are in fact helpful possessions for people shopping for assurance. You'll get cost ranges for your house assurance strategy.

An Overview of Barack Obama Through Numerology

2009-06-05T23:09:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/BW1ZX)

It occurs that almost every individual in the United States of American wishes to know where their genealogy lies.

Has it ever occurred to you to find out who is related to your family?

The United States of America is broadly known to be a land of immigrants, in simple terms everyone's ancestral roots lie in some other place. No one can really claim that his or her ancestors were natives of America. This issue is not something you thought of knowing, rather than a matter that everyone should want to know. Have you ever been curious, or its when am awakening your curiosity to try and know where exactly your genealogy lies?

As you begin the quest of researching into your family's ancestral past; you will discover some world you never thought that it existed. This will make you find yourself on a discovery voyage. And, if you are lucky, you'll be capable of travelling back to the cradle of your family's ancestral history and discover most things you only learned for yourself up close and personal.

Many other people like you have made such decisions. And to their disbelief they have connected with other relatives such as grandmothers and great maternal or paternal grand parents, living in some other lands far away from main land America.

If you follow keenly a few decades forward. You are definitely likely to come across relatives who can help you in your quest to discover your genealogy. Some will even have artifacts about how and which immigrants arrived at a given state in a given time of period and where in particular did they arrive from. Keep in mind that this is the initial task where you can begin from.

You can use these artifacts to lead you to the land that they suggest that they came from. After embarking on this quest remember to visit the offices of genealogy in that country, you will definitely find a clue leading you up to the land that your family’s history begun.

Remember your name can also be a vital tool to see you through. Ask the people around, if they mighty know of anyone whose last name is similar to yours. You will be surprised to find several people who are directly related to you.

The search can be so hectic but the further you can go the better. Even the smallest clue can be vital and could help you land on the streets frequented by your ancestors. You can consult a psychic reader to make your search even easier. Genealogy is a heated debate and topic in this modern world, where every person is keen in finding out where they really came from. Knowing your family history and genealogy will make you feel at peace with your inner self. I really can’t give the reason why, but it really does. It is only the Native American who can really point out there ancestral origin. But all other immigrants should look outside America, either in Africa for African Americans, Ireland to Spain, Portugal and England if they are to know true genealogy.

The Importance of Seventh House in Vedic Astrology

2009-06-05T23:09:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/wFfGl)

Seventh House:
In the seventh house of Vedic astrology Saptama ; Jamitra ; Chittottha (desire) ; Kama ; Dvuna (love) ; Madha (passion) ; Gamana (cohabitation) ; Astha (setting ; Advan (a way or road ) ; Loka (public) ; Kalathra (wife or husband) ; Pathni; pathi; Kalathrasampat (dowry).

The seventh house is the "House of union or earthy ties". The seventh house represents legal bondage; it is through this that one ought to divine about marriage. Although marriage is principally the concern of the seventh houses, it is necessary to consider the houses 2 and 11 also in this respect.

By marriage, it is meant that there is an addition to the family. The second house includes father, mother, wife, children, etc.The married partner brings permanent tie of friendship for progeny and pleasure which is influenced by the 11th house. Therefore, one has to examine not only the seventh house but also the houses 2nd 11. Houses 2, 7 and 11 connected with benefic planets either by association or by aspect denote that the partner in life will come of a respectable family, be virtuously disposed and will possess good qualities to enable one to lead a happy and harmonious wedded life.

Besides the life partner, the partner in trade or business and the degree of success achieved through such partnership is also shown by this house. The seventh house also refers to all those with whom the native is engaged in quarrels and comes into conflict in the open through arguments, those with whom the native is engaged in quarrels and comes into conflict in the open through arguments, litigation, duels, etc., in a nut shell; the seventh house may be said to indicate all those with whom the native transacts or deals in any manner- the engineer or contractor who builds ; the doctor attending on the native or the patient on whom the native attends if he happens to be a medical practitioner ; the person who lends the native money or he who borrows from the native; and so on. Good aspects to the planet in the seventh house or to the cusp or to the cusp of the seventh house portray good relationship with the public and favor from them. During the period of the planer in evil aspect, one ought to be careful in undertaking any public activity.

This house shows break of journey. The third house signifies short journeys and the ninth hose denotes long journeys. The seventh house indicates visits to various places in one and the same trip.One's influence in foreign countries and the honour and reputation achieved there, depends on the planet in the 7th house and the aspect it receives.

The first house of Vedic astrology denotes longevity while the 7th house opposes and is a maraka house; i.e., danger to longevity. Houses 8, 3 and 1infiunce longevity and one has to examine these three houses to determine whether one will be long-lived, or will live up to the middle age, or only up to the adult age, or die in infancy. The twelfth house to any bhava is said to be negation of that particular bhava, that is to say, it spoils the matters signified by that bhava. Therefore the houses 7, 2 and 12 which are respectively in 12 to houses 8, 3 and I prove inimical to longevity and are so termed 'marakasthanas'.

In prasna or Horary Astrology, this house answers queries relating to the recovery of lost property, describes the thief, pickpockets, etc. the lagna represents the owner of stolen property. The fourth bhava denotes the place of the stolen article. The 7th shows thief. The 8th bhava being 2 to the 7th indicates the thief's wealth. So when the planet in 7 or the lord of 7 is eclipsed or weak, the thief will be caught.The lagna represents one's routine life and thereby permanent place of residence; the seventh house which is the opposite to it shows change of residence. One ought to see the seventh house as will as the third for the change of residence.

In Mundane or politics in Vedic Astrology, the seventh house is considered in matters pertaining to international relationships and arbitrations; war and foreign affairs, international trade, general condition of women and laws relating to marriage and divorce, public reaction to national policies, public meetings, etc. westerners call this the house of open warfare and enmity as well as of treaties and alliances.

The seventh house is also regarded as dealing with the native's third brother or sister. The third house from the lagna indicates the first younger brother or sister; the house which is the third to the third sows the second younger brother; the house which is the third to the 5th house represents the third younger brother or sister. It is also the house of self acquisition of the native's servant or employee, being the 2nd house counted from the 6th representing servants. Because the 5th house shows the first child or conception, the7th which is the 3rd to the 5th represents the first child's younger brother or sister or the native's second child; the 9th denotes the third child and so on in this manner. Being in 4 to the 4th house indicating mother, the 7th house deals with mother's immovable property, vehicle, etc .According to Uttara Kalamritam, the 7th house rules the adopted child. This is understandable because one who is issueless may take his younger brother's child in adoption. This is not uncommon.

The seventh house of Vedic astrology also denotes the secret enemy's danger, difficulties, death etc., being in to the 12th house; the religion, long journeys, higher education of friends or elder brother being the 9th reckoned from the 11th house; the honour and credit of the Governments being in 10 to 10; associates and friends of father being the 11th house to the 9th. The native might enter into partnership with his father's friend.

Barack Obamaâ¦pass This Golferâs Bill of Rights!

2009-06-05T17:24:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/hJKmo)

Okay Mr. President the partyâs over. Hope you enjoyed yourself yesterday and you were able to get some sleep last night after all those parties and balls. Mr. President, I understand that you have many challenges ahead of you, but you must use all your power and influence to address the most important problems facing the golfers of this nation today. You must pass The Golfers Bill of Rights!

We have suffered too much. We have labored too hard. We have waited too long. We need you to rid us of the problems and difficulties that we face each time we play and watch this game we love. Pass the Golferâs Bill of Rights!

Outlaw five hour rounds. Any golfer that takes five hours to play eighteen holes of golf should be banned from the links. If you canât get around in four hours go play checkers.

Ban the $200 plus greens fee. Pebble Beach, Whistling Straights, Pinehurst #2 all the great old courses and new high end courses are intent on grabbing as many bucks as they can from the working man.

Make the television networks that broadcast golf, show golf shots. We are tuning in to see the players play, not the talking heads talk. They can talk while we are watching golf shots.

Make Nick Faldo shut up until Paul Azinger gets back in the booth with him. The Nick and Kelly pairing is stale and Nick is showing signs of that butt kicking that Zinger laid on him.

Appoint European Tour announcer, Renton Laidlaw as Commander of the Television Broadcasters. Make each announcer copy his humor and eloquence.

Give women longer to play the course. Any manager, starter or ranger that thinks women donât need more time to play is crazy. They do! So, it is simple. Give them more time between tee times.

Make Golf Etiquette Education mandatory for all golfers. Even the experienced golfers need a refresher course. Please play ready golf. If you hit it in the woods donât take forever to drop one. Rake the bunkers. Forget the plumb bob, just putt. Replace your divots and repair your ball marks. Leave the course in better shape than you found it.

Ban Jerks/Knuckleheads/Morons from the course. It is easy. All the âknow it allsâ, the âI played them all,â the wannabe pro, the drunk, the screamer and most of all the cheater.

Legislate that Phil and Tiger must play the first two rounds of every tournament together. If they happen to play together on Saturday and Sunday, thatâs great too.

Fix the Fed Ex Cup. The heck with the BCS. The Fed Ex Cup is in worse shape. If the tour insists on a Nascar like championship then they should get it right.

The Barack Obama Iphone Application - What Will Mccain Do?

2009-06-05T11:15:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/OdFgA)

Doing my normal everyday thing, that’s what I like to call it, I came across the Obama ’08 iPhone Application – just released today.

I expected this. I think we all did. Just look at how this election has boiled down with only 33 days left until we vote for our next “great” leader.

The application features a “unique” look at the Obama campaign – you can see first your contact list is separated by states and you are able to call them to tell them to vote for Obama, or organize a fun political retreat easier. Like your going to do that! Just kidding. And it also does the normal things you might expect, such as receiving updates, news, finding local events using the GPS features, watching multimedia clips and Sen. Obama’s view on the all the issues, which you can look up in a very easy manner under the issues tab.

This just expands on the face of social media, and how each candidate has approached this upcoming election. For example, each candidate built a website that is very ‘social media’ friendly, with both taking a Web 2.0 approach. At the same time, on the Obama website, you can follow him on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, Digg, Twitter, Eventful, LinkedIn, BlackPlanet, Faithbase, Eons, Glee, MiGente, MyBatanga, and AsianAve.

McCain’s website has a similar look and feel, but a little too obvious, like there trying too hard to be something there not – if you know what I mean. He put something together called the McCain Community; you can go and personalize news feeds, a blog, etc…but offers little reach to communities outside of his own – besides his links to a MySpace, Facebook and YouTube channel to follow him on.

And it makes perfect sense – Obama is ‘for change’ (guy says that), and is the choice of many young voters; who through social media, have been involved in this pre-election nonsense that began more than two years ago when candidates were preparing to make their run.

But with candidates taking advantage of Facebook and MySpace, using the all-famous, but not very successful CNN YouTube debates; this all has culminated to an end point where you would expect the voter turnout to be massive – with such a younger population involved.

Will that be the case?

Probably not – I feel like we heard that same message four years ago – but again, these social media applications and tools were not what they are today – so of course it is possible. But naturally, you have to aim high, and expect low.

To close this wonderfully short posting – the Obama iPhone Application – even if you don’t like him – take a look @ it – another priceless application. I am just curious what McCain will counter with?

Fin.

Christmas Selling Tips for Avon Representatives

2009-06-05T11:14:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/BAMPo)

Are you struggling to find customers and get sales this Christmas season? They try these tips from an experienced Rep.

* Start by giving a brochure to everyone you know. Friends, family, neighbors all need to buy gifts for their loved ones so make it easy for them. If you are worried about appearing pushy then say it in a really casual tone, “Here’s the latest brochure, if you want anything just give me a call” and leave it at that.

* Don’t forget about all of the guys that you know as well! Men struggle to come up with great gift ideas for their significant others at this time of year so make it easy for them by offering suggestions, or even making up a gift basket for them.

* Make your customers feel special by giving them a free gift with their orders to say thank you for being a great customer. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive, a hand cream or lip balm is perfect!

* Offer gift wrapping for free. You can pick up some nice paper at dollar stores or use clear cellophane with a pretty bow. Extra touches like these can increase customer orders and create loyalty.

* Tossing can be lucrative this time of year with everyone wanting gift ideas Some people like to roll and toss (roll up the brochure and secure with a rubber band), however try using a cute Christmassy ribbon instead to grab attention. Even better is to hang your brochure on the front door knob of your customer’s houses so they will see their ‘gift’ when they arrive home.

* Use lipstick samples as Christmas tree decorations! Just add some sparkly string to tie to the tree, or put them in little clear bags and hang the bags. These are also great to give out to potential customers, just make sure you include your business card as well!

Housing Bill: Seniors and Reverse Mortgages

2009-06-05T05:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/housing-bill-seniors-and-reverse-mortgages)

On 7/30/2008 President Bush signed HR 3221 into law which has many significant effects on homeowners. The Bill, in its final form, covered a number of subjects that Congress had been trying to resolve from the modernization of FHA, to foreclosure assistance for homeowners, to the shoring up for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The wires are burning up with stories from Bloomberg, Reuters, Associated Press, and every other news agency on the signing of the Bill and while each article is covering the same Bill, each article pulls out a little bit different information.

The reason for this is that this Bill covers a lot of ground and many issues. By signing this Bill into law, the Congress and the President have handed the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) a big task. They now have the job of getting all these sweeping changes out to the HUD approved lenders so that they can begin a phased implementation of the changes. HUD will do so by sending out Mortgagee Letters in which they will instruct lenders as to the changes, how the changes will be implemented and the dates those changes will take effect.

With a Bill of this magnitude and the number of changes to be made, HUD will have to prioritize, determine which changes can be made immediately and what will take system enhancements or other changes involving larger scale efforts and then implement the provisions of the Bill as quickly as possible.

A good example of some of the outstanding benefits of this legislation is in the area of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM or Heck-um), otherwise known as reverse mortgages. The current limits for HECM's are determined by county and range from $200,160 on the low end to $362,790 in the highest counties. The Bill provides for a single national limit of $417,000 (the same as the current limit for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and also allows for an increase up to $625,500 in High Cost Areas.

But these limits won't be available tomorrow and they certainly were not available at the time I saw an ad a week ago stating they were (I read an ad about a week ago from a company stating that this Bill was already signed prior to its actual signature date and that some of the provisions were already in place). According to Daryl Hicks, the Associate Director at the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA), they believe the improvements should take approximately 60 to 90 days to implement.

Hicks lists several improvements which will affect the HECM Program in their NRMLA release dated July 28, 2008: Improvements to the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program, which will take approximately 60-90 days to implement, will include:

1. - A single national loan limit of $417,000 that can increase up to as much as $625,500 in high cost areas. (Currently, limits vary by county and range from $200,160 to $362,790.)

2. - Ability to use FHA-insured reverse mortgages to purchase homes.

3. - Ability to get a HECM on a co-op property.

4. - Reduced origination fees of 2% on the initial $200,000 of maximum claim amount (lesser of the home value or county lending limit) and 1% on the balance thereafter with a cap of $6,000. (Lenders fees are currently capped at 2% of maximum claim amount.)

5. - Prohibitions on requiring the purchase of annuities and other financial products.

6. - Restrictions around cross selling financial products.

7. - Requirements on counseling protocols, funding and practices that promote independence and quality in counseling.

The bottom line is this: there is still so much misinformation regarding reverse mortgages and the government-insured HECM which was already a viable retirement tool and just got even better that will now help thousands more senior homeowners.

I read an article just yesterday which quoted a Las Vegas realtor who was trying to make heads or tails of a borrowers reverse mortgage paperwork and did not know what he was looking at, had no idea what certain charges like the Mortgage Insurance was for nor what the Servicing Set Aside numbers represented and unfortunately the individual who wrote the article badly mischaracterized the borrowers reverse mortgage and the borrower received bad counsel by trying to have a realtor with no background try to explain the details of his loan. That would be like me trying to diagnose a heart or brain ailment.

It just doesn't make a lot of sense. With legislation this vast, consult our specialists and get the facts.

This is a fantastic opportunity if you live in a cooperative project, if you were previously told you were short to close but you knew you had a high enough value and it was the HUD limit that kept the loan amount too low, if you wanted to use a reverse mortgage to relocate or purchase a retirement home and never make a mortgage payment on your new home or if you live in a higher value property and want the security of the government insured program but it just didn't give you enough money under the old parameters.

Now might be the perfect time for seniors to review their circumstances to see how this Bill can benefit their lifestyle.

The Deceptions of Barack Obama

2009-06-04T23:07:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/DTlVy)

The Obama Deception is a growing phenomena which articulates his ibvolvement with the progression of the New World Order and links to the groups which run the world's financial systems.

There are many significant reports which uncover some of the latest developments with the movement towards a new global world order and its impact on every day citizens. The New World is a plan to transition the world from its present state to one of a global police state which will have tremendous control over the masses, as alluded to in Revelation 13. obama deceptions clearly contribute to this coming fulfillment.

According to many politicial figure heads such as Henry Kissinger, the choice of Obama to take the world into a new world order is one which has been met with full approval. This comes at a time when the world financial systems have experienced significant melt down and the requirement for a more regulated world economic model has become a priority.

It is a growing phenomena that obama's deceptions have been totally ignored by the mainstream media and cast a lull over the unsuspecting.

The New World Order has been used as a political concept since the early 1990s and has enjoyed a strong resurgence in early 2009 with calls for a new global financial model. However the dark side to its interpretation is one which is the creation of a socialist global government system in fulfillment of bible.

There are variations amongst adherents as to how the New World Order will be implemented. Some believe the New World Order will be controlled by a European Super State. Others believe it will be founded on the principles of the Club of Rome under the Illuminati. Other bible prophecy scholars feel it could be a resurgence of an islamic confederation, America as a fulfillment of Revelation 18, commercial babylon, whilst other believe that the Vatican and Jesuit Order will have some involvement.

Whilst there may be differences of opinion regarding how the New World Order will be implemented, the common thread across all views is that the New World Order is ultimately evil and is designed to enslave the masses under dictatorial control.

The Mark of the Beast is defined in the Bible as a system of economic control and the recent G20 Summit will undoubtedly be the trigger for the formation of a system of economic global governance.

Is the housing crisis going to end anytime soon? What is the future of housing industry in USA

2009-06-04T23:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/foPio)

The unsteady markets and declining home prices dipped an additional 99,000 Florida borrowers into foreclosure in the first quarter of the 2009, bringing the total number of home loans in some stage of the foreclosure process to 374,134. With 11 percent of its home loans in foreclosure, Florida ranked first in the country for defaults and was the only state in double digits. The rate was up roughly 2 percent from the previous quarter, according to figures released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Oregonians' mortgage troubles in the first quarter of 2009 spiked to a level seen only once before in the past 30 years, according to a report released Thursday. The Mortgage Bankers Association report also shows 7.5 percent of Oregon's 636,000 outstanding mortgages were at least one month late as the recession pushes up layoffs across the state. Since record keeping began in 1979, the only quarter with a higher rate came in 1985 when a nasty recession rocked Oregon's timber-heavy economy. Compared with a year ago, the number of troubled mortgages has doubled to 47,700.

Including all loan types, the states with the highest overall delinquency rates were Nevada (11.75 percent), Mississippi (11.7 percent) and Florida (10.67 percent). The states with the largest percentages of homes in foreclosure included Florida (10.56 percent), Nevada (7.83 percent) and Arizona (5.56 percent). Topping the list of states with new foreclosure starts were Nevada (3.35 percent), Florida (2.79 percent) and Arizona (2.52 percent).

The genesis of the recession — risky adjustable-rate loans made to borrowers with bad credit — remains a significant factor in foreclosures. Today, almost half of all subprime ARMs are past due or in foreclosure. In Florida, New Jersey and New York the number is above 55 percent.

The national rate was 3.85 percent, up about half a percent from the previous quarter, which represented a record high. As builders compete against a backlog of foreclosed properties on the market, median new home prices fell to $209,700 in April, compared with $246,400 a year ago. Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates then settled in at 5.375 percent, with no points, up half a percentage point from 4.875 percent a few days ago. Sales of new homes were down 34 percent in April from the same month in 2008. Sales rose slightly in April from March, posting a 0.3 percent month-to-month gain.

The mortgage crisis is spreading and hitting new heights: Borrowers with good credit now make up the largest share of foreclosures as job losses and pay cuts exact their toll. As job losses mounted and incomes dwindled, more and more homeowners fell behind on their loans, with payment problems socking greater numbers of previously credit-worthy borrowers who have traditional mortgages. The worst of the trouble continues to be focused in California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida, which accounted for 46 percent of new foreclosures in the country and reported the worst delinquency and foreclosure rates on prime fixed-rate loans. The four have suffered massive job cuts in the housing industry. There were no signs of improvement.

But experts expect the pain to spread throughout the country as job losses mount. MBA's chief economist Jay Brinkmann estimates the unemployment rate will top out in mid-2010 and foreclosures to abate about six months afterward.

So to answer the question on whether the end of the crisis is in sight? The logical answer is no because :

Most of the ARM were originated in 2004 and 2005 with 5 year teaser periods. These would be ending in 2009 and 2010. Hence brining a new round of foreclosures
With interest rates rising again, people who would be able to purchase new homes would again reduce.
Unemployment rate is not slowing down.
Obama administration tax credit plan is not working since it is generally supposed to help people just out of college. These people are just not finding any new jobs in this market.

How is this news helpful for investors. Well, if you think about it, this is the best time to park some money from savings to stocks or mutual funds. When the market rebounds and the economy goes up, you will be among the happy ones! If you need help selecting an online brokerage firm, please visit http://ping.fm/7BfTb

Related readings: 1. Why Invest: http://ping.fm/tmPdO/why_invest.php 2. Should I invest now? http://ping.fm/zNq7x/should_i_invest_now.php

Learn to Speak Like Presidential Candidate Barack Obama

2009-06-04T17:07:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/LkFbJ)

Public speaking or speaking in front of crowds, regardless of their size, is important to the success of any leader. You need only look at Senator Obama to see how well he has done with his speeches about the topic of hope.

So how can you become a speaker that everybody not only tunes into but listens to? Here are some tips.

There is a reason why talking about hope has done so well for the senator. It makes people think about all that is good and gives them a sense that no matter how bad things may seem, better news is right around the corner.

According to Carmin Gallo of Businessweek, "You are the leader people want to believe in. Your customers and employees are bombarded by bad news -- the credit crunch, a housing slump, an economic slowdown -- but they are eager to hear something positive. That doesn't mean leaders stick their heads in the sand -- far from it. Inspiring leaders acknowledge the situation but also remind people of reasons to be optimistic."

It is also the reason why a pastor like Joel Osteen does so well. He preaches of all that is positive regardless of how bleak things may look.

Get to know the technique of parallel structure. According to Gallo, "It simply means repeating the same word or expression at the beginning of successive sentences or phrases." The most famous use of this technique would be Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

In 2004 while speaking at the Democratic National Convention Obama said, "Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or do we participate in a politics of hope?" In 2005, he claimed about America, as "a place where destiny was not a destination, but a journey to be shared and shaped." This technique is called alliteration or the use of stringing together words that start with similar sounds.

For our next technique we look at a speech that the senator gave in 2004, "It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs, the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores, the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta, the hope of a millworker's son who dares to defy the odds, the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too." Called rich imagery, it paints a picture that stirs up emotion.

Your body language says a lot about who you are and how your listeners will portray you. Gallo says this about the senator, "In debates Obama appears unflappable, answering tough questions while maintaining strong eye contact. He doesn't fidget or shake his head when listening to sharp attacks from his opponents. While seated, he leans slightly forward." Studies have shown that people will make up their mind about you in just a few seconds. Showing that you are confident will gain their confidence as well.

Master the art of dynamic delivery. By doing this your speeches will not sound monotonous, but more uplifting. To master this skill keep these tips in mind. Pace your speech. Do not deliver the entire speech at the same speed. Some parts of your speech should be fast and others slow. Change the volume at key points. If you are speaking at the same tone level, people will tune you out. Master the pause affect. A pause during a speech leaves a memorable impression on your listeners. Placing it at the precise time will have a major affect.

These techniques won't be mastered overnight. It takes time and practice. If you constantly work on them, you can one day be a great speaker.

House Foreclosures are Up Throughout San Diego

2009-06-04T17:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/house-foreclosures-are-up-throughout-san-diego)

If you’ve ever considered moving to southern California, now is the best time to start looking for property. With house foreclosures on the rise throughout the state, buying foreclosure property is becoming a huge part of the market. On average, foreclosure resells now equal about 40% of the market. Back in 2007, it represented less than 6%. That means if you’re interested in San Diego foreclosures now is the time to act.

Obviously, no one could accurately predict how bad the housing bust was going to be or how many house foreclosures would be in the forecast. However, identifying some of the hardest hit areas wasn’t as difficult given they were some of the places were prices skyrocketed the highest and the fastest. San Diego foreclosures are a great example of this trend and their aftermath. The good news is that what was once unaffordable is now easily obtainable so many people have started buying foreclosure property in the city.

A recent story in the Wall Street Journal gave a great example of what people have started doing with all of these San Diego foreclosures. The man was in the process of raising $150 million in order to purchase and renovate about 1,500 house foreclosures properties in the city. The plan was to get the houses in great shape, rent them out for the next five years, and put them on the sales market once buying foreclosure property seems like a distant dream. If his plan works, he could walk away from these San Diego foreclosures a very wealthy man.

Even if you don’t see the rapid number of house foreclosures plaguing the city as a great investment opportunity, San Diego foreclosures could open the door for people who have longed to move to the West Coast but who were scared off by the high cost of property. Now buying foreclosure property is an option that makes home ownership affordable to many residents and out-of-towners who love everything the city has to offer.

And what does the city have to offer? Besides high house foreclosures, the city also has one of the best climates imaginable. The temperatures range from highs in the 60s during the winter to highs in the 70s in the summer. The area is also ethnically and culturally diverse and has a lower crime rate than most of the United States, especially among metropolitan areas. Overall, San Diego foreclosures could make it possible for investors and movers to fall in love with this wonderful city all over again.

5 Tips to Help you Get Ready for Home Ownership

2009-06-04T11:08:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/5-tips-to-help-you-get-ready-for-home-ownership)

Congratulations! You've decided you'd like to become a homeowner.

It's a big responsibility, but one that comes with many rewards: both emotional and financial. But there's some emotional and financial investment that comes first.

Yes, a home purchase is going to be among the biggest and most important financial decision you'll ever make. The good news is that you're part of a very lucky generation of homebuyers. Lending rates are probably lower for you than they would have been for your grandparents.

We've become so accustomed to low lending rates that it's hard to remember that homebuyers struggled with lending rates of almost 20% in the bad old days of the early 80's! And today, a whole range of flexible mortgage options make the leap to home ownership financially painless.
What it takes is just some planning and commitment. But here's a quick-start guide for aspiring home owners:
1. Educate yourself.

You can actually start off by talking to a mortgage broker who are generally great at "plain talk". They can help familiarize you with the legal and real estate lingo, because, face it, those industries seem to have a language all their own.

Or if you're web-savvy, try looking up real estate or mortgage glossaries online, to help you move into a purchaser's comfort zone. A good website for the beginner is the CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation). It covers the basics and more. Visit their website here www.cmhc.ca
2. Be aware of the importance of a good credit rating.

Mortgage lenders will definitely check your credit profile and when they do, you want to be sure that everything looks great. Not sure what your credit rating even looks like& or if you even have one?

Go to www.equifax.ca, which can tell you everything you need to know about what a lender might find when they check out your profile.

The higher your credit score, the better financing you will receiveamount and interest. The basics: you need to prove you know how to pay money back. That means you should always pay your bills on time and preferably in full.

One or two credit cards, regularly used and paid up, can help you establish credit. A mortgage broker can offer more tips on building a good credit rating quickly.
3. The right mortgage can save you thousands of dollars.

Your bank will want your mortgage of course, because it's good business for them. But the bank represents only one lender choice. An independent mortgage broker can have access to more than 60 lenders, including most of the banks.

Best of all, they don't work for the lender; they work for you. You don't pay anything extra for their services; the lender who gets your business pays them a commission, since that lender didn't have to pay a staff person to stand at a wicket to get your business. Mortgage brokers are a wealth of information, and they're usually very easy to talk to.

You want someone who will take the time to understand your situation, and who doesn't think your questions are dumb. This is an important decision; you have a right to know what it's all about.
4. Get pre-approved.

We can't emphasize this enough. Find a mortgage broker that you trust. He or she will have the maximum number of options for you. Don't have a downpayment?

That may not be a problem; there are excellent options now for homebuyers who haven't saved up a downpayment. The important thing is to look at the mortgage before the house. Your Ontario mortgage broker can help determine the amount of mortgage money that you are qualified to borrow, and you'll ensure the right budget for things like closing costs too.

A letter of pre-approval is an enormously handy document to have in your pocket before you start to view houses. And if you get in a bidding war on the home of your dreams, it's good to know your limit, since it's easy to be swept up in the excitement. Get pre-approved. Did we mention that?
5. Location and planning.

Armed with your pre-approval, you can be practical and reasonable about how much house you can afford. Stay within your means, and focus on making the best possible home selection not just for the investment potential, but for the quality of life you want to enjoy. For both, location will be a key consideration.

Many real estate experts still agree that the best real estate values can be found by selecting the least expensive house in a good neighbourhood. You'll enjoy and benefit from the value of the neighbourhood, without really paying too much extra for it.

A desirable and stable location is the place to invest your money. Can't afford the house of your dreams yet? Take the long view. Your dream house is in your future, but most of us have to work our way up the real estate ladder.

Remind yourself that the decision to buy a house has its emotional rewards too. A house is not just a house. It will soon become your home. Happy homebuying!

What Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton Have to Do With Your Need to Learn to Speak Spanish

2009-06-04T11:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/zIuoM)

Recently the media reported a study by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, which found that Barack Obama is related to Brad Pitt and Hillary Clinton to Angelina Jolie. Distant cousins, yes, but who would have thought that? However, if we stop and think about it, we realize that despite our differences we are not as different as we think. We are truly only separated by 6 degrees as we all are members of the human race. That being said, why would any North American Anglophone want or need to learn to speak Spanish fluently. Well let us look at our geographic proximity to South America, Central America, Mexico and Latin America all of which primarily speak Spanish (with the exception of Brazil). Would you not want to be able to communicate with your neighbors if they were Spanish-speaking? We are all connected and to learn to speak fluent Spanish would be a step in the right direction.

Then there is the numbers game. You should seriously consider learning to speak Spanish fluently because over 400 million people worldwide speak Spanish and that includes countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Morocco and Gibraltar. That's about half of the population in the Western Hemisphere! In addition, within the United States, Spanish is the second most widely spoken language after English. This has opened up more employment opportunities for individuals who speak both English and Spanish and the ability to speak both languages will continue to become increasingly valuable for people who live in the U.S. with each passing year putting them in the advantage.

Spanish is a romance language and hence knowing Spanish is a stepping-stone to understanding many millions of other people who speak one of the other romance languages such as Italian, Portuguese or French and also can strengthen your ties with the European continent as well. Because of the similarities in grammar structure and vocabulary, once you acquire fluency in Spanish, you can become fluent in other languages in a shorter time than it would take someone who is learning their first romance language.

Lastly, if you have been living as a desert monk in complete solitude and isolation (which, I may add, is not such a bad thing to do from time to time), thanks to technology and the information highway, our world is no longer that big. Economic globalization is the main driving force behind the increasing importance of being able to communicate with those from other countries. For obvious reasons, the modern trend now shows that more Americans are studying Spanish in record numbers due to many factors, but most importantly, education in an international setting is becoming a top mandate for the American government because people need to be economically competitive. Therefore, it would be a worthwhile and wise personal investment to learn to speak Spanish fluently and to have Spanish as your instrument of connection to re-connect with the Human Network.

Breaking Up Advice From Barack Obama â How the New President Can Help You Get Ex Back

2009-06-04T05:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/omYPf)

If someone has the power to remake America, wouldn't you think his advice would help you remake your broken relationship? We've recently gained a president who promises change, but his advice can also be applied to broken hearts and difficult relationships. Our government could be considered to have gone through a recent horrible break up and Obama is the ultimate love guru (not Mike Meyers).

Every relationship goes through tumultuous times. There is no perfect relationship, but that's what makes most people fall in love. Don't you think if your relationship were perfect that you'd get bored. We fall in love with another's imperfections. I'm not saying things should always be terrible, they just should always be perfect. There has to be a balance.

"Our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions...â

This is a quote from Obama's inaugural address and though he is referring to the tough times America has experienced, try to think of it in light of your current situation.

Making Changes

âStanding Patâ is an idiom that basically means to refuse to make any changes. Think back on your relationship and the times you refused to changes. At first, you might think defensively and claim to never have been so stubborn. You've got to think of the small things though. The person you love, I'm sure you're aware, has many different small things that they want from you. Think back to all the times you selfishly refused to change.

Also, during this difficult time, the pain of breaking up, try to focus on changing yourself in order to make your relationship better when you do get back together. We all have work to do on ourselves and this is the perfect time, when you're alone and you have time to think about the things you've done wrong. Instead of being depressed about them, try to change them.

Protecting Narrow Interests

When you're in a relationship, your life becomes more about just you. Being in a relationship, I hope you know, is a process of eliminating selfishness. You have to look at more than what pleases yourself. Think about all the times you did what you wanted to do and did not consider what your significant other wanted to do. Of course you're going to have similar interests, but you're also going to have to do things you don't necessarily like doing because you love the other person that much.

The thing is, once you do this, your relationship will gain a balance. They will do the things you want to do as much as you do the things they want to do. It's called compromise and it's something that will help make your new relationship (when you get ex back) so much more fulfilling and happy.

Putting Off Unpleasant Decisions

The inability to communicate is probably one of the most prominent reasons for a couple to break up. Breaking up advice will do you know good if you cannot communicate with your ex. No matter how difficult the situation, especially within the relationship, you must confront your significant other and tackle unpleasant decisions when they arise.

It may seem strange to take breaking up advice from the new President, but why not? Do you really think all his relationships were perfect? Look at the struggle he's been through to get to where he is today. You can find wisdom for you particular situation in the words of Barack Obama.

Barack Obama's Health Insurance Plan and Its Effect on Ohio Health Insurance

2009-06-03T23:07:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/0jvUR)

Barack Obama's ambitious health care plan is fairly simple and straightforward. His plan seeks to dramatically and swiftly increase the number of people that have health insurance. He insists that this plan will save the typical American family approximately $2500 in annual costs. Since the average Ohio health insurance premium is less than most other states, savings to Ohio residents may average less than $2500.

The Obama plan is designed to give the federal government more control over health care decisions and dollars, a major difference from the current decentralized system of employer-based insurance and state-based insurance regulation. Here in Ohio, health insurers have been effectively held in check by the Ohio Department of Insurance. This, however, is not the case in many other states.

The Obama Plan

Many parts of the Obama plan resemble initiatives from the Clinton health plan of 1994 and the Kerry Health plan of 2004.
Essentially, Obama's health care plan is divided into three sections:

1. Modernizing the US health care system to lower costs and improve quality
2. Promoting prevention and strengthening public health
3. Quality, portable and affordable health coverage for every person

The "Savings"

The $2500 in savings will come from health care reform, using some of the following initiatives:

*Making health insurance universal, which may reduce spending on uncompensated care.
*Improving management and prevention of chronic conditions.
*Increasing insurance industry competition and reducing underwriting costs and profits.
*Providing reinsurance for catastrophic coverage, which will reduce insurance premiums.

Shifting Cost Burden

While all of these ideas are feasible, the underlying theme seems to be simply shifting some of the cost burden from the private sector to the government. And of course, much more control of our health dollars and decisions would come from Washington D.C and not Anthem or UnitedHealthCare.

The Obama plan will actually compete directly with Ohio private health insurance companies in a "National Health Insurance Exchange." The federal government (not health insurance carriers) would determine the quality of health benefits that Americans would receive. And these new rules would apply to both the new national health plan and all participating private health plans.

Preventative Coverage Would Be Emphasized

Obama's health care plan will encourage "healthy lifestyles" with specific emphasis on wellness. Employer wellness programs will be increased, and cafeterias and vending machines in the workplace may see healthier food.

School-based health screening programs may increase along with increased support for physical education.

For Ohio individuals and families, the Obama plan would require preventative services on many federally-supported health programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP. One benefit may be possible discounts to on health insurance premiums for enrollment in wellness and prevention programs.

Currently, some Ohio individual health insurance policies offer a similar discount, such as Anthem's Lumenos Health Incentive Account (HIA).

Ohio Group Health Insurance

Employer-based health insurance would radically change under the Obama plan. Here in Ohio, both small and large employers are able to choose among many different health plans for their employees. The Obama plan would force employers to offer a specific level of health benefits to their employees or pay a tax to finance a national health program. Currently, the amount of provided health benefits and the size of the tax have not been specifically discussed.

Perhaps the best and most economical health insurance plan for Ohio residents would be a concept already in place...HSAs (Health Savings Accounts). Thus, instead of imposing a top-down change on the health care system, it would seem to be prudent to transfer direct control of health care dollars to individuals and families. This would allow Americans to choose their own health plans and benefits, while making health insurance companies compete directly for consumer's dollars by providing a real value to patients.

All of this could be accomplished by specific tax and regulatory changes designed to utilize the power of free-market competition. Health care spending could be reduced, preventative treatment could be emphasized and portability could be promoted. Reforming the tax treatment of health insurance and aiding employers that help their employees buy health insurance would help quite a bit.

For now, Ohio health insurance rates are remarkably low compared to many other states. There are many reputable health insurance companies that offer a wide array of policies, including Health Savings Accounts. That shouldn't change much for the next two years. In 2011, things might change...hopefully, for the better.

For additional information on Ohio health insurance plans, or an instant Ohio health insurance quote, please visit http://ping.fm/c7axG

We Buy Houses In Suwanee Georgia In 7 Days Or Less!

2009-06-03T23:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/DW4ip)

Are you thinking of selling your house in Suwanee on your own for sale by owner?

If so, you probably know that trying to sell your Suwanee, Georgia house on your own can be a costly, verifiable nightmare, especially in today's highly competitive buyer's market and troubled economy. You probably know what it's like to have to keep your home cleaned up, month after month, ready to show it at any given time to perfect strangers who probably aren't qualified to buy your house anyway. In the meantime, you have to continue to make your mortgage payments, pay your taxes, insurance, maintenance, utilities, home owner dues and other costs while you wait and wait and wait to sell your Suwanee house. If you do find a buyer who is interested in purchasing your home, don't forget that it takes another 45 to 60 days on average for them to get financed. And what if their financing falls through? After all, many buyers in Suwanee can no longer get financed, especially in today's tough economic times and troubled mortgage marketplace. If this happens, you'll have to start the whole process all over again which is not uncommon.

Are you thinking of hiring a real estate agent to sell your Suwanee home quickly?

Selling a house is usually a expensive and complicated process. That's why real estate agents make such big commissions (often thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of dollars) on a single home sale. And most successful agents in Suwanee, Georgia usually have 5, 20 or 20 houses listed at any given time knowing that these houses will probably sell within the next 3 to 6 months or longer. Since most of the good agents have so many listings, it's rare that they will spend the time, money and personal attention needed to sell your house quickly. If you don't have much equity in your home, your home selling options are even more limited. You may have to write a big check at closing in order to sell your Suwanee house and cover any negative equity, closing costs, taxes, etc in addition to your agent's large commission check.

There is a better way to sell your Suwanee house faster, easier and more conveniently than ever before!

If you don't want to sell your Suwanee house for sale by owner or through a real estate agent, there is a much better solution... Sell your home to us in 7 days or less! We buy houses in Suwanee Georgia in 7 days or less and we want to buy your house! We are not real estate agents who want to list and sell your house for a commission. We are local professional home buyers who want to buy your Suwanee house and can do so quickly, often in 7 days or less with no commissions to pay. We buy houses from people just like you, in neighborhoods just like yours, in any area, condition or price range in Suwanee, Georgia and the surrounding areas such as Sugar Hill, Buford, Cumming and Dacula, Georgia. We buy houses in other towns and cities across Georgia such as Atlanta, Augusta, Macon, Savannah, Valdosta, Gainesville and Athens. We buy newer houses, older houses, pretty houses and even ugly houses that need major repairs. We specialize in finding creative solutions to ugly real estate problems and situations that real estate agents and other traditional and professional home buyers just won't touch. We can pay you all cash, take over your monthly mortgage payments or lease-option your house immediately! We'll handle all of the paperwork, make all the arrangements and can close within a few days if necessary. You'll get a quick sale with no hassles so you can put your home selling worries behind you once and for all.

Do you want to sell your Suwanee, Georgia home in 7 days or less?

We buy houses in Suwanee Georgia in 7 days or less and we want to buy your house fast! To find out if your Suwanee home qualifies for one of our fast home purchase programs, please take a moment to complete our Online Seller Questionnaire at www.WeBuyHouses.net or call 888-765-3461 to speak to a live representative. Tell us all about your Suwanee house for sale and we will get back to you about buying your house ASAP. If your Suwanee home qualifies for one of our fast home purchase programs, one of our local professional home buyers will schedule an appointment to come out and inspect your property, take some photos and make you one or more offers to purchase your home on the spot! Selling your Suwanee, Georgia home has never been faster, easier or more convenient!

We Buy Houses In Dacula Georgia Fast So You Can Sell Your Home In Dacula Georgia Fast!

2009-06-03T17:08:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/qx0RV)

Do you have a home in Dacula Georgia you need to sell quickly?

Have you been searching the Internet looking for a way to someone to buy your Dacula house fast or some way to sell your home in Dacula Georgia fast? Many sellers need to sell their house fast, but don't know where to turn. Luckily you've found the right "We Buy Houses Blog" to sell your home in 7 days or less! WeBuyHouses.net is your number one source for buying houses in Dacula Georgia for fast cash or by taking over your existing mortgage payments. We can help you sell your house fast by buying your house fast!

How to Sell Your Dacula Georgia House Faster Than Ever! (How it works) Once you've completed our Seller Questionnaire providing your contact information and telling us about your Dacula house for sale, one of our professional home buyers will contact you by phone or email about buying your home. If your home meets our purchase criteria, we'll schedule an appointment to come out and see your house and make you one or more offers to buy your house on the spot! It's that simple.

Who we are. WeBuyHouses.net a group of professional home buyers in Dacula Georgia and around the country that specializes in purchasing houses quickly for all cash or on other creative terms. We are not real estate agents who want to list and sell your home for a commission, so there is never any broker fees or real estate commissions. All you have to do is tell us about your Dacula home for sale so we can possibly buy it. That's how simple it really is!

We can save you time and money. We know that selling your home can be an expensive, time consuming and complicated process. We understand your situation. If you need to sell your Dacula Georgia home fast, we are your number one solution. Our local, professional home buyers can buy your house in 7 days or less once you've notified us of the Dacula home you have for sale. We can pay all cash, take over your payments or lease-purchase your house immediately! We will handle all of the paperwork, make all the arrangements and close within a few days if necessary. You'll get a quick sale with no hassles, so you can put your house selling worries behind you once and for all. There will be no more stress and no more home selling headaches.

We buy houses in Dacula Georgia. We also buy homes in Auburn, Braselton, Buford, Centerville, Berkeley Lake, Duluth, Grayson, Harbins,Lawrenceville, Hog Mountain, Lilburn, Loganville , Norcross, Snellville, Sugar Hill, Suwanee, Hamilton Mill and other surrounding areas. We also buy houses in cities and towns across Georgia such as Atlanta, Gainesville, Athens, Augusta, Macon, Savannah, Valdosta and we want to buy your Georgia house too!

We buy houses in Dacula Georgia in all shapes and sizes. We purchase all types of property, whether it's a new house, an old house, a big house, a small house, a pretty house, an ugly house or a house needing major repairs... We like to buy them all. We buy as many houses as we can in Georgia and are always looking for more houses to buy.

We buy houses in Dacula Georgia in any situation. If you are selling your Dacula Georgia house due to divorce, illness, unemployment, relocation, behind on payments, bankruptcy or foreclosure, we'd like to help you find a solution that fits your unique home selling situation. We specialize in finding creative solutions to tough real estate problems that Realtors and other home buyers won't touch.

We are your best solution to sell your home fast. If you've tried to sell your Dacula Georgia home for sale by owner and failed or you have listed your house with a real estate agent who was unable to sell your home, we are your best solution to get your home sold quickly. Sell your house to us in 7 days or less and avoid all the hassles and uncertainties of trying to sell your home yourself or through a real estate agent.

We are your ideal home buyer. If you sell your home to us, you won't have to continue searching for the perfect buyer while you wait, month after month to sell your house. You won't have to continue having open houses and showing your home to unqualified strangers who waste your time and scare the dog. You can sell your home in Dacula Georgia in 7 days or less and move on with your life!

Sell your home in Dacula Georgia in 7 days or less! To sell your Dacula Georgia house quickly, please complete our confidential Home Seller Questionnaire on our website at WeBuyHouses.net or call 888-765-3461 to speak to a live representative. Tell us all about your Dacula home for sale, how we can reach you and one of our knowledgeable house buyers will contact you ASAP about buying your house fast.

Choose the best offer to sell your house fast. If your Dacula Georgia house qualifies for our purchase program, one of our professional house buyers will schedule an appointment to come visit your house, take some photos and make you one or more custom offers to buy your home quickly so you can sell your house fast! We are confident that you will like one of our offers. If not, you are under no obligation to sell your home to us.

We are ready to buy your Dacula Georgia house today! Our home buyers are ready, willing and able to buy your house and help you through the entire home selling process. All you need to do now is call 888-765-3461 or visit our website at www.WeBuyHouses.net to complete our confidential Seller Questionnaire and one of our local home buyers will contact you about buying your house fast. Why wait another minute to sell your Dacula Georgia house when you can sell your house to us today?

Media Training: Barack Obama and the Hypothetical Question

2009-06-03T17:08:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/EsYWW)

When President Obama held his second prime time news conference his goal was to project and sense of hope that things economic were starting to look better. "What I'm confident about," he said, "is that we're moving in the right direction."

I'll leave it to political pundits and pollsters to discuss how well he did in creating the positive reactions he sought. I'll focus my attention on how he handled the inevitable hypothetical question that reporters love to ask. It came from ABC White House Correspondent Jack Tapper.

After sighting the fact that Democrat budget planners in Congress aren't even considering two of the President's priorities, Tapper asked: "Will you sign a budget that does not contain a middle class tax cut, does not contain cap and trade?"

This was President Obama's non-answer: "Well. I've emphasized repeatedly what I expect out of this budget. I expect that there will be serious efforts at health care reform and that we are driving down costs for families and businesses and ultimately for the federal and state governments that are going to be broke if we continue on the current path.

"I've said that we have to have a serious energy policy that frees ourselves from dependence on foreign oil and makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy. We've got to invest in education K through 12 and beyond to upgrade the skills of the American worker so we can compete in the international economy. And I've said that we've got to start driving our deficit numbers down.

"Now, we never expected when we printed out our budget that they would simply Xerox it and vote on it. We assume that it has to go through the legislative process"

Right! But, what about Jake Tapper's question? Clearly it wasn't one Mr. Obama wanted to answer. If he said "yes," he'd sign a bill without the middle class tax cut and cap and trade provisions, both proposals become non-starters. If he said "no," it was the rhetorical equivalent of throwing down the gauntlet.

So what's a president to do? Just what he did.

In presidential news conferences, reporters typically ask a question and a follow up, so Tapper asked his "would you sign" question again. And, again, the president expressed his "confidence that we're going to be able to get a budget done that's reflective of what needs to happen to make sure that America grows."

Right, it was a hypothetical question and he wasn't going to answer. You shouldn't either.

In situations where facts are yet to be determined, reporters will ask sometimes tantalizing hypothetical questions. That's their job, just as it's your job not to speculate.

When a reporter asks that kind of a question you can say, "I'm not going to answer a hypothetical, but I can say..." and bridge to and agenda item, something you want to talk about. Or, you can use the President's approach and talk around it.

Reporters love them, but hypothetical questions, like hand grenades, should be handled with great care, or avoided altogether.

Barack Obama's Lessons on Leadership

2009-06-03T11:11:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/2UVTo)

With the world now scrutinizing his every move, President Obama continues to carry himself in the self-assured manner for which he is known. He has displayed the aura and demeanor of a leader since day one of his campaign, and has exhibited powerful lessons on leadership which have been exemplary. This article touches upon those lessons and the virtues that effective leaders must uphold.

HAVE A VISION

The presidential election was not won by playing the status quo game of politics. It was won based upon the fervent articulation of a vision which was intertwined with the visions that Americans have for their lives and their children's lives. It was a vision which showed that President Obama was able to recognize, appreciate, and understand the needs of his followers. He knew that the American people had lost trust in the country's leadership; his vision spoke to restoring it. He knew the American people were overcome by a tidal wave of hopelessness that was causing many to drown in despair; his vision offered hope. Every leader must have a vision which offers tangible benefits for those that they lead.

EMPOWER OTHERS

According to John C. Maxwell, one of the nation's foremost authorities on leadership and author of Leadership 101, leaders don't delegate; they empower people. When you empower people, you work with and through people. You enable others to reach the highest levels in their personal and professional development. The main difference between management and leadership is that leadership is about influencing people to follow, while management focuses on maintaining systems and processes.

Faced with a daunting list of tasks including the ending of a war, tangled foreign policies, fragile international relations, mounting health care concerns, and a weakening economy on the verge of collapse, President Obama expressed early on the importance of not only hiring, but empowering the right people (i.e., most qualified). He knows that his brilliance must reflect on others, who in turn will reflect their brilliance upon him. This is said to be the best collection of brilliant minds ever assembled for a White House administration that's dedicated to creating plans, finding solutions, and managing the details of bringing President Obama's vision for America to life. Leaders must employ the same strategy and empower the right people.

HAVE CHARACTER

On this subject of character Maxwell writes: There are three qualities that a leader must exemplify to build trust: competence, connection, and character. Character is the only effective bulwark against internal and external forces that lead to a country's disintegration or collapse. Standing up for your beliefs in the face of adversity shows tremendous character. It's often when true character - or lack there of - is revealed. While you can assign someone to a leadership position, you can not assign trustworthiness. That has to be earned over time and through the demonstration of character that's consistent of a true leader.

HAVE A MESSAGE

All leaders should have a message - a message they deliver consistently. In public relations the primary emphasis is on the development and consistent delivery of the message. Good PR entails and thrives upon positive communications and interactions between a person, organization, or company and the public on whom its success or failure depends.

Effective leaders establish a personal relationship between the message and their target audience. In other words, they make sure their individual followers care enough about that message so they are emotionally influenced to respond it. President Obama's successful influence is due in large part to this basic PR tenet.

KNOW EXPECTATIONS & PRIORITIES

Leaders also thrive on expectations and know how to prioritize in terms of importance and urgency. Mark McKinnon, a consultant who worked for a time for Senator John McCain, Mr. Obama's Republican opponent in the presidential election was quoted as saying: "People are going to give Obama more time than they would any other new president because they know he is dealing with unprecedented challenges. The economic crisis President-elect Obama faces may in some ways help him - it is taking some of the helium out of what would otherwise be stratospheric expectations."

After being in office less than two weeks he won House approval for an $819 billion stimulus plan to aid the nation's ailing economy "with no time to spare," and signed his first bill into law, The Lilly Ledbetter Pay Restoration Act which is a new law that makes it easier for employees to sue their employers for discrimination in paying them and effectively nullifies the legal limitations.

"It is fitting that the very first bill that I sign -- the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act -- that it is upholding one of this nation's founding principles: that we are all created equal, and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness," Obama said upon signing.

LANGUAGE & DEMEANOR

Words like integrity, values, ethics, responsibility, and principles belong to the lexicon of effective leaders who choose their words felicitously. They are aware of the influence that their messages, demeanor, and actions communicate. When President Obama was seen "dusting off his shoulders" while campaigning against Hillary Clinton and "exchanging pounds" with his wife, he subtly communicated his blackness to both whites and blacks.

Taken out of context or ill-timed they would not have registered as positively, but after then Senator Obama established himself as the front-runner for the presidency and a bona fide leader, these two little gestures received big reactions and cemented his status as a politician with personality. It also illustrated his emotional intelligence (awareness of how others feel) and tacit knowledge (street smarts) which have been intangible traits of the greatest leaders.

FULFILL REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESS

Great leaders have a profound reverence for their role. They don't revel in power, but in their ability to affect change. They are possessed and obsessed with their greatest responsibility: fulfilling the requirements for success in their every endeavor. They know that their success is not their own, but the success of their followers. Yes, being a leader is a difficult task in which your effectiveness is measured by the results you get, and your legacy is determined in the aftermath of your reign. President Obama summed it up in his inauguration speech which I will use to sum up this article:

"What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task."

Sell Your Home In Sugar Hill Georgia Fast To We Buy Houses Of Sugar Hill Ga

2009-06-03T11:11:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/6LhRC)

Do you have a home in Sugar Hill Georgia you need to sell quickly?

Have you been searching the Internet looking for a way to someone to buy your Sugar Hill house fast or some way to sell your house in Sugar Hill Georgia fast? Many sellers need to sell their house fast, but don't know where to turn. Luckily you've found the right "We Buy Houses" site to sell your house in 7 days or less! WeBuyHouses.net is your number one source for buying houses in Sugar Hill Georgia for fast cash or by taking over your existing mortgage payments. We can help you sell your house fast by buying your house fast!

How to Sell Your Sugar Hill Georgia House Faster Than Ever! (How it works) Once you've completed our Seller Questionnaire providing your contact information and telling us about your Sugar Hill house for sale, one of our professional home buyers will contact you by phone or email about buying your home. If your home meets our purchase criteria, we'll schedule an appointment to come out and see your house and make you one or more offers to buy your house on the spot! It's that simple.

Who we are. WeBuyHouses.net a group of professional home buyers in Sugar Hill Georgia and around the country that specializes in purchasing houses quickly for all cash or on other creative terms. We are not real estate agents who want to list and sell your home for a commission, so there is never any broker fees or real estate commissions. All you have to do is tell us about your Sugar Hill home for sale so we can possibly buy it. That's how simple it really is!

We can save you time and money. We know that selling your home can be an expensive, time consuming and complicated process. We understand your situation. If you need to sell your Sugar Hill Georgia home fast, we are your number one solution. Our local, professional home buyers can buy your house in 7 days or less once you've notified us of the Sugar Hill home you have for sale. We can pay all cash, take over your payments or lease-purchase your house immediately! We will handle all of the paperwork, make all the arrangements and close within a few days if necessary. You'll get a quick sale with no hassles, so you can put your house selling worries behind you once and for all. There will be no more stress and no more home selling headaches.

We buy houses in Sugar Hill Georgia. We also buy homes in Buford, Cumming, Suwanee, Duluth, Dacula, Norcross, Lawrenceville, Snellville, Stone Mountain, Lake Lanier and other surrounding areas. We also buy houses in cities and towns across Georgia such as Atlanta, Gainesville, Athens, Augusta, Macon, Savannah, Valdosta, Tifton and we want to buy your Georgia house too!

We buy houses in Sugar Hill Georgia in all shapes and sizes. We purchase all types of property, whether it's a new house, an old house, a big house, a small house, a pretty house, an ugly house or a house needing major repairs... We like to buy them all. We buy as many houses as we can in Georgia and are always looking for more houses to buy.

We buy houses in Sugar Hill Georgia in any situation. If you are selling your Sugar Hill Georgia house due to divorce, illness, unemployment, relocation, behind on payments, bankruptcy or foreclosure, we'd like to help you find a solution that fits your unique home selling situation. We specialize in finding creative solutions to tough real estate problems that Realtors and other home buyers won't touch.

We are your best solution to sell your home fast. If you've tried to sell your Sugar Hill Georgia home for sale by owner and failed or you have listed your house with a real estate agent who was unable to sell your home, we are your best solution to get your home sold quickly. Sell your house to us in 7 days or less and avoid all the hassles and uncertainties of trying to sell your home yourself or through a real estate agent.

We are your ideal home buyer. If you sell your home to us, you won't have to continue searching for the perfect buyer while you wait, month after month to sell your house. You won't have to continue having open houses and showing your home to unqualified strangers who waste your time and scare the dog. You can sell your house in Sugar Hill Georgia in 7 days or less and move on with your life!

Sell your house in Sugar Hill Georgia in 7 days or less! To sell your Sugar Hill Georgia house quickly, please complete our confidential Home Seller Questionnaire on our website at WeBuyHouses.net or call 888-765-3461 to speak to a live representative. Tell us all about your Sugar Hill home for sale, how we can reach you and one of our knowledgeable house buyers will contact you ASAP about buying your house fast.

Choose the best offer to sell your house fast. If your Sugar Hill Georgia house qualifies for our purchase program, one of our professional house buyers will schedule an appointment to come visit your house, take some photos and make you one or more custom offers to buy your home quickly so you can sell your house fast! We are confident that you will like one of our offers. If not, you are under no obligation to sell your home to us.

We are ready to buy your Sugar Hill Georgia house today! Our home buyers are ready, willing and able to buy your house and help you through the entire home selling process. All you need to do now is call 888-765-3461 or visit our website at www.WeBuyHouses.net to complete our confidential Seller Questionnaire and one of our local home buyers will contact you about buying your house fast. Why wait another minute to sell your Sugar Hill Georgia house when you can sell your house to us today?

We Buy Houses In Suwanee Georgia Fast So You Can Sell Your Suwanee Home Faster Than Ever!

2009-06-03T05:10:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/ag2BO)

Do you have a home in Suwanee Georgia you need to sell quickly?

Have you been searching the Internet looking for a way to someone to buy your Suwanee house fast or some way to sell your house in Suwanee Georgia fast? Many sellers need to sell their house fast, but don't know where to turn. Luckily you've found the right "We Buy Houses Article" to sell your house in 7 days or less! WeBuyHouses.net is your number one source for buying houses in Suwanee Georgia for fast cash or by taking over your existing mortgage payments. We can help you sell your house fast by buying your house fast!

How to Sell Your Suwanee Georgia House Faster Than Ever! Once you've completed our Seller Questionnaire providing your contact information and telling us about your Suwanee house for sale, one of our professional home buyers will contact you by phone or email about buying your home. If your home meets our purchase criteria, we'll schedule an appointment to come out and see your house and make you one or more offers to buy your house on the spot! It's that simple.

Who we are. WeBuyHouses.net a group of professional home buyers in Suwanee Georgia and around the country that specializes in purchasing houses quickly for all cash or on other creative terms. We are not real estate agents who want to list and sell your home for a commission, so there is never any broker fees or real estate commissions. All you have to do is tell us about your Suwanee home for sale so we can possibly buy it. That's how simple it really is!

We can save you time and money. We know that selling your home can be an expensive, time consuming and complicated process. We understand your situation. If you need to sell your Suwanee Georgia home fast, we are your number one solution. Our local, professional home buyers can buy your house in 7 days or less once you've notified us of the Suwanee home you have for sale. We can pay all cash, take over your payments or lease-purchase your house immediately! We will handle all of the paperwork, make all the arrangements and close within a few days if necessary. You'll get a quick sale with no hassles, so you can put your house selling worries behind you once and for all. There will be no more stress and no more home selling headaches.

We buy houses in Suwanee Georgia. We also buy homes in Cumming, Duluth, Dacula, Sugar Hill, Flowery Branch, Auburn, Braselton, Norcross, Lawrenceville, Alpharetta, Douglasville and other surrounding areas. We also buy houses in cities and towns across Georgia such as Atlanta, Savannah, Valdosta, Gainesville, Athens, Augusta, Macon and we want to buy your Georgia house too!

We buy houses in Suwanee Georgia in all shapes and sizes. We purchase all types of property, whether it's a new house, an old house, a big house, a small house, a pretty house, an ugly house or a house needing major repairs... We like to buy them all. We buy as many houses as we can in Georgia and are always looking for more houses to buy.

We buy houses in Suwanee Georgia in any situation. If you are selling your Suwanee Georgia house due to divorce, illness, unemployment, relocation, behind on payments, bankruptcy or foreclosure, we'd like to help you find a solution that fits your unique home selling situation. We specialize in finding creative solutions to tough real estate problems that Realtors and other home buyers won't touch.

We are your best solution to sell your home fast. If you've tried to sell your Suwanee Georgia home for sale by owner and failed or you have listed your house with a real estate agent who was unable to sell your home, we are your best solution to get your home sold quickly. Sell your house to us in 7 days or less and avoid all the hassles and uncertainties of trying to sell your home yourself or through a real estate agent.

We are your ideal home buyer. If you sell your home to us, you won't have to continue searching for the perfect buyer while you wait, month after month to sell your house. You won't have to continue having open houses and showing your home to unqualified strangers who waste your time and scare the dog. You can sell your house in Suwanee Georgia in 7 days or less and move on with your life!

Sell your house in Suwanee Georgia in 7 days or less! To sell your Suwanee Georgia house quickly, please complete our confidential Home Seller Questionnaire on our website at www.WeBuyHouses.net or call 888-765-3461 to speak to a live representative. Tell us all about your Suwanee home for sale, how we can reach you and one of our knowledgeable house buyers will contact you ASAP about buying your house fast.

Choose the best offer to sell your house fast. If your Suwanee Georgia house qualifies for our purchase program, one of our professional house buyers will schedule an appointment to come visit your house, take some photos and make you one or more custom offers to buy your home quickly so you can sell your house fast! We are confident that you will like one of our offers. If not, you are under no obligation to sell your home to us.

We are ready to buy your Suwanee Georgia house today! Our home buyers are ready, willing and able to buy your house and help you through the entire home selling process. All you need to do now is call 888-765-3461 or visit our website at www.WeBuyHouses.net to complete our confidential Seller Questionnaire and one of our local home buyers will contact you about buying your house fast. Why wait another minute to sell your Suwanee Georgia house when you can sell your house to us today?

American Jews Thinks About the Future of Israel and Palestine as in President Office Barack Obama Waits

2009-06-03T05:09:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/american-jews-thinks-about-the-future-of-israel-and-palestine-as-in-president-office-barack-obama-waits)

What do American Jews think about Israel's negotiations with the Palestinians? A late September survey of 800 self-identified Jewish voters from around the United States, carried out by John McLaughlin and Associates, produced interesting results with important implications.

By an almost 3-to-1 margin (60 to 22 percent, with an accuracy of ± 3.5% at a 95% confidence interval), American Jews say that Israel should not sign a treaty with the Palestinians if this requires an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Then, given a choice - whether the Arab world sincerely accepts Israel's right to exist, or whether it seeks the eventual destruction of Israel - the respondents by a similar 3-to-1 margin (60 to 19%) find that the Arabs still want to eliminate Israel. After a quarter-century of Israel turning land over to the Arabs, this is a very significant number, one resulting from a deep-seated Arab reluctance to accept Israel's permanence.

By an overwhelming 6-to-1 margin (76 to 13%), American Jews say that President obama promise of $900 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority over five years should be paid only if the PA removes all antisemitic and anti-Israel statements from its school books. An even larger 8-to-1 margin (78 to 10%) wants to hold back on the money until Yasser Arafat fulfills his Oslo obligations to outlaw and disarm terrorist groups and to extradite terrorists to Israel.

In contrast to these decisive stands, moving the US embassy to Jerusalem has less backing. Asked whether they agree with the Congressional legislation to move the embassy (in recognition of Israel's claim that Jerusalem is its capital) or with President obama's opposition to the legislation (on the grounds that the city's status should be negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians), the respondents by a nearly 2-to-1 margin (57 to 30%) agree with Congress. The sample also strongly endorses the prime ministry of Ehud Barak: asked if he is headed in the right direction or is off track, it approved of him by an 8-to-1 margin (63 to 8%).

Finally, the poll finds that American Jews are not much focused on Israel. In a question asking about the issues that most concern them, an overwhelming 87% pointed to domestic issues and only 5% to foreign policy ones. This helps explain the not very high level of interest about Israel and the Middle East, with 34% saying they read a "great deal" on these subjects and 58% saying "only somewhat" about them.

This profusion of opinions has four major implications. First, it confirms polling done by the American Jewish Committee since 1993 that points to a toughening of attitudes on the question of the Palestinians. As Yale Zussman concluded in his Middle East Quarterly study of six years of AJC polling, "American Jewry is increasingly wary of a negotiation process that it worries may be a trap for Israel." Second, there is a seeming contradiction between the overwhelming support for Barak himself and for positions that he does not endorse (such as withholding money to the PA). This suggests that while American Jews have high regard for the Israeli prime minister, they are generally not aware of the steps he is taking quite contrary to their own views - a conclusion supported by the fact that only one third of them say they are well-informed about Israel.

Third, these results raise questions about an Israel Policy Forum poll commissioned in July 1999 that found American Jews "supporting] the Israeli-Palestinian peace process" by a 11-to-1 margin (88 to 8%). Well, yes, they do strongly support in principle the idea of Israel finding a way to end Palestinian hostilities against it, but our survey shows they also have strong ideas about how this should be done - and these ideas are much more skeptical than those promoted by the current Israeli leadership.

Fourth, American Jews appear to be less engaged with Israel. Yes, a committed minority continues to follow the news intensely, travel to Israel, lobby Congress, and give money, but growing numbers of American Jews have other things on their minds.

For Israel, this has the utmost importance, given the vital role American Jews have had in the formulation of US policy toward the Middle East. This decline in interest has particular importance at a time when - as shown by the recent Burger King, Sprint, and Disney episodes - Arab and Moslem groups in the United States are finding their voice.

Removals Companies and House Move in Barnet, London

2009-06-02T23:11:00.005-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/removals-companies-and-house-move-in-barnet-london)

The London Borough of Barnet is in the North of London. It is next to Hertfordshire to the north and its boundaries touch five other London boroughs: Brent and Harrow to the west, London boroughs of Haringey and Camden to the southeast and Enfield to the east. The Borough is perhaps one of the best to set up removal and transport company as it is the north most Borough in London and therefore represents an easy access to all northern routes.

The Borough of Barnet includes the places: High Barnet, Burnt Oak, Cricklewood, Cockfosters, Colindale, Edgware, Finchley, Golders Green, Hendon, Mill Hill, New Southgate, Totteridge, Whetstone and Woodside Park. All of these areas are suitable for setting up removal companies except perhaps Cricklewood, Finchley and Kilburn which may well be rather expensive areas to acquire any premises.

The Borough has high number of Jewish population; particularly in Golders Green and Edgware. The community is well established with around 12 Synagogues in this area. In Edgware, the Jewish population is around 47%. The Jewish community has constructed its own Eruv. Famous people connected with the area are on whole connected to the Aida Foster School of Drama, Finchley Road and its former students have 3 prominent ladies amongst others are Elizabeth Taylor, Jean Simmons and Barbara Windsor. In the context of this article, which is slanted towards transport and removal, both areas are extremely suitable setting up such a business. Golders Green is on the edge of North Circular (A406) and A1. Edgware is on the M1.

There are major roads running through this borough which makes it an ideal location to set up removal and transport company. M1 starts from London passes through Milton Keynes, the Midlands through Northampton, Leicester, Nottingham and then through Sheffield, Wakefield and Leeds in Yorkshire. Through its run, it crosses M25, M45, M6, M69, M18 and M62. A1 also starts from London and leads all the way to Edinburgh, running in parallel to M1 in the eastern half of the country through Stevenage, Peterborough, East Anglia, East Midlands, the Eastern side of Yorkshire and Tyneside. Then there are major trunk roads A41 and A5. The A41 covers the Chiltern and up to Bicester in Oxfordshire and the Midlands. The A5 is also a major trunk road going all the way up to North Wales. It is probably the best borough to set up any form of transport and removal organisation.

Totteridge is a very pleasant suburb and has many spacious detached properties in a green setting that are highly valued; some of them are among the most pricy dwellings in London. Its past and present residents include the rich and famous, such as Arsene Wenger, Frankie Vaughan, Des O’Connor, Mickie Most and Cliff Richard. Setting up a local transport and removal company may be beneficial if the organisation can cover all ranges from 1 bed flat to 7 bedroom large houses.

Hendon, Colindale, Cricklewood are also extremely useful sites for transport and removal company as these areas lie on the edge of London and start of M1, A1, A5, A41, A406 and A5.

An on-line removal service company known as The Removal.com is a UK based provider of free comparison quotations for not only moving within the UK but also internationally. There are very simple steps to follow to get multiple quotes from removal companies.

1. Log into TheRemoval.com website

2. Enter as much details as possible and submit via the website. Quotations from removal companies are virtually worked out using the information you had submitted

3. Email quotation are sent from selected removal companies in the areas mentioned above

Due to the strategic location of being near London and on the edge of major road network, the Borough of Barnet represents ideal conditions to set up Removal Company.

Removals Companies and House Move in Barnet, London

2009-06-02T23:11:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/removals-companies-and-house-move-in-barnet-london)

Hendon, Colindale, Cricklewood are also extremely useful sites for transport and removal company as these areas lie on the edge of London and start of M1, A1, A5, A41, A406 and A5.

1. Log into TheRemoval.com website

2. Enter as much details as possible and submit via the website. Quotations from removal companies are virtually worked out using the information you had submitted

3. Email quotation are sent from selected removal companies in the areas mentioned above

Due to the strategic location of being near London and on the edge of major road network, the Borough of Barnet represents ideal conditions to set up Removal Company.

The Tax Lady Roni Deutch Analyzes the Tax Views of Sen. Barack Obama

2009-06-02T23:11:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/the-tax-lady-roni-deutch-analyzes-the-tax-views-of-sen-barack-obama)

Higher Taxes on Top Earning Americans
Senator Obama is a big believer in our progressive tax system – and he is not afraid to hide that. So one of the first things Obama is set to do is letting President Bush’s 2001 and 2003 tax cuts to selectively expire. He also advocates increasing the income cap on payroll taxes. This would essentially be a huge tax increase for taxpayers earning between $97,000.00 and $250,000.00, which goes against Obama’s prior commitment to not raise taxes on individuals making less than $250,000.00. Although higher taxes on the rich is a popular thought for many liberals, you cannot expect to only tax the rich and cut taxes for the poor. The American public is not likely to support unbalanced tax increases and this could harm his chances in the general election.

Close Corporate Loop-Holes
Another major component of Obama’s tax plan is to close hundreds of corporate "loop-holes" that allow massive corporations to questionably reduce their tax liability. "Instead of having all of us pay our fair share, we've got over $1 trillion worth of loopholes in the corporate tax code," he claimed. "This isn't the invisible hand of the market at work. It's the successful work of special interests." This plan would be highly efficient at creating new revenue for the federal government, but at what cost? Huge corporations are already moving factories and offices to countries with cheaper labor and more favorable corporate taxes. If the tax rates increase too much, then more corporations would likely move out of the country and it could result in thousands of lost jobs.

Senior Citizen Tax Breaks
Although it seems like an attempt to get the attention of the "senior voters" and the AARP, Obama is hoping to provide relief to millions of seniors struggling to make ends meet. His plan would eliminate federal taxes on seniors making less then $50,000.00 per year, which would account for $7 million dollars in total relief. It seems quite unlikely that the country would get behind this tax plan. I also have my own reservations – what about single mothers making less than $50,000 per year – that I expressed in a previous entry.

Make Work Pay Tax Credit
With his Make Work Pay tax credit, Obama is hoping to encourage Americans to take control of their lives, while providing tax relief to both low and middle income taxes. "I'd reward work by providing an income tax cut of up to $500 per person – or $1,000 for each working family – to offset the payroll tax that they're already paying," claimed Obama. "Because this credit would be greater than their income tax bill, my proposal would effectively eliminate all income taxes for 10 million working Americans."

Capital Gain Tax Increase
Obama’s desire to increase the Capital Gains rate is probably the biggest actual increase of his tax plan. The current tax rate on Capital Gains is 15%, and Obama hopes to raise it to 28%. But although the Capital Gains tax rate is much lower today than it was a decade ago, it is being levied on a lot more people. Investing is not only for the rich, as there are millions of middle income Americans investing in stocks, retirement accounts, and mutual funds. In a time of a looming economic recession, we should be encouraging sound investment and savings strategies. Raising the capital gains rate is not going to do that.

Mortgage Relief for Homeowners
"Ten of the country's largest mortgage lenders spent $185 million lobbying Washington so they could keep engaging in destructive practices," claimed Obama. "And they got what they paid for. To help fix this problem Obama wants to create more accountability in the mortgage industry. In addition, he intends to pursue more tax breaks for current homeowners. Specifically, Obama announced intentions to "create a 10 percent universal mortgage credit to provide homeowners who do not itemize tax relief."

Because it is a credit, individuals claiming the standard deduction would have access to it. Currently, mortgage interest is a deduction that can only be claimed by itemizing your deductions on your tax return. The credit would provide about $500 to 10 million homeowners in this country, mainly for individuals making less than $50,000 per year.

Revamp the AMT
Although Obama voted "nay" on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), he does support a revamp of the tax. The specific details of his plan are a bit hazy, but Obama has claimed he would like to index the tax according to inflation so that it does not affect middle-income Americans. However, with dozens of social plans that cost billions of dollars to operate, the idea of reducing a tax that generates so much revenue for the government seems unlikely.

American Opportunity Tax Credit
One of Obama’s more popular tax views is to help make higher education more affordable for Americans by creating a credit to reimburse taxpayers for the costs of obtaining a college education. According to his plan, the credit would reimburse taxpayers on the first $4,000.00 they spend on a college education, and will cover two-thirds of the cost of attending a public college or university.

Immigration Reform and Undocumented Immigrant Taxes
Obama wants to reform the way the federal government deals with undocumented immigrants. Obama’s plan does have tax consequences, as it would not only require illegal aliens to file tax returns and pay income taxes, but would also require them to pay back taxes and the associated penalties and interest. If this idea became reality, it could account for millions of dollars in additional federal revenue. And, by not including tax amnesty in his immigration reform, Obama preemptively "plucks" a feather from the anti-immigration reform movement. It also preemptively stops American citizens from lobbying for similar treatment for their own unfiled tax returns and IRS back taxes.

What Kind of Man is Barack Obama?

2009-06-02T17:07:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/GSq3P)

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It has been decided at last: Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States but what sort of leader will he be? The campaign, carefully and brilliantly orchestrated as it was, really only provided a few clues. Intriguingly, and unusually for a practising politician, he has already written several books about himself. By analysing these in-depth we have been able to produce a psychological profile of the President Elect.

Taking his strengths first, it is clear that he is analytical but can also judge mood and atmosphere. Using all of this, he is able to see the bigger picture which may pass others by.

When interacting with others, Obama is able to empathise. When dealing with his employees, in particular his Cabinet, you can expect to see someone who will empower others to work hard, whilst expecting them to deliver results. All of this helps build confidence, loyalty and trust.

The most striking aspect of his profile is a real anxiety relating to his fear of failure. This clearly does not hold Obama back, but instead keeps him motivated and means that he won’t rest on his laurels as the new President. Instead, he will be concerned about his next steps, even whilst his supporters are still celebrating.

Our profiles suggest Obama is rather introverted, something that does not appear to be the case on the surface. Under pressure this combination could mean that he will become withdrawn and if the pressure intensifies he could become guarded and mistrustful. This will detract from his ability to inspire those around him.

He also appears to be someone who prefers to take his time making decisions - under pressure this could be seen as prevaricating.

From a psychological perspective his immediate task is not to resolve the financial crisis but to manage the extraordinarily high expectations people have of him. When examining the psychological profiles of the two candidates - disregarding policies, the best candidate won. Obama has the qualities and profile to be a good President and if he can play to his strengths and minimise his weaknesses, he could be a great one.

Prof Binna Kandola

Business Psychologist

www.pearnkandola.com

How A Real Estate Attorney Can Help You Sell Your House

2009-06-02T17:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/Z3C0w)

Even though you are selling your home without a real estate agent, the assistance of a real estate professional is still needed at various steps in the home selling process.

Follow these tips and you will find the process goes smoothly:

The requirement of a real estate attorney depends on the laws in your state. Even if you live in a state where a real estate attorney is not needed, as a for sale by owner seller, it will still be beneficial for you to use one.

A real estate attorney can serve many purposes in the housing transaction.

When you hire an attorney that specialized in real estate, that attorney is responsible for seeing that your best interests are met in the housing transaction.

A real estate attorney can act as the escrow agent by holding down payments, documentation, and earnest money deposits. Not only that, the attorney can help you decipher and evaluate complicated offers you might receive from a buyer.

In the event that the lender's attorney does not handle the closing, your real estate attorney will host and handle the closing. If the lender's attorney does handle the closing, then your real attorney will represent you in the process.

Your primary concern should be to find a real estate attorney that will provide you with assistance you need in the housing transaction.

You can use a local or internet directory to find the names of some attorneys in your area. Asking friends or family who have recently sold homes for references is another way that you can find an attorney to assist you.

If there are neighbors with "for sale" signs in their yards, you can casually inquire about the real estate attorney they are using. Hiring an attorney that comes as a reference is often better than cold calling attorneys.

As you look for a real estate attorney to hire, you should choose one that works primarily with real estate transactions. Avoid choosing a criminal or family law attorney that handles real estate transaction on the side.

Your interests will not be best served by an attorney that does not spend a significant part of his or her time in real estate transactions. Certainly do not hire an attorney that has never worked in real estate.

Along with experience in real estate transactions, price will be the other factor you use to choose a real estate attorney.

The attorney you hire will have two major responsibilities: reading and advising you on documents and representing you at closing.

Get a price quote from prospective real estate attorneys on those two tasks. You can get a discount from the attorney by letting him or her know that you will be preparing and filling out some of the documentation.

Shop around among several real estate attorneys to get a feel for experience level and price charged.

The most important thing is that you have a real estate professional available to assist you through the transaction. Even if you have successfully sold a for sale by owner home before, it is better to have legal assistance than to attempt to complete the process on your own.

What is the Impact in the Rise in the Housing Market on First Time Buyers?

2009-06-02T11:07:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/what-is-the-impact-in-the-rise-in-the-housing-market-on-first-time-buyers)

There has been no secret made of the fact that UK house prices have risen over recent years, and many home owners have benefited significantly from this. The rise in home values has meant many people have been able to free up cash tied up in their properties whilst sill owning a significant amount of equity to make them comfortable with this. Combined with the relatively low interest rates this has been a dream come true for home owners. The boom has even meant record numbers of people borrowing against their homes to lay down deposits against holiday homes or buy-to-let properties, gaining doubly from the rising market, and having the effect of further fuelling price increases.

Although industry experts don’t seem to be able to decide whether the boom is over or not, and the case can be argued differently depending upon different geographical areas. It would certainly appear that over the last 12 months or so, the growth has in general slowed.

Whilst the boom may have been the best thing that has ever happened financially for existing homeowners and those lucky enough to have bought first and second homes at the right times, it is not so good news for first time buyers. The overall increase in prices has not only increased the average house price in the UK significantly, but it has dragged the bottom end of the market in particular to new heights making that first step on to the property ladder as difficult as ever for first time buyers. The burden is especially difficult for University Graduates who not only face the likelihood of having to move towards the cities to find the right sort of employment, meaning that in many cases they can’t even seek the solstice of a family home for a while whilst they find their feet, they are carrying the millstone of student debt around their necks whilst they do so.

The above statements, I believe are a fair summary of the state of the UK housing market and the problems faced particularly with first time buyers today, but let’s now analyse the facts to see where people really stand in 2007.

Year Average Salary Average Salary

(Population) (22-29)

1997 £16,250.00 £14,336.40

1998 £16,842.80 £16,286.40

1999 £17,503.20 £17,071.60

2000 £18,189.60 £17,799.60

2001 £19,182.80 £19,026.80

2002 £20,004.40 £19,827.60

2003 £20,467.20 £20,098.00

2004 £21,507.20 £18,652.40

2005 £21,985.60 £18,834.40

2006 £22,926.80 £19,224.40

Year Average House Multiple Multiple

Price (Population) (22-29)

1997 £78,199.00 4.81 5.45

1998 £84,396.25 5.01 5.18

1999 £93,609.00 5.35 5.48

2000 £106,960.00 5.88 6.01

2001 £118,604.50 6.18 6.23

2002 £136,635.25 6.83 6.89

2003 £155,226.25 7.58 7.72

2004 £178,136.25 8.28 9.55

2005 £188,565.75 8.58 10.01

2006 £192,831.33 8.41 10.03

Source:

Average salary figures taken from www.statistics.gov.uk

Average house price figures 1997-2005 taken from www.proviser.com and 2006 figures from www.communities.gov.uk (figures are averages of all completed sales during the stated time period).

In 1997 the average house price in the UK was just over £78,000 with an average salary of £16,250 for the general population, and £14,336 for 22-29 year olds – typical first time buyers. The average house price in 1997 was therefore 4.81 times the national average salary and 5.45 times the average salary of a 22-29 year old. A 10% deposit for a 22-29 year old on the average salary buying an average house in the UK would have represented 54.5% of a year’s gross pay. Although clearly a struggle, the prospects of couples in particular finding their way onto the housing market was good.

Looking at the same comparison for 2006, the average UK house prices was just under £193,000 – an increase in 10 years of 147%. The average salary for the UK population had also increase to just under £23,000, and increase of 41% and to just over £19,000 for our 22-29 year old demographic – an increase of 34%. Incredibly, the average house price in 2006 was 8.41 times the average salary of the UK population, and over 10 times the average salary for our 22-29 year olds. A 10% deposit now represents almost exactly one whole year’s salary on average.

These figures clearly demonstrate that the lifestyle and expectations of the UK population has had change forced upon it. Being able to afford a house on a graduate salary straight out of University is a pipedream only possible for the very luck few.

Where does this lead everybody else?

One of the catalysts behind the increase in prices in the housing market as previously mentioned is the increasing number of ‘buy-to-let’ properties purchased by those lucky enough to see the values of their own properties increase. It would seem logical that the rental demand for these properties has also increased as the would be first time buyers can now in general only afford to rent and often to seek out suitable housemates to share their rented house or flat with.

A good source of housemates can be found at sites such as www.abodewithme.com which has grown as an aide to home seekers who in today’s economy simply cannot afford the luxury of their own place.

Another option for would be ‘first time buyers’ is to get on the property ladder by purchasing part of a property. At least in paying a mortgage instead of rent, even though a property is not entirely in an individuals name, will at least allow them to benefit from any further rises in the property market, leaving them lagging further behind in their rental properties.

There are several ways of purchasing part of a property and renting the other part with an option to buy in the future, although these such arrangements often mean paying a mortgage and rent, which will cost nearly as much as a mortgage to cover the full value of the property.

I read recently of a leading high street bank offering joint tenancy mortgages for up to four applicants. This means it is possible to buy a property with three others all contributing their earnings towards the total borrowing, and each taking an agreed share of the value – and the increase in value of the property. This seems incredible, given that most of us find it hard enough finding one person that we are happy to make the commitment of marriage to, and as they say, marriages are easier to get out of than mortgages.

Again, it raises the question as to how to find suitable candidates that you would be willing to take the plunge of buying a property with. Some people will be lucky enough to have long standing friendships, or perhaps relatives, brothers, sisters, etc., who are also looking to get onto the property ladder but cannot afford to do so alone. Short of this, highly recommended would be a website such as who has profiles of all sorts of people with varying budgets, all over the UK, and equally as importantly wanting to enter into the same type of partnerships.

Regardless of the route that individuals choose to take, whether to rent or buy, the state of the property market compared to average salaries as we have seen means more and more people will be living in house shares for many, many years.

If you would like to find out more about candidates looking for house or flat share companions, please visit .

The Prospect for U.s. Elections 2008: Barack Obama Vs Hillary Clinton

2009-06-02T11:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/Sqqw1)

Introduction

Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are campaigning for the presidential elections in the U.S. Speculations are rising over who will win the election. Ganesha also shares the same interest. He studies the charts of both candidates and tells us who has better chance over the other.

BARACK OBAMA has Libra Ascendant and Venus is placed in the 9th house indicating a strong personality. Sun, the significator of power and authority placed very close to MC is Digbali and indicates wonderful leadership qualities. The Lord of tenth house of career Moon is exalted and forming Gajakesari Yoga with Jupiter suggesting his potential as a leader and ideological facet of his professional character. Yogakaraka Saturn is Vargottama and placed in its own sign with Jupiter in the natal Chart, which makes him a hard worker and gives him stamina. Powerful Saturn is always a boon for a politician. Mars becomes Atmakarka indicating a strong character and Karakamsa becomes Sagittarius. If we apply Karakamsa in Navmansa char,t we find exalted Mercury in the tenth house and Moon-Jupiter conjunction in the 4th house forming a wonderful Rajayoga.

He is currently under the influence of Jupiter-Venus-Saturn period, which will end on 29th January. All the planets are very strong in his chart. So, there is no doubt about his potential as a candidate.

HILLARY CLINTON also has Libra Ascendant and strong Venus placed in the Ascendant gives her charismatic personality. Yogakaraka Saturn placed exactly over the midheaven looks wonderful and makes her chart significantly strong. She is disciplined and preferring to express carefully her strategies and policies. Adding to this, Moon- the 10th house Lord is in exchange with strong Saturn forming great Rajayoga and gives her endless perseverance. But it also indicates emotional volatility and she is easily irritated. Mars is debilitated but exalted in Navmansa and placed with Saturn in the 10th house giving her drive and ambition, but also signifying repressed anger.

She is currently running Venus-Saturn-Saturn period and both the planets are remarkably powerful and well placed in her chart. But in D-10 chart, Saturn becomes weak which seems to create hurdles in her race for White House.

Planetary influences during the primaries

The Democratic Party's presidential primaries begin with the Iowa caucus and will continue through June 2008. However, the outcome will probably be determined by March 4 when ten states hold their primaries, including Texas and New York. From an astrological viewpoint, the critical time frame would be from January 7 to March 4, 2008. This phase would be fascinating, and is likely to be full of surprises, comebacks, and strong gesture from candidates, due to retrograde Mars through January 29, and then Mercury is retrograde from January 27 to February 18 along with retrograde Saturn. Under these planetary influences, one might expect a great deal of uncertainty and shifting of voter count.

Predictions

There is no doubt that we are going to witness a fascinating contest between Obama and Hillary, as both have the natal planetary promises in their charts that facilitate their ambitions. For Hillary, the transiting Sun would be moving in opposition to natal Saturn and also forming square with Rahu, which looks unfavorable. These confusing, depressing, disorienting influences may hamper her progress particularly between 20th January and 13th February. This period may have lasting effects on chances of Hillary to become presidential candidate. HILLARY will have to work very hard to remain in the race as she might be running out of time. She must also ensure her safety and must be placed under tight protection, as the period between August and October is indicating injuries for her.

Conclusion

May Lord Ganesha bless U.S with the right President!

