A Free-Reprint Article Written by: Ryan Hogan

Article Title:
Pearl Jam Sells Out

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When fans, especially those of the casual variety, think of
Pearl Jam they generally conjure up an image of a "fight
the power" type of band who's politically active and bent
on not succumbing to the "Man" running the music industry.


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Pearl Jam Sells Out
Copyright (c) 2009 Ryan Hogan
Click It Ticket
http://www.clickitticket.com/



When fans, especially those of the casual variety, think of Pearl
Jam they generally conjure up an image of a "fight the power"
type of band who's politically active and bent on not succumbing
to the "Man" running the music industry.

That's pretty much the band's reputation, just ask anyone with
Pearl Jam concert tickets.

In 2006, Rolling Stone magazine wrote that Pearl Jam had "spent
much of the past decade deliberately tearing apart their own
fame. " The band stopped making both television appearances and
music videos. Meanwhile, they unsuccessfully took on
Ticketmaster.

The band has always been politically active. They support the
pro-choice movement, environment and wildlife protection groups
(the band has a carbon neutral policy), and the Green Party
(suppress chuckle now).

This may come as a shock, but they weren't fans of George W.
Bush.

In addition, Pearl Jam has performed in concerts benefiting the
U.N.'s fight against world hunger, victims of Hurricane Katrina,
Habitat for Humanity and the American Red Cross.

It's clear that Pearl Jam is all about saving this and
protecting that and fighting this injustice and battling that
travesty. However, if you look around, this seemingly socially
progressive juggernaut is in cahoots with a plethora of big-time
corporations.

In fact, Pearl Jam is hawking more products than Peyton Manning.

Their upcoming ninth studio album, Backspacer, set to be released
September 20th, is being sold exclusively at Target (and indie
retailers but who goes to them anymore).

You can also download the album from the iTunes Music Store
(Apple). Overseas, album is being distributed by Universal Music
(Vivendi).

Recently, the band has joined up with Verizon's V Cast platform
to offer fans access to Pearl Jam content.

Backspacer uses Sony technology to house extra material and the
entire album with get the full DLC Rock Band 2 treatment,
possibly paving the way for a Pearl Jam Rock Band game
(Electronic Arts) in 2010.

In the 1990's, Kurt Cobain accused the band of being sellouts
but he probably didn't imagine the band would ever sell out to
an army of corporations.

Cobain was referring to the way the band was selling albums,
t-shirts and concert tour tickets. He was not referring to the
band's vertical commercial integration with consumer oriented
media synergy (okay, we made that up but you get our point).

Now you might argue that using Sony's software or being
immortalized by Rock Band doesn't make one a sellout. That's
true, but the more corporations you do business with and the more
politically active you are, the greater the risk of biting the
hand that feeds.

What is the target of most political activism? It's the
government and corporations. Take the environment for example.
It's not being polluted by orphans and puppy dogs. It's being
polluted by big business. Some of which would love to have Pearl
Jam pimp their products.

The only difference between bands that sell out and bands that
don't sell out is the bands that didn't sell out were never
given the chance. Face it, selling out is as American as apple
pie and a 401k plan.

If I was in a band as big as Pearl Jam I would be selling out
faster than you can say "I'm going to Disneyland."

I would allow my songs to be used as jingles for enriched uranium
if they paid me enough.

If my manager didn't have my cheesy, pensive single playing at
the end of every emotional episode of every two-bit drama on
television I would have her fired.

If they gave me a good enough deal, I would get a Ticketmaster
tramp stamp.

Before you start accusing me or Pearl Jam of being greedy "you
know whats," stