Daily Political Blog

Political Discourse and Participatory Democracy: From Feed Mills and Barbershops to Attack Ads

2011-12-30T11:41:00.000-08:00

By Lowell Klessig

Democracy used to take time-time that citizens are no longer willing to spend. Now, influencing public policy takes money-money that corporations have in tandem with their new rights to spend it on political influence peddling. The little people used to have a big say and needed no money to say it. Now big corporations have the same rights and unlimited money to make sure everyone hears the corporate perspective--over and over again.

In 2010, the Supreme Court overturned long-standing federal laws that had limited the financial influence of corporations in political discourse. The 5 to 4 opinion gave corporations the same "free speech" rights that citizens enjoy under the First Amendment. Ironically, the case was brought by a front group that called themselves "Citizens United"--the label now attached to the Supreme Court ruling. As a result, massive amounts of corporate money poured into the 2010 elections. Most of the contributions were used to support conservative candidates although not channeled through a political party. In that way, nasty attack ads could be run without the Party having to own up to them or have the sponsors identified.

In the first two centuries of American participatory democracy, men gathered in various venues to discuss the future of the young nation. There were strong differences of opinion-in the vast hinterlands and in the highest councils of government. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton articulated very different visions for the beloved country in grand Capital speeches and formal written position documents.

In the vast hinterland, farmers gathered at the feed mill and talked while they waited for their grain to be slowly ground by waterpower from the local millpond. The first settlers got the best land, were likely of New England (Yankee) or German ethnicity, tended to be Republicans, and typically joined the Farm Bureau. They ascribed to the communal culture of the era, but also epitomized nascent capitalism--hard work and re-investment in their private enterprises. Later immigrants from Scandinavia, Ireland and Poland worked smaller farms with poorer soils, tended to be Democrats, usually joined the Farmer's Union and worried about the general future of agriculture. Some farmers joined The Grange because it provided a broad social context for its members in the rural community. To collectively buy their fertilizers and fuel at lower prices and sell their milk and grain at higher prices, many farmers, including some conservative Germans, joined agricultural cooperatives.

Farmers often continued their feed mill debate at the corner tavern. A cold beer was a big treat. Except for Sunday morning worship, farmers only got to town once or twice a month. Some farmers would hone an idea for days, or even weeks, in preparation for a political debate at the next visit to the feed mill. They had diverse political perspectives but they understood that they had a common destiny. In the best traditions of political discourse, they debated vigorously across decades about the best way forward toward that common destiny. It was Jefferson's vision of participatory democracy by yeomen farmers.

The farmers didn't patronize the barbershop. The Farm Bureau types could afford a fancy town hair cut but they felt the money would be better used to buy more land, more livestock or more modern farm equipment. The Farmers Union types couldn't afford a barber's fee. Most all farmers had their hair cut by their wives or another relative.

The barbershop was the venue for political discourse by town folk. Main Street businessmen gathered and debated while they waited their turn for a haircut. Often they would stay on after they had been trimmed just to continue the political discourse. The barber strung the conversation along from one set of customers to the next. By the time I was in high school, I was making enough money raising pigs to go to a barber for a haircut. My barber, Jack Ware, would "incite" his Republican customers into a political discussion by telling them that he planned to wait until the Chicago Tribune (which usually endorsed the Republican candidate) endorsed a candidate. On that basis he would then vote for the other guy, who Jack figured would be more likely to care about ordinary people.

While businessmen leaned Republican, clerks and other laborers in town leaned Democratic. Their kids went to the same public schools and inevitably mixed marriages resulted. Both had a sense of a common destiny and took the time to think, and then to talk, and then to think again, about the alternative ways to mold the future they would share.

While men dominated political discourse in the 18th and 19th centuries, women had their own places and organizations to affect political and social change. They pursued causes such as ending slavery, extending suffrage (right to vote) to women, prohibiting consumption of alcohol and opposing war. Increasingly in the 20th century men and women debated issues in the same time and place-especially on college campuses where women were rapidly catching up to men in enrollment numbers.

Except for Senator McCarthy's Red-Baiting (falsely accusing liberals of being domestic Communists and probably spies for the Soviet Union), the country took a break from social problem solving after the exhausting Great Depression and WWII. The big issues that had been ignored in the 1950s ruptured in the 1960s: civil rights for Blacks and women, poverty in the Appalachians and the inner cities, the Vietnam War, and environmental degradation. Sit-ins, teach-ins, class boycotts, demonstrations, protest marches and other forms of political activism became a central part of a college education in the 1960s. A college student without a cause was a social outcast!

Too frequently the protests became violent and vulgar. Several anti-war students were killed by National Guardsmen at Kent State University in Ohio. The 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago turned ugly. Draftees returning from Vietnam were treated shamefully. Some joined the protesters as Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Others became bitter. Others suffered from exposure to Agent Orange-a defoliant that American forces used to clear the Vietnamese jungle. Others (55,000) came home in flag-draped coffins. In contrast, President Kennedy's Peace Corps remained an honorable way to serve humanity.

In the last quarter of the 20th century, a tide of affluence washed over America. "Better" came to mean "bigger"--more stuff. Materialism replaced democracy as the core of the American Dream. Discussions of investing in the commonwealth, sharing a common destiny and nurturing a community spirit, if they occurred at all, evolved around community adaptation to the new economic order-a social system that fostered accumulation of wealth, a liberated life style and new levels of individual freedom. The big issues in the lives of citizens became personal issues of success and status. For young people, delayed gratification was being shortened to an almost meaningless concept. Even middle class kids expected a car for their sixteen birthday-kids from higher status families got fancy new cars. Newlyweds expected to move into a nice home right after returning from their honeymoon if not before they got married. Even among older citizens, a sense of entitlement was growing. The automatic response to whatever social benefit society could provide was: "I deserve it."

Meanwhile, back in the countryside, status and success was achieved through cannibalism. As big farmers bought out retiring farmers, most feed mills closed because the big farmers bought their supplies directly from wholesalers and sold their products on the futures market rather than wasting their time and money at the local feed mill. When I started farming in 1980, I had the choice of four feed mills within ten miles. By 2005 my closest feed mill was over thirty miles away. Small towns, whose economy was based on agriculture, withered. Rural school systems consolidated for lack of students.

Instead of "chewing the fat" at the barbershop, both men and women began making appointments to have their hair "done" and thus increase everyone's time efficiency. Attendants were instructed not to talk politics with clients and discussion between customers simply did not occur. It was unusual to strike up a conversation and outright weird to stay after an appointment to continue a political discourse. The connection between the barbershop and participatory democracy had been severed.

Instead of spending time in the feed mill and barbershop, both men and women turned increasingly to individual pursuits. Year after year for three generations, more electronic gadgets lounged under the Christmas tree, and year after year, Americans of all ages spent more and more time under AC (electricity) and DC (battery) life assist. Watching TV became an almost universal default activity. Fifty years later, interactive electronic gadgets swallowed huge bites of the 168-hour week. Each year young people spent more time on video games, cell phones with amazing apps (applications), email, Web surfing, and social networking (Facebook/My Space/Twitter for Me and My friends).

Social networks on the Internet provided a new forum for political discourse especially during dangerous and chaotic events such as the protests that toppled dictators during Arab Spring 2011. To some extent the Internet democratized the media. However, the Internet also had severe limitations as the new "feed mill and barbershop" sanctuary for political discourse and participatory democracy. There was no accountability on the Internet. Facts were simply fabricated. People were quoted out of context or out of thin air. With computer graphics, damming photographs were created by cutting and reassembling, and then instantaneously distributing on the World Wide Web.

Of course, lies were told at the feed mill and barbershops too. However, it was difficult to lie face-to-face to someone you are likely to see again in a few days at church or perhaps even later the same day at the tavern. It was much easier to lie to an anonymous blog reader, a distant email correspondent, or a cold digital image on Facebook.

With the demise of daily newspapers and their opposing editorials, and without face-to-face venues, serious political discourse diminished. From campaign appearances to news hour commentary to prime time presidential debates, political discourse degenerated into trivial slogans, mud slinging and shouting matches. Each candidate, or their surrogate, tried to talk all the time-playing a blistering offense rather than responding to the arguments of the opposition or defending their own position. The "responsibility to listen" was one of the many responsibilities that was jettisoned by the juggernaut of individual freedom.

Political ads, always of dubious education value, became engines of misinformatio-contributing less than nothing to democratic dialogue. Like cock fights or pit bull face-offs, everybody came out of the experience exhausted and in bloody shreds.

Why? Why in a world of double digit unemployment and more underemployment? Why in a world where meals came in paper bags from McDonald's and Styrofoam "doggie bags" from the restaurant the previous night? Why in a world full of machines to wash dishes, wash clothes, clip the lawn, compact the trash, brush the teeth, trim the hedges and slice the potatoes? Why in that world full of labor saving devices, could we not have found the time to discuss the kind of world we wanted to live in and the kind of world we wanted to leave to you--our collective grandchildren?

In a cruel twist of consumerism, our labor saving machines actually cost us more time rather than it saved--both spouses have to work to pay for them. Then after working so hard, we tried to reward ourselves by living in starter castles, dining out regularly and playing hard (expensively). We forced ourselves to work even harder and worry even more about our finances because we bought even more stuff. So much stuff that we had to rent off-premise spaces for storage. The life style was dubbed a "Rat Race." Imagine rats in a cage turning on a wheel that they can climb half way up. At that point they have to run with all their might to stay on the wheel but they can never quite get to the top of it and get off to a place of rest and serenity.

By the dawn of the 21st century, we were shopping for stuff every day of the week (really easy with the Internet), every week of the year, every year of our lives from age 6-90. We used quantity rather than quality to measure our lives. We diminished civil society by simply not taking time to nurture the culture of participatory democracy we inherited. Instead, some of us worked 50-60 hour weeks until we almost dropped and then we literally shopped until we dropped to reward ourselves. Others could find no work and the sight of frantic shoppers (especially during the Holiday shopping spree) added to their pain.

For thousands of years women went to the market every day to buy fresh bread, vegetables and meat. Without refrigeration, meat/fish had to butchered/caught and eaten the same day. In the 20th century the number of food shopping trips declined. Food shopping was concentrated to once a week because freezers and refrigerators kept meat, milk, bread, vegetables, salads, and fruit fresh for at least a week. By the turn of the 21st century, the old pattern re-emerged. Shopping once again became part of everyday life. A typical week for a typical family included several trips super market for groceries, several trips to the mall or big box stores for other things, several trips to the computer to make on-line purchases, several trips for fast food meals (usually drive thru) and a Friday and/or Saturday dinner out.

We viewed our work as the means to an end. The "end" was consumption. To achieve that goal, we absolutely had to go shopping. Everyday--but especially on Sunday. Sunday had been the Day of Rest since Biblical Creation. Sunday had been the Day of Worship since the first Easter. Sunday had been the Day when stores were closed by custom or law in Christian countries for nearly two millennia. At the turn of the millennium, The Netherlands, arguably the most socially liberal country in the world, still prohibited shopping on Sunday. In my lifetime in America, Sunday became the prime Shopping Day-the day to seek out sales rather than sit in a pew or spend time with loved ones in a "bonding setting".

We could have sustained participatory democracy if we had spent one hour a week shopping for ideas to sustain our society and its democratic ideals and one hour less shopping for things. One hour a week-a small fraction of the time spent buying (or looking to buy) stuff at the store or on the Internet. One hour a week-a small fraction of the time spent watching TV. One hour a week-a small fraction of the time spent surfing the Internet. One hour a week-a small fraction of the time spent texting to Facebook "friends". One hour a week-a small fraction of the time spent tethered by our cell phones umbilical cord to cyberspace. (The word "cell" used to refer to the basic building block of biological life. By the turn of the millennium, the word "cell" referred to the basic building block of social life.)

However, shopping, watching TV, computer games and interactive electronic communications were not the central causes of the demise of serious political discourse about the future. They were symptoms rather than causes. Truth is: we became lazy. We didn't want to think. We didn't want to be bothered with seriousness. We wanted to eat, drink, and be merry. Praise God, we were able to watch NFL (National Football League) games several times on Sunday, on Monday night, on Thursday night, and several college football games on Saturday. There were so many wonderful opportunities to be a couch potato with a bottle of beer in one hand and a high-fat salty snack in the other. Add a cheesehead hat for Green Bay Packer fans.

We have a myriad of expensive toys; little ones that fit in our pockets, medium sized ones that fit on our shelves, big ones (boats, snowmobiles, motor homes) that fit in our rented storage units and second homes that fit in another community.

Many of us spent part or all of the winter in a sunny paradise far from our cold home community. The sum of our divided loyalties added up to less than our previous commitment to our sole community. We no longer wanted to do the hard work required to organize a modern equivalent venue to the feed mill or the barbershop. And, if we were absent for months at a time, we would not be likely have been very successful. We couldn't share ideas we had not spent the time to develop. We didn't do much serious thinking while flying in an airplane or lying on a beach.

On top of laziness, political correctness suppressed political discourse. In many places discussing politics is considered out of place-a taboo in polite company. Politics joined religion as an inappropriate topic to discuss with someone of a different persuasion. Such discussions might have exposed fault lines that somehow were considered less dangerous if left unexposed. Thus, there were fewer and fewer opportunities for those fault lines to be crossed or closed.

The farmers in the feed mill and their town counterparts in the barbershop and the ladies in the Ladies Aid and the Garden Club enjoyed talking about politics and religion and took time for both. They carried those conversations to other venues, especially town halls and city council chambers. Discussion of such topics was not just permitted-it was expected. First such discourse lost expectation. Then it lost permission.

As it became impolite to expose political differences, the art of political discourse withered. There was no motivation to prepare for a debate that was not likely to happen. In the days of feed mills and barbershops, men looked forward to the verbal challenge that would likely await them there. Often they thought about their talking points all week or all month. It was part of the preparation for going to town or to the barber.

Eventually, there was no point to hone political arguments any more! Really, was there any point to even think about politics if there was no opportunity to sway another stubborn sod buster your way or, per chance, learn something from him?

Our fore fathers spent 200 years, and our fore mothers worked even harder in later years through the Sufferance Movement and the League of Women Voters, to perfect a young democracy. Great strides were made in the middle of the 19th century and again in the later part of the 20th century. We improved participatory democracy by expanding who could participate. At first, it was only White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASPS) male freeholders who could vote. Over time voting booths and elected offices of our young democracy were opened to Jews and Catholics, Blacks and Women. We made it easier to vote by removing property owning prerequisites and poll taxes. Progress was uneven and occasionally we backslid, e.g. when Japanese Americans were put in camps during WWII. Martin Luther King Jr. and some of his followers died for their dreams in the 1960s. (I got shot at in Mississippi and violated a curfew in Nashville, Tennessee to board a bus to attend King's funeral in Atlanta, Georgia in 1968.) Still the momentum was positive; a more perfect union-a more perfect democracy was still the goal.

Then, in the space of a few decades, we lost more than momentum. We lost almost all civility in our political discourse. Compromise became a dirty word. Tea Party extremists, (self-named after the rebels in Boston Harbor at the beginning of the Revolutionary War) grid-locked Congress with their absolute adherence to their pledge not to raise taxes. Even ending a subsidy was considered a tax increase because the government would have more money. Unlike the conservative absolutists that hijacked the country in 2010, the partisans in the feed mills and barbershops understood that compromise was essential to democracy. They understood that the winner of an election would set the agenda, but out of good will and the recognition that the electoral tables would inevitably turn, they respected the members of the minority party and were proud of bipartisan legislation.

Jefferson believed that yeoman farmers would be the pillars of a democratic society because farmers made a lifelong commitment to their farm--and by extension to the community. During the first century of its existence the United States was an overwhelming rural nation. It was still a predominantly rural at the beginning of the 20th Century. In just a couple of generations the population moved from mostly agrarian to overwhelmingly urban and urban focused (suburbanites and exurbanites with city careers and urban culture). Urban folks were, not only more numerous, they were more mobile-moving to wherever the next job or promotion dictated. Thus ties to the community diminished with urbanization and a national job market after WWII. Did those demographic changes, that Hamilton foresaw, damage political discourse and participatory democracy? Perhaps.

Women entered the labor force during WWII, dropped out of the labor force to make way for GIs returning from WWII and raised their children--the Baby Boomers. After 1970, women entered the labor force in large numbers and many became professionals often working 50-60 hour weeks at the office while still carrying the roles of mother and wife. Before women entered the labor force, the meetings of women's organizations, especially the League of Women Voters, had partially replaced the feed mill and barbershop as venues for political discourse. Did the entry of women into the work force damage political discourse and participatory democracy? Probably.

Radio brought news, including political news, to more people faster. Television allowed millions to watch presidential candidates debate. So far so good. Then most of the air time regarding politics became ads which promoted the candidate with the most money. Then the ads became part of smear and fear strategies to discredit the opponents. Good people decided not to run for office because they didn't want to put themselves and their families though the mud slinging. Did the entry of big money and negative ads damage political discourse and participatory democracy? Definitely!

Voter turnout in America is low in comparison to other democracies, while consumerism is the highest in the world. In the generic circular life cycle of societies, American military and economic bondage (to England) was followed by Independence achieved against all odds by the Revolutionary War. The freedom of Independence released a burst of energy and enthusiasm which lead to high productivity which lead to abundance which lead to apathy which lead the US back to bondage.

In America, a century of the "freedom stage" after 1776 expanded the country to the Pacific from 13 fragile Atlantic colonies, laid wide-gauge transcontinental rails and narrow- gauge (logging and mining) rails, set the stage for world class cities and flooded the patent office.

The productivity stage began with development of agriculture. Farming was the biggest occupation for most of the history of the country. Increasing the productivity of millions of small farmers had the biggest impact on U.S. society-bar none. Mechanization of agriculture allowed a farm family to feed 5 other families, then 10, then 20, then 50. American farmers grew more grain than the rest of the world could even conceive of. With productive farmers able to feed many families, workers were available for smelter ore into steel, make more modern farm equipment, start an automobile industry and pursue a host of other manufacturing and service sector endeavors. Fortunately the U.S. was in high (although latent during the Great Depression) productivity mode when it had to fight the Great War. WWII brought productivity, especially in manufacturing, to a zenith. In the wake of the Great Depression and the Great War, the Great Generation maintained high standards of frugality and work ethic through the 1950s and 1960s.

After a transition period during the 1970s, abundance took center stage in the 1980s and 1990s-the Golden Era of peace and prosperity. We had incredible amounts of everything: children and adult toys of every conceivable function, McMansions for homes, money enough to eat out at our pleasure, energy enough to guzzle through tens of thousands of miles per year with multiple automobiles per family and travel fever enough to fly to distant continents for a long list of excuses. We consumed many times our share of international resources and wasted without regret.

In less than a few decades the "abundance stage" in the US evolved to the "apathy stage". Citizens claimed they had no time to get involved in politics. No time to attend a political event featuring a speech by a candidate in the flesh. Many citizens even excused themselves for missing elections because they had no time to vote. College students, who had the lowest voter turnout statistics, spent only a fraction as much time studying as students did in 1960. Most of their time was spent socializing and recreating-most of it at the end of a digital tether. As digital opportunities perfected individualism, the civic organizations that did the hard work of nurturing democratic institutions ran out of volunteers. Did abundance and apathy damage political discourse and participatory democracy? Absolutely!

The life cycle of American society began edging back around to the "bondage stage" when it tried to support a military presence in 180 counties and fight two long-term distant wars against evasive insurgents. Americans were not saving enough to support either internal investment or military adventures. In some years, savings rates were actually negative. Thus, the bondage that emerged in the early years of the 21st century was economic bondage to China. The U.S. borrowed the ~$1,000,000,000,000 to pay for 2001-2014 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from China. To pay for previous wars, Americans were asked to sacrifice by paying higher taxes. Such a self-sufficiency policy was no longer a political option in Congress where many Congressmen had signed "No New Taxes" pledges.

Thus, the first life cycle of the young United States of America was completed. American society will continue to revolve as others have. Over thousands of years, China has gone through the cycle several times. In the latest life cycle of Chinese society, the bondage of imperialism and colonialism was broken in 1949 and the bondage of domestic central planning was broken three decades later. New found economic freedom unleashed a bonanza of entrepreneurship, national energy and societal enthusiasm. Then in a whisper of time, Chinese productivity blossomed into the second largest economy in the world.

The life cycle of societies is not new. Shakespeare understood that attitudes toward work would soften as material well being increased. "The hungry lion hunts best!"

As a farmer, Lowell Klessig has been activate in local government and local civic organizations. He served 19 years on the Town of New Hope Planning Commission and currently serves on the Portage County Board of Adjustment. He organized the Town of New Hope Family Forest Alliance and served as its president for 10 years.

At the state level, he helped write the Wisconsin Lake Management Law, served as Executive Director of the Wisconsin Rural Leadership program, was active in numerous environmental groups and was involved in numerous political campaigns. He continues to served on the Scenic Wisconsin Board of Directors.

At the federal level, he was active in the Civil Rights Movement, the Environmental Movement, and the Anti-Vietnam War Movement. He worked in Senator Eugene McCarthy's 1968 successful campaign to convince Lyndon Johnson not to seek a second term as President. He ran for a Rep. Morris Udall delegate seat to the 1976 Democratic National Convention. He was active in Senator Kerry 2004 Presidential campaign and wrote editorials for Senator Obama's 2008 campaign.

At the international level, Dr. Klessig has taught briefly in 8 countries, lead educational trips to 5 countries and taken personal adventure/educational trip to an additional 45 countries.

He is an Emeritus Professor of Human Dimensions of Natural Resource Management at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He served 27 years as a Natural Resource Specialist, Extension Service, USDA. He holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Management and Resource Planning.

Article Source: Political Discourse and Participatory Democracy: From Feed Mills and Barbershops to Attack Ads
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DO IT YOURSELF LEGAL FORMS AND SOFTWARE

Just Curious, Who Works for Whom?

2011-09-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

It seems that every time I raise my head out of the computer and look around, the Federal Government, which is supposed to work for me, is telling me what I can and cannot do. I am 66 and remember when I could go places and do things secure in the knowledge that I was the person in charge of my life. Now, I cannot carry a pocket knife into many buildings when I used to have no problem going almost anywhere with a big Buck knife on my hip, and have even been told that in some places I would be suspect if I carried a cane.

I often feel that the terrorists definitely won, because every freedom that we give up is something they have taken away from us. However, I am sometimes not sure who "they" is.

Do the People in Washington D.C. Actually "Represent" Us?

2011-08-13T13:08:00.000-07:00

I see where Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney reported a net worth up to $264 million Friday.

Well, I am sure that from one point of view it is good to know that Mr. Romney has the skill, intelligence, training, and/or talent to make that kind of money. Of course, all the political and personal connections he has made over the years, including perhaps tha favors he may have done and which may have been returned in one way or another, had nothing to do with his accumulation of wealth and power.

Not shook up about that. It's the way of the world. Had I stayed with the first accounting job out of college, I would have eventually, probably, wound up somewhere in or near the upper layers of political power in Florida. I might even have accumulated some wealth myself.

It was not to be. No hard feelings. It's over. You aren't bad just because you earned a lot of money.

However, with $264 million dollars to his credit, can Mr. Romney truly represent me? I put off changing the oil in my car for a couple of months because the money was needed for other things...the higher priced gas I have to put in it, for example, as well as the more expensive groceries in the supermarket.

I don't believe Mr. Romney, nor Mr. Obama, who is relatively poor compared to Mr. Romney, can honestly understand what I, a person in his late 60's living on social security, a small military pension, and income from a part time job, has to face in the decision making department.

In my early days as an accountant, as the Fiscal Consultant for a regional office of a Florida State Department of Education program, I once pointed out a problem to Jim Maynor, the director of the office. He told me not to come to him with problems, but with solutions, or at least suggestions. I have tried to work that way since then (1975).

However, this time I don't have the answer. We don't want to put people in office who have never done anything with success, and, in our society, that normally involves making a lot of money and accumulating some power.

I just know that most of the people in power apparently have no clue of what I want and no understanding of who I am....and could NOT care less, as long as they manage to get more money and power. Apparently, this is done by promising everything to everybody and then leaving the problem of how to pay for it to the people who did not ask for it in the first place.

Open Letter to the President, and the members of Congress and the Senate

2011-08-08T06:10:00.000-07:00

You are an incompetent and untrustworthy idiot. You should be removed from office and replaced with a chimpanzee. At least a chimp would be honest and could be trusted to be right at least part of the time.

You do not "serve" me. You sit in your comfortable position of power and influence in Washington and tell me how I and my neighbor must live. That is not liberty, or "serving". That is being the master, making me the slave who works to serve YOU.

Have a nice day.
Don

One Take on Taxes by a Law Professor and Business Owner

2011-08-01T06:29:00.000-07:00

Should we raise taxes or lower taxes?

It's an ongoing debate, and, to tell the truth, I guess one way of answering the question is to see what happens in the future (obvious), and how it affects your agenda (sometimes not so obvious). You see, if you want the government to do everything for you, then you say "raise taxes!" If you want to do it for yourself, you say "lower taxes!"

However, it's not always that simple or obvious. That's why you are often exhorted to get the facts, and potentialities, and decide for yourself.

That having been said, here's one view of the question.
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Taxes: When Less Is More
By Dwight Drake

Marcie is ready to launch her new business. The business plan has been polished and re-polished many times. Like most small business owners, she plans to finance growth with reinvested after-tax earnings and bank financing. Her projections assume a gross margin of 50 percent, variable expenses of 29 percent, and the ability to borrow two dollars for each dollar of reinvested capital. They also assume that the business will be subject to an income tax rate of 34 percent, the rate applicable to most profitable corporations with a taxable income of less than $10 million.

Marcie's projections show that, by the end of year 10, she will have reinvested sufficient after-tax earnings to grow her sales to $3.3 million and to add 12 employees to the company's payroll at an average annual salary of $60,000. Her net income before taxes in year 10 will be $607,000, and, at a 34 percent tax rate, the business will pay slightly more than $200,000 in income taxes in year 10. The aggregate federal income taxes paid during the business' first ten years of operation will total just over $479,000.

Marcie has heard rumblings of a potential reduction in corporate tax rates to 25 percent. So, just for kicks, she changed the assumed tax rate in her projections from 34 percent to 25 percent. All other factors and variables remained exactly the same. She was shocked by the results.

This single change in the tax rate assumption would provide her sufficient capital to grow her business to $5.4 million by the end of year ten - a $2.1 million increase over the prior scenario. As she carefully reviewed the numbers, she discovered that the additional amount reinvested each year as a result of the lower tax rate would have a compounding effect in each subsequent year and facilitate higher bank leverage. The faster growth would result in the business employing 20 people by the end of year 10, eight more than under the prior scenario.

How much would such a rate reduction cost the government in lost tax revenues? Zippo. In fact, Marcie was surprised to discover that she would end up paying more federal income taxes under the rate reduction scenario over the next ten years. The aggregate taxes paid by her business during its first 10 years would total $549,000, roughly 15 more than the prior scenario. Her tax bill in year 10 alone would be nearly 23 percent higher with the lower tax rate structure.

How is this possible? As Marcie studied the numbers, it was obvious that the increased income taxes resulting from the faster growth of her business would more than offset the tax effects of lowering the rate. It confirmed to her that less really can be more when it comes to business tax rates.

But the revenue benefits to the government would go far beyond Marcie's higher tax bills. Marcie's business would employ eight more people under the lower rate/faster growth scenario. These eight people would stop collecting unemployment benefits and start paying income taxes. More importantly, 15.3 percent of every dollar paid to these additional eight employees would go straight to the federal government in the form of regressive payroll taxes. Plus, eight more people would have incomes that could be spent to strengthen other businesses. Business growth fuels additional growth, and all growth feeds government coffers.

So who losses with a smart reduction in business tax rates? Marie would have additional capital to grow her business faster. For more people (66 percent more), the joys of productivity would replace the despair of unemployment. And government revenues would escalate on all fronts. There is no loser.

But Marcie's numbers do confirm one other consequence of a lower rate structure. Marcie would become a rich woman much faster. And that simple reality of lower business tax rates drives some people absolutely crazy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dwight Drake is an experienced planning lawyer, law professor, and business owner. He teaches business, tax and planning course at the University of Washington School of Law. He is the author of the PlainTalk Planning online educational service ( http://www.plaintalkplanning.com ). For more information about Professor Drake and access to his other works, go to http://www.drakeplaintalkplanning.com.

Article Source: Taxes: When Less Is More

So Boehner Can Curse...So Can I

2011-07-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

In fact, I was a U.S. Army Platoon Sergeant, so I can probably do it better!

In case you haven't heard, Boehner told his people, to "get your ass in line" and get behind his bill.

True leadership, I guess.

It has been said that use of profanity is a sign of an inability to effectively express yourself. It can also be a sign that you are losing control of...well...your control...of yourself and those you supposedly exercise control over.

Mr. Boehner, and your rich and powerful buddies in Washington, quit jerking Americans around. We have to live within our budget and you should too. If you, Mr. Obama, and the other Washington insiders who are more interested in furthering your careers and increasing your power than in making America a safe place to live and a respected member of the world's nations, cannot "serve" us as you should, then please demonstrate your true patriotism and humanity and get out of the way.

In the army, we used to have a motto: "Lead, follow, or get out of the way."

Mr. Boehner, if you are an individual who really values this country and hopes to serve its citizens; and this applies to all members of all political parties, including Mr. Obama, and Smokin' Joe Biden (can't say what he's smokin'), please heed the exhortation above. Failure to comply will be construed as rebellion against the people of America.

An Agressive Withdrawal from Afghanistan?

2011-06-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

I just don't follow politics closely enough, but, fortunately, my wife does. She says that many military leaders are supporting an "agressive withdrawal" from Afghanistan. However, since I was in the army for 21 years and she has had no real connection with the military, she asked me the following question: Isn't an "aggressive withdrawal" just another way of saying "retrest"?

Sounds damn close to me!

Been There, Done That and Got the Political T-Shirt, Bumper Sticker to Prove It!

2010-10-29T03:22:00.000-07:00

By Sara Lope

America is on the precipice of change. And Hopefully not the change the administration had envisioned when elected 2 years ago. This past Presidential Election proved like never before (at least in my lifetime) that elections, Presidential Elections in particular have consequences. The Healthcare reform law that the majority of American's stood up against, the Cap and Trade Bill which is sitting in the Senate waiting to be voted on after this midterm election and bail-outs of banks and government takeovers of auto-manufacturers that came to be within 18 months after the 2008 election are all mind boggling. The burden just these three assaults on our economy will create is still incalculable (new word I made up). The burdens are not exclusively financial but also detrimental if not down-right destructive to the core principles our Founding Fathers established in the Declaration of Independence when freeing the people of the colonies from tyranny, and also violently against the tenants of our country's Constitution.

The financial impact, the stark reality of our national debt, now over 13 trillion and counting, is not making America a stronger country. Sadly, apparently most American's have forgotten just how big the number one trillion is. It is tossed around like it is chump change. Putting it into perspective and using seconds of time as a form of measure, one million seconds is 12 days, one billion seconds is 30 years, and ONE TRILLION seconds is...are you ready? It is 32,000 years. That's insane, right? Well, try 13 trillion for our national debt with a projection of closer to 15 trillion before this current administration's term is up. That is not only insane, that is unsustainable. The National Debt is a travesty and an abominable legacy we are leaving future generations, assuming there is even an America as we know it to leave to them. And folks, this does not even begin to cover it. There is the interest on the national debt and the more money we borrow (from other countries) the likelihood the risk for countries to lend to us goes up and our credit is hit with a higher interest payment. And don't get too comfortable with 13 trillion as our country's liability. That is just the debt and does not even begin to touch our unfunded liabilities of Medicare (parts, A, B and D) which totals approximately $89.3 trillion along with Social Security unfunded liabilities of approximately $17.5 trillion. When adding these liabilities to our national debt the total is astounding and breathtaking all at once...It totals over $118 trillion! What is that times 32,000 years? Holy-molly! Can we say, 'start the printing presses Batman because where else will we get the money?' And what does a glutton of currency in the market do to an economy? Anybody? Anybody? It creates super-duper, crazy - as in, wheel-barrels-full-of-money-to-buy-a-loaf-of-bread-inflation. Well, that is just lovely. What can we do now?

There is a growing segment of our citizenry that could see the destruction that lay ahead should the lawmakers, lobbyist, union leaders and political organizations continue to go unchecked. Meanwhile, legislators passed into law Healthcare reform bypassing screaming, literally screaming Americans all the well telling them they could know "what" was in the bill after it was passed. Huh? Not so fast. Apparently, Americans could do the math AND read the bill and quickly saw the mess we were headed towards. They stood up without a leader and joined forces, one by one, city by city and state by state. They would not be intimidated. They would be heard by golly. And they were...you betcha. They are the American Tea Party, not actually a political party, no. They are a movement started from a grass-roots level and burning like a wildfire across our nation. They were Americans of conviction, pride and above all else determination. They gathered in rallies across the country endorsing candidates that they believed would hold true to the Constitution. They wore proudly their liberty T-Shirts, their patriot gear and plastered bumper stickers with catchy slogans on their cars they drove across the country fostering their cause. They burned up the phone lines of Congress and the Senate when not personally standing on the lawn of their cities, states and even national Capitals. They were each the fearless leaders of their cause. And in less than two years are responsible for changing the political landscape all over our country. They were true unpaid, non-affiliated community organizers. The Tea Party endorsed candidates beat out incumbents and favorites in political races all over the country. This little uprising has dumb-founded the DC establishment and the main stream media. Not that they needed to "find dumb" as it was more than evident to most that they were already deaf, blind, and dumb to the pulse of real Americans. It has been amusing really, to witness the media elite and so called intellectuals contort themselves inside and out into talking point pretzels in an attempt to weaken, subjugate and demoralize Tea Party members and advocates. Their proponents have attempted to humiliate and ridicule their ideas, beliefs and passion by calling them names, and placing ideologies and behaviors that were neither favorable nor true about them, on them. Jokes on who now? The Tea Party with their catchy bumper sticker slogans and Freedom loving, Liberty touting T-shirts have helped to re-create, the feeling that it can be "morning in America again". The dawn of real positive change is upon us but we have to see it through. We have to vote on November 2nd. Make it a celebration of America and perform the most important task this year...go vote. Don't miss out!

There is still a chance to turn this ship around. The work isn't over. It has truly just begun. After the elections, it is inherent upon those who wish to see America prosperous again to continue to support the lawmakers who respect the rule of law and the Constitution. The fundamentals that allowed America to grow and create wealth and industry for our countrymen and others can be restored. And they will be restored. The entitlement programs that have become bloated and crippled our economic health have got to go. Our culture of charity has to come from individuals and communities not from the government. And the government expansion has to be stopped. From the years of 1960 to 1990 state and federal government employees expanded from 6.4 million to 15.2 million according to About.com. That makes the US Government the largest employer in the United States. Of those federal employees, which by the way exclude the White House, Congress, the postal service, intelligence agencies, and uniformed military personnel, 19 percent make more than $100,000 per year. That is up from a reported 14 percent before 2008 when the recession began. Say what? And, that is before overtime and bonus pay! The average federal employee's pay is $71,206. Compare that to the private industry average pay of $40,331. Is it any wonder then that more than one third of Gallup polled Americans chose a federal government job if given a preference? Question where does the money come from to pay the federal employees? Of course, I know the answer but it drives home my point. We pay for it through tax dollars. How can that continue especially when it is projected that federal jobs will continue to grow by another 15-16 percent in the coming year? Tell me again how this works and we are still a democratic republic. Oh, did that one stump you? Yea, we are not a democracy. Try though as they have over the past few decades to convince us that we are. But I am off point. More to the point, bloated deficits, out of control spending, reckless regulating/deregulating, overgrown government and irresponsible and reckless leaders....gotta go. Bah-bye! See ya later alligator - gone! And good news, I think this is achievable.

The American public is more awake and more engaged than ever before in history and they are as the founders had hoped - informed. This is not a time to point fingers and place blame anymore. Nope, we have been there done that and got the T-shirt to prove it. That is not a step forward but rather a step backward. Both sides have screwed us over. Their differences have become blurred. Not really a good thing, as their ideologies do not promote equality, freedom, liberty and individualism. They were on the path, taking us back through time, to a form of serfdom. And we have been following them blindly - too busy with the day to day chores of living, raising a family and entrusting our leaders to represent us in Washington. Uh-oh. Katy bar the door! They went too far when we weren't looking. And they thought we wouldn't notice. Silly wabbits! The stock-shock of September 2008 was possibly a blessing in disguise although we might never admit to it. It was painful for many and costly for the weakest among us. But it jolted us out of complacency. The outrage at the circumstances that led to the large corporate failures and financial losses forced us to question and demand answers. When shit hits the fan I try to ask 'what am I supposed to learn from this?' Americans learned a lot from this! We turned Washington and Wall Street upside down looking for answers and solutions. In doing so, we discovered acutely not only did we not like the government cure, we liked even the less the apparent track that we were headed. Voila - the Tea Party was born and an awakening began. Did you know more Americans identify themselves as being in-line with the views of the Tea Party Movement than either of the two political parties? Hmm...Wonder why that is? Can I just inject here that it is because the majority of Americas are clued in to the goings on in DC and man...the gig is up! We got their number. We are reading the Constitution and history. As a result, the bow is starting to turn back to the course that we were sent on over 200 years ago in this great experiment called America. And we are invigorated by that possibility. We are demanding to know where in the constitution lawmakers can support sponsored bills. So much so, that there has been a recommendation that future bills site where in the constitution the bill or regulation they propose can be supported. Awesome!

Now is the time. And in the words of Thomas Paine, "these are the times that try men's souls". We must have the courage of our convictions and know what we believe. Now it is time to vote, roll up our sleeves and get to work. Return to the fundamentals, restore trust, and grow our economy again. We do that and we all win. It won't be easy. Nothing worth its salt ever is. There is no such thing as a free lunch or a free ride. And honestly only a fool's fool doesn't know there are significant strings, if not chains attached to that "free" lunch. There is however Freedom... and the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in the land of America. Join me and be a voice for freedom. Vote November 2nd, your voice and your vote matters.

Sara Lope, a Texas girl, works on website and store, gives us an opportunity to be a voice of Freedom and creative. Tea Parties Items - Take a look at our patriotic merchandise such as American t-shirts, bumper stickers, a rally pack and our favorite prop, the pitchfork. 10% of our profits will be donated to a non-profit charity. Website: http://www.usarallystore.com
Article Source: Been There, Done That and Got the Political T-Shirt, Bumper Sticker to Prove It!

The Fiscal Insanity That Is Our Political Election Process

2010-10-28T16:31:00.000-07:00

By Bruno Korschek

As the midterm election process finally and gratefully draws to a close, it seems like it would be a good time to review the insanity that has entrenched itself in our electoral process when it comes to campaign spending. Consider a recent Washington Post online article by Ruth Marcus that appeared in the October 29, 2010 issue of The Week magazine:

- According to the article, Republicans will receive and spend more than $100 million from anonymous donors, an outrageous sum that has been loudly criticized by the Democrats.

- However, in 2004, Democrats set up campaign groups that fronted for labor unions and big dollar individual contributors, which contributed more than $150 million to the Democrats.

- Ms. Marcus reported that the "hapless" Federal Election Commission levied only a $1.3 million fine on this 2004 outrageous spending three years after the fact which, obviously, had no impact on election results.

- The $1.3 million fine is a pittance of a slap on the hand, less than 1% of the amount collected.

According to the article's conclusion: "When it comes to campaign cash, Democrats and Republicans have essentially the same position: when we have more to spend because of some loophole in the law, that's just fine; when the other side has more money, democracy is being subverted."

According to a recent article in the St. Petersburg Times, House and Senate candidates running for office in these midterm elections have already shattered the previous campaign spending record and will likely spend over $2 billion in total on this election. According to the article, this is roughly equivalent to about $ 4 million spent per vacant Congressional seat. This number obviously does not include the money being spent at the local, county, and state government levels for their elections and does not include special interest group spending which the article estimates could be as high as $400 million.

And while the numbers are high, the consequences are not. A 2006 U.S. News and World Report article by Dan Gilgoff showed that once a politician gets into office, the access to campaign funds almost always guarantees that as an incumbent, that politician will almost always stay in office. The title for the article was "A Fake Democracy? Why No One Has Much Chance of Toppling Congress's Incumbents." According to the article, in the 2004 elections, 98% of the incumbents retained their seats. You cannot be living in a democracy with that kind of re-election rate.

And the financial situation seems to be getting worse. If you believe Mr. Giloff's numbers, in 2004, it cost about $1.5 million to run a House Of Represenatives campaign. Just six years later, that cost is now about $4 million, two and a half times larger than in 2004. The article concluded in 2006 that the increasing costs were stifling competition for political seats, creating a state of "partisan stasis."

How outrageous is all this insanity? Consider some simple math:

- The average Congressional office holder makes about $170,000 a year in salary. If you divide the campaign cost by the salary of the eventual winner you get a ratio of more than 23 to 1. In other words, for every salary dollar received, more than $23 will be spent to receive that $1. Makes no sense on the surface.

- If the average flu shot costs $10 per shot, then this $2 billion could have given two thirds of the country's population a free flu shot.

- If you had been alive since the birth of Christ and had spent $2,500 a day, every day from then until today, you still would have not spent $2 billion.

- According to a Parade Magazine article a few years ago, $2 billion could hire almost 5,000 teachers for a year, buy the health insurance for 50,000 American households and provide 83 million school lunches for needy children.

Obviously you can go crazy with the numbers. The bottom line, though, is that $2 billion total, $4 million per Congressional seat, is a lot of money to spend for a job that only pays $170,000. It is this 23 to 1 payback that illustrates how much power and freedom has migrated away from the ordinary citizens in this country to those sitting in Congress. No sane person would personally pay $23 to possibly win back $1, if successful. Only in an American election can this type of irrational behavior be considered rational.

And the holier than though attitude of the Democrats in this election does not hold water. We all know that if any politician can get their hands on money to ensure their re-election, then principles go out the door. The Democrats are not mad because the Republicans are spending so much money. They are mad because they do not have that amount of money to spend this time around like they did in 2004. Their hypocrisy is incredible. No one says that any politician HAS to take the money presented to them for their election campaign. However, has there ever been an politician that not take money shown to them?

It is obvious from this insanity that our political class at all levels of government cannot control their urges to take any money at any time to ensure their comfortable positions in Congress and elsewhere. That is why the following suggestions are needed to take the money decisions out of their hands and structurally change the election process in this country:

- Step 1 - allow only individual Americans to contribute to election campaigns, not corporations, unions, PACs, etc. The U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of speech for individuals, not organizations.

- Step 2 - allow only those affected by an election to contribute to their respective election campaigns. For example, only those living in a specific Kansas Congressional district should be allowed to contribute to those running for Congress from that election district, i.e. no outside money allowed.

- Step 3 - strengthen the Federal Elections Commission by staffing it with seasoned prosecutors, not political appointees, so that cronyism is not a factor in prosecuting election law violations.

- Step 4 - hold all of the Democratic and Republican primaries on the same day in order to shorten the election cycle that should also result in less money being spent on the primary election cycle.

- Step 5 - impose single term limits on all politicians which would remove a huge amount of corruption and money exchanging going on since a lame duck politician, which a single term politician would be, would not be given campaign funding for their re-election since it does not exist anymore.

These steps, when implemented, would greatly reduce the amount of money that goes into our election process and would reduce the distortion that the huge amounts of money cause. Waiting for our political class to voluntarily behave is not going to happen, they are part of the insanity. Only the structured electoral changes listed above in these steps will restore sanity and fairness to our election process.

And, a side benefit of these steps might be that some of this wasteful $2 billion would find its way back into society and be used for some more useful purposes, such as growing the economy, adding teachers to our schools, increasing the health benefits of our citizens, etc.

Walter "Bruno" Korschek is the author of the book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom and Destroying The American Political Class," which is available at http://www.loathemygovernment.com and online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Our daily dialog on freedom in America can be joined at http://www.loathemygovernment.blogspot.com.

Article Source: The Fiscal Insanity That Is Our Political Election Process

Imran Khan The New Chief Executive Of Pakistan

2010-07-09T06:26:00.000-07:00

Author: Mohammad Mansoor Ali Ansari

The ever changing and worsening situation of the PPP leadership's confrontation with the Judiciary is reaching the breaking point. The recent verdicts of the Judiciary specifically on the issue of false testimonials submitted by the candidates during elections created major stir in the parliamentary set up. The discriminatory law of making Bachelor's degree compulsory to participate in the elections, implemented during Ex-President Pervez Musharraf's era has changed the complexion of the present Parliament. It is a shameful period of our parliamentary history that has damaged our national esteem. It is disappointing to find that those members of the Parliament who call themselves superior to Judiciary and they were responsible to formulate, amend and pass the legislation, are standing as guilty of forgery and shameful misrepresentation.

Haphazard actions are now witnessed when President Zardari has opened the gates for all his bulls to lock their horns with the emerging but powerful judiciary in the history of Pakistan. The members like honorable Faisal Raza Abidi, Babar Awan, Fauzia Wahab and other respectable members of the PPP core leadership are having their sleeves up and are doing whatever they can to stage a retaliatory assault on the Judicial system.

On various talk shows on television Mr. Faisal Raza Abidi the Senator, has shown some aggressive approach to prove all his loyalty to the President and to sabotage the legitimacy of the Judiciary that has pinpointed the corruption and mass forgery by the parliamentary members of the Pakistan People's Party. Babar Awan Advocate has been busy throwing tax payers money to buy the loyalties of the Lawyers foreseeing a possible uprising again from the people in black coats. Similarly Madam Fauzia Wahab is also holding the media front and trying to legitimizing the stance of those who have submitted forged educational testimonials.

Unfortunately, in this era we are quite helpless because, we the people of Pakistan have had such a bad experience of democracy when we were caught in the concern for our bread and butter only. The present government has brought so much misery to the lives of the common people that like the fall of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's government and like the fall of all previous democratic governments, this time also there will be no scream from the nation and there will be no objection at all if a non democratic setup takes over the present system.

Credible sources have now revealed that this time Army would stay back and a transitional government with representation from the parties with good reputation of public service would be parachuted in the new setup. The name of Imran Khan the President of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf is being taken as the key person to lead the new transitional government. It is also understood that the internal negotiations and settlement of power sharing system have been discussed, formulated and finalized. There is an another revelation that confirms that a thorough action is being taken to minimize the differences between Tehreek e Insaf and MQM as they would be jointly holding the new setup along with Q-Muslim League that will guarantee the change in the lives of the common people. The name of Mustafa Kamal the former City Nazim of Karachi is also being taken to be included in the new setup. Marvi Memon of Q-League and some people from Jamaat e Islam are also being included in the possible future setup. Due to the alarming changes, the reports are also coming out that all the current stake holders of PPP and PML N would face a serious trial from the Judiciary once the government is removed from the Center and the Provinces. Smelling the change it is reported that both Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif have already started packing up and would be leaving the country in a couple of days or may be by the appearance of this article they would have already left the country. It is also a great possibility that Mr. Zardari would not be given safe exit this time because after surfacing of reports of his meeting with Taliban leadership the possibility arises that he may had such kind of meetings also before the assassination of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed. The growing storm of rumors and various reports coming out of the castles of the government are showing signs of crumbling and perishing pillars of PPP and PML N coalition Government.

The uncontrolled monster of terrorism, the growing crisis of electricity, the shortage of water in many areas, the grievances of effected people of Attaabad Lake, the sorrow of crippled industrial sector, the complete collapse of stock and money market, the ever diving value of rupee etc. are the factors would create strong reason for the ouster of the present government.

Unfortunately, the PPP and PML N's coalition has disappointed the whole nation and dragged them to the stage where they find both PPP and PML N as the two faces of one coin. The Charter of Democracy has served nothing but proved to be an internal agreement allowing each other to loot the wealth of the nation as much as they can. Now when the foreign currency reserves are reaching the record low and when not a single person is left to support the present setup, the time has reached when we would hear some day or may be in few weeks that a new face is giving speech on the television announcing the taking charge of the matters. That person would hopefully be Imran Khan till now as the color of sky is showing.

People are finding a changed tone of Imran Khan against USA with a visible mildness and cooling of all hostilities. This is an enormous sign of a change that is not too far from taking positive shape. The role of Military leadership and those previous Army Chiefs who suggested the name of Imran Khan are believed to have brokered all the deal with Americans in the light of ongoing war on terror. It is also the wish of Obama Administration that a stable political condition in Pakistan would ensure the success of US actions inside Afghanistan. Further, the loss of credibility is a giant factor because all the heavy aid that reached Pakistani leadership was not spent on the public welfare and created mistrust among the people of Pakistan towards America after the approval of Kerry Luger Bill.

In present circumstances, Imran Khan should be more careful and more watchful because sensing the change in setup the enemies of this leader are sharpening their weapons and can harm him before he takes up the charge. It is best suggested that Imran Khan should secure himself or may move outside the country for a while till the time when he will be called for a duty to pull this nation out of the bushes. The time has come when people of Pakistan would see a new leader a new face that is by far the most stainless and more sincere than any body.

Original source of this article "http://pakistan_hope.bravejournal.com"

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com

About the AuthorCreator of Blog "Pakistan Hope" http://pakistan_hope.bravejournal.com

Mini-Review: You Decide! Current Debates in American Politics

2009-12-21T10:14:00.000-08:00

This book is not intended to take sides, but rather present the various sides espousing or contesting politcal issues. It is updated yearly and draws the reader into discussions of key topics, including the most timely and provocative issues in American politics. It not only deals with current topics, but presents arguments for and against, and discussions of, subjects which affect both the present and/or the future. Whether you are conservative, liberal, or somewhere inbetween, "You Decide! Current Debates in American Politics, 2010 Edition (7th Edition)" is a "must read" for anyone concerned with the present and the future of American civilization and political debate.

Does Sarah Palin Have a Chance...or a Clue?

2009-12-01T08:38:00.000-08:00

For me, one of the most interesting things about the Sarah Palin Syndrome, just made that up, is the way she polarizes people. Everybody I have heard personally speak about her, just like the commentators I read or watch, seem to either think she's the greatest thing since sliced bread, or they hate her guts and put her somewhere near the Antichrist in the realm of things.

She's a mom with problems, including kids. She's a politician, a runner, and a gunner. When speaking, she tends to shoot from the hip, and personally, it's nice to hear a major political figure, at least potentially, who is will to openly express unpopular opinions in a non-politically correct manner. After all, I'm the guy who says we either need to get rid of warning labels and let things sort themselves out, or at least put them on the REALLY dangerous things...like politicians.

I have not yet read Going Rogue: An American Life and may never do so, as I believe I will learn more about a person by listening to and watching them than by reading what they have to say about themselves. However, I could be wrong as Sarah Palin tends to say what she feels...or seems to feel. She's a politician, so how can you tell.

There's a joke that has probably been applied to every occupation or status in life.

It asks: How can you tell when a _______ is lying?
Answer: His/Her mouth is moving.

It fits well for politicians in general, because they have to say what is necessary in order to get elected. Wouldn't it be nice if what they had to say was the truth?

How about you? How do you feel about Sarah Palin?

What Stories Does President Obama NOT Want Told?

2009-11-30T06:42:00.000-08:00

By: Donovan Baldwin

According to Politico, there are seven stories, or beliefs that some hold about him, that President Obama would rather the press not cover and the American people not buy into. These are:

1. He sees the money he's playing with (our money) almost the way we see Monopoly money. It's not real and more can always be printed.

2. He adopts a more intellectual stance on problems than a reality-based attitude. Some commentators have compared him to Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock.

3. He's used to Chicago-style politics. This summons up images of all that may be thought bad of Chicago. People think of everything from Al Capone to brass-knuckled thugs enforcing the party line.

4. He does not stand fast. He has drawn several lines in the sand and then let his insiders cross them with impunity. One word used has been "pushover".

5. He does not seem to see America as a "great" place, but just as another country like all the others. He does not seem to be too concerned with promoting America, but placating other countries. The "leader of the free world" bowing to other heads of state is not reassuring to many.

6. He is controlled to some extent by Nancy Pelosi, whom many believe to be the real "power behind the desk"...the one in the Oval Office.

7. He is somewhat enamored of his own image...which he has consistently tried to both create and promote.

I suppose arguments of all kinds can be pitched for one side or the other on these points. I am also certain that those who do NOT like President Obama can find a slew of circumstances and evidence that they are true. Unfortunately, since most are founded to some extent on apparent realities they can be hard to refute, unless you are one of the faithful.

What do you think?

Obama Wants to Help North Korea

2009-11-19T07:10:00.000-08:00

At the end of his week long tour of Asia, President Obama has stated that and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak feel that it is time to end the cycle of North Korean threats and sanctions.

In remarks to the press, Mr. Obama said, "Our message is clear. If North Korea is prepared to take concrete and irreversible steps to fulfill its obligations and eliminate its nuclear weapons program, the United States will support economic assistance and help promote its full integration into the community of nations,"

Many feel that North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-Il, will not remain true to any agreements that result from negotiation and will continue to be the "drama queen" he has always been.

What do you think?

A View of American Power

2009-11-04T09:16:00.000-08:00

Different Conceptions of Power
By Artur Victoria

The respect that American democracy gives to its constitution and generally the rule of law that emanates from it forms the backbone of his power and authority in the internal. The powers are legally and legitimately founded by the sovereign will of the American people and their division keeps its balance date and ensures the system of checks and balances that since its genesis, constituted the basic contours of American democracy.

This congruence between legality and legitimacy is the main bastion of national power. Hence, its projection to the international level through inter-state relations and its public and private economic interests would have been a natural from the viewpoint of power. American people feel solid and feel and acknowledge of democracy. For that reason they want and drive the vision of democracy in particular the principles of its foreign policy. Digging in their conceptualization of the world and is able to glimpse a very special history and fascinating morality and pragmatism to the death.

Only from the history of power and how they see themselves American citizens can understand the Monroe Doctrine, the wars in the Falkland between Argentina and the United Kingdom of this century and the position held on Cuba in the last 40 years of history. The United States has three historical phases or cycles clearly marked on their experience of power.

The continental expansionism (the war with Mexico, the Civil and the purchase of territory to France, Russia and Mexico), direct interventions in the World Wars and the hints in Turkey, Latin America, Africa and Asia, leaving aside for Of course the Middle East, the activities of its intelligence agencies, the turnover of political power under the Trilateral Commission and the return to orthodoxy of the state in the twenty-first century, with the World Bank view, new Latin American governments and the third way that proclaims the European Union, which no doubt for the United States outlined new challenges, but in no way will give up its interventionist role.

A clear example of the ways in which it took the intervention in U.S. politics since 1962, under the Trilateral Commission policies and their significance in the globalization trend and a scenario currently governing on the international stage is in Jaime Duarte studying Martinez.

Since then (The promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine), the U.S. interventionist actions in the region (Latin America) have taken place under his proposed doctrine, which has been institutionalized through the inter-Americanism Americanism and current, so as was by the Covenant of the League of Nations. These statements are linked to real and objective fact that each time and specific historical circumstances, U.S. foreign policy and execute the strategy draws more suited to their interests and abilities. This brings us to the contemporary scene. The turn of the century and review of the theoretical and conceptual paradigms that international society was characterized by more than 50 years. http://sites.google.com/site/cliptheschoolbeginning/ http://sites.google.com/site/arturvictoriasite/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Artur_Victoria http://EzineArticles.com/?Different-Conceptions-of-Power&id=3176834
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Three Things the Government Does Well

2009-10-27T18:13:00.000-07:00

By Mort Greenwood

President Ronald Reagan once said that the words that sends the chills up the spine of most people is this: "I'm from the Government and I'm here to help." I understand that because I work for a defense contractor. I see the messes that the government gets into and the bigger messes it makes trying to get out of the first mess.

The United State government, in particular, is complicated. The very size and budget of the government almost begs there to be waste throughout. There are layers and layers and layers of bureaucracy that would normally be completely minimized in the private industry. But I give the U.S. government credit; they can do a few things well.

They collect taxes well. The Internal Revenue Service is renown for collecting taxes. They may not be able to interpret the tax laws that our fine representatives foist on us but they can collect them. Actually, the process is in place for employers to send in their taxes quarters. And in that way the IRS has trained the public well.

They have a great paid military. It is often said that the military is good for killing bad people and blowing things up. It is more complicated than that but the government does do those two things well. The military machine is not the most efficient "machine" in the world in terms of expenditures and time it takes to get things done, but it works.

Lastly, the U.S. government can send out checks well. It may take a while before pension or disability or Social Security checks come to your door or to your bank, but it's next to impossible to get them to stop once they've started. In fact, there are cases on record that a person has been deceased for years but the relatives are still collecting and cashing checks. This can be said with programs as well. Once they are started, they are all but impossible to stop.

The takeover of our health care system by the U.S. government scares me. It will be bloated, expensive, and expansive.

Mort is an entrepreneur and a business writer. You can read more of his work at Quartz Infrared Heaters or the quartz infrared heaters defined page on that site.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mort_Greenwood http://EzineArticles.com/?Three-Things-the-Government-Does-Well&id=3152531

Let's Talk About Wal-Mart and Sam Walton

2009-10-09T04:37:00.000-07:00

Sam Walton Theory of Five and Dime Thrives - Even During Tough Economic Times
By Wilson L Brown

I remember when Wal-Mart became the largest company in the world. No one could have predicted that some country boy from a smudge on the map would have started a juggernaut whose scheme soaked into the fabric of all global markets. The early sales genius of Sam Walton in the 1940 's revolved around a very simple concept: buy low and sell everything for less than your competitors.

The company operates on that same concept today, but on a global scale that no other company can compete with. While their profit margin per product is low, it is the volume of the products sold that puts Wal-Mart ahead in the retail game.

It seems quite amazing that such a simple scheme launched a single, small scale, five and dime store into a worldwide, multi billion dollar company. As of July 2009, the number of stores in the United States alone consisted of:

• 2,630 Wal-Mart Supercenters
• 883 Wal-Mart Discount Stores
• 591 Sam's Club Warehouses (as of January 2008)
• 150 Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets

The above does not even take into account the somewhat 2,980 international stores in 14 countries, and of course these figures are subject to change at anytime.

The "little" guy held the top spot for the largest company in the world for four years. Talk about the little engine that could! I believe this was the only time that a company that actually manufactured nothing was "numero uno," especially four years in a row. In more recent years, Wal-Mart has still managed to top the lists as the biggest corporation in the world more than once.

Sure, many people hiss at the mere mention of the Wal-Mart name. It has become synonymous with low-price and cut-throat tactics to make them the "low price leader." The top dog is always perceived by the masses to be unfeeling and less than human. That's the normal reaction of our society. Many of the ones who hiss and complain still shop there. They want the lowest price!

Why did Sam Walton's company go from a single local store to an international franchise? Is there a real secret to success, or were the stars just lined up correctly for such an occurrence?

Sam Walton expounded the buy low, sell low philosophy while others were just giving it lip service. Wal-Mart still pounds and oppresses their vendors to sell products at just above cost so they can, in turn, put those products on the market for less than everyone else. Making a little on a lot of volume makes for big revenues. It's simple, if it's done right.

Sarah and her husband Elvin were in the hay business in Alabama. They hauled hay from the fields to the stores or farms in the central part of the state. One year the rains failed, and the hay fields were depleted early in the growing season. Elvin heard that Tennessee had plenty of hay for sale. So, they proceeded to drive up Interstate 65, make their purchase, and deliver hay to their usual clientele, for the same price they were getting before.

The best laid plans don't always produce the intended result. As it was, Elvin was buying the hay for a dollar a bale and selling it for a dollar a bale. It didn't take long for the couple to realize that their plan wasn't working.

Sarah said, "Elvin, we need to do something different. We ain't making any money."

Her husband replied, "Yeah. I think we need a bigger truck."

Needless to say, Elvin and Sarah's hay business never launched into a competing global conglomerate or billion dollar company. Elvin just didn't have the "right stuff."

Other companies have tried to mimic Wal-Mart's practices. They have even gone to the extreme of losing money on some items just to procure traffic in their stores. In tough economic times, that formula doesn't produce revenue. In a good economy OR bad economy, the bigger truck theory only works if there is some profit on the sale.

Wilson Lankford Brown is a Freelance Author at Ebook Egghead. His primary occupation throughout the years was in the construction industry, where he achieved Master Builder Status. In later years, he became a successful Project Manager, Commercial Construction Estimator, and a writer of various published books and publications. His writing is sprinkled with many Southernisms and flavored with many experiences that span his more than interesting years in the construction industry. You can view more of his works at Ebook Egghead

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wilson_L_Brown http://EzineArticles.com/?Sam-Walton-Theory-of-Five-and-Dime-Thrives---Even-During-Tough-Economic-Times&id=3006959

=======================
Shop at Wal-Mart

Are We In an Economic Recovery or Not?

2009-10-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

So, This is Economic Recovery?
By Thomas Campenni

The real estate market is supposedly improving. It is hard for me to believe that is true when the unemployment rate continues to climb. How can people who are still without jobs afford to buy houses and apartments? If companies are not hiring, then how are recent graduates to rent their first apartments? With obtaining a mortgage becoming harder and harder, the real estate market cannot improve for the average person.

It would be imprudent for the vast majority of Americans to enter the market until they know their jobs are secure. You do not buy a home or rent an apartment unless you have the means to pay for it. What we see now is nothing more than the usual puffery by both the real estate industry and the media.

President Obama is trying to convince the country that his stimulus plans and the rest of the Washington voodoo have saved the Republic. Most Americans may want to believe it, but they are having a hard time doing so. Deep down, they know nothing fundamentally has changed. The Democratic-controlled Congress holds hearings bashing the banks, Wall Street, and insurance companies but continues to take millions in contributions from them. The Obama administration talks tough but up until now has done nothing to make sure that a repeat of the debacle will not re-occur. The Republicans spout inane platitudes that make them appear more and more irrelevant.

Is there any wonder why so many of us hold our elected leaders in contempt? Many ordinary people distrust Washington and their allies in Big Business and Big Labor. Lobbyists, whether they are from the UAW or Focus on the Family or The National Association of Realtors, are looked on with scorn. Americans innately know that the lobbyists, the politicians, and big business and labor are not concerned with the common good but with their own parochial interests.

The collective interests known as "Washington" can dribble all they want about the economy improving, but until reforms to the system are made, it will be all illusionary. Any stock market gains will be lost, and any jobs will be temporary. We have been in this illusionary state for about twenty years. How can economic growth be based on the sale of Credit Default Swaps instead of the increased manufacturing of products. Is the American economy sustainable when our largest export is becoming the sale of U.S. Treasury debt to China? What is being perpetrated as economic growth is theater of the absurd.

Can any industry in the United States from cars to real estate really have sustained growth if our government does not have sound economic policies? It is a question that needs to be answered or else nothing of value or of any duration can happen. With each economic downturn the country looses standing in the world. Great nations are not just militarily powerful. Military power is unsustainable without economic power...one needs only to take a look at Russia to find the latest example of that fact.

Thomas F. Campenni CPM, CCIM has more than 35 years of experience as a broker and is licensed in Florida, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Since 1992, Tom?s focus has been working with a smaller client base so that he can provide the kind of individualized service that results in greater return for his clients and, consequently, greater client satisfaction. In addition to his real estate brokers' licenses, Tom also holds insurance licenses in New York and Florida and has earned the CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member) and CPM (Certified Property Manager) designations. Please visit http://www.thomascampenni.com or email him at Tom@thomascampenni.com for additional information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_Campenni http://EzineArticles.com/?So,-This-is-Economic-Recovery?&id=3004324
====================
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2009-10-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

A very bright lady of my acquaintance has an excellent blog on political happenings. If you are interested in what is going on in American politics, and in her normal American mind, you really need to check out Copasetic Coma.

Is The Relevance Of America's Main Stream Media Coming To An End?

2009-10-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

By Vicky Nissen

Trevor Loudon, activist, blogger and writer, has received praise for being one of the first writers to "out the Green Czar", Van Jones. He uncovered Jones' racist remarks and Communist ties long before anyone else. As a result of Trevor's articles, investigations of Van Jones continued by Fox News talk show host, Glenn Beck, and others, which led to the resignation of one of the most contentious of the radical left-wing Whitehouse Czars.

Loudon has explained how relatively easy it was to ascertain the basic facts about Jones because it didn't take more than a few keystrokes to learn about Jones and his ties to former Weather Underground supporters, Jon and Nancy Frappier (co-conspirators with Bill Ayers) and the Bay Area branch of the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism (CCDS). Loudon soon realized that a group that Jones organized, called STORM, was very influential in the San Francisco Bay Area and had ties to both the Cuban and South African Communist Parties. Jones was the keynote speaker at a CCDS fundraiser in Berkeley as late as February 2006. Loudon wrote about Jones' ties to far left wing causes and the Communist party affiliations.

So if Loudon found this information in a few keystrokes, why didn't our own mainstream media uncover these facts? The truth is... most of the media saw his departure as a victory for the anti-Obama Republicans, not mentioning the important facts of his pro-Marxism and pro-Communism ideologies...or what those ideologies mean.

Sadly, most of the American media seems to shy away from being investigative journalists seeking to report the truth. It is shocking that the MSM doesn't report on powerful political appointees that have great influence over our policies.

Then what's so different about Trevor? Why doesn't Trevor fall into this malaise of American journalistic apathy? Mr. Loudon lives in New Zealand. That's right. Trevor Loudon is a writer from New Zealand who seems to know more about American politics than many of our own reporters. He generally writes and maintains blogs reporting on the underbelly of radical left-wing American politics, focusing mainly on Obama and his Chicago ties. Instead of getting political news from national newspapers or the top three networks, more and more Americans are getting their political facts from foreign bloggers, like Trevor Loudon. The reason is clear. Overseas writers will be frank, open and truthful.

Other reporters from the U.K. Spectator, for example, write investigative stories about the lack of American journalistic integrity when talking about Obama, commonly called "the One". Again, we see foreign correspondents reporting on who is running our country and why.

The Canada Free Press has funny, strident articles about our government, our healthcare, politics and our future. Why? The motto of their newspaper is "Because Without America, There is No Free World". More and more bloggers, writers and reporters around the world are focused on American politics because they believe we are the most powerful country in the world. To be free, themselves, means that America must be free.

As long as American reporters ignore journalism and stick to propaganda, readers will seek information through the Internet, where political bloggers can be found in many countries around the world, including Israel, Finland, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and Australia. The most prolific, however, seem to be from Canada, the U.K. and New Zealand. Why do bloggers from other countries report about American politics? I think Trevor Loudon speaks for many bloggers of other countries, when he says 'how goes America, so goes New Zealand'.

Vicky Nissen earned her undergraduate degree in Government and majored in Finance in graduate school.

She has her own Radio Talk Show on Sundays at 6 p.m. PST on http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/vickynissen She is a politics and news junkie, and has worked with Dennis Prager, Mike Gallagher and Dennis Miller on Los Angeles Talk radio. Anyone can listen to her show and call in to chat.

She is a professional speaker, teaching others how to setup, manage and market their own radio show.

She is author of the E-Book, "Obama for Pinheads".

Vicky also teaches a workshop, "How to Start, Market and Maintain Your Own Radio Show".

She lives in Southern California.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vicky_Nissen http://EzineArticles.com/?Is-The-Relevance-Of-Americas-Main-Stream-Media-Coming-To-An-End?&id=2906595

Pre-boomers, Are You Ready to Fight Out-Of-Control Spending?

2009-07-28T03:36:00.000-07:00

By Don Potter

Take a look at reality:

1)There's less money coming into the US Treasury; the government has amassed a deficit larger than the combined total of all the past administrations combined; and unemployment continues to rise as consumer confidence declines.

2)We are going to see unprecedented hidden taxes if the energy bill (cap & trade) becomes law, because increased energy costs will find a way back to consumers. In addition, non-conforming countries such as China, India and Mexico will continue to pollute giving them a manufacturing advantage over goods produce here; causing more jobs and profits to go there.

3)Now the government is on the verge of diving headfirst into the murky waters of an undeveloped health care plan that will help the uninsured at the expense of the already-insured and have the potential of reducing the quality of medical service.

Energy and health care alone could triple the deficit in the short-term and have a devastating long-term effect. Is this progress or biting off more than we can chew?

It's time for pre-boomers (folks born between 1930 and 1945) to wake up. Those of us on fixed incomes are in trouble. After a lifetime of hard work, you figured there was enough money put aside to see you through the retirement years. If you had investments such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds you lost a third or more of your net worth in the past year. Real estate investments didn't fare any better; and if you needed immediate cash you sold into a buyer's market. Interest on bank accounts is paltry; and your cash won't purchase much if inflation, as predicted, rears its ugly head. So are you going to sit back and watch this country along with your life-savings go down the drain?

I, for one, refuse to be a spectator while self-serving politicians destroy the financial health of America and undermine the principles I believe in. This country has been good for us, and pre-boomers have been good for it. Instead of sitting on the sidelines in retirement, I'm sending this article to my federal, state and local representatives. With few exceptions, they haven't shown that they care much about what individuals have to say. However, if each of us tells each of them to start listening to us and to act accordingly, these politicians will get the message.

Our parents, are gone or too old for this battle - they already fought the good fight. Our children (trailing boomers or generation X and Ys) are caught up in their own struggles. So it's up to us to say, "Enough is enough." There are some 40 million pre-boomers spread across this great land of ours; let our voices be heard. If you're ready to do your part, join this informal grassroots effort by contacting your representatives, today. You may copy this article and send it to them with your personal comments. Through this simple gesture, you'll be taking care of yourself while preserving the American way of life for your children and grand children.

Don Potter, a Philadelphia native, was born in 1936 and is a 50 year veteran of the advertising agency business. Now living in Los Angeles, he has written two novels in retirement, frequently writes on marketing issues, and has a blog dedicated to pre-boomers (those born between 1930 and 1945).

Read more articles for and about pre-boomers with thoughts, comments and opinions designed to spark thinking, foster discussion, and stimulate debate by logging on to http://www.pre-boomermusings.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Don_Potter
http://EzineArticles.com/?Pre-boomers,-Are-You-Ready-to-Fight-Out-Of-Control-Spending?&id=2615895

Is Islamophobia in Europe Leading to Another Holocaust?

2009-07-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

By Jasmine Elnadeem

After the tragic murder of Dr. Marwa el-Sherbini, the majority of Egyptian newspapers had given broad coverage to her death, describing the veiled woman as a "martyr" and suggesting that the killer was motivated by a hatred of Islam.

I saw also that it has been too long since Egyptian bloggers came together under the same banner, but that crime was a good reason for them to unite again, condemning international media for ignoring such incidents against Muslims in the West

People also used Twitter, the blogs, Facebook and Youtube to spread this news and expressed their thoughts about what happened.

So we saw a Facebook group called "Marwa Al-Sherbini, we will always remember you", which drew an astonishing 1,403 members within hours.

The majority of comments stated that Marwa el-Sherbini was the latest victim of fanaticism, hatred and Islamophobia in Europe.

It is very easy to understand the anger that the murder of Marwa el-Sherbini in Germany has provoked in Egypt, but there were some questions in my mind, which I didn't have an answer too:

Is Islamophobia in Europe leading to another holocaust?

Can "the clash of civilizations" be avoided if we realize that intercultural dialogue and mutual respect is the only way forward?

Is there any inherent tension between the secular-liberal order of "modern" Europe and the more "traditional" model of society associated with (Muslim) migrants?

The enlargement of the European Union has brought new opportunities for many, but it also creates new divisions and inequalities. The borders of Fortress Europe have moved but the inhumane migration and asylum policies are still tightening up. In the difficult international climate stereotypes are reinforced and the fear of the "other" is a serious problem in Europe today.

I posed these questions to some experts to know the answers, and I was lucky to interview Riem Spielhaus (a German researcher in the field of Islamic studies, and teaches at the South Asian department of the Institute for Asian and African studies at Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin) who replied: "I do not use the term Islamophobia for many reasons. To me it seems to be brought to actually be a good descriptive term. That means it starts from people being afraid from Islam, which after terrorist acts being conducted in the name of this religion is an understandable reaction and even many Muslims feel insecure in this context though they know it is not the heart of the religion that creates violent acts of hatred.

However being afraid (phobic) needs to be separated in description and analysis from the much more grave feature of performing acts of violence and insinuating hatred by different means. Another aspect we need to discuss in Europe is that Muslims feel excluded from parts of societies be it because of their religion or because of lack of education or economic power. This all leads to the conclusion that reality needs a more complex approach with which the term Islamophobia does not cover.

So, I rather speak of people who feel unease when confronted with Muslims or Islam, of exclusion of Islamic communities and Muslims in society in diverse ways and of anti- Muslim or anti-Islamic discourse. Finally and this seems to be the case in the shocking events in Dresden last week, there have been several acts of violence conducted against Muslims and Islamic places like mosques, and for the first time a family has been robbed of its mother, wife and daughter and even of the life of an unborn child just because she was Muslim.

- Is Islamophobia in Europe leading to another holocaust?

I have been thinking a lot about this question and I am shocked by the question itself - to be honest. NO! I do not think so.

Spielhaus doesn't believe and doesn't hope that the current situation in Europe could lead to another holocaust.

"To ask this question to a Muslim living in Germany to me seems to be rather cruel or is showing that the one asking doesn't know much about the holocaust. We can at no place in Europe today see something even by far similar to the machinery connected to the extinction of Jewish life in Europe during the Second World War.
However, the unimaginable brutality of the third Reich in Germany and the exclusion of Jewish Germans in European history before that should be a strong reminder that any exclusion of people because of ethnicity, background, color of skin or religion should not be tolerated or ignored but needs to be countered by a strong statement of the civil society." Continued Spielhaus.

"Even though many Muslims in this country and in Egypt might be worried about the reluctance of officials to comment on the recent events, Germany is characterized more by what its engaged citizens are saying and therefore the communal statement of Jewish and Muslim leaders together against any hostility against Islam and Muslims has an important relevance that cannot be underestimated." She said.

During the last days members of nearly all German parties made strong statements against hatred of Islam and urged the German government to take action against anti-Muslim sentiments and acts like the one that happened in Dresden.

Many may believe in intercultural dialogue as a promised way to dispel the myth of the "Clash of Civilizations," but such a dialogue should go through different challenges and examinations to prove it so.

So can "the clash of civilizations" be avoided if we realize that intercultural dialogue and mutual respect is the only way forward?

Riem Spielhaus: The 'dialogue of civilizations' is reflecting and perpetuating the same dichotomy that Samuel Huntington has introduced into global policy with his influential thesis. Clashes and conflicts are as I believe only to be overcome, if people accept each other as equals in their citizenship and their engagement for mutual understanding and the enhancement of societies, neighborhoods, the environment and the human kind. Some people draw the strength for their engagement from religion, others find other sources that drive them but this is a difference that needs to be respected if the aim is the same.

But is there any inherent tension between the secular-liberal order of "modern" Europe and the more "traditional" model of society associated with (Muslim) migrants?

No! Question rejected! These simplistic ideas of Muslims and immigrants being something strange or/and other to Europe are leading to exclusion and alienation. Many Muslims in Europe are first of all Europeans, European by birth, conviction and citizenship AND Muslim by faith. Many problems that we are facing today are resulting from some European societies and countries of origin identifying Muslims with immigrants and thereby not as parts of the societies they live in though many especially young Muslims are longing to be accepted as Germans, French or British. Media coverage, political debates and academic writing that perpetuates the exclusion of Muslims in narratives, which situate them outside European for instance by stigmatizing them as immigrants societies are contributing to a discourse of exclusion. We all need to ask ourselves the question: When does immigration stop? In which generation? Isn't the fourth enough?

Then she continued: "I can not answer the question what 'Islam' in Europe is - the statement is to broad to carry any meaning. Either Islam is a revelation - than it is the same everywhere but people are shaping its practice and understanding. Or you understand Islam as the way Muslims live their religion - an understanding that I do not share - but find rather confusing. But in this case replacing 'Islam' by 'Muslims' or 'Muslim life' seems to make sense.

So Muslims in Europe seem to be in their majority moderate. Not all Muslims seem to be religious though - please have a look at the Religion Monitor for answers to the question. It carries a lot of interesting information and it is just too late to rewrite them. You might find a good approach to grasp the term 'religious' because it is actually hard to describe what it means. And this survey gives a good interpretation of the term and it covered the answers of 3000 Muslims in Germany..."

On the other hand Dr.Abdeslam Maghraoui the Associate Professor of the Practice of Political Science and Core Faculty in the Duke Islamic Studies Center defined Islamophobia as the fear, hatred, resentment towards Islam, Islamic cultures, and peoples. It is often irrational but reasonable individuals may also exhibit symptoms. Islamophobia is based on the belief that Islam and Muslims are violent, uniform, backward, and resist modernity.

Then he added that Islamophobia has been gaining a lot of influence and it is much more widespread than we think. The recent elections to the European Parliament show that right wing extremist parties in many countries in Europe (Spain, England, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Germany...) have a strong popular base. These parties are anti-immigrant, anti-Arab, and definitely anti-Muslim. Still, I don't think that another Holocaust in Europe is likely.

He also pointed out that Intercultural dialogue is important but often not enough. I attended many intercultural dialogues and interfaith discussions that are frank and polite. But once you leave the conference or the meetings another reality hits you. With dialogues, there is a need to emphasize civic rights and duties, the relationship between citizenship and culture/religion, the limits and possibilities of multiculturalism. These are extremely important issues, especially for Muslims leaving in the West.

"In principle, there should be no contradictions. Liberal democracy claims to be culturally neutral among different cultures, religions, and races. The United States is the most advanced in this regard. Europe is far behind as citizenship is still (informally) includes cultural components. A Muslim born in Europe is less likely to feel part of Europe if he/she lives according to Islamic principles. The problem is that Muslims express or live their spiritual lives differently. Some are moderate; others are conservative; yet others may embrace extreme versions or interpretations of Islam. The problem is that outsiders (or non-Muslims) are not always capable of distinguishing different forms of Islam. So they are really confused. "Maghraoui said.

And he agreed that the overwhelming majority of Muslims living in Europe are moderate Muslims. For decades, millions of Muslims in France, Spain, Holland, Italy, the UK, and Belgium have been living peacefully. But racism has been a problem in many countries (France, Germany in particular).

And by asking him about the media role in promoting diversity and religious tolerance in Europe he replied: "The role of the media is to expose instances of racism, hatred, and Islamophobia. AND it is incumbent on the media to address the social problems within Muslim communities (women's rights, acceptance of religious difference, respect of the lifestyles of Europeans, etc...). It is not helpful to simply blame the Europeans or Muslim communities." He commented.

By: Jasmine Elnadeem

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jasmine_Elnadeem
http://EzineArticles.com/?Is-Islamophobia-in-Europe-Leading-to-Another-Holocaust?&id=2610322

It's Been More Than a Few Days, Hasn't It?

2009-04-02T14:33:00.001-07:00

I know, I know. I'm behind. I called it a "daily political blog", and it has been several days now.

As we said in the Army, "No excuse, Sir!"

I'll get back into the groove starting tomorrow.

Growing Infrastructure and Transportation in the Dominican Republic

2009-03-30T05:57:00.000-07:00

By Alex Bezborodko

It has been no secret that the DR has continued to grow in regards to tourism. While tourism around the world has hit a slump, the DR is still enjoying impressive numbers in regards to tourism. Because of that, many investors are providing money to improve the infrastructure. The government has taken note and has begun to support many projects as well.

Because of this interest in improving the infrastructure of the DR, tourism will continue to grow. Tourists will be able to find more reasons to visit the DR thanks to the projects that are in the works for the DR.

One of the primary investors in the DR is the United States. With the backing of a United States' investment, the DR government has announced plans to improve upon the infrastructure of Punta Cana. The US has invested $250 million to the project, and the DR hopes the investment will improve tourism in the area.

There are several plans for this money. One plan is to improve areas that surround hotels. That will improve the beauty of the hotels, and also help them lure more clientele. The money is also going to be used to improve highways. For instance, one goal is to shorten the time it takes to go from Punta Cana to La Romana. With the work that will be done to the highways, the drive will be almost cut in half.

A mountain road network is going to be built in the South West and Central regions. Again, this will help lure tourists to the area as well as develop the region.

The dedication to roads will greatly help the DR. As the roads improve tourism will grow even more. The DR already has amazing numbers in regards to tourism, but this investment will improve upon those numbers.

There has also been €3.7 billion promised to the DR by a Balearic Island development group. This investment is also aimed at increasing tourism by improving the infrastructure of the DR. The main purpose of this investment is to work on a railway that will link Santiago to Santo Domingo. This railway will greatly increase tourism, and will help both cities and the areas that are between the cities.

Again, the purpose is to make it easier for tourists to travel. As more tourists come to the area, the economy grows. Therefore, it is beneficial to the DR to improve upon its infrastructure.

The government will also be using $30 million from the OPEN Fund for International Development in order to improve upon the highways of the DR. This will lead to shorter travel times throughout the DR, which will improve satisfaction of tourists and residents alike.

Tourism in the DR has greatly helped the infrastructure. Because of the large amount of tourism, the DR is able to get the investment money they need in order to build up their transportation and land. This is what has allowed the DR to remain one of the biggest tourist spots in the world.

Other countries and investors have helped the DR in its quest of becoming the prime vacation spot in the world. The investors are not doing this out of good faith. They are doing it because they know the DR is a strong investment. They see the potential for growth, and therefore they feel comfortable putting their money into different projects.

With the lure of the DR and the backing of investors, the economy in the area will continue to grow. The DR has proven it is going to be a force in the marketplace. Year after year, the DR manages to create more jobs from tourism and bring more tourists over for a visit.

Alex Bezborodko is the owner of the http://www.SunnyComfort.com website, featuring international properties direct from the developers, where you can find more information about our current Dominican Republic Real Estate Projects.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Bezborodko
http://EzineArticles.com/?Growing-Infrastructure-and-Transportation-in-the-Dominican-Republic&id=2115351

Daily Political Blog

Undue Powers of Government

2009-03-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

"...there is also in the world at large an increasing incliination to stretch unduly the powers of society over the individual, both by the force of opinion and even by that of legislation, and as the tendency of all the changes taking place in the world is to strengthen society and diminish the power of the individual, this encroachment is not one of the evils which tend spontaneously to disappear, but, on the contrary, to grow more and more formidable. The disposition of mankind, whether as rulers or as fellow citizens, to impose their own opinions and inclinations as a rule of conduct on others, is so energetically supported by some of the best and by some of the worst feelings incident to human nature that it is hardly ever kept under restraint by anything but want of power, and as the power is not declining, but growing, unless a strong barrier of moral conviction can be raised against the mischief, we must expect, in the present circumstances of the world, to see it increase."

John Stuart Mill, "On Liberty"

If we watch the actions of our federal government today, the government I served for 21 years as a member of the U. S. military, we see tides within its offices which seem to be the purpose, or at least the impetus, for the writing of the sentiment above. I am 64, and for many of my years, I have observed as the government increased its sway and power over the people it was founded to serve.

This is no longer the land of the free, as we are not even able to open a small business and keep it open without the consent of the government. The government in power exercises that power in disregard of the wishes of its people. It admits practices and positions which place its citizens in danger, and which remove opportunity and the "pursuit of happiness" from their grasp.

I have worked within the government and have seen so many within positions of responsibility and power disregard the best interests of the citizenry.

Our government, as it exists and functions today, comes awfully close to frightening me. Those who make it to Washington appear to care only about themselves, their power, and their futures than the service of citizens.

Daily Political Blog

The "People" in Washington

2009-03-27T16:21:00.001-07:00

"The "people" who exercise the power are not always the same people with those over whom it is exercised, and the "self-government" spoken of is not the government of each by himself, but of each by all the rest. The will of the people, moreover, practically means the will of the most numerous or most active part of the people: the majority, or those who make themselves accepted as the majority; the people consequently may desire to oppress a part of their number, and precautions are as much needed against this as against any other abuse of power."

-John Stuart Mill, "On Liberty"

Daily Political Blog

More on the AIG Bailout from Larry Miller

2009-03-27T05:38:00.000-07:00

Dealing With the Devil
By Larry D Miller

The government giveth and the government taketh away. That seems to be lesson we can take away from the recent events in Washington. The good congressmen and senators, eyes bloodshot with rage promised the American taxpayer that the outrage of AIG taking money from the government (read taxpayer), then giving millions of it out to their employees in the form of bonuses would not be allowed to continue.

We were told that these were retention bonuses that would keep these high performing employees on the job. These are the same high performing employees that produced the massive profits that led the company to come back to the taxpayers time after time - promising each time would be the last.

After nearly bursting a blood vessel and almost falling into an apoplectic seizure, Senator Dodd came back the next day and admitted that he had actually inserted a provision in the porkulus bill that specifically permitted these employees to receive the bonuses. So much for the claim of surprise! The man should get an Oscar for his manufactured rage as it's difficult to be sincerely angry with someone for doing what you said was permissible. After more prodding the good Senator also remembered that that he had inserted the provision at the request of the Obama administration through the Treasury Secretary's office.

So we have the public and much of our government going into a hissy fit over one more action of our new president. How did this come about? Are the people in the White House so inept or confused that one hand does not know what the other hand is doing? That would be the easy ,but not very comforting, answer. The answer could be more sinister. Could it be one more distraction to keep us from noticing the really damaging behavior of the Obama administration... kind of like the fuss about Rush Limbaugh.

Could it be that the millions of dollars flushed down the drain in AIG bonuses were just a smoke screen to hide the billions of dollars AIG funneled to foreign banks? I have to wonder why this does not make the lawmakers at least as angry. I would think that seeing all those taxpayer dollars flowing overseas doing nothing toward the proclaimed purpose of making credit available to US businesses would make loyal officials go through the roof. This money isn't doing a whole lot to help people facing foreclosure on their homes either. All it has done is help a multi-national corporation get its books in looking a little better, and for all we know, making massive bonuses possible to foreigners in Dubai?

I'm having trouble deciding what message is actually coming out of Washington. Are the banks that valuable that we have to spare no expense to save them, yet the people running them so morally crippled with greed that they cannot be trusted to handle our money? The conspiracy theorist in me sees in this action an attempt to shore up the institution of banking while removing the bankers. To what effect? Possibly big government sympathizers whose loyalties lie with the Obama administration rather than with the shareholders and depositors. I don't know... just a thought. But the way they have been demonized by the press and congress... even the President, I am concerned that these evil financial wizards are about to be marched off to an encampment next to Joe Arpaio's desert prison.

More likely this is just a bunch of political types, not smart enough to come up with the more involved plan, looking for cover when a payback for huge political contributions to Sen. Dodd, the President and many others is exposed. It may be that seeing the light in the distance from the torch and pitchfork brigade of outraged citizens made them turn on the people who helped get them elected.

One almost has to feel sorry for the executives at AIG who thought their contributions to the Democrats bought them immunity from common sense business practices... particularly when the actions of Dodd and Geithner specifically paved the way for them to receive their rewards. Unfortunately for the execs, they found out you can't make deals with the devil. Those giving to and voting for hope and change apparently did not get the change they hoped for.

Perhaps a lesson can be found here for many in the business community that looking to curry favor with those who don't understand and value what you do and who are basically looking for sources of revenue to fund their grand social schemes, may make you the next village getting looted in the pursuit of their impossible, and I might add, immoral, dream.

This brings us back to looking at politics and government in a radical new way: looking for what is good for the entire country full of people rather than what I think will benefit me. Sure this means that you won't get any special advantage or be supplied by the work of someone else... it also means it won't blow up in your face and you won't be publicly pilloried and threatened. You may not get quite the financial reward, but then you may well have a strengthened customer base... and that's not all bad. As Rick Warren would say, "It's not about you."

About the Author

Larry D Miller is a web developer who has been involved in the political world for the past twenty some years. His company, Simple Webs, works with organizatins and candidates and can be seen at http://www.simplewebs.biz and his current project, http://www.politicalchristian.org examines the relationship between Christians and the political sphere.

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Daily Political Blog

International Trade in the Midst of Global Financial Crisis

2009-03-25T05:07:00.000-07:00

By Brandon Francis

Imports and exports in the midst of Global Financial Crisis

With the world in the grip of a deep recession and no clear way out, how have imports and exports been affected? How have those who rely on shipping trade been getting along?

Short term credit

The first point to note is that this crisis has affected credit, but more importantly for the shipping industry, short term credit used for shipping transport has dried up, with some port agents refusing to even accept credit notes from certain banks. Short term credit use in the shipping industry is wide spread, so this is a major issue. This has had a big impact for the shipping industry as a whole, as businesses struggle to hold on to cash and try and live on a credit-free diet.

Developing economies push towards domestic demand

The US has been heavily impacted by the crisis, where the global meltdown started. High profile developing countries have had to change tack. In the past the economies of India, China and even Brazil fueled their growth by producing cheap goods and relying on first world economies, such as the US and EU, to purchase their goods, thereby bringing in much needed foreign capital, as well as stimulating demand and increasing production.

Well, the party is over now, and these nations (particularly China), are looking to the future by investing in their local economies to stimulate domestic demand and wean themselves off their reliance on export markets.

These nations, it seems, would much prefer to import more. This is good news for international trade going forward, as this will even out some of the trade imbalances that have occurred in recent years, and encourage more trade going forward.

Reluctance to put restrictions on trade

During the biggest major financial and economic crisis - the Great Depression - most of the major economies in the world resorted to protectionist measures, such as unbearably high import tariffs and harsh trade legislation. These measures did little to help the situation and in fact exacerbated problems.

The UK has come out and said that it will not resort to protectionism to help their ailing economy. The rest of the world has, so far, adopted a similar attitude. The lessons learned from protectionism during the Depression means that it will take a very foolish (or brave?) politician to implement such measures again, especially in the new globally connected era.

At the moment, times are not as good as they once were for the shipping industry, which has not proven immune to the pressures of the global economic slowdown. But given the change of focus developing nations and the continued open trade environment, business has not been too bad. Looking forward, imports and exports should start to see some recovery and even modest growth by the end of the year.

Brandon wrote this article for Trade Ocean Shipping Services Trade Ocean is based in South Africa and offers a range of clearing agent services and transport services.

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Daily Political Blog

Lying With Statistics - Politics As Usual

2009-03-24T04:40:00.000-07:00

By Steven Gillman

Lying with statistics has always been part of politics, but it has perhaps become more prevalent as we have become more mathematically illiterate as a people. In fact, 65.7% of statistic are just plain false. Okay, I invented that one - but to make a point. One of the easiest ways to lie with statistics is to make them up. Being "precise" makes them more believable too, which is why I didn't round that off to 67%.

Watch for unrealistically precise figures when you read or here statistics. Nobody can actually say to the nearest hundredth of a percent how overweight a population is, for example, or exactly how many homeless people there are. But what else should you watch for?

Here's an small example pulled from a magazine I was reading. The May 2008 issue of Sierra Magazine had a small piece on the "hyper-consumptive, carbon spewing ways" of Western countries," with the following quote: "Stephen Pacala, director of the Princeton Environmental Institute, claims that the planets richest 700 million people - a mere 7% of the world's population - are responsible for half of the global greenhouse-gas emissions produced by fossil fuels." Notice that if 700 million is 7% of the world's population, we suddenly have 10 billion people in the world. The actual figure was about 6.7 billion as of 2008.

That kind of mistake is common in reporting. It is most likely a simple error, but on the other hand, it seems that the mistaken figures are often better for making the desired point than the true ones would be. It is bad enough if 10.3% of the world's people produce over half of carbon emissions, but politically a stronger point if a mere 7% do. Watch for this kind of common mistake and/or manipulation of the statistics.

For another example of lying with statistics, watch election reporting. More than once I've seen the vote percentages given for the Republican and Democratic candidates add up to 100% in major elections - even presidential elections. Of course for that to be true there would have to be no votes for any other candidates. In reality, other parties often get several percent of the votes. What the news organizations are apparently reporting then, is the votes that they think matter. This kind of manipulation gives the impression that there are no other political parties, but there were a dozen that ran presidential candidates last time I voted.

Be careful too of the more subtle lying with statistics. For example, let me ask you a question: If a company's profits go from 3% to 6%, did they rise 3% or 100%? Profits did double, which is a rise of 100%, but as a return on equity they moved only from 3% to 6%, which still leaves a poor rate of return compared to most industries.

How this is reported depends on the political slant of the news organization. If they want to attack the company for making too much money, they can write a headline that says; "XYZ Company sees 100% Increase In Profits!" Technically it is an accurate statement, but it hides a lot of truth, doesn't it?

Lying with statistics is perhaps most evident in opinion polls. In this case, the manipulation of the truth is accomplished by the way in which questions are phrased. If a thousand people were asked, "Should the government help people who face losing their homes to foreclosure?" the number of people for such a program would certainly be higher than if a thousand were asked, "Should you be forced to pay more taxes to help people make the payments on their houses?" Notice that both accurately describe what the program would do.

As you watch the evening news or read newspapers and news magazines, stop at each statistic they throw out there. Ask if it is likely to be accurate, and how it was arrived at. Ask if it tells the whole truth, and what other ways things could be measured. Get online and look for other information. Lying with statistics will continue, but being fooled by them is optional.

Copyright Steve Gillman. For a Book of Secrets, and a free "secrets" course, visit: http://www.TheSecretInformationSite.com

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Daily Political Blog

The Government and Mr. Madoff - A Comparison

2009-03-23T05:14:00.000-07:00

By Donovan Baldwin

We keep hearing about Mr. Barney Madoff's ponzi scheme and the irreparable damage it has done to the economy and to all the people who put their faith in him.

At the same time, we hear about what the government would call "waste, fraud, and abuse" in the financial industry in general, and firms like AIG in particular.

This is followed up by claims that "the government" will step in and "fix" things with some sort of bailout.

However, for government to "fix" things by throwing more money at the problem, their normal solution for damn near everything, someone has to pay. That someone, of course, will be the American taxpayer.

Over the last few decades, government has grown larger and more expensive. For most of us, we must work about half a year simply to pay all the taxes which are directly or indirectly assessed on us.

The major reason for this is, that like Mr. Madoff, the U.S. Government spends money like a drunken sailor.

I take this moment to apologize to drunken sailors everywhere for comparing them to the senators and congressmen, and presidents, who have recently "served" (themselves) in Washington. It was wrong of me and I DO apologize. I grew up in a Navy town (Pensacola), and, having met many drunken sailors, know that many would give THEIR OWN money to aid widows, orphans, and those less well-off than themselves. They would not take other people's money to do it.

Almost daily, the U. S. government becomes more involved in the daily warp and woof of common life. Almost daily, they guarantee services, and restrictions, beyond the soope of what SHOULD be their limits of service. Almost daily, those in seats of power allot and spend monies on all sorts of projects valuable only to themselves...often their personal wealth and welfare.

Who pays?

You and I, the American taxpayer.

At the moment, we cannot jail the scoundrels, but we CAN VOTE THEM OUT OF OFFICE! We can make it plain to them, and those who follow, that we will no longer tolerate profligate plundering of the public purse.

Many people go into the voting booth with little knowledge of issues or personalities. They vote for people they recognize who have been doing the job for years.

Folks, if you do not follow politics or economics, use this single criteria for your next voting selection. The ones you recognize are the ones who have been running the governmental ponzi scheme for years and profiting from your work and effort.

Vote for somebody else.

Tax on AIG Bonuses. Good or Bad?

2009-03-22T06:03:00.000-07:00

By Donovan Baldwin

Bad.

Here's my take on it.

First of all, you must be able to trust your government and the rule of law. Without that, you have anarchy and should be stocking up on guns and ammo, both literally and figuratively.

The American government just said to the American people, and the world at large, "If we don't like how things turned out under the existing law, we will just change the law to make things turn out the way we wanted them to".

Look, I am as angry as anybody else about bailout dollars being "spent" on bonuses. However, a few points:

1. That's how business gets done. We, AIG and anybody else, competes for talent. To get that talent, we offer bonuses and other perks. We are in competition with the world, and some of that talent could go elsewhere.

2. Nobody is right 100% of the time. Any company, speaking about a single officer or a group of them, can make bad decisions, and picking talent is one of these areas.

3. If a contract exists for the meeting of a certain obligation under a certain agreement, that needs to be honored by all sides, or the future credibility of all (in this case all three) entities (AIG, employee, and American government). is compromised.

4. Dishonesty on the part of a government encourages dishonesty on the part of its citizens.

"The government", whatever that means (to me it means "bozo's in Washington", walked blindly into a situation it knew nothing about and "assumed" that everybody else involved would fall perfectly in line with its wishes, even though it never fully stated or defined those wishes.

If the clowns currently occupying seats, which should be high chairs, in the house and senate had not wanted AIG to spend bailout money on bonuses, they should have made that plain in the language of the bill which set those funds aside. Failure to do so goes back to those lawmakers, and the Obama presidency, perhaps even the Bush presidency.

I hope that the government will cease meddling in business affairs. It's not very good at it.

To take money away from those who earned it legally under existing agreements on the pretext of "making things right" is but theft under a different name. It was cute when Robin Hood did it in a story, but he was still an outlaw.

By the way, apologies to Bozo the Clown for invoking his name up there. Sorry, man, I didn't mean to imply that you were as dumb or larcenous as those who "serve" us...or themselves.

Daily Political Blog

The AIG Bailout - Life Imitates Art?

2009-03-20T05:06:00.000-07:00

By Donovan Baldwin

You know, I have been an accountant, and a business owner, so by training and experience I can see arguments for and against the AGI bailout. As a citizen, I tend to lean away from it. However, it is not the bailout per se which interests me.

You see, I am a fan of Casablanca, the 1942 movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. If you are not familiar with the movie, I won't try to educate you here, but "Rick", Humphrey Bogart's character, has a comfortable "working relationship" with the local law enforcement official, "Captain Renault", portrayed beautifully by Claude Rains.

Rick runs a bar/casino in Casablenca. It is WWII and many are trying to get into, and out of Europe and Africa through Casablanca. Rick's Cafe is a central point for much of the intrigue and struggle going on. Rick, a one-time freedom fighter and soldier of fortune, does not participate directly, until Ilsa, played by the stunningly beautiful Ingrid Bergman, shows back up in his life.

Until this point, Rick has played the old game. He has made sure that Captain Renault has always won in his casino and the staff, men and women who work there, have made Captain Renault welcome.

At the same time that Ilsa arrives, seeking to leave Casablanca with her resistance fighter husband, Victor Lazlo, played by Paul Henreid, Major Strasser of the Gestapo (Conrad Veidt) shows up and starts throwing his weight round.

Captain Renault finds himself caught in a difficult spot. Should he do his duty to his country? Should he protect the innocent? Should he save himself and give in to Major Strasser's demands?

At one point, Major Strasser demands that Rick's be closed. Captain Renault questions the decision but realizes that if he is to survive, he must comply. He then announces to all there that Rick's is closed.

It is at this point that the major similarity with the recent AIG bailout name-calling and finger-pointing becomes obvious.

In Casablance, the following scene ensues:

Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds?
Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!
[a croupier hands Renault a pile of money]
Croupier: Your winnings, sir.
Captain Renault: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much.
[aloud]
Captain Renault: Everybody out at once!

Just as in Casablanca, so many seem to know what went on under the table, or in the back rooms, but are now trying to make themselves seem innocent and pure.

Innocent and pure are not words which go well with politics as usual, which is the way the game is played in Washington.

Another scene from Casablanca:

Captain Renault: Oh no, Emil, please. A bottle of your best champagne, and put it on my bill.
Emil: Very well, sir.
Victor Laszlo: Captain, please...
Captain Renault: Oh, please, monsieur. It is a little game we play. They put it on the bill, I tear up the bill. It is very convenient.

One more line seems to fit well with the current situation regarding AIG comes to mind:

Captain Renault: Major Strasser has been shot! Round up the usual suspects.

Daily Political Blog

All Indications Point to Another Cuba Show Down With Russia - But Why?

2009-03-18T05:17:00.000-07:00

By Lance Winslow

Not sure if you have been watching lately but Russia is making very friendly relations with Venezuela and Cuba. Indeed, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez has also been meddling in the elections of Argentina, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and already has Evo Morales of Bolivia in his hip pocket.

Russia made a statement the other day that it would base Russian Bombers in Cuba, and Venezuela; previously it had tried to set up aircraft maintenance contracts in Mexico for Cargo Aircraft, Airliners, and other large aircraft. Mexico during the last election nearly was turned over to an extremely left leaning communist, but he lost the election by less than six tenths of one percentile.

With Mexico in a virtual economic freefall and its drug war torn national conflicts spilling over into the US, it is quite possible that we will soon have a third world communist nation next door and the other nations below them could fall to communist governments too; all the way down to Panama. Perhaps this might wake Americans up to the atrocities that befall Russian style communism; a little history repeat if you will.

Speaking of history repeating and communism, what say you about Cuba putting bombers in Cuba that would be within 90 miles of the US Coastline? With frequent flights and training exercises within 45 miles and at altitudes that would make launching nuclear weapons into the US almost unstoppable in time; well, without a massive defense shield being put in place.

Recently, the Obama Administration has told the Russians in a so-called secret letter (probably released to the media for PR sake) that if they Russians help us prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons then we would forgo the missile defense shield concept in Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, this is like turning our backs on our NATO, or soon to be NATO Eastern European allies.

Further, rather than offering a conciliatory gesture in return the Russians said "we appreciate that and hope to work with Obama." This is a rather interesting PR move by Russia, as NATO is crumbling, but in pure Russian Communist negotiation, they took and will now ask for more. How so you ask; by upping the stakes in Cuba, and when oil prices return they will up the stakes along with other nations over the oil in the far North.

In fact, Russia has already made some highly charged political comments that Alaska should be returned to Russia. What's worse is that the Obama Administration is playing into their hands and thinks that if we are "oh so nice and sweet to communists" that we can all get along. That's just nonsense.

Now with Russia discussing bombers in Cuba, it has gotten another "free" bargaining chip and it can do one of two things. Use it to allow Obama to look like a hero in a JFK move to tell them to leave, giving the Russians even more grip on Obama by making him popular with the American People; or Russia can use this maneuver to get the US Military to retreat from other parts of the world and defend America's homeland, which will take up all our money and resources.

Worse, Russia may be reliving the past and considering trying a different option this time with a "Cuban Bomber Crisis" and thus, things could escalate out of control, especially with a naïve Obama President calling the shots. In case anyone had not noticed Russia, China and many other nations have had leaders at Davos and other economic conferences paint the US as evil, and they are questioning capitalism. Unfortunately, they have their audience and that group is growing in the World Media.

Will Cuba be the bargaining chip that got away from Obama? Well, either way, communism is coming and it's on the march, slowly working its way into every corner of the Planet. The problem for America's 300 million "Free" people is that they are all too aware of what communism is and how it works in practice, even if the theory sounds nice. You see many people have come here from elsewhere and had families that have fled communism, ask one sometime what they think of communism.

Maybe you might take a few days and do a little studying of communist nations around the world and ask yourself would you truly wish to live there. Why not pick up some literature from Russian writers and compare what we have here in the US and the lifestyle in communist countries, I am sure you'll see it. We need not run the same plays out of history over and over again, with slightly different players. Please think on this, pay attention and wake-up, this isn't a board game, and there is risk.

Lance Winslow - Lance Winslow's Bio. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/

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Daily Political Blog

Website Offers Hope For Hard Times

2009-03-17T05:19:00.000-07:00

By Candace Talmadge

"So what do I do now?" begged the email reply from a man we'll call Steve Jones. "When working hard is no longer working, what do you have left?"

That plea sums up the plight of millions of Americans and others worldwide during a crisis recession that has sucked the hope right out of their future.

People who have worked hard all of their lives now find that their effort seems futile. Their jobs have vanished or their businesses have cratered. Their retirement accounts are mere shells. They face foreclosure on their homes and monthly bills they cannot cover, even after cutting expenditures to the bare minimum. If they live in the United States and become seriously ill, the staggering cost of treatment leave them with mountains of additional debt, or they simply go without medical care.

"Behind every home foreclosure is a person who's suffering," Jones says. "I know what it's like to worry about that."

Jones' friend of 15 years, author and reality TV show developer Jerry Biederman, read the unexpected response to a casual question and wanted very much to help in some small way.

"My friend put words and an identity to this economic crisis," says Biederman, author of popular books like Earth Angels and Secrets of a Small Town. "Statistics don't do justice to the pain, fear, and desperation people are feeling."

On top of that, he adds, "People are ashamed of their unemployment, of their failure as defined by their finances. They don't want their families, friends, or neighbors to know. Yet people have got to open up about this. It's empowering to get rid of secrets."

In the spirit of greater candor, Biederman decided to pass Jones' e-mail along to his friends, who sent it to their lists. Soon messages of encouragement and caring were inundating him from all across the globe.

That's when Biederman hit on the idea of setting up a website called www.emailhope.com, where visitors may post expressions of support and share their own personal stories. It is a heart-felt effort to foster a renewed sense of community and connectedness during a time of widespread hardship, when dread of impending disaster leaves people feeling isolated, helpless, and hopeless.

It is not a typical feel-good site that ignores or glosses over unpleasant topics. The messages are straight from the gut and reveal tough-to-read details of suffering and challenges.

Through it all, however, runs a sense of humor and the resiliency of the human spirit. Even in their darkest hours, people want to reach out to others they don't know personally to show that they care, to affirm that there is light beyond the storm, to keep believing that there is still hope.

Jones says the site is helping him and many others who stop by to visit and share their thoughts and feelings. Learning about others' troubles also helps Jones to put his own situation into perspective.

"All these letters coming in are amazing reading," he says. "It may not help your finances, but it helps your mind."

For a free ebook on hope and healing, visit http://greenstoneofhealing.com and sign up for the free newsletter

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Daily Political Blog

What's Happening in Bangladesh?

2009-03-16T05:43:00.000-07:00

By Susanta Bhattacharyya

From the 25th of February, disturbing news started coming in from Bangladesh. The Pilkhana headquarters of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in Dhaka was seized by a mutiny and at least sixty-four army officers along with seven non-army personals including women and children were massacred by the mutineers. The dead includes the BDR chief Major General Shakil Ahmed and other high ranking officers.

The killings mainly happened in the 'Darbar Hall' inside the BDR premise during the annual gathering of BDR commanders and according to the few survivors most of the killings were done between 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on the first day. After killing the senior officers, the mutineers stormed the residential officer's quarters, attacked and dragged out the family members and set the quarters on fire. Gold ornaments, jewelries and money were looted.

The dead bodies were disfigured with bayonets and later dumped into nearby sewers and mass graves inside the BDR compound. The full horror of the mutiny became evident when bodies of the slain officers including the wife of the Director General were recovered. The mutiny was also reported to have spread to twelve border districts of the country including Dinajpur, Chittagong, Rajshahi and Naugaon.

Intense rumors of an imminent army take-over soon spread out like wildfire all over Bangladesh. But according to media report, the army chief Moin Ahmed assured Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by saying that "Rumors are swirling... but the army belongs to you." His force remained loyal to the civilian government which took over power just in December last year after a landslide victory in the general elections. This assurance reinforced the government to deal with the situation with firm resolve. It was Hasina's insistence for a political solution of the crisis that the army kept itself away from any direct confrontation with the mutineers.

Sheikh Hasina herself met fourteen representative leaders of the BDR rebels and after discussing their grievances initially announced to grant them amnesty. Various leaders and ministers including the Home Minister Sahara Khatun were busy throughout the night to keep dialogues between the government and rebel soldiers open. In a daring act, Ms. Khatun and State Minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak entered the BDR premise at midnight and rescued an injured officer and forty family members who were held hostage by the rebels. However, when all sorts of negotiation failed to make the mutineers to surrender, the government strategically started mobilizing the Army on the second day.

Eleven tanks moved in to encircle the Pilkhana complex; people living near the BDR headquarters were evacuated. Hasina addressed the nation in a televised statement and appealed to the troops to surrender the arms. Finally, on 26th of February between 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. the unnerved rebels surrendered by laying down their arms. By then, many of the rebel soldiers had fled their posts. Two hundred mutineers were arrested while trying to escape in civilian outfits.

The police started a massive manhunt 'Operation Rebel Hunt' throughout the country to capture the fugitive masterminds of the revolt and soon arrested BDR's Deputy Assistant Director Touhidul Alam and four other suspects. According to an official estimate, about two thousand suspected mutineers are still absconding. The government later clarified that the general amnesty announced by Sheikh Hasina will not be applicable for the masterminds who was directly involved with the planning and killings.

Formerly known as East Pakistan Rifles, BDR is presently a 67,000-strong paramilitary force deployed to guard the 4,427 kilometer long Bangladesh boarders with India and Myanmar with additional anti-smuggling operational charge. The force revolted in 1971 against the West Pakistan army by joining the Bangladesh liberation war. After the emergence of Bangladesh the force was renamed as Bangladesh Rifles and emerged as the new country's leading paramilitary force. BDR administration is mostly controlled by officers from the Bangladesh Army.

Rebel leaders speaking to private television channels affirmed that the mutiny was directed primarily against the corruption of their officers who came from the army. According to them, the other central reasons of the uprising were the disparity of pay, benefits, working conditions and promotional opportunities as compared to their army counterparts. Their 22-point demand includes withdrawal of army officers from the command structure of BDR.

The mutineers were initially successful to represent the uprising as a class conflict between exploitive officers and exploited soldiers and accused the officers as abusive and utterly insensitive towards the woes of ordinary soldiers. They claimed that their long-standing grievances were repeatedly raised before the authorities but all fell on deaf ears. Unofficial reports suggested that BDR Director General had promised to discuss their grievances with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina but failed to keep his promise when Hasina visited the barracks on 24 February to inaugurate the BDR week events. The uprising might be partly impulsive though there are ample reasons to suggest that there could be a 'deep-rooted conspiracy' behind it.

Since Bangladesh was born in 1971 there were several big and small coup attempts in the country. The country's history of army coups started in 1975 when Sheikh Hasina's father, the country's iconic founder president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was brutally assassinated along with his wife and three sons by junior officers of Bangladesh army. Given its history of coups and counter coups, the first thing that obviously appeared in the mind from the uprising was that the country was heading for another coup.

The present army leadership's credible pro-democracy stance has negated this proposition. The cross-border theory of a 'bigger conspiracy' involving Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) which has strong pockets of influence in the BDR came next. It suggested that the violence was the handiwork of the ISI, aimed to spoil growing ties between Sheikh Hasina's government and India. The ISI also wanted to signal India about its capability to stall New Delhi's growing influence in Bangladesh. Indian media came up with the story of Salauddin Qadeer Chowdhury, a senior Bangladeshi businessman and BNP politician. Involving Chowdhury with the conspiracy for having close links with the ISI, the media reports also stated that the original planning was hatched in Pakistan and then passed on to radical Islamist organizations operating in Bangladesh like the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami (HUJI).

Differing to the Indian side story, conspiracy theories were floated within Bangladesh which claimed that India's external intelligence agency RAW was involved to revenge the death of nineteen of their Border Security Force (BSF) personals killed by the BDR at Padua of Sylhet and Boraibari of Roumary in 2001. The name of Britain based Islamist organization Hizb-ut-Tahrir also popped up which for the last couple of years is known to reckon Bangladesh as its area of interest.

Was it really a deliberate and well crafted attempt to incite the army to apply force, take over power and subsequently destabilize the new democratically elected government? Questions were asked why the mutineers had brutally killed the officers and their family members instead of following the usual method to accomplish their demands by holding the army officers as hostages. The modus operandi of the uprising and latest developments emerging from the investigation is supporting this speculation. Investigators have started gathering evidences which are contrary to the initial perception that the uprising stemmed out of grievances. The perpetrators might have exploited the deprived feelings of the common BDR men and motivated a section of them in the heinous act.

Latest revelation from the investigation hints about the presence of uniformed outsiders during the massacre. BDR soldiers who had fled Pilkhana through the back doors and now reporting back are claiming that masked soldiers brandishing guns and firing blank shots forced them to join the revolt. Whatever might be the truth, one thing is certain. The evolving events do suggest that Hasina's government is fronting an extremely intricate problem to deal with. It has to move cautiously otherwise the ramification could turn disastrous.

Sheikh Hasina's well-known pro-India stand has caused enough displeasure to the pro-Pakistan elements of Bangladesh. Fingers of suspicion are been pointed towards the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami, their extensive network of grassroot organizations and the former Razakar and Al-Badars - who has regrouped within the Jamaat fold. These are the atrocious elements that had collaborated with the Pakistan Army during the nine months long Bangladesh's Mukti Juddho (liberation war) and staged the mass genocide of millions of their own people and enforced million others to flee to neighboring India as refugees.

After Mujibur Rahman was assassinated, Zia Ur Rahman helped to resettle these Islamist collaborators in Bangladesh politics. He legalized Jamaat-e-Islami as a political party, allowed them to carry on with their vicious socio-political activities and had also permitted Jamaat leader Golam Azam to return to Bangladesh from his exile. Azam's citizenship was previously nullified by Mujibur Rahman for his resolute opposition to creation of Bangladesh. After the resettlement, Jamaat-e-Islami continued to flourish and strengthened their base at the time of General Hossain Mohammad Ershad's regime in areas like Chittagong, Sylhet and Rajshahi and steadily became politically important in Bangladesh. Jamaat allied with Zia Ur Rahman's wife Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), lead a four-party coalition government during 2001-2006 and held two Ministries in the government. There is little doubt that Jamaat-e-Islami has a sizeable presence in the country's rural areas and their fanatic Mullahs has infested enough Pan-Islamic religious extremism and hatred among the illiterate and poor populace. The BDR rank and file is drawn mainly from these economically backward and poor rural belts.

These elements are infuriated and deeply worried about Hasina's plans to set up a war-crimes tribunal to put on trial the collaborators of West Pakistani army. In the second week of February, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari had sent his special envoy to Dhaka and pressurized the Bangladesh government to retract from the trial which the government immediately turned down. By pulling the ear, the head comes along - besides a number of Jamaat leaders, some of the bigwigs of Khaleda Zia's BNP could also be in genuine trouble if the government goes ahead with the trial. Hasina has also announced that she will not allow Bangladesh's soil to be used as a haven for terrorist activities. Her government has promised to eliminate terrorist camps in Bangladesh and to restrain ISI operations from Bangladesh territory. All these factors are enough to incite rage and enmity among co-religionist and Pan-Islamic elements against the present government and army leadership. From their extremist inspiration these elements apparently might have tried to send a warning to the government that it should restrain implementing their agenda.

Historically, Bangladesh's political style has always been marked by its confrontational nature. This style of politics was introduced during the liberation movement when the political class, bureaucrats, army, students, elites and intellectuals became divided either into pro-liberation or pro-Pakistan camps. This hate-inspired division has eventually created a gravely corrupt political system and weak institutions. This sense of hatred has been aggravated by centralization of power in the hands of the executive class. Taking advantage of the chaotic state of Bangladesh politics that prevailed following the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the army directly got involved into the political sphere to play the role of the savior, fingered external relations and consequently demolished the democratic values. The subsistence of successive post-Mujib regimes heavily depended on the army support. The present army leadership appears to be committed for democratic values and is free from Islamist bias. This is a positive sign for Bangladesh's future in contrast to the lopsided role the army has opted so far.

Bangladesh is still one of the poorest countries in the world. Concentrating on the precarious economic situation is therefore the utmost job of the new government. Sanitizing a corrupt political system and standing firm against rampant corruption in the high offices is also another major objective to attain. It also needs to carefully address the menace of religious fundamentalist elements in its society. Whether in Bangladesh, India or Pakistan, the face of religious fundamentalism is common. It is always autocratic, brutal and driven primarily by hatred. In a society where most of the people are illiterate and miserably trapped in poverty and religious inducement, the incidence of the BRD mutiny will remain a matter of deep concern.

http://wordsfromsolitude.blogspot.com/

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Daily Political Blog

The Root Of The Injustice In Our Political System

2009-03-14T06:47:00.000-07:00

By Bernie Zelinka

With the recent turmoil in our economy, the uncertainties shown on Wall Street, and the inconsistent if not blatantly "disconnected" thinking we find in our elected officials; do you ever wonder just why things are going wrong?? Well, I have always felt that it is because once a person decides to enter public service and face our political system, that person immediately becomes a "victim" in that he/she is required to seek monetary support in order to pursue their political goals (no matter how "noble" or "pure" they are initially). It is a simply a matter of fact, precipitated by human nature, that campaign contributors "EXPECT a RETURN on their INVESTMENT". So when one accepts money in support of their campaign, there comes with it an "IOU for that expectation" which will inevitably be "called in".

So how can anyone, then, expect a politician to act and/or make decisions with a clear reliance on simply the facts or whatever may be in the best interest of the constituents?? It simply can't and won't happen!

Until we find a way to get our elected officials into office without having "sold away their souls" it will never happen. I often thought that it was admirable for individuals like Ross Perot and Malcolm Forbes, who ostensibly could afford to run for office with their own funds and did not need to raise money from "supporters", to try to truly change things. But such efforts on any "individual" basis is also simply in vain!! Any solution will require a CHANGE in the way ALL our elected officials are chosen.
So, how can this be done??

There could be a host of methods... but ALL MUST eliminate the need for acquiring campaign funds.
First, we obviously have an overwhelming ability these days to "host" all the necessary campaigning through the mammoth media network we have...TV, Radio, Internet, Print, etc,etc...

A system similar as has been done with "Pres. & VP Debates" could be expanded upon and developed on both local and national levels with the time and cost being paid for by advertisers (as is always done anyway). ALL Candidates would be allocated equal time and opportunity to discuss issues and their platforms in all the media outlets. No need for "handshaking", baby-kissing, and buying $3,000 plate dinners. I have always felt that they were ridiculous in the first place. Most importantly, there would be no need for any candidate to "obligate" oneself for any "IOU" promised for campaign money!!

Maybe then we cure the "injustice" of our political system.... and get things back on the right track.

by Bernie Zelinka (aka the Semi-Retired Affiliate guru)

Visit me at http://affiliatemarketingintroduction.com or follow my Blog at http://moneyback1234.blogspot.com

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Daily Political Blog

Jon Stewart and Jim Kramer Debate

2009-03-13T04:49:00.000-07:00

Donovan Baldwin

So, what did YOU think about last night's confrontation between comedian Jon Stewart (The Daily Show) and investments maven Jim Cramer (Mad Money)?

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I was unable to see it, so I had to scan news reports this morning. Apparently, Stewart was declared the winner by popular acclaim while Cramer wound up apologizing for all the ills of mankind.

Actually, I do not have a transcript, just some comments from others to go on, but I do have a couple of points.

No matter WHO WON the confrontation of the moment, last night, neither has proven that they are necessarily someone whose every word should be taken as gospel when it comes to any subject.

They are both entertainers with a vested interest in pursuing their own slants on matters economic and politic. What happened last night was a performance by entertainers who did what they did primarily for the sake of advancing their own careers.

Truly, an entertainer has the right to espouse a certain viewpoint and even pronounce opinion on any given subject just as any other citizen has. However, an artistic ability, and even a lively intelligence does not make a performer an expert on a given subject.

Even if they are experts on certain subjects, that does not automatically make them experts on "all" subjects.

Often over the last few years, I have seen entertainers and artists making pronouncements on particular issues. That's fine, I guess. After all, they are citizens and have just as much right as anyone else to take up a cause or issue and express their opinions. That is a basic tenet on which this country runs, right?

However, what bothers me is the ease with which others adopt the attitudes and opinions of their idols without any genuine knowledge of the issues.

Years ago, I worked in a highly sensitive position within the military. I was privy to pieces of information which were normally only made available to high ranking military officers and governmental leaders. Armed with these pieces of information, among many others (which I did not see), they made policy which affected the position of America throughout the world.

Even if the government is NOT trying to hide thing from us, it is still difficult to provide the average citizen, including entertainers, with a complete dossier of information known or suspected on every subject. Even those "in the know" often have incomplete information or incomplete understanding of the issue.

Entertainers, and the rest of us, can only arm ourselves with as much information as possible and try to make intelligent choices, bounded by our abilities and knowledge. These choices will be flawed and influenced by something Aunt Lula said when we were seven years old, and a beloved (or hated) teacher said when we were in high school.

Stewart? Cramer? Baldwin (Alec, not me)? Sarandon? Obama? Clooney? Bush?

Who's "right" and who's "wrong"?

I cannot say. I can only pay attention, follow where my conscience leads me, and act according to my beliefs.

You do the same.

Perhaps, as a result, we will meet on the picket lines, either as comrade or enemy, but, hopefully we will be there with just cause and not JUST beCAUSE an actor gave a tirade on some subject he or she knows little about.

Daily Political Blog

Economist - Stimulus Bill a Hodgepodge, Impact Dubious

2009-03-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

By Gerry Storch

This is an interview with Marina v.N. Whitman, professor of business administration and public policy at the University of Michigan, former member of the Council of Economic Advisers, and a former vice-president of General Motors.

Q: What do you like about the huge stimulus bill signed by President Obama?

MW: What I like best is that it's done; that it was put in place promptly and that, if we are to believe the words of President Obama, some of the projects it will fund will soon be underway, at a time when private-sector employment is shrinking faster than a wool sweater tossed into boiling hot water.

Q: What don't you like?

MW: To quote some expert, whose name escapes me, stimulus measures should be timely, targeted and temporary. I've already commented that there's hope for timeliness, but I'm much more doubtful about targeted and temporary. The bill is a hodgepodge of kinds of measures, some of which can truly be regarded as short-run stimuli, others of which are directed toward long-run goals. And it's hard to imagine that some of them will end up being temporary ... imagine the political donnybrook when the Administration announces the termination of subsidized health coverage for the unemployed or federal aid to local school districts!

Q: What will be its impact, if any, on bringing our economy back?

MW: No one will ever know for sure what impact the stimulus bill will have had on lessening or shortening the steep economic downturn, since the economy is bound to recover sooner or later in any case. And no one can tell at this point whether the stimulus bill is large enough to do the trick or not. Nor do I know whether the combination of spending and tax cuts in the bill is optimal. But the one thing I know for sure is that, if ever conditions were ripe for a government stimulus to kick-start an economy in the worst doldrums most people have experienced in their lifetimes, we have those conditions now, both in the U.S. and globally.

Q: Is there anything else government should be doing to help us out of the economic mess we're in?

MW: The other important step the government must take is to settle on and communicate clearly a strategic plan for ending the financial crisis. The variety of stops and starts that have characterized both the end of the Bush Administration and the early days of the Obama Administration are far from reassuring, as the markets have told us loud and clear. I am reminded of the comment attributed to Winston Churchill: "you can always trust the Americans to do the right thing, but only after they've tried everything else." We've tried the "everything else"; it's high time those in charge figured out and implemented "the right thing!"

Q: On a personal level, what do you see happening in Ann Arbor or U. of M. itself that brings home what's happening economically?

MW: Because universities and hospitals are the largest employers in Ann Arbor, our community is somewhat sheltered, comparatively speaking, from the degree of pain being felt elsewhere in Michigan and in the country as a whole. The unemployment rate is well below that for the state as a whole, and even below the national average. Foreclosures are way up, percentage-wise, but I haven't seen any of the signs that are so abundant, for example, in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, whence I've just returned. On virtually every block there, there were large signs that read either "Specialists in Short Sales: Avoid Foreclosure!" or "We have the Biggest List of Foreclosed Homes: Get Your Dream House at an Unbelievable Bargain!" But there's plenty of pain to go around, and local cultural and charitable organizations, in particular, are suffering from a double whammy: the closure by Pfizer, the town's second-largest employer, of its Ann Arbor facility, followed almost immediately by the national economic collapse.

The University of Michigan doesn't know yet how much the state's contribution to its operating budget will be cut, so the belt-tightening largely lies ahead. But many of my older colleagues, looking at their shrunken retirement portfolios, have decided to postpone their planned retirements, which will make it that much harder for young PhDs newly on the academic job market to find positions.

Q: Is there anything else you'd like to say about the economic crisis facing our nation and the world?

MW: One thing this global crisis has done is put to rest the idea of economic "decoupling" that was current a couple of years ago: that other countries' economic health was no longer linked to that of the United States. My hope is that the recognition that we're all in this together will push countries in the direction of greater cooperation and coordination of economic policies, rather than yielding to the siren song of protectionism that was so devastating in worsening the Great Depression.

(For starters ... Prof. Whitman, daughter of the noted mathematician John von Neumann, holds honorary degrees from more than 20 colleges and universities ... certainly an indication of the distinguished career she has had. In addition to what we mentioned at the top of the interview, she has been an economics professor at the University of Pittsburgh, has served on the boards of Harvard and Princeton, has served on the boards of Alcoa, JPMorganChase, Procter and Gamble, and Unocal, and has authored several books. Oh, yes ... she also moderated a TV series, "Economically Speaking," carried on some 200 PBS stations. She holds a B.A. from Radcliffe and an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Columbia.)

Gerry Storch is editor and administrator of http://www.ourblook.com, a public affairs discussion/media analysis website that fills the gap between a blog and a book, and where Prof. Whitman and other experts comment on this topic. In his journalism days, he was a feature writer at the Detroit News and Miami Herald, Accent section editor and newsroom investigative team leader at the News, and business editor and sports editor of Gannett News Service. He holds a B.A. in political science and M.A. in journalism, both from the University of Michigan.

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Daily Political Blog

Its Nitty-Gritty Time! Part 1

2009-03-11T04:54:00.000-07:00

By Kenneth MacLean

As this is being written, our species is on the brink of a world-wide financial collapse. It appears that our future is in the hands of a small elite, but I would argue that our fate is in the hands of all of us.

We are, collectively, writing the screenplay for the next act. Some have said that the year 2012 will somehow, mysteriously, lead to a resolution of our predicament. A magical number like 2012, however, will not determine our future. This sort of thinking is what got us into the mess in the first place. Looking toward 2012 is like asking Merlin the powerful wizard to wave a magic wand and make everything all right. As individuals and as a species, we have been sleeping for millennia, but it's now time to WAKE UP.

The demand for change is growing exponentially. As the vast majority of us live our normal, daily lives, a significant number of us are asking for an evolution out of the old, imprisoning memes of thought. This asking is creating a vibrational whirlwind that is shaking the foundations of the old order.

What are the dominant memes of the old order? Scarcity and unworthiness, which leads to a "follow-the-leader" mentality, and creates hierarchical structures. Geometrically speaking, the most prevalent and well-known of these structures on earth is the pyramid, with a very large base at the bottom, and a very small tip at the top. The earth is littered with them, and they exist on every continent except Australia.

The pyramid is the perfect representation of mankind's belief systems.

A pyramid is wide at the bottom and tapers to a small point at the top, inviting domination and control. Naturally, since there is only a very small space at the top, those who want to take a leadership role gravitate to these positions. Because the masses of humanity have, in the past, given up their power, our societies have a "top down" orientation that perfectly satisfies all of the participants. Those at the bottom gripe and moan about their condition (while maintaining the attitude that "you can't fight city hall") while those at the top, left without direction, see fit to do as they please. This has lead to societies that eventually spin out of control and deteriorate, as those at the top aggrandize more and more power to themselves. Eventually such a society must fail, because it is imbalanced. And so we begin the process all over again. That has been the cycle for the past several millennia, after the collapse of the last great civilization on our planet, which some have called Atlantis.

Now, however, the demand for change is so high that it is rocking the foundations of this well-established pattern. Right now, the world is facing a financial crisis that is a perfect representation of the vibrational patterns of thought in the species.

The old, top-down order defends itself by using the old methods of coercion, conflict, and domination. The new consciousness requests more harmony, cooperation and abundance for all. The new paradigm feels its way, like a blind man who is just beginning to see the light through eyes that are beginning to function properly, into a stronger and stronger vibrational resonance.

The result is, of course chaotic. But science has done a good job of describing chaotic systems. When a natural system becomes chaotic, it will inevitably stabilize itself after a period of time. That is precisely what is occurring at this time. The important thing to recognize is that WE, as individuals, are choosing the new patterns of thought, right now, around which the new system will resonate.

Individuals are NOT powerless! Collectively we determine the parameters of action of the so-called elites. The prominent belief systems in societies with hierarchical structures is scarcity, and unworthiness. As Erich Fromm described in his 1941 book "Escape From Freedom," individuals within human societies seem to enjoy giving authority over their lives to governments and authority figures. This "follow-the-leader" mentality gets the human race into trouble time after time, as leaders gravitate to the power vacuum caused by the abandonment of individual responsibility by its citizens.

About the Author

Kenneth James Michael MacLean has written 8 inspiring books, over 100 content-rich articles, and produced two movies. Visit Ken at his website, The Big Picture, at http://www.kjmaclean.com

To see "The Law of Attraction Explained" and "The Unity of Spirit and Matter" movies, go to http://www.sunrise-production.org

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Daily Political Blog

What Will Obama Give the Queen

2009-03-10T05:23:00.000-07:00

By Donovan Baldwin

Now, I don't like the royal family. It's not that they are particularly worse than any other bunch of rich, spoiled, whiners and jet-setters, but, when OUR president, visits THEIR head of state, there is appropriate behavior.

During the recent visit by Prime Minister Brown, the Obama's came across as country mouse to Britain's city mouse. It is not important whether one was right and the other was wrong.

The point is that in the realm of international power politics, our leader, the supposed leader of the free world, not only snubbed a major ally, but showed a disdain for, or lack of basic awareness of the function of the office which he currently holds.

To date, Mr. Obama has seemed to me to be a bit amateurish at his post. Hopefully he will grow into the office in time to be an effective world leader and not become a laughingstock.

Like Rush Limbaugh, who can sometimes be an idiot, but sometimes astute and patriotic as well, I am not behind a great many of Mr. Obama's ideas, programs, and approaches, but I hope the man does well...for the sake of himself and the country which I served for 21 years.

As I said, I don't think very highly of the royal family, but I hope they get something better than a boxed set of movies.

Will Charity Start to Begin at Home?

2009-03-09T04:51:00.000-07:00

By Markus Taylor

When American Food Banks cannot supply enough hungry families and queues are getting longer and more unnoticeable at German Soup Kitchens. A Third World problem of hunger, is hitting the former developed World.

This prospect of third World problems on the streets, and in the suburbs of once affluent developed Countries, who were at the forefront of International Aid to poorer Countries, could lead to sharp cuts in International relief donations, that often were the difference between a family surviving or joining the disaster statistics.

Charity may begin at home, leading to a reinvention of how we distribute and allocate food and disaster relief in the future.

This could lead to the localization of aid distribution, with the emphasis on wealthier citizens in countries touched by disaster, being responsible to those hit by disaster, rather then the outside World. In some ways this may not be a bad thing, but it could also be a danger to global security.Poverty, and hunger leads to the movement of people, and usually people move to more affluent Neighbors. And many of these neighbors, particularly newly impoverished Countries like the USA, and some European States, could be forced to develop a "Zero tolerance" policy towards these people.

It is fair that if someone living close to you is in need, and the state cannot afford to provide any help, then it is up to the community to provide some form of assistance. This has always been the way, in the developing World, but now this paradox is slowly hitting the streets of Washington, London and Berlin.

How we deal with this dilemma of justifying Aid, and disaster relief may determine the future of International relations, and even trade. Something few people consider when their own citizens queue up at a food bank, or hungrily wait for free soup in streets that are cropping up in our own communities.

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No Bid Military Contracts Versus Ramming a $878 Billion Stimulus Bill Through in a Week

2009-03-07T04:35:00.000-08:00

By Lance Winslow

Politics are fun to watch in America, but often you get so overwhelmed by the hypocrisy, it's hard not to laugh. During the Bush Administration, the opposition party, the Democrats, complained about the "no-bid contracts" in Iraq. They cited how certain companies appeared to get a huge gift from our government, paid by us the taxpayers.

In reality the companies chosen for such contracts were probably the only companies on the planet that would be able to do that type of work and sending it out to bid could take 60-days or more. Not to mention give information to our enemies due to the description of the solicitation bidding process. The issues with military procurement are in need of overhaul. However, there are times when no-bid contracts are needed and prudent due to time factors of critical situations, there simply is no time.

Now then, for the Obama Administration to disagree with my comment, I say to them, why did the administration make it so the Stimulus Package had to be passed so quickly without allowing anyone time to read it? There is a 5-day rule, and with that many pages it would take five days to read.

You see, one cannot argue both ways on a philosophical basis without addressing the reality of situation. In Mahatma Gandhi's "Seven Blunders of the World" he rightfully assigned "Politics without Principle" as the seventh and one of the most critical blunders of all. Please think on this, we must live without hypocrisy and stand for our shared values.

Lance Winslow - Lance Winslow's Bio. Boy Lance Winslow is a really nice guy. Learn about Lance Winslow's auto services business; http://www.teamyellow.com/info.html.

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Daily Political Blog

Louisiana Governor Jindal and His Speech Rebuttal After Obama's State of Union Speech

2009-03-06T04:58:00.000-08:00

By Lance Winslow

There seems to be a huge effort to discredit Louisiana Governor Jindal after he was chosen by the GOP to prepare a rebuttal speech to President Obama's motivational, well-read and politically charged State of the Union Speech.

Well, regarding the Jindal speech, it appeared to be somewhat unrelated to Obama's so it must have been written and practiced prior. It did not appear as a rebuttal, or an attack on President Obama. Still the left wing media went out of their way to trash the gentlemen. This is unfortunate as Jindal is an American Dream Success Story. He's a really decent guy.

Additionally, Barrack Obama is exceptional at reading the teleprompter, he has a with-it speech writer and is "said" to also discuss the content if not write some of it himself. This is his strong suit, anything but a maximum performance would have been bad, people expect him to speak well.

Obama's speech preempted Jindal's speech and covered all the possible objections in advance, so there was really no response. Further, no GOP senators or Washington Insider politicians wanted to go against Obama's speech for fear of looking bad or becoming the odd man out.

Jindal an outsider to Washington made the response speech, but their strategic approach failed as they did not anticipate Obama's speech being so Reagan'esque. I do not believe most people would have expected that type of speech, but I wouldn't read much into the Republican's future hopes, Jindal is 37 years old.

His speech was fine, but compared to Obama's with a room full of supporters cheering and a huge American backdrop, it's pretty hard to compete. Additionally, the Louisiana Governor was later said to have ruined his career by his speech?

Nonsense, the liberal media made that up, and they keep making that statement, but it is not so, never has been. Apparently, the media believes that with enough repetition they could make is stick. Jindal is 10-years younger than Obama and he has been a tireless dedicated servant to his state.

Lance Winslow - Lance Winslow's Bio. Lance Winslow often writes about current political events. As you can tell Lance Winslow is a true American and a very nice guy. Learn about Lance Winslow's work in the auto sector; http://www.teamyellow.com/info.html.

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Daily Political Blog

What the Election Taught Me

2009-03-04T05:08:00.000-08:00

By Patrick Britton

Enough time has passed since the dust settled after the Presidential elections for me to ponder the crazy events that unfolded. It seems like it was just yesterday that the primary races were only getting started. The interesting note for me is that I started blogging around that same time. A lot has happened to me in that short period of time. I've become a better writer, a much more rounded conservative and someone who really has a handle on what he believes. If you were to ask me the one thing you could do to improve your ability to argue for your beliefs it would be to start a blog. It teaches you a lot about your beliefs and yourself all together.

This March will mark my 2nd year anniversary of blogging. It all started as a way for me to express my thoughts on politics and life. Two years is a long time when you are constantly analyzing the issues and questioning what you believe. Along the way I have learned my perception of conservatism was wrong and have changed my view on a couple issues. One thing did not change and that is my passion for politics. I can guarantee that I will always be 100% real, no one will ever speak for me and you can count on my honest to God opinion on everything I discuss. You are bound to find several articles that disagree with each another. That is not because I can't make up my mind. You are literally witnessing my political ideology develop over time.

This last election helped develop my stance more than any other time in my life. Maybe it was the seriousness of the contest or my constant comparison of the politician's stances on the issues to my own; whatever the case may be it taught me who I am. Most people turn on the news, maybe listen to a radio show but not me. I was on the ball at all times, analyzing, reading and watching what the candidates were saying. I burned myself out by writing so many articles and got to the point I was writing three articles everyday. That would take a toll on anyone and it also taught me to take a break once and awhile. Even a political news junkie like myself can have a little too much information.

The biggest realization that I have come to is that the conservative movement is off track. For the longest time I had it set in my mind what a conservative was supposed to be. Conservatism in popular culture has started to look a lot like liberalism. It's about forcing others to abide by your beliefs. That's not how I see conservatism. I hold my core beliefs dear to my heart, so does everyone else, conservatism says to let each of us have those ideals and to be free to live according to them. Life must always be protected, that is why abortion is a fundamental problem in this country and something our founding fathers would never approve of. Government shouldn't be spending our money, we should. Taxes should not be overbearing and our pay checks should be ours; all of it.

The political game is a tough one. The politicians willing to stand firm on something no matter what their party says is bound to lose. Too conservative, not conservative enough, too liberal; no one is themselves enough. I want to hear more about the issues and less about your loyalty to your party. If none of the politicians had a party affiliation it would force people to actually pay attention to what they say and how they vote. Instead of picking up your parties platform and reading it verbatim why not try having some ideas of your own. The liberal and the conservative, that's what we have to chose from. I want the lower-taxes, less-spending, more freedom guy. I've learned that neither party seems to offer that person anymore.

What I have learned this past election was what I really believe and how important my beliefs are to me. I don't expect you to agree with me all of the time, hell, debate and productive conversations are the only reason my opinions have developed. We should have a healthy dose of uncertainty about how we feel. Some have called me close minded and I think they couldn't be further from the truth. I take on topics head first and come to my conclusion as I learn all there is to be known. Once I have taken a stance I reexamine it and make any necessary changes. I do this all the time, I'm still young, I have plenty of time to figure out how I feel. I think that's a trait we all should have; the willingness to realize we are more than likely wrong.

I've had a lot of fun complaining on my blog. It gives me something to look forward to everyday. I sit down and think until I figure out something to write about, blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind and come back to see what others think about it. It's not about money, I don't make much on here, I do it for the love of the game. The passion my fellow conservatives and liberals throw into their movement is inspiring. I may not agree with you but I sure do enjoy the conservations. Never write me off because you think I'm a stuffy old conservative. It's no fun that way, it's much better to have someone to disagree with. How much fun would it be if we all felt the same way? We'd all be friends but sometimes opposition is much more entertaining.

Maybe this is why the blog has continued to grow. Maybe there are other people out there fed up with the system. You may have been fooled by the talking heads about conservatism. You were told for the past eight years that more spending and more government is conservative. It's not! Don't get made at me because you're idea of conservatism isn't the same as mine. I admit that I carry some libertarian views but don't go off thinking I am confused about what conservatism is. I don't want to redefine conservatism, I just think your definition is wrong. You may find yourself agreeing with me half the time and the other half not. That's ok, you're allowed to be wrong we can still be friends. In all seriousness though I want you to disagree with me. Let's go, discuss the issues, it's what makes America great.

What have you learned during this past election? Has it changed your idea of what conservatism is? I'd love to hear from you.

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Daily Political Blog

No Daily Political Blog for a Week

2009-02-25T17:18:00.000-08:00

Here I went and called it a "daily political blog". Now, I am going to be out of town for a week and access to the Internet will be spotty at best. So, no blogging here for a week.

My apologies.

"In No One We Trust" - A Cultural Cause of Our Current Crisis

2009-02-24T04:31:00.000-08:00

By Sydney Ross Singer

If our culture can be thought of as a single human being, it would be in an intensive care unit hooked up to an IV dripping money. To a consumer culture whose identity is defined by money--both making it and spending it--the remedy for illness seems to be more money, and more consuming. Unfortunately, we can't spend our way out of this crisis, since it is only a symptom of a deeper disease. Our culture is actually having a nervous breakdown. As a people, we are now drugged-out, porned-up, ripped-off, freaked-out, dumbed-down, screwed-up,...and we don't trust anyone anymore.

There is nothing more paralyzing to a culture, or to its citizens, than a lack of trust. Trust is the glue that binds us. It is our deep belief and faith that we are all in this together. To be mentally healthy, we need to trust that people are not out to hurt or kill us, that our leaders are not corrupted, that we can truly trust one another. Without trust, we cannot function as a culture, and our system fails.

It would be hard to define when our national trust began to fail. Over the past decade, we have had 9/11, WMD's, Enron, mailed anthrax, the Patriot Act, water boarding, phone taps, corrupted officials, tainted food, failed banks, investment fraud, and more. We trusted, but in vain.

As our old world becomes replaced with a new one we now fear, our trust in the very future itself is being shattered. As a nation, we would not have embraced candidate Obama's message of hope had we not already felt despair.

We trusted that the last bailout would work, but it didn't. We are supposed to trust that the new bailout will work, but it can't. The cure is not more money. If our system is corrupted, if greed and dishonesty and lack of trust have so tainted our system that the entire world's economy is on life support, then we can't trust the same corrupted system with more money.

To deal with the disease, we need to invest in virtue, and learn to again trust one another. We need to get over our consumer identity and instead become human beings who hold honesty, integrity, compassion, and trustworthiness as the cornerstones of their character, rounded out with some tolerance, intelligence, and a host of other virtues all but lost in these alienated, distrustful times.

As a culture today we have a right to be depressed. But we don't need more money to recover. We need a cultural epiphany, and a reawakening of our higher humanity.

Sydney Ross Singer is a medical anthropologist and director of the Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease, located in Hawaii. His unique form of applied medical anthropology searches for the cultural/lifestyle causes of disease. Sydney works with his co-researcher and wife, Soma Grismaijer, and is the author of several groundbreaking health books. Their website is at http://www.SelfStudyCenter.org

Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer can be reached at the Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease, P.O. Box 1880, Pahoa, Hawaii 96778 (808) 935-5563.

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Daily Political Blog

Iran, Ready For Dialogue With US

2009-02-23T05:18:00.000-08:00

By Musa Aykac

President Ahmadinejad stated that change from the United States, must be profound, not tactical. Mr. Ahmadinejad has stated that he would welcome dialogue with the United States as long as they were based on "bilateral respect". Addressing the people on the 30th anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Iran, he stated Iran would accept any change from the United States as long as it was "fundamental".

He further stated: "The Iranian people are ready to hold dialogue... in an impartial atmosphere." The two countries cut links in 1979 after the Islamic revolution, when the American embassy in Iran was occupied for four hundred and forty-four days. "The new American establishment has announced that they wish to produce change and follow the course of negotiation," President Ahmadinejad stated at a rally in Tehran attended by millions of people.

"It's crystal clear that real change must be profound and not tactical. It's unquestionable the Iranian people are open to true changes and are ready for talks in an atmosphere of equivalence and bilateral respect."

Seeking 'possibilities'

In late January, President Ahmadinejad asked the United States of America to apologize for its previous "crimes" against the Islamic Republic of Iran. They also requested that the United States back out all of its military personnel from around the world, in order for dialogue to be held. President Ahmadinejad's mentions that American President Barack Obama stated he was searching for a common ground where the U.S could have constructive talks with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"The world doesn't want the black epoch of [former president George Bush] to be repeated. If some people attempt to repeat that experience... they should know they'll confront a much worse destiny than Bush's."

President Obama's predecessor, George Bush, famously called the Islamic Republic of Iran the "Axis of Evil", along with North Korea and Saddam Hussein's Republic of Iraq. The United States cut off diplomatic links with the Islamic Republic of Iran after the United States supported Shah of Iran was subverted in 1979.

At that time, the United States embassy in the Iranian capital was occupied by revolutionists for more than a year, and dozens of diplomatists were held hostage. Relations have declined more in recent years as the United States government has led campaigns to forbid Iran from further developing its nuclear plan, which a few Western countries fear will result in nuclear weapons.

Tehran states that it has a nuclear program for civilians and power generating purposes only. On Monday, President Obama stated that his establishment was searching for,"grounds that can be made where we can start sitting face-to-face" It was the newest in a series of positive comments he has made about the possibility of one on one United States and Iran dialogue.

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A Look at America's Long, Long Afghan War

2009-02-21T04:43:00.000-08:00

By Musa Aykac

Twenty years ago, the last Russian army troops departed from Afghanistan after a fatal war that went on for nine years, seven weeks and three days. Without the relegation of armed forces and or a political miracle, the U.S. government will remain in Afghanistan for longer than the Russians did, substantially longer.

Recently the United States began to plan a reinforcement of military personnel in Afghanistan. They have decided to employ an additional thirty thousand soldiers over the span of the next year. By that time, the U.S.A's presence will have equaled the length of the Russians stay and will eventually surpass it come the end of 2010. If the United States' history is any guide, political campaigning in 2012 will categorize the war as Barack Obama's war. He has in fact switched the emphasis from Iraq to Afghanistan. Obama pledged to pull troops out of Iraq and deploy them into Afghanistan.

Obama's critics will complain about the Afghan war's cost - more or less seventy billion dollars a year- and call for an answer in terms of what it has or hasn't accomplished and when it will finish.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates forecasts "a long and hard fight." By an ironic twist of history, Gates was instrumental in getting Russian military personnel out of Afghanistan while he was deputy director of the CIA. At present, Gates is involved with having more American army in Afghanistan, and it is not hard to imagine that sooner or later the U.S.A. will confront the same excruciating decisions the Russians confronted

RETALIATION TO MASS MURDER

By early January, the United States death toll in Afghanistan stood at 630 and Afghan casualties, both armed forces and civilian, are a fraction of those compared to the Russian war. The Russian and American wars in Afghanistan differ immensely in scale and intent. The Russians desired to shore up a Marxist government and at the peak of its involvement, had an 115,000-strong military force in the state. More than 600,000 of its soldiers were serviced there and the encroachment attracted international disapprobation, complete with a (partial) Western boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Russia.

In contrast, the United States intrusion of Afghanistan was in revenge to the carnage of 3,000 people in New York's twin towers and at the Pentagon on 9/11, 2001. That lash out was executed by extremities of al-Qaeda, which had been given backup and secure haven by the Taliban authorities of Afghanistan.

Another perplexing element: Afghans do not like when foreigners intervene in their matter. The British and later the Russians, found this out at great cost. In his memoir, Gates heralds the exit of the Russians as a cracking triumph and contributes: "Afghanistan was at last free of the alien encroacher."

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Daily Political Blog

Daily Political Blog - Generation Y

2009-02-20T05:49:00.000-08:00

Generation Y - Shaping the Workplace and the Politics of Nations
By Pat Thornton

Born during a baby bulge, this group is more than three times the size of Generation X. They're the biggest thing to hit the North American scene since the gigantic cohort of Baby Boomers. Although this "echo boom" rivals its parent's generation in size, in almost every other way, it is very different. This generation is far more racially diverse:

One in three is not Caucasian.

One in four lives in a single-parent household.

Three in four have working mothers. While Boomers are still mastering the internet, their kids are tapping away at computers in nursery school.

Together, GenX and GenY have produced the most important change in the employer-employee relationship since the period immediately following World War II. Three fundamental shifts are continuing to transform workplaces in organizations of every kind:

Employment relationships have become less hierarchical and more transactional (What's In It For Me?).

Employees have less confidence in long-term rewards and greater expectations for short-term rewards.

Immediate supervisors are now the most important people in the workplace. Studies continue to prove that the day-to-day communication between supervisors and direct reports has more impact than any other single factor on employee productivity, quality, morale and retention.

This new wave of workers is both optimistic about the future and realistic about the present. They combine the teamwork ethic of the Boomers with the can-do attitude of the Silents and the technological savvy of the Xers ... a formula for greatness!

SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF GenY AT WORK

Attitudes

Globally concerned

Fiercely confident; been taught everything is possible (they believe it)

Achievement, choice & variety

Importance of family

Sociability & community matter most

Shock-proof

High levels of depression & anxiety

Contributions

Passionate about diversity

Optimistic & energetic

Crave career coaching & skills training

Entrepreneurial

Multitaskers; change is constant

Cyber literate

Cautions

Need for supervision & unvarnished truth

Require low stress, plus "Why" & 'WIFM"

GenX & GenY friction could make tension between Boomers & Xers look tame. 66% of teens have a negative view of GenX.

SOME MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GenY

Media Myth:
No morality or goals.
Reality:
Values are most similar to grandparents and great-grandparents. They have a strict moral code, care about manners, civic action. 88% of students have five years goals.

Media Myth:
Need to be "babied."
Reality:
They represent a reconnection with family and community. 90% of teens say they are very close to their parents. In 1974, over 40% of boomers said they would be better off without their parents.

Media Myth:
Too much TV & video games. Not enough reading.
Reality:
Annual sales of children's books have quadrupled since 1990. Video games cut into TV time, not reading time.

Media Myth:
No work ethic.
Reality:
GenYers seek skills and information that make their working lives less stressful and that will help them earn money; higher priority on making money with this generation than any before. 57% are willing to work more than 40 hours per week to reach goals.

Media Myth:
Spend now. Pay later.
Reality:
Although one in nine high school students has a credit card cosigned by a parent, studies show half the teens in the 16-22 age bracket always save a portion of their money.

SOME RESULTS OF COLLISIONS BETWEEN GenY AND OTHER GENERATIONAL GROUPS

when a Senior (mid 1920s to mid-1940s) collides, they think ...

Too much TV with crude language and violence.

What is this world coming to?

Too big for their britches!

when a Baby Boomer (mid l940s to mid 1960s) collides, they think ...

Trying to grow up too fast.

You're not really going to wear THAT!

Unrealistic expectations.

when a GenX (mid-1060s to late 1970s) collides, they think ...

Mall Rats.

Spoiled brats!

What do you mean, "what's an album?"

At no time in our history have so many and such different generations with such diversity been asked to work shoulder to shoulder, side by side, cubicle by cubicle. The once-linear nature of power at work, from older to younger, has been disrupted by changes in life expectancy and health, as well as changes in lifestyle and technology.

Understanding generational differences is critical to making them work for, not against, your organization. It is essential to creating harmony, mutual respect, and joint effort in a relentlessly changing world of work. Without this common understanding and acceptance of our differences, today's rapid pace of personal and organizational change too often fosters suspicion, mistrust, isolation, and debilitating stress.

We are all individuals. There are countless ways we differ in background, personality, values, preferences, and style. To make judgments about these differences (i.e., who is better), is illogical and meaningless. However, exploring generational diversity can help explain - and bridge - the sometimes-baffling differences behind our unspoken assumptions and at-odds attitudes.

Caution: Be careful to avoid reinforcing negative stereotypes. Generational differences are a start, not an end to understanding.

Change Resources Group Inc.
http://www.talentretention.com

Change Resources Group has been successfully providing services to organizations in the area of strategic talent management for over 20 years to address the impacts of a wide diversity of change challenges, such as new leadership, consolidations and mergers, site relocations, restructuring, market and customer changes, and high growth.

CRG's team building division, Creative Reality Games, has executed a wide range of initiatives designed to help our clients maintain levels of service excellence, while improving team cohesion, productivity and profitability in a constantly changing world of work. This division has become known for its innovative retreats and team building events using current reality TV formats, such as:
The Amazing Race, Apprentice, Survivor, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

Our founder, Pat Thornton, M.B.A., has several years of experience in Canada and the U.S. with multi-national organizations, and as an executive coach in private practice. She began her human resources career at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. where she gained experience in public sector administration. Subsequently, she worked in Philadelphia and then New York City, where she developed a comprehensive background in customer service and sales training. After relocating to Toronto, she spent several years as a senior HR professional with multi-national organizations.

Pat's community service activities have included serving on the board of directors and as vice president for a multi-branch community credit union; member of the board of directors for a community social service organization, former vice president and member of the board of directors for a national association of women entrepreneurs; and volunteer facilitator/Mentor with Covenant House for employment re-entry workshops for youth.

Pat holds dual citizenship in the U. S. and Canada and has extensive experience in Europe and Asia.

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Daily Political Blog

How the News Headlines Affect You Personally

2009-02-19T04:49:00.000-08:00

By Lance Winslow

They say that consumer confidence accounts for at least one-third of the performance of our economy. Those who study currency flows and the strengths of economies realize that the enter system works only because people trust it to work. Perhaps, this is why the news is so important and what is in the news creates perception, which then becomes a reality.

As an illustration of this let us look at some of the headlines for February 13, 2009 as a case study and consider what this means for our future:

North Korea building long range missiles; test coming, still enriching and nukes

Recently, Iran launched a satellite into space, this multi-stage type rocket is the exact type of rocket needed to fire an ICBM nuclear tipped warhead. Iran is enriching uranium and although running out of "yellow cake" they do have enough for many nuclear weapons and now have a rocket capable and proven to scare anyone who is their enemy.

Now with regards to the North Korean war machine; North Korea is nearly there and they do have nuclear weapons capability. Rogue nations with nuclear weapons will be one of the world's biggest fears going forward; is anyone safe? That might be the question we should all consider.

Stimulus Bill is going to be a tight vote - Obama test

It looks as if the Stimulus Bill is going to be a very close vote, but will eventually be passed. Of course, we are already forewarned that this is only Part II, in fixing the economy, there will be more to follow. Indeed, many are already talking about inflation in the future, which is going to be pretty serious for all. Many political analysts say as long as the bill passes, even with the skin of his teeth, it's a win. It adds political capital for now.

The news you read in the newspaper or see on TV matters, even if you are merely scanning the headlines to stay informed. What you must do is think about these stories and this information and determine how this affects you; it matters.

Lance Winslow - Lance Winslow's Bio. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/.

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Daily Political Blog

Government Doesn't Go Far Enough to Help Struggling Home Owners Says New Study

2009-02-18T05:19:00.000-08:00

By Michael Hanna

It is well documented about how the Government has been bailing banks and even the car industry out in this tough economic climate. However what about us homeowners who are struggling? A resent report by The Centre Policy Studies was published to outline the government plans to help struggling home owners. In this article I will discuss some of the Governments plans.

The report says that the Government are not doing enough to help a wide range of home owners in these tough times. This study would like to see the Government giving the courts the power to suspend a repossession order to try and keep people in their homes. It is suggested that this could save 100,000 families from being evicted.

With around 1,000 homes ever week being repossessed this has seen the amount doubled in the last year which is no surprise given we are in a recession.

In reply to this a Government spokesman said that they had already given more free legal representation. They went on to say that this can help a high percentage when they go to court to avoid repossession. They also wanted to encourage lenders to exhaust every avenue before going down the road of repossession.

There are so many problems with the economy at the moment which has a nock on effect in so many ways especially the property market. It is not a good time to sell as property prises are falling and many people are loosing the jobs and can not afford to pay their mortgage. There may be signs of the situation improving at least for the property market as house prices have recently raised slightly.

Many people are using rental property at the moment as they maybe don’t have a big enough deposit to put to a house and this can be a good way to save as you rent. If on the other hand you do have a good deposit don’t be put of buying as now is an excellent time to buy as your investment can only rise in the coming years. This of course all depends on you being able to get a mortgage which we all rely on the banks to start giving out more mortgages. It is estimated that by the end of the year we will start to see the economy starting to recover.

Renting can still be a good option at the moment for many people and grant Management have houses to rent in Bristol if you're in need of their help and also houses to rent in Liverpool if you live in that area.

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Daily Political Blog

Government Programs Will Push a Recession Into a Depression

2009-02-17T04:51:00.000-08:00

By Nick Adama

In a simple model of the economy, households use their income for consumption, tax payments to the government, and private savings. The government also spends the money that it receives from tax payments or simply borrows or prints money in order to spend it. In the current economic climate, though, where prices are declining in some sectors (the housing market being the most obvious example), the supply of money available to households seems to be shrinking even as the government prints more than it has ever done in the past.

When a recession hits, incomes generally fall overall and all three ways that families spend their money can decrease. The fall in consumption was clear this past holiday season as people spent less than in previous years. Local and state governments are pleading with the feds to steal or print more money in order to make up budget deficits. And the savings rate in America has been at zero or negative for years now, although there is some indication that people are beginning to save more than borrow or spend.

Homeowners and other consumers who have taken out too much debt will then arrange to have it either paid off or discharged through bankruptcy proceedings. The nature of the monetary system in the United States, where money is created as debt and only the principal is created (not the interest necessary to pay back the debt), creates a shortage of money. Some people will pay back loans that they have taken out, but they must accumulate the interest by preventing some other borrowers from being able to pay back loans. There is simply not enough money out there for every loan to be paid on time.

Thus, the households that can not pay their debts will be forced to declare bankruptcy, fall into foreclosure on house loans, or the banks will simply have to write off the bad debt. Of course, this gives homeowners and others a convenient way to get out of the perpetual debt system, but some banks, attorneys, and collection agencies may attempt to pursue these debts forever. But discharging a loan through foreclosure or bankruptcy is not a reflection on any family's core values of beliefs, but simply a byproduct of how the monetary system is designed to function.

The Federal Reserve, in order to stimulate spending and borrowing and delay discharges of bad debt, does not easily allow this destruction of the inflated currency and will print more money. When rising prices as a result of inflation is obviously occurring, the government manipulates the numbers downwards to make the problem seem smaller. But if prices decline, this product of deflation is immediately addressed by the Fed printing trillions of dollars of new money in order to force prices back upwards. The government's bailout of the economy is now approaching $8.5 trillion dollars of newly created or borrowed money, which is doing nothing but setting up a possibly hyperinflation in the future.

There is little that the government can do to help the private market recover from a severe recession. The government, in fact, set up the conditions that made a recession inevitable, and is now doing everything in its power to turn it into a depression, if not the Great Depression II. Households will have to begin saving again in order to provide stability to the markets, rather than the government artificially lowering interest rates to discourage savings, all the while debasing the currency. From now until the recovery, the government will be responsible for every home lost to foreclosure or job lost to downsizing, as the private sector attempts to solve the problems created by government in spite of bureaucratic interventions.

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Daily Political Blog

Is Pakistan Ready to Collapse?

2009-02-16T05:09:00.000-08:00

By Lance Winslow

Many folks and worldly travelers are concerned about the potential implosion of Pakistan and with their current political, economic, social unrest - the potential eventuality is all too real. So, perhaps my questions are with Pakistan ready for a revolution - Shouldn't we be prepared for the worst and work to insure it does not happen?

Pakistan currently is not a strong enough player to allow us to hang too much diplomatic policy on. Meanwhile many military analysts suggest that our own nation's citizenry would not support our backing Pakistan in a war with let's say Iran w/Russia backing or with the Pakistan Government against Al Qaeda supported by Russia through proxy.

And Pakistan is now on shaky terms with their and their "non-governmental" involvement in the recent India attacks, regardless of the reality of what really happened and who was really involved. This changes the dynamics, and adds an additional layer of complexity and yes, chaos to the diplomatic challenges ahead.

Luckily, Pakistan despite the current crisis and challenges does have quite a bit going for it. And it is strategically and regionally important to World Peace and the future of mankind. They all know it and so do those that oppose stability and strength in the Pakistan Government. So, back to the question; is Pakistan ready to collapse?

Well, it's complicated and there are many players, but Pakistan is at a cross-roads and the decisions they make today will determine their future. Pakistan should look towards her friend and ally in the United States and the Pakistani people should join with us in celebrating the future. Let's commit to watching Pakistan grow to its full potential.

Lance Winslow - Lance Winslow's Bio. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/.

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Daily Political Blog

Maintaining Perspective

2009-02-15T05:45:00.000-08:00

By Larry D Miller

Many years ago when I worked at National Religious Broadcasters, we had our annual conventions in Washington DC. The President of the United States would usually address the assembled crowd. This was particularly exciting as this was all happening during the Reagan years.

However for me, the most memorable speaker one year, was Dr. Robert A. Cook from The King's College in Briarcliff Manor, NY. He was a delightful gentleman who had a way of putting things into perspective. He began his address by telling us that two days before, he talked to the Vice President, and just the day before, he talked to the President. Then, with a twinkle in his eye, he said. "But this morning, I talked to God."

In his own, plain spoken way, Dr. Cook showed he understood the what was important and where the real power lay. As great a man as Ronald Reagan was, he could not walk on water... and, even though this may come as a surprise to some, neither can the man who occupies his office now.

We are told to respect our leaders and pray for those in authority. This does not mean we are to blindly follow and not speak up when we see things are amiss. They are men, only men. We are privileged to live in country where we still have the ability to raise our voices when we see the train is headed off a cliff. With this privilege comes the responsibility to do so! After all, it's not just about us. We are our brothers keeper.

As a practical matter, then, we need to stay in touch with our legislators, at all levels. We are not doing our jobs as citizens if we don't and our complaints to others just become ineffective whining... and nobody likes a whiner. We need to be respectful, but keep in mind, they don't walk on water either.

Larry D Miller is a web developer who has been involved in the political world for the past twenty some years. His company, Simple Webs, can be seen at http://www.simplewebs.biz and his current project, http://www.politicalchristian.org examines the relationship between Christians and the political sphere.

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The Economic Bailout Debate

2009-02-14T07:25:00.000-08:00

By Ki Gray

The much anticipated speech was given; it was the details that were missing. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was expected in his speech this week to give the nitty gitty particulars about how the Obama administration will spend the rest of the money from the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, commonly called the "bailout." But it seems lawmakers and investors walked away scratching their heads, unsure of how exactly Geithner plans to stabilize the shaky banking industry.

The original bill passed last October under then Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, called for $700 billion to be used to purchase distressed assets in a Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). The idea was the government would relieve banks of their mortgage-backed securities in particular, and then banks would be able to start lending again. $350 billion was quickly pumped into the banking system, but that did little to get the economy moving again.

The basic principles outlined Tuesday by Geithner include:

-The continued government purchase of bank stocks, but with greater government oversight. The Treasury Department says they plan to make sure the money is being used by the banks to increase lending and help the economy, making banks undergo a stress test of sorts to see if they deserve government funds.

-A large component of Geithner's plan is a partnership between the government and private sector to encourage private investors to buy bad bank assets. This is an area of the plan where the details were sorely lacking. It is possible this will be accomplished with government guarantees or reduced costs for investors willing to take on the bad bank debt.

-There is also a part of the plan that is intended to help struggling homeowners with at least $50 billion of the original TARP funds. Again, exactly how the Treasure plans to use the money to stem the rising rates of foreclosures across the country was unclear.

The promises of aggressive efforts earlier from President Obama seemed hollow as Geithner gave a Paulson-like "you've just got to trust us" speech. Simon Johnson, an economics professor at MIT and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, told the Associated Press that the lack of details could be counter productive. Geithner "didn't tell us exactly" what he's going to do, Johnson said, adding, "When they tell you their basic principles, you're really in trouble."

Perhaps Geithner was reluctant to give more details because the cost of his plan goes far beyond the remaining $350 bailout funds. The total could come to trillions of dollars, which is a point he may have wanted to keep quiet while congress is still wrangling with the details of an $800 billion stimulus package. A version of the stimulus bill has been passed by both houses of Congress, unfortunately it is not the same version.

Stock markets from Asia to England reacted to the U.S. Treasury's sketchy plan with sell offs, including a steep fall on Wall Street Tuesday. The world is watching and Americans are waiting, hoping that real help is on the way.

Ki's website encourages searches of Austin homes in the Austin MLS by user selected criteria. He created it to distribute information on Austin real estate to future buyers.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ki_Gray
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Economic-Bailout-Debate&id=1985621

How Iranian Presidential Elections Work

2009-02-13T07:21:00.000-08:00

By Rahman Mehraby

In the constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran, President of Iran is the highest elected official and responsible for the functions of the executive. The post has significant government influence as it supervises the affairs of the executive branch. The other functions of the Iranian president involves appointing and supervising council of ministers, coordinating government decisions, and selecting government policies to place before the Islamic assembly. Iranian presidential election holds great value in its constitution.

The Iranian president is elected by universal adult suffrage for a four-year term. The candidates for Iranian Presidential election must be above 18 years of age. The most important fact is the candidature of the aspiring candidates must be approved by Council of Guardians consisting of 12 members. The approval process of presidential candidates is a process of checking the power of the candidates as a president and it picks few numbers of eligible candidates.

Election Procedure of Iranian President

The Council of Guardians is directly or indirectly selected by the Supreme Leader of the country. And the candidates who are approved by the Council of Guardians as well as the Supreme Leader are permitted for the run in the Iranian Presidential Elections. Generally, Iranian president is elected with majority of popular votes. Iranian presidential elections may require a runoff election to select a single winner. The tenure of the president is for four years, and the person is also eligible for a second term after the completion of his tenure.

The Iranian President has to take an oath of office on assuming the responsibilities of the post. He has to sign to it at the session of the Islamic Consultative Assembly in the presence of the Head of Judiciary and the members of the Guardian Council. After being elected in the Iranian Presidential elections, the president is responsible to the people, the Supreme Leader and the Islamic Consultative Assembly. The people of Iran have vested their interests in him and he has to live up to their expectations.

The Position of The Iranian President

According to the Constitution of Iran, the Iranian President is the highest authority in the country, second only to the Faqih, or the Supreme Leader. He must be a Shia Muslim and of outstanding political stature. He has the right to approve the nominations of Ministers, sign laws and bring them into force and veto decrees issued by the Council of Ministers.

Special Rules of Iranian Presidential Elections

The person who gets an absolute majority of the polled votes in the Iranian Presidential elections becomes the Iranian President. But in case no one is able to gain a clear majority in the first round, a second round of votes will be taken on the Friday of the following week. Only the two people who have got the highest and the second highest votes in the first round will participate. Sometimes, one of these people tends to withdraw from the elections. In such a case, the two persons with the highest number of votes in the first round will be considered. The supervision of the entire elections is done by the Guardian Council.

The new Iranian President has to be elected within one month of retirement of the outgoing President. The outgoing President continues to perform the duties of the President until the new one assumes office. The Constitution also says that if the President dies ten days prior to the D-day, the elections will be postponed for two weeks. The same will happen if the candidate dies between the first and second rounds of voting of the Iranian Presidential elections.

Ivan Sahar Foreign Media Service Center is a service company that helps foreign media in covering Iranian Presidential Elections in 2009. Foreign correspondents can receive all the required services to work in Iran including assistance in getting press visa to Iran.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?How-Iranian-Presidential-Elections-Work&id=1963566

Steps to Locate Your Congress Person's Email Address

2009-02-12T02:38:00.000-08:00

By Floyd Stephens

Living in a free country with a proud, democratic system of government like ours, it is your right to be able to contact your congress person whenever you have questions, concerns, suggestions, or comments that he or she will be able to help with. When you have something that needs to be expressed to your congressman or congresswoman, you're entitled to be able to speak your mind, make your contribution, and give your congress person your directions on a topic that is concerning you.

However, you may not want to hoof it down to the office and wait for a long time to be able to speak with this exceptionally busy individual. You will also often struggle to speak to the person directly over the phone unless you're quite lucky with your timing. There is nothing wrong with speaking to the office of your congress person, because they will pass on any messages you send to the congress person, or bring anything urgent to his or her attention.

However, since speaking "live" to a congress person takes so much good timing and phone tag or waiting in person, then many people find it much more beneficial to use email. This way, when the congress person or his or her representatives have a free moment, they can get back to you right away, and you can contact them when it is convenient for you, as well. To find the email address of this individual and his or her team, you can either use an online searching service for email addresses, or you can head to the government website where the directory for all of the congress email addresses are registered.

On the other hand, if you receive an email in response, or if you have a message in your inbox that claims to be from your congress person whether or not you contacted them first, you might want to make sure that you are being e-mailed from the legitimate party by performing a quick Free Email Search By using the address in the header of the message then you can see whether or not you're talking to the "real deal" or if a spammer is just trying to mislead you into opening their letter.

Article Source: By Floyd Stephens
http://EzineArticles.com/?Steps-to-Locate-Your-Congress-Persons-Email-Address&id=1967349

About the Stimulus - Again

2009-02-10T04:07:00.000-08:00

I'm only an accountant who has known lean times and fat times in his 64 years of life, not a powerful politician who can allocate billions of dollars with the stroke of a pen. However, it still seems to me that when we speak of a stimulus in response to a current economic crisis, we mean something which will create jobs and put some kind of money immediately in the hands of people, and businesses, who will spend it!

Obviously, a tax rebate is one way to put money in the hands of people. However, it requires firing up another few offices, cutting checks, dipping into the treasury immediately, figuring who gets the checks, mailing them out, people waiting for checks, etc.

What if any business that created a new job was going to get a healthy tax credit at the end of the year? What if anyone who bought a home would get a tax credit...and keep it, not pay it back like the current first time home buyers "credit", which is actually a loan?

If you have never run a business, those who do, live by the bottom line. The "bottom line" is what is going to be left "after taxes". Decisions are made not just based on out of pocket cost, but what is going to be left on the bottom line. If adding a new employee is going to cost $20,000, let's say, that's going to come out of the bottom line, AND the employer will be taxed on the money earned to pay for that position...which will have to be enough to pay for the employee, benefits, social security and income taxes for the employee, other costs associated with having an employee, AND the employer's tax on the money earned to pay for the employee.

A $20,000 employee could actually cost the employer $30,000 - $40,000 if they are going to break even.

If, however, the employer gets a tax credit of $30,000 - $40,000 for hiring a new employee and keeping them gainfully employed, the employee would be paying income tax, offsetting at least a small portion of the credit, and he or she would be using the money earned to "stimulate the economy". If this is repeated hundreds of thousands of times across the country, in big cities and small towns...well, you get the idea.

Same thing with home buyers. If they know that they are going to get a tax credit, equal to, let's say their down payment and/or some percentage of their first year's payments, they may find themselves in a position to get a house. If this credit is combined with good lending practices, i.e. qualified buyers, more houses would be sold as people felt they could make the economic leap.

The good thing about a tax credit is that businesses and people start doing things based on it when it is announced. Tell an employer who has been scraping by without that extra employee he or she could really use, that they can get a big enough tax credit, they will start the hiring process right away. Tell homebuyers that they can get a big enough tax credit and they will begin buying...soon.

There is no need to transmit money, print checks, etc. The market will take care of that.

There will be revenue lost, of course, but I have seen first hand where big government could cut some expenses, and they were going to have to come up with a way to fund ANY stimulus anyway. These tax credits would be partially self-funding without incurring any immediate additional out-of-pocket expense to the government.

Just an idea.

Did Republicans "Cave In"?

2009-02-09T04:59:00.000-08:00

It's not surprising that Ron Paul, former presidential candidate, feels that the Republicans "caved in" on the recent stimulus bill. I guess he's right since Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both of Maine, and Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, gave in and allowed the bill to pass.

He and I don't agree on everything, but I do have to agree with him when he states the opinion that the economy needs stimulation, but does not think that the federal government should be doing it.

Like him, and Dave Ramsey, I believe that stimulation of the economy should come from the market forces which can make the mose impact directly on businesses and the people. This means letting the people have more of their money (which means the government gets to have less of it), and allowing business to use its money in effective ways, such as increasing production and hiring workers.

Gee. Getting to use our money for ourselves! What a stimulus package!

The Stimulus Package I Would Like To See

2009-02-08T04:18:00.000-08:00

By Donovan Baldwin

The last I heard, it takes on average, a U. S. Citizen until mid-year to earn an amount roughly equal to all the taxes, he or she will be required to pay for the year.

Now, that figure is comprised of such things as an average burden of all the sales taxes, state income taxes, federal excise taxes, fuel taxes, property taxes, and so on ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

I admit that we get quite a laundry list of services for those payments, but, having spent 21 years in the military, three years working for the Florida State Department of Education as an accountant, and almost four years as a federal purchasing agent, I can attest to the fact that government WASTES A LOT OF MONEY!

The money that is being wasted is OUR money, and much of it does not go to do a damn thing for the people whose pockets from whence it has departed....or been lifted. One afternoon, while a federal purchasing agent, under instructions from above, I spent a quarter of a million dollars of your money, our money, on equipment that sat essentially fallow for the remainder of its life.

The reason for the purchase?

The governmental department which had originally received the money had not found a reason to spend it, and, with the fiscal year drawing to a close, the parent division would lose the money if it was NOT spent and would not be able to justify large amounts in the future if it failed to spend the money it had been allocated!

Is it any wonder that those who make a living SELLING TO THE GOVERNMENT often live int their offices, some literally, some figuratively, as the fiscal year ends? They know, and they have told me so, that BILLIONS OF DOLLARS will be spent at the last minute of the fiscal year by departments who need to "use it or lose it".

I, having been trained as an accountant, having worked in budget development and analysis, and having experience in tax preparation, am aware of almost every fiscal action I take and how taxes will figure into it.

Major corporations, dealing in millions or even billions of dollars, also look at tax implications before making decisions as well.

Whether they look at items such as employment of another data entry clerk at minimum wage or the multi-million dollar golden parachute for their next CEO, who, based on recent examples, is likely to screw things up royally, the impact of taxes will be evaluated.

I can only imagine the total positive impact on the economy of a stimulus package which is comprised of lower taxes, less government spending and waste, and more money in the hands of consumers of businesses alike.

It wouldn't hurt if senators and members of congress spent more time at work, or took a pay cut, either.

Daily Political Blog

Time For Congress to Grow Up

2009-02-07T07:15:00.000-08:00

By Rick Lannquist

In this halcyon era of change and new beginnings, it is time for the United States Congress to start acting its age. Anyone who is unaware of the economic disaster we are facing should not be allowed to serve. There is plenty of shame and blame to make every congressman and senator want to hide their collective heads. But now is not the time for that. Instead, each and every elected member of these august bodies, should be thinking of nothing more than how to stimulate the economy, not just for the short term but so that this kind of disaster can never happen again.

It should be painfully obvious to this Grand Benevolent Society for Self Agrandmizement, Congress to get the message sent so clearly by the most recent elections, that we are a government "of the people, for the people" now is the time for all good congressmen and senators to remember who they are working for. "We the People."

If any one of the members of congress has an agenda other than to make this country a better place for our children, which includes a clean and safe environment, they should resign now and make way for members who will hold these goals above personal goals. The populace has spoken! It is now or never for congress to listen to the collective voice of the people.

Please let your Congressional representatives know that you want them to growup. Go on line and send them the message.

Thank you for taking the time to let congress know how you feel.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?Time-For-Congress-to-Grow-Up&id=1958687

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