Ganeshas Grace,

Tanmay K.Thakar

The Ganeshaspeaks Team

Comment On Article On Barack Obama At: Ichikaeli Maro Daily News-Prof. Hasan Yahya

2009-06-02T05:08:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/NmTFx)

Hasan, Yahya Comment: To: ICHIKAELI MARO Daily News.
From: Prof. Hasan Yahya
Early in the morning of Monday, your flowery article was the first to read. and found my self the urge to share with you some points may be included in your coming analysis of the the Middle East conflict.
The analysis is great, and credited to be close to perfect. Bur I think it is missing depth on some obstacles to make the changes possible for the United States image worldwide. I have short comments on the article which I agree one hundred percent with the writer of his brilliant description and analysis to the outstanding organization of the historical inauguration, even though it describes fully the state of Tanzania, which I believe it was right to do so, because Tanzania is similar to many other countries in Africa and Asia , heading toward modernity and democracy.
1. I agree with you that "The inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th and the first African-American President of the most powerful nation on earth was received with joy and happiness by many people globally - with many hailing him as the President who has been widely accepted across the world." In fact the world is amazed how two millions gathered in a small place for a celebration. It reminds me of the organization of two million people came from all corners of the world to perform pilgrimage every year in Makka, Saudi Arabia. Such organization has to be recognized, as Muslims too have learned the American way of organization and that they can deal rationally with plans for peace in the Middle East.

2. And that he was also credited for his exemplary communication skills. And that his inauguration was historic. " in the first three days he proved his communication skills by calling important leaders in the Middle East.

3. And that he said: "To the Muslim world, we embrace a new way forward based on mutual interest and mutual respect."

I wish as an American to see the United States as the most powerful nation on earth to change its position in the UN from one sided vote [most times Veto] when it comes to Israeli-Arab conflict over Palestine matter to a more respectful stand of neutrality when it comes to human rights principle. The rage of Muslims around the world and many other segments in the free world through demonstrations had its roots as a consequence of misguided foreign policy in the last forty years. I think it will be difficult to change course overnight as you said. But America has proved as a capitalist system does not carry the seeds of its destruction as Marx said, Because America is using its approaches scientifically and rationally. Unfortunately this approach was not publicized in foreign policy matters in the Middle East. America has to accept the following facts that:
- Israel is an occupying other people's land since 1967, even Hamas accepts that.
- Palestinian refugees were not repatriated for their lost land according UN resolution number 194.
- Arab states [Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Syria, supported the USA to get rid of Unleash Saddam Hussein from Kuwait first and from earth second.
- The Arab recent plan submitted by Saudi Arabia, the leading state NOT only for Arab countries, but to almost all Muslim countries. Such a plan I believe would be a good start to be accepted by the US and Israel which will lead to cultural normalization as I stated in my theory: Crescentology for Conflict Management.
- Jerusalem is well respected place for all religions. It should remain as such under International administration may be from the NGO rational groups, to be an open place for all. Even though part of it the capital of State of Israel and part of it the capital of the State of Palestine.
- 242 is an important UN resolution in spite of the ambiguity about some words in it, should be considered as a workable document to solve the conflict over Palestine.
Recognition of the above facts and taking them into consideration will help regain the US respectful position and reduce rage among the Arabs and Muslims worldwide and satisfy millions of people supporting the Palestinian cause to live in peace side by side with Israel as a state too. Such change then will translate "embrace the new way forward based on mutual interest and mutual respect."
This have to be seen in the UN resolutions. This I doubt, and it will be hard to be taken by President Obama without Jewish understanding of the Palestinian claims and without the acceptance of the above facts. I think Hamas first have to taken out of the terrorism list made unjustly by the previous Administration. The rationality of Hamas have to be exploited for peace by understanding human rights for both Israelis and Palestinians. Therefore, I believe that Hamas have to be negotiated side by side with the Palestinian Authority united in one Palestinian team as far as we expect that Netanyahu hard line party will win next month.
In general the analysis was balanced for the purpose of its writer, I can't blame him, but highly respect his talent to analyze the historic celebration .of the 44th president of the United States. [This comment will appear also on www.hasanyahya.com.

13 Legal Stages of Completing a House or Flat Purchase/Sale

2009-06-01T23:08:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/13-legal-stages-of-completing-a-house-or-flat-purchasesale)

Property purchase or sale can be divided into three major stages. There is the initial agreement here both parties have the option to walk away from their agreement. The exchange stage which commits both parties to the agreement and formalise the deal. The last stage; in any deal, is the completion of the transaction. Below is a detailed list of the entire process which has been broken into 13 individual sub-processes:-

1. The whole process starts with a verbal agreement between a buyer and a seller. The buyer agrees to buy the property in question at an agreed price and the seller agrees to sell it at that price. Clearly, this agreement is not legally binding at this stage because the agreement is subject to contract. Both buyer and seller exchange personal details and pass to one and other details of their respective solicitors to formally start the process of sale.

2. Both parties appoint solicitors to carry out the legal work in respect of the sale. The appointment of the legal representative can be done prior to the agreement of either sale/purchase as in 1 above or after the agreement. The more astute buyer/seller will and can shop around for the best price in the market. There are price differences between firms of solicitors. So shopping around is advised.

3. It is normal practice for solicitors acting for both parties to produce an estimate of costs plus disbursements before they start any work. Once these estimated costs are accepted then the legal work begins in earnest. The seller's solicitor obtains information about the property in readiness to send to the buyer's solicitor.

4. The seller's solicitor sends the first draft of the contract together with the information about property to the buyer's solicitor. If there are any issues; legal or otherwise, they are raised by the buyer's solicitor. An example of a query is the agreed price according to my clients was £123,000 but this draft contract states that price to be £132,000. This error will then be corrected at this early stage.

5. The contracts are only signed when both parties agree with the terms, conditions and the wording of the contract. Each party; buyer and seller, are invited to sign this document and then give it back to their respective solicitor so that the exchange can happen.

6. Pre-contract exchange stage. Contracts can only be exchanged when a completion date is agreed. For example, exchange contracts on the 1st May 02 and complete the transaction on the 24th May 02. There is also a question of deposit which must be paid at this stage. The deposit is normally 10% of the purchase price or another amount agreed by mutual consent.

7. The next stage is exchange of contracts. At this stage, both parties are committed to the agreement and neither can back out. The exchange is done by both parties' solicitors and it is all legal after that.

8. If the seller is buying another house then the seller's solicitor will make sure that the completion for both properties; that is the one being sold and the one being bought, is done on the same day/date as so to avoid homelessness.

9. Post contract exchange stage is for sorting out outstanding matters. The buyer can arrange for his/her removal, pay any outstanding bills, cancel insurance policy if one is in place and amongst other things re-direct mail as well as informing friends of a change of address. The seller does the same in respect of the property that he/she is moving from.

10. The seller signs the transfer deeds document. This document is used to add the buyer's name to the title deed at the land registry.

11. The buyer receives a completion statement. This statement sets out money that are due to be transferred into the account; that amount is stated and the costs are made clear and lastly the amount of money left over after costs.

12. On the morning of the completion, the buyer's solicitor gets the bank to transfer the money into the nominated account held by the seller's solicitors. The buyer gets formal possession of the property once the solicitors have completed the transactions and the money is transferred.

13. The seller receives his money after all the costs have been taken and if there are lenders involved then their money needs to be paid first.

Finally, the transaction can normally take up to 8 weeks from start to finish. If there are lenders involved they may require searches and valuations to be carried out to establish value/equity to secure the mortgage against. But, it is not uncommon to complete the whole process over a matter of a week for cash buyers particularly if they are willing to dispense with searches and such like. Lastly, this template may not fit the transaction process in another country but the principle is the same; there is an agreement, it runs its course and then it is completed.

Overeating - Why Barack Obama is Like a Scone

2009-06-01T23:08:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/p0kJg)

What a year this has been with the US presidential election. Although I'm now steering clear of political analysis, I will just say one thing, and that is Barack Obama is like a scone.

Before I explain that, think about what has been going on here. Any election is about making a choice - in this case McCain or Obama, which does nothing to reflect the subtlety and richness of human experience, or how we would want that reflected in the electoral process and the choices we can make.

But that's how the human mind works, we put things into either/or categories. It has to be one candidate or the other. Once when my daughter was very small I was tucking her up in bed and I asked her if she was a pickle or a poppet. She had a think and said, "I'm a both", which was an honest and intriguing answer! But usually people aren't allowed to be "a both"; they have to be one thing or another.

This categorisation also works with food and leads to poor food choices. Many people classify foods in this either/or way and have a list of foods that are yuck and a list of foods that are yum. The yum list is usually, chocolates, sweets, fast food, and cakes. The yuck list is carrots and broccoli.

Some more sophisticated folks have a healthy list and a naughty list. Again, the naughty list is the cakes, fries and donuts while the healthy list is the broccoli and carrots. Secretly they may actually label these foods yuck and yum but won't admit to it.

This classification system does not allow for the subtleties and richness of food experience. It also severely reduces our food choices, for once we label something as yuck how likely are we to choose it?

So allow yourself to have broader, more generous more varied classifications for food.

So here is my list of rich food experiences:

* Yuck and I'll never eat it (probably most insects and turnips/swedes)

* A bit yuck but I'll eat it if it's prepared right (cabbage)

* Yuck once upon a time but now I like them (most vegetables)

* Yum - a long list including fruits, some veg and wild salmon, organic chicken and my husband's home made pesto sauce

* Yum but only for the first one or two bites (cakes and puddings)

* Super yum (any meal prepared with love)

Once on The Simpsons they had a sliding scale of drunkenness - the top level was labelled "Boris Yeltsin". My list is not as dramatic as that but more useful for making food choices!

So when you are choosing the foods you eat, don't automatically categorise everything into yuck or yum - think about the types of foods you want to eat and how re-labelling might help you make better food choices.

Oh, and why is Barack Obama like a scone? Because a scone is also an either/or thing. A scone is a baked pastry confection (called a biscuit in the US, where confusingly what we call biscuits are called cookies. I hope you're following this).

If you are from the north of England a scone is called a scone to rhyme with Ron. If you are from the south, it's a scone to rhyme with moan. So, Ron or moan, take your pick but it's an either or choice. So Mr Obama, when the election took place, was an either/or choice, and so is like a scone.

And just to continue the culinary theme, over here in the UK McCain is a make of oven chips. But you could call them french fries. Figure that one out!

Barack Obama By Keith Boeckelman

2009-06-01T17:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/qbbSI)

Barack Obama's election to the U.S. Senate in 2004 is one of the most interesting and colorful political campaigns in recent history. His rousing keynote address at the Democratic National Convention that same year made his name a household word. The Obama for Illinois crusade offers important insights into American politics. The authors explore the role of money, political party, ethnicity, religion, and the issues facing our society today. Obama's straightforward policy recommendations,
message of hope and inclusion, and charismatic style propelled him to the national spotlight. Obama has the potential to shape America and to reshape U.S. politics as he campaigns for the White House. Obama's state senate career and his decision to enter the U.S. Senate race are examined in this book. Despite a primary field of six competitors, Obama received more than half of the Democratic vote, defeating a multimillionaire and the state comptroller, a well-known figure in the Democratic Party. The general election imploded for the Republicans in the first few weeks of the campaign when it was revealed that their candidate was embroiled in a sex scandal. Alan Keyes, the ultraconservative, outspoken African American who had run for president twice and for the U.S. Senate from Maryland, was recruited to challenge Obama. But Obama, whose skill with the media and whose ability to raise funds was evident even in those early days of his career, easily won the race with 70 percent of the vote. The authors analyze Obama's ability to speak to the concerns of multiple constituencies by appealing to a coalition of voters that transcends race, class, and gender. At the start of his presidential run, Obama gives new meaning to the American dream. More on http://ping.fm/CYXb5

Current Events Harm Housing Markets in Illinois

2009-06-01T11:07:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/current-events-harm-housing-markets-in-illinois)

Wow, what a week in the news; Eliot Spitzer, Geraldine Ferraro, Tony Rezko, Jeremiah Wright, and gas prices jumping to record highs.

What impact do these people and events have upon the housing market? Plenty. Experts were surprised this week to learn that the predicted increase in retail sales in February never materialized as retail sales fell .6% percent. What drives the economy? Consumer spending. It appears the higher cost of energy and food is causing the American consumer to pull back on non-essential spending. Something we predicted on January 5th could happen. Well it has happened.

Consumer confidence has been shaken with this sharp rise in gas prices. In my opinion the sleazy political stories about Spitzer and the Democrat Party primary campaign are not exactly confidence boosters. Low consumer confidence combined with eroding disposable incomes will impact home sales. If consumers are pulling back on small purchases, what do you think they are doing about large purchases?

This year is going to impact the economy and your pocketbooks in a hugely negative way unless Americans wake up and take positive actions on two fronts; energy and taxes. In my opinion governments, local, state or federal don't have a money problem they have a spending problem. We have high costs for energy due to the failure of our government to implement meaningful energy policies, bowing to the desires of the environmental and tourist lobbies.

Although revenues to the state have increased at twice the rate of inflation the past five years, senate Democrats are proposing a 2% increase in the income tax, and an increase in corporate taxes that will be passed along to you through higher prices. On the federal level both Democrat candidates will allow the Bush tax cuts to expire raising taxes on families of four, earning $50,000 a year, by over $2000. Simultaneously both candidates are proposing about one trillion dollars in new programs. When will people say enough is enough about bloated government, higher taxes, and overspending?

When will the American people say enough is enough as they dig into their pockets paying $3.50 a gallon for gas? When people learn the truth about why gas prices are so high. Share the following five reasons why gas, and energy prices are so high with everyone you know. Please ask them to call their congressmen, senators, and state officials.

Reason number one why gas prices are high; taxes. The people of Illinois should be in complete revolt against their dishonest, dysfunctional government that takes about 40 cents a gallon every time you fill up in motor fuel and sales taxes. That money is intended to maintain, and build transportation infrastructure. Where does the money go? Into nanny state, feel good programs like kids care where 54,000 children have been enrolled, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, and half the kids enrolled are from illegal immigrant families. When will the state realize that by putting the gas tax into infrastructure improvements, where it was supposed to go in the first place, that those improvements would attract new businesses to the state, creating more jobs, so people could work and accept personal responsibility to pay for their own kids care? The Feds add their motor fueltax, then Illinois charges sales tax on top of the two motor fuel taxes, triple dipping into your pocket. Reason number one your gas prices are high; taxes, federal, state, local, and sales taxes.

Reason number two your gas prices are high is due to environmental and tourism lobbyists buying votes of those who write energy laws. We have billions of barrels of oil in Alaska, the continental states, and offshore. Will you feel better the next time you fill your tank because some toad did not lose its habitat, while you have to scrimp at the store to feed your kids? The next time you vacation in Florida or California you can be ecstatic not to see oil derricks miles offshore affecting your view of the horizon. Today you'll only have to pay $50 per person each plane trip in fuel surcharges. We need to capture our own resources lying beneath our feet instead of importing oil from dictators and terrorists. The price of oil is the single biggest factor in the price of gasoline.

Reason number three why gas prices are high is the environmentalists have made building refineries all but impossible, and even fight the expansion of existing refineries. BP is attempting to increase the size of the Wood River refinery by 50%. Environmentalists always show up in larger numbers at hearings and meetings, than do supporters. This is an eight billion dollar proposal that will double production capacity, and create hundreds of good paying jobs. Become involved and attend the hearings and meetings in support of refinery expansion. The application at Wood River is now over a year old. Due to the lack of refining capacity, we now import gasoline, sheer economic madness!

Reason number four why you are paying high energy bills is because environmentalists have blocked the building of nuclear power plants because they say the plants are not safe. The U.S. Navy has powered nuclear submarines since the 1950's without an accident, and even the French produce 80% of their electrical power from nuclear plants. Time to start getting serious about nuclear energy, let your elected officials know.

Reason number five why energy costs are high is environmentalists blocking the use of clean coal technologies. The U.S. is the Saudi Arabia of coal deposits. Hundreds of local miners are unemployed. Clean coal technology could add tremendous numbers of jobs for the miners, to power plants employees, and provide a substantial boost to our electrical production capabilities. Environmentalists have blocked these efforts. Time to get serious about clean coal technologies, call your representatives and tell them you believe a miner and his family are more important than toads.

Ladies and gentlemen the well intended environmentalists are the real reason why your gas prices are so high, not the greedy oil companies our main stream media and liberal politicians want to make you believe. Keep electing liberals and you have no grounds to complain about the cost of gas, because you voted for toads and owls over workers and their families, and it is costing you at the pump. The technology exists to take advantage of our oil, natural gas, and coal reserves in an environmentally safe way.

What does this have to do with real estate? Everything. This election year will determine if we are to become serious about lower taxes, responsible spending, and realistic energy policy. Allow the politicians to raise your taxes, and to remain dependant upon foreign oil, and the value of your home will plummet, because the majority of folks won't be able to afford to buy a home. It's simple; demand will fall when families already impacted by more stringent mortgage lending policies pay more at the pump and the store. The fewer the buyers, the fewer homes that sell, and at lower prices. If there was ever a perfect example of the laws of supply and demand it is the skyrocketing price of food as ethanol producers consume corn meant for the food supply.

Here's the truth if you elect politicians that want to raise taxes who are in bed with the environmentalists. The average family of four will pay $2000 more in federal income taxes, $1000 more in state income taxes, will pay more for goods and services when Illinois corporations pass along corporate tax increases, will pay $4 to $5 a gallon for gas, will pay hundreds more at the grocery store, and will pay hundreds more to heat and cool their homes.

Ladies and gentlemen elect either Democrat candidate president, and let the state legislators raise the income and corporate taxes, and the average Illinois family won't be buying any houses. They'll be lucky to keep the home they have as a result of the unintended consequences of feel good liberal policies and politicians.

Barack Obama a Candidate for Christians

2009-06-01T11:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/barack-obama-a-candidate-for-christians)

First let me begin this article by stating that I understand the sentiment to have an African-American president. Although you couldn't tell it from my photo my grandfather William Johnson was an African American, he married a white woman in the 1940's and has my utmost respect for making that decision amidst the pressure he must have faced. I would like nothing more than to see the United States of America led by an African American president, it would be a symbol of truly healing the national wound we have had in this country since the days of slavery. I cannot cast my vote for Mr. Barack Obama in '08 in good conscience. Mr. Obama Consistently votes in support of even the most brutal practices of our greatest national sin today... abortion. This is altogether surprising to me considering how abortion effects the African American population.

Let me give you some very surprising and even more appalling statistics. Even though African Americans make up roughly 12% of the American population yet 33% of all abortions are performed on African-American women. Hispanics make up 1% of the American population yet an astounding 15.1% of abortions are performed on Hispanic women. This means that 48.1% of all abortions are performed on 13% of the population, some might call this a coincidence, I call that planned eradication of minorities. Planned Parenthood, the leading provider of abortion services in our nation specifically targets urban areas with a higher percentage of African Americans and Hispanic-Americans. This may seem a bit conspiracy theorist, but the following quotes from Planned Parenthood's founder Margaret Sanger reveal what their true purpose was to be.

On blacks, immigrants and indigents: "...human weeds,' 'reckless breeders,' 'spawning... human beings who never should have been born." Margaret Sanger, Pivot of Civilization, referring to immigrants and poor people

On the purpose of birth control: The purpose in promoting birth control was "to create a race of thoroughbreds," she wrote in the Birth Control Review, Nov. 1921 (p. 2)

On the extermination of blacks: "We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population," she said, "if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members." Woman's Body, Woman's Right: A Social History of Birth Control in America, by Linda Gordon

Someone might argue that the viewpoints of Planned Parenthood have changed over the years, but their actions say their views remain steadfast and unchanged. What does all of this have to do with Mr. Barack Obama as a presidential candidate? Plenty if you look at his voting record.

Voted against banning partial birth abortion. (Oct 2007)

Voted NO on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions. (Jul 2006)

Voted YES on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy by education & contraceptives. (Mar 2005)

Mr. Obama plainly supports abortion, even though it is the leading cause of death among African-Americans more the heart disease more than Aids, more than violent crime. Abortion is a targeted measure to wipe out minorities in America. His stance on abortion alone should be enough discourage any christian from voting for him but let's look at his voting record concerning the marriage amendment, which would define and protect marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

Vote 163: On the Cloture Motion: A Senate cloture vote on the gay marriage amendment failed, effectively killing the amendment. Voted NO

Mr. Obama supports the union of same sex marriages, while Christians shouldn't persecute people based on their sexual orientation, homosexuality is a sin, and endorsing gay and lesbian marriages would bring the judgment of that sin from the partakers of that sin to a national level. God deals with and judges nations today just as he has in the past. If we want the blessing of God to pour out into our nation today as it has in times past we need to protect our nation from committing national sin. If you look at violent crimes , pregnancy in 12-14 year olds, illiteracy levels, un-employment and many other factors since 1963 when we first began taking God out of our society they have all increased astronomically, the only way to reverse these trends is to continue making progress in our government in acknowledging our creator. When we eschew evil and turn back to God our nation will return to the prosperity our fore-fathers saw. Continuing with the theme of restoring our christian identity to our nation, we need judges that will be strict constructionists or adhere to the constitution as it is written without putting their own interpretation on it. Mr. Obama supports the "Living Document" judges, the ones that change their interpretation of the constitution based on their personal beliefs instead of what the founding fathers intended to be enforced. His voting record clearly brings out where he stands in regard to judges. President Bush has appointed 2 judges to the supreme court, both of which are strict constructionists, both of whom Mr. Obama has voted against.

1/31/06 Vote 2: On the Nomination: Confirmation of Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to be an Associate Supreme Court Justice. Voted NO

9/29/05 Vote 245: On the Nomination: Confirmation of John G. Roberts, Jr., to be Chief Justice of the United States. Voted NO

In short Mr. Obama stands against every biblical guideline we have for voting, as much as I would love to cast my vote for an African-American president, I have to wait until a candidate comes along that truly represents my core belief system, and the betterment of the African-American community.

Condo Or House? Exploring The Differences In Ownership

2009-06-01T05:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/rJvoK)

More than ever before, condo ownership represents an appealing alternative to traditional home ownership for all types of residents. Though condos have conventionally been the choice of singles and families without dependent children, more traditional families have begun experiencing the unique benefits of condo ownership. However, condos are certainly not for everyone. While condo ownership may provide access to certain amenities and limit time spent on upkeep, there can be certain restrictions - few of which are experienced by owners of single family homes. This article will consider the primary differences between condo and traditional home ownership. If you consider the facts in relation to your family's goals, you may come to a better understanding of the best type of property for your family.

Two of the most important factors in determining what type of home is right for your family are location and lifestyle. If your family is looking to move to an urban environment where single family homes are scarce, a condo could be a good choice. In such markets, condos are always in high demand and appreciation often matches the best single family homes.

Additionally, if you live a busy life and can live without a large yard, a condo could help you live simply and happily. While most families with young children prefer single family homes for the added space, condos often provide amenities such as swimming pools, tennis courts and large open areas to help families relax and play.

However, there is far more to consider than location and lifestyle when deciding which type of property is best for your family. Nearly all of the differences between houses and condos stem from the different types of ownership. In the simplest terms, owners of single family homes are entitled to exclusive ownership, while most condo owners are subject to certain forms of shared ownership.

In regards to single family homes, exclusive ownership allows home owners to alter their home and surrounding property in nearly any way. While building codes may prevent certain home additions and other large-scale renovations, owners of single family homes can adapt their homes to meet their unique goals.

The owner of a condo is not always allowed to make such radical changes to their property. When purchasing a condo, owners are subject to the rules and regulations of the condo association or board. Typically composed of fellow residents, this governing body collects dues from condo owners to conduct ongoing maintenance of shared areas and perform any unexpected repairs. As part of the agreement with the condo board, new owners will be informed of what types of changes can be made to the interior and exterior of their property. In most cases, condo owners possess the same type of exclusive ownership inside their condos as homeowners, yet are limited in exterior alterations to maintain the uniformity of the community.

If you are thinking about purchasing a condo, it is important to read the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) before making a commitment. These documents include all the rules condo owners must follow and can vary widely between complexes. If you have indoor pets or other specific needs, make sure these are addressed in the CC&Rs to prevent any unwanted surprises. If you don't understand any part of the CC&Rs when purchasing a condo, you can try to gain clarification from the director of the condo association.

While the concept of shared ownership might seem limiting to potential owners, there are certainly plenty of benefits. For instance, the owner of a single family home is solely responsible for any problems with the properties, incurring all costs of needed repairs. However, the dues paid by condo owner cover many repair costs - both inside and outside the home. Furthermore, condo ownership can also provide access to amenities - such as pools, spas and recreation equipment - outside the budget of a home owner.

Regardless of location, either a single family home or a condo can be the right fit for the right family. To make the most informed decision, all prospective homebuyers should reflect on their own lifestyles and priorities and how they relate to the different types of property ownership. While there may be many differences between house and condo ownership, the goal is always the same - finding the best home for your family.

The Obama Administration Plans to Unfreze Banks

2009-06-01T01:21:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/QaiFu)

by Scott Darrohn

The Obama administration released a plan to unfreeze credit by helping struggling banks to rid themselves of bad loans through a one to two trillion dollar purchase to stimulate economic activity. The news resulted in a huge stock rally, though it later cooled down as all the info was released in the presidential address started to take root and settle in. The initial shock and hesitancy should wear off as the pieces start to fall in place in President Obamas ambitious plan.

The President and his administration have plans to overhaul financial regulations including such plans as greater government regulation and even in some cases to take over financial companies who are in danger of collapsing and causing havoc throughout the entire system, such as the controversial AIG. President Obama continues to stress the importance of helping companies such as AIG in order to build the economy up and stop the bleeding. If Insurance coverage and lending cease it would destroy what is an already faltering economic system.

The nations greater needs take precedence over continuing the focus on the recent bonus scandals that have been surrounding such companies. President Barack Obama has urged the Nation to turn their attention to the bigger picture rather than focus on executive bonuses. While he has shown outrage over this himself, he sites continued micro-attention on it as a distraction from the crisis at hand.

Obama stated that his administration is working on all angles of this crisis as we have seen through recent task forces designed to stop just this sort of behavior. He reiterated one part of his economic plan saying that its a strategy to create jobs, to help responsible homeowners, and to restart lending. This will help grow our economy over a period of time.

The president remains optimistic despite the worst economic crisis we've faced in over 25 years, but reminds Americans with his usual directness that it will take a while. It will also take diligence and it will take an understanding that when we work together, when each of us looks beyond our own short term gains to the wider set of obligations we have to each other, thats when we will succeed.

About the Author:

Scott Darrohn specializes in Bad Debt Collection and works for a professional Collection Service

House Slaves (abeed Al-beit) ?

2009-05-31T23:08:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/NAAyT)

The radical Al-Qaida has finally given their opinion of the Barck Hussein Obama victory and it's not a pretty response! If Obama needed a "heads up" about this radical group or maybe a little added incentive, he's got it now. In al-Qaida's first response to Obama's victory, al-Zawahri also called the president-elect—along with secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice—"house negroes."

Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader used the racial epithet to insult Barack Obama in a message posted Wednesday, describing the president-elect in demeaning terms that imply he does the bidding of whites. The message appeared chiefly aimed at persuading Muslims and Arabs that Obama does not represent a change in U.S. policies. Ayman al-Zawahri said in the message, which appeared on militant Web sites, that Obama is "the direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X, the 1960s African-American rights leader.

I guess we all have our insights into what HONORABLE means! :-(

Wouldn't it be interesting IF Osama is caught by Obama soon after taking office. I am sure Obama has as much interest in getting the #1 man as anyone. And in so doing he would elevate his status even higher than it is now. Could he, or any man, handle such praise and adulation? I doubt it.

The message included old footage of speeches by Malcolm X in which he explains the term, saying black slaves who worked in their white masters' house were more servile than those who worked in the fields. Malcolm X used the term to criticize black leaders he accused of not standing up to whites. The eleven minute message features the audio message by al-Zawahri, who appears only in a still image, along with other images, including one of Obama wearing a Jewish skullcap as he meets with Jewish leaders. In his speech, al-Zawahri refers to a Nov. 5 U.S. airstrike attack in Afghanistan, meaning the video was made after that date.

Our politicians had Obama in Arab dress and al-Zawahari has him in Jewish garb. Sometimes a guy just can win for losing. :-)

Al-Zawahri said Obama's election has not changed American policies he said are aimed at oppressing Muslims and others. I don't know about that, but what I am struck by is Obama's reliance on Bill Clinton's staff. CHANGE? Did all of these people (three dozen to date) CHANGE from who they were in the 90's or am I missing something here? Since Obama is still President-elect, let's hold off on judging.

Opps! Too late for El Rushbo and Hannity to withhold judging.

House Slaves (abeed Al-beit) ?

2009-05-31T23:08:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/hi0iu)

I guess we all have our insights into what HONORABLE means! :-(

Our politicians had Obama in Arab dress and al-Zawahari has him in Jewish garb. Sometimes a guy just can win for losing. :-)

Opps! Too late for El Rushbo and Hannity to withhold judging.

Now House Prices are Seemingly Falling, How Does This Effect First Time Buyers?

2009-05-31T17:09:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/now-house-prices-are-seemingly-falling-how-does-this-effect-first-time-buyers)

However, with banks and building societies now being much more diligent about what they are willing and able to lend, the fact that prices have fallen somewhat is offset by the fact that it is now much harder to borrow money than it has been for many years.

Not too long ago, I was commenting about how some lenders were willing to lend up to 6 times your annual salary. Today, I was able to find only two mortgages online willing to lend £200,000 with no deposit on a salary of £40,000 (i.e. 5 times annual salary). However, there were plenty of offers available when only wishing to borrow £160,000 (4 times salary) on a £200,000 property as the risk is seriously offset by a sizeable deposit. Reducing the property value to £160,000 and asking for a 100% mortgage on £40,000 per year produced a significantly shortened list, although it was still feasible to borrow money. The problem however, lies in the fact that the average salary in the UK is not £40,000, it is nearer £24,000 with average property prices approaching £200,000. A little bit of research on the internet shows that it is still possible to raise a mortgage on a property with a value of £200,000 with a deposit from £10,000 on a salary of £24,000, but this would mean monthly mortgage repayments of around £1200 which would have to come from a take home pay of around £1400 per month. All of this is assuming that that as a borrower you have no other commitments such as credit card bills or outstanding student loans, which seems unlikely given the demographics and spending behaviours of typical first time buyers. In fact, it seems that those on the housing market are more likely to find themselves in spiralling debt given these frightening figures than those who remain in the house share or flat share market.

So, does the recent slide in house prices help the first time buyer? Well, it’s probably a move in the right direction, but for most, it would seem that renting property represents the short to medium term future.

Barack Obama: the Name of Politics 2008

2009-05-31T17:09:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/T1wJd)

The power of black community is rising constantly with black leaders proving their leadership qualities and mettle. The success of black community is entirely based on the positive efforts of black entrepreneurs, black CEO's, black executives and black business leaders around the world. Their success and vision have inspired the growth of blacks not only in USA but also in the rest parts of the world as well. Here, we’ll highlight the achievements of Barack Obama, who has dominated the political scenario in the US.

The rising success of Mr. Obama has proved that sky is unlimited for those who know how to make a world of their own. Democrat Barack Obama of Illinois has been running the country’s presidential elections, soon to be held this year in US.

For reaching on the top of this electoral battle, he has to beat arch rival Hillary Clinton in the Democratic nomination and Republican John McCain in the general election. Obama would be the country’s first black president if he wins the election.

In 2004 Democratic National Convention, Obama first shot to fame with his roaring speech in which he talked about his personal story in concern with the traditional American ideologies of independence and desires.

Obama, the son of a Kenyan father and a White mother, won with a huge margin a few months later. After his election, Obama became a major attraction of the media industry. In 2007, he declared his candidature for the US presidential election in a rally held in South Carolina. A senator for Illinois, Obama worked on several issues such as AIDS education and prevention with the Republican colleagues.

Early Life

Named after his father, Obama was only six when his parents got divorced. Later his mother married an Indonesian and he moved to Jakarta. In his four years of life in Jakarta, Obama practiced Christianity and attended secular Catholic schools, though his father and step-father were Muslims.

Later, he moved to New York to study political science at Columbia University. In 1988, he joined Harvard Law School and became a famous lawyer. He practiced civil rights laws. There, he met his future wife, Michelle, with whom he has two daughters.

Barack Obama is not a political candidate but he is the hope of many people who know how to fight destiny to make the right path of success.

President Barack Obama #44

2009-05-31T11:08:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/ChFIG)

It is finished- the campaigning. Now Barack H. Obama is the 44th president of the United States. The 43rd president is back home in Texas, albeit Midland. And George will get to see the house that his wife bought in Dallas for the first time. The inauguration balls are over, the hoop and hype have come and gone and the Obama family have spent their first night in the White House. History has now been remade. Today marks the first day of reality- as President of the United States.

Obama said it in his inauguration speech, "That we are in the midst of crisis is now well-understood," Obama said as Bush sat a few feet away from him on the Capitol platform. "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again the work of remaking America." Oh yeah, we're in a crisis and as he spoke the stock market was falling like a rock.

President Obama, on his first full day in the Oval Office, will pivot his attention Wednesday from celebration to the grueling work of securing confirmations for the rest of his Cabinet nominees and determining the way forward in Iraq and Afghanistan. Timothy Geithner, Obama's nominee for treasury secretary, comes up for his first confirmation hearing Wednesday after an earlier hearing was postponed over questions about tax problems.

Since launching his campaign two years ago Obama has pledged to overhaul or improve dozens of domestic and foreign policies and programs. In his address Tuesday, he also stressed his determination to lift America's global image. The more than 1 million spectators on and around the National Mall for Obama's swearing-in Tuesday personified how high a bar Obama's supporters have set for him.

"Expectations are so sky high for him, I think a lot of Americans expect things to turn around in six months," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. He said two years might be a more realistic goal for major changes to take place under the Obama administration.

Meanwhile, Obama awaits the confirmation of the team that he has hand-picked to help him on day one. The vote for Hillary Clinton's nomination for secretary of state was also held up until Wednesday over a single senator's objection. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid spokesman Jim Manley said Clinton would nevertheless "receive overwhelming bipartisan support."

Among those confirmed Tuesday were Obama's pick for energy secretary, Steven Chu, homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano; agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack; education secretary, Arne Duncan; interior secretary Ken Salazar; and veterans affairs secretary Eric Shinseki.

Welcome to your new job Barack! :-)

Affordable Housing is Relative to the Consumer

2009-05-31T11:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/ORc8X)

You may have spoken to developers, financial representatives and realtors who have boasted about their experience with affordable housing, but putting your confidence in individuals who stand to make a profit and have little to lose may result in misinformation. Your credit score in addition to the total of your down payment will dictate the interest rate you will be required to pay on your mortgage. When you are looking for a property, this figure will have a huge bearing on the property that will fit your budget. Of course, the estimation of "affordable" can vary enormously from one person to the next. Remember this when you see the description, "affordable," in your review of homes on the MLS.

Home buyers that have secured a comparably low interest rate and have a substantial down payment must still keep future surprises in mind. Ask yourself if you are ready to be tied down to to a huge financial commitment for the next 20-30 years? Unexpected circumstances may have a far reaching impact. Take into account the possibility of medical expenses. If you and your spouse separate, would either one of you be able to afford the mortgage payment without the others contribution? Even joyful occasions like a wedding or the need to pay college tuition could affect you ability to pay your the note on your house. With these variables in mind, ask yourself if you can still afford the house you have in mind? One way to bypass these problems is to buy a home that will not stretch your budget to the breaking point. There are distinct pluses to owning real estate too. Once you have paid towards your loan for a few years, you can access the equity that you have built. Home equity is fund that will be available for family trips, emergencies and home remodeling projects.

The probability of being able to afford the home of your dreams is determined by your credit score. Your credit rating can even be the final factor in receiving a loan. If you're not positive how your credit score will affect your ability to purchase real estate, contact a realtor. They are a great resource to find out whether you can buy the home that fits your expectations. If your real estate and banker feel that you can apply for a loan, they can give you an idea of the sum to expect. When you know how much you can borrow, and the interest rate you qualify for, you can better decide on what is affordable for your situation.

Practice discretion when it comes purchasing a home. Don't be duped by savvy illusionists that may try to convince idealistic home buyer's to spend more than they are realistically capable of repaying. Remember too that property taxes go up along with the cost of living, so even if you get a fixed rate mortgage, this variable will continue to rise even if your mortgage does not.

The Oratorical Prowess Of Barack Obama

2009-05-31T05:06:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/KTDGr)

A good politician gives lots of speeches. A great politician has the oratory skill to use his speeches to motivate, inspire, and convince people to follow him. The recent American presidential race showed the world the importance of giving a good speech, the importance of having great oratorical prowess. Barack Obama inspired millions of Americans to follow him to the White House during the course of the 2008 presidential campaign.

Most Americans have never met Barack Obama and they never will. They do feel connected to him because of the power of his pre-election speeches. On the campaign trail Obama used style to give meaning and believability to his words. This often ignored trait of great orators made Americans feel as if they knew Barack Obama personally and they believed what he had to say.

Obama is an expert at using rhythm and cadence during his speeches to involve his audience. Frequent pauses during his speeches allow the audience to participate by cheering, clapping, and chanting. It also gives listeners the chance to actually absorb what he is saying.
Experts note three advantages to using well placed pauses during a speech.

• A pause will allow the speaker to take a breath and gives the audience a chance to respond

• A pause during which the audience responds lets people feel connected to the speaker - they are participating in what he has to say

• A pause which lets the audience respond shows the speakers generosity - he allows others to speak and does not take all the time for himself

Barack Obama's,a African American speaker in his campaign trail speeches, and his presidential speeches, are excellent examples of the above three advantages. Instead of following the modern, just the facts style of many of today's orators Obama looked to the great speakers of the past for inspiration. Barack Obama may be a "new" style candidate but he has taken full advantage of "old school" techniques when speaking in public.

Which House Should I Flip?

2009-05-31T05:06:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/which-house-should-i-flip)

The $10,000 question (actually in most cases, this question is worth much more than 10 grand): which house makes a good fix-and-flip candidate? Well there are plenty of attributes to consider when trying to answer this question. The first thing you should do is pre-qualify an entire area or neighborhood. When doing this, there are a number of factors you need to research. However, after you qualify an area (we can call this your "farm"), finding potential fixer-uppers will be much easier.

When qualifying an area, start at the city-level and look at data that is readily available on the Internet. First and foremost, check the quality of the school district within a city you're analyzing. Make sure it ranks above average within your state. Second, check the crime rate for that city. Make sure it ranks below average for your state. If both of these results are satisfactory, it's time to hone in on the neighborhoods within that city.

When qualifying a neighborhood, it's best to choose a neighborhood that isn't "slum cheap" but also isn't "yuppie rich". You want to find a nice medium price range of homes that is both comfortable for a wide market of buyers in your state and has a good level of desirability. The larger your market, the better your chances of selling a property quickly.

Choose cities and neighborhoods that are within a comfortable distance from your home. You will likely make over a dozen round-trips to this property, so unless the profit potential is enormous, try to choose something close enough that will be "worth the drive". The final factor when choosing a neighborhood is to look at the past sales within the last year or two and figure out the answer to this question: what is the average number of days does it take to sell a home in this neighborhood? If the answer is "less than 90 days", that indicates that there is a level of desirability and demand - something that definitely makes houses in this neighborhood desirable to you. There might be websites on the Internet that provide this information - if not, seek out your Realtor.

Once you have your target neighborhoods and you know what type of houses go for what kind of price, finding potential fixer-uppers becomes much easier. More often than not, these properties will come in the form of foreclosures. Have your Realtor conduct daily searches for you. Next, you'll need to determine what your operational budget is. This is the amount of money that is readily available to you for rehabilitating properties. To reduce your personal financial risk, do not include money in your bank account(s) when calculating this number. Simply add your available credit lines on your credit cards. For example, if you have $2,000 left on a Visa and $7,000 on a Home Depot card, your operational budget is $9,000.

After hammering down what your operation budget is and you find a potential fixer-upper, have your Realtor give you a ball-park estimate as to what it would sell for in a fixed-up state. Likely, your Realtor will review past sales of comparable properties in that same neighborhood to come up with an accurate guess. Take that number and subtract 10% (this represents bargaining room with buyers) - this is your estimated sale price.

Finally, decide how much money you feel is worth all this effort. This becomes your target profit. Now you can determine how much you can afford to offer for the property by doing some quick math: (estimated sales price) - (operational budget) - (your target profit) = the maximum price you should pay for the property Now that you know the maximum price, be sure to offer well under it to allow for some bargaining room.

If a property is located in a "qualified area" and passes the "quick math" test, you have a strong potential candidate for a possible fix-and-flip property! For more free articles and previews to The Field Guide to Flipping Homes, visit the official site at www.homeflippingfieldguide.com!

Buying French Houses

2009-05-30T23:08:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/FNZDr)

Buying French Homes

Here are a few basics of what this broad subject has to offer up to any individual who wants to know more about it.

The viewry known as France offers investors a great opportunity to payment from the ever increasing land ideals. France is very fortunate to have a committed housing advertise, which will prolong to dwell that way for being and being to come. The low land expenses are forever an attraction to the part, with firm swelling and prospects to keep the overseas home buyer next back for more. For everybody interested in overseas heartfelt estate - France offers adequate of payments.

The land in France is cool to access, with many customs to range the coast. In most gear, you can get there certainly for a very mean expense. As many know, France is prominent for their transfer approach, which includes high momentum trains that tour to most of the districts. There are also ferries that envelop the part, viewing low expense flights as well. Once you buy a home in France, you�ll cursorily become accustomed to the lifestyle there.

A lot of people who want to buy a home in France, do so because of the surroundings. retail a home in France is more than just the house, as you�ll get a risk to experience the finer equipment in life. France has some romantic attractions, which makes it great for married couples looking to consume their life together. toss in some great drinks and relaxation, and France has all of your activities enveloped - along with a handsome and spectacular house.

The second half of this article will help you to extend upon what you have learned in the first half.

disparate other districts throughout the world, France has one of the most established lawful processes, one that has been proven time and time again over the being. Locals perceive the lawful approach as cautious, as it helps for those who are interested in French land. As you can tell, French heartfelt estate is very different from that of the United States.

while there are many positions overseas that you can invest in, France is actually ideal to be one of the best. France is known as a realm of renters, with adequate of heartfelt estate unfilled for grasp. If you want to rent out your land, buying in France will sweet greatly mean that you won�t have any evils renting. There are forever people looking for escape rentals and such in the part, making it great for investors or those looking for a back salary.

disparate other heartfelt estate positions, France offers you mountain snowstorm done with marine living. France is a immense district, with adequate of houses to want from. If you�ve been looking for overseas heartfelt estate, France is a position you can�t go wicked with. There is forever something to do here, and adequate of equipment to see. As a back home or as a way of life - France represents an amazing and cultivating lifestyle that you basically must see to trust.

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As they say, knowledge equals power, so continue to read information on this topic until you feel you are adequately educated on the subject.

Barack Obama's New Deal

2009-05-30T23:07:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/FKZvP)

The general election of the presidency is proceeding intensively. And after a intensive competition the candidate of the Democratic Party of the United States Barack Obama and the candidate of the republican party John Mc Cain have the great hope to win the general election to become the new president of the United states. And the public opinion keep an eye on the candidate of the Democratic Party Barack Obama. If he can finally heading to White House successfully, he will be the first Africa American president in the history of the United States.

I once attend one of Barack Obama's lecture. He didm't wear a suit and leather shoes instead he only weard a Nike sportwear and sneaker. And he looks like very Approachable, not looks like other politicians.I learned later that online shopping is one of his biggest hobbies. And he didn't like to live in a luxury life. Rolex company once suggested to design a special watch for him.But he only bought a common watch from http://ping.fm/InMs2. And he also bought chothers and shoes from some small online shopping store such as http://ping.fm/5GAf7 just like a common American. But his powerfull lecture really impressed me.

Barack Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4th, 1961. His father, Barack Obama Sr., was born and raised in a small village in Kenya, where he grew up herding goats with his own father, who was a domestic servant to the British.
Barack's father eventually returned to Kenya, and Barack grew up with his mother in Hawaii, and for a few years in Indonesia. Later, he moved to New York, where he graduated from Columbia University in 1983.

He went on to earn his law degree from Harvard in 1991, where he became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. Soon after, he returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer and teach constitutional law. Finally, his advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate, where he served for eight years. In 2004, he became the third African American since Reconstruction to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

No matter Barack Obama or John Mc Cain win the general election the the New Deal will be brought into effect.And the policy of Bush Goerment will be abandoned totally. The candidate of the Democratic Party Barack Obama claimeed that in order to regain the confidence of the money market, the raform of the supervise to the Wall Street is necessary and very important.He said that he will make related plans if he can heading to White House.

And the policy to China will be one of the most important things. Both Barack Obama and John Mc Cain appealed that both China and America should strength cooperation between removal of barrier to trade,to answer global warming,improvement of military communication,nonproliferation and so on. The new policy will befinit both China and American.

Compare to the policy if the new goverment and the Bush Goverment who antagonize everywhere?and make the American be immersed in the war of Iraq and was throw stones by many people. The new goverment focus on the reform of economic and friendly diplomatism. And most Anericans expectec that this new goverment's New Deal will be as effective as the Roosevelt government's new deal to pull the United States out of the g economic depression.

President Barack Obama To Save It Jobs In America

2009-05-30T17:12:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/L2m8o)

IT jobs in America are really high in demand not only among the Americans but also are considered to be a lucrative opportunity for people of different countries. Many young people after securing a place in the IT sector try to settle down in America as the place gives them more opportunity, more comfort and one of the best standards of living. It gives them more fame and prosperity as well. Recently it has been noticed that IT jobholders are in deep trouble due to the current recession. They are either losing their jobs, or not getting one at all. But things may change soon. US President Barack Obama is trying hard to control this uncertainty.

It cannot be denied that many individuals try to look for jobs without getting or without having any kind of formal training. This really creates a huge problem. In order to get a good IT placement you have to go through some good training. You can opt for online training, which is easily available. Online computer training is a good option for any IT career holder to move ahead in this time of recession. President Barack Obama is trying everything to improve the current scenario and bring stability especially to the IT jobs in America. If you have a vision to work beyond IT a special training in this particular field is mandatory in order to get a better job. Just by a good search at Internet you will be quite close to what has been your dream. If you are interested you will get to know about many online training centers and among them you have to choose the best. It is not always easy to go to an institution for the training so online computer training is in high demand and very much helpful for you.

Every online training center usually has online computer training videos for the users. So by watching these videos you can gather ideas about the center and their way of working. You need not to worry about these trainings. All that is required from you is to have a computer, an Internet connection a little amount of time and the most important that is willingness to carry on the course. There may be trainings for many courses and all will end up with an examination to judge how much knowledge you have gained. You can go through the e learning modules as well because these provide an instructional knowledge for the users. Once you join an online computer training module you will enjoy the full freedom to quit it and choose the next one if you are dissatisfied with it. In that case you will get back the whole refundable money. There are many online training courses, which provide you ample knowledge to increase your skills and brush up your knowledge. Online computer training videos are available which are a great source of learning for the beginners. To secure a good IT job and to stick to the same in this high competitive world demands more and more basic as well as advance training courses.

Red Hot Tips to Prevent House Fires

2009-05-30T17:12:00.001-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://www.addicting-flash-game.com/red-hot-tips-to-prevent-house-fires)

Every 20 seconds a fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the nation. Statistics tell us that over three quarters of all fires start in the home, and this could mean your home. Most deaths from a house fire happen between the hours of 10p.m. and 6a.m. - when we are asleep and unaware of what may be happening in the house. These figures point to the usefulness of a smoke alarm.

One third of all households have a smoker living in them, and the highest risk group for a home fire is those who drink and smoke at home. It is often not the flame that kills people, but the lack of oxygen from the smoke. Smoke from a fire is responsible for three quarters of all deaths from fire, which is another reason why we should all install a smoke detector. (By the way- do not paint over the smoke detector to match your decor.)

Many fires are electrical fires. If you live in an old house, or are uneasy about the wiring, you should turn off all your appliances at night. This does not mean leave them on standby. On stand-by appliances are still using energy. Depending on the appliances this standby can represent as much as 10% of your bill.

While preventative measures are best, you could take precautions and risk having your family think you are paranoid! Keep an 'escape kit' of a bucket of water, towels, a whistle, a flashlight and duct tape handy, and you will be well prepared for the worst.

If you are indoors and you hear a fire or smoke detector and your door feels hot, do not open it. Most rooms have two ways out, door and window. If your windows are high, you can buy a window escape ladder. If you keep all doors closed at night, the fire will stay contained for longer, while you escape.

A common cause of fire in the home is oil overheating in a hot frying pan. Fire extinguishers are best for immediate action to a small fire, so keep them in a fire hazard area like the kitchen, the garage etc. and make them in easy to see. Make sure you know how to use it; it can be nerve wracking trying to read instructions with red hot flames leaping at your eyebrows.

For home use purchase an ABC type fire extinguisher. A is for paper and wood, B is for combustible fuels, grease and oil and C is for electrical fires. Most home fires involve all three, hence the requirement for an ABC extinguisher.

If the fire seems too fierce for a fire extinguisher, or if you have any doubts that it will get out of control, leave immediately and phone the fire department. This is 911. There are many fire departments that offer a free home fire safety visit and some areas even include a free smoke alarm!

If you live in a condo, make sure that you and everyone in your home know the condo's fire safety plan. Walk the different routes and have a pre-arranged meeting place outside. Keep an escape kit as mentioned above.

If you use a fireplace, get your chimney swept and inspected once a year. Keep wood and paper away from the outside of the fire. You could also install a spark arrester that stops fires from your chimney.

If you plan to have a real fir tree this Christmas, make sure you water it every day to keep it wet. Tests by the National Institute of Standards and Technology show that a match cannot light a wet tree. They recommend that you stand it in 7.6 liters of water and keep it topped up.

Finally, guard the real treasures of life - your photos. Keep photos, legal documents and irreplaceable papers or jewelry in a heavy leather case, a safe or (best of all) away from the house. Some things can never be replaced by insurance.

Why Barack Obama Won the Election - and Why Mccain Lost

2009-05-30T11:07:00.003-05:00

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/p4Lks)

The recent victory by Barack Obama in his bid for President of the United States made history, but in more ways than one. The obvious one is that he will become the first African-American president in history. The less obvious point is that he used a powerful tool to win the election that has never been used in that context before - Internet Marketing.

Yes, Internet Marketing won the election for Obama. And Internet Marketing cost McCain the presidency.

How?

Well, quite simply, Obama's team saw the power of the Internet. They saw the power of viral marketing, and they used it. In the not-so-recent past, any grassroots political movement needed a tremendous amount of organization, money, and time in order to make a difference. And make no mistake about it, Obama's supporters were grassroots all the way - after all, the Democratic Party establishment had propped up Hillary Clinton as their candidate of choice. The DNC and their big money was originally behind Clinton. Therefore, Obama's people had no choice but to go grassroots.

By doing so, they've proven to us that grassroots movements are now more powerful than ever - they may now be the most powerful variety of political movement - all because of Internet Marketing.

How did this happen?

Well, let's take a step back and look at the business world to understand just what Obama's people did with the Internet that made such a difference.

If you were to ask someone on the street who the biggest, wealthiest, and most powerful companies in America are, they'd undoubtedly start thinking of Fortune 100 companies. General Electric. General Motors. IBM. And so on. And yet, if you look at the current situation in the overall economy and in the financial markets, it's painfully obvious that these big corporations - GM in particular comes to mind - are in big trouble. They are facing bankruptcy and are begging the government for billions of dollars in bailout money just to stay in business.

Why?

Because they failed to use the viral nature of Internet Marketing to surpass the competition. And they're getting their pants beat off by small, swift, young companies that are based online and that use Internet Marketing as the centerpiece of their overall marketing strategy.

With that in mind, we can consider longtime politicians like John McCain to be establishment-type dinosaurs, just like those struggling Fortune 100 companies. And Barack Obama's campaign - whether you agree with him politically or not - is comparable to the young, swift, Internet-centric companies that are taking over our economy.

Now let's get to the point here. If you're a business owner, a salesperson, a prospective entrepreneur, or just about anyone who desire success in today's world, you need to understand that Internet Marketing is your ticket to success. Even if you run or plan to start a traditional offline business, for example a florist or an auto repair shop, your ticket to lots of customers and plenty of ongoing business lies in Internet Marketing. If you don't, you'll be defeated just like John McCain, GM, and those other old-world dinosaurs are constantly defeated.

Learn how to use the power of Internet Marketing and viral marketing online. It is the only sure way to business success in today's competitive, changing world!

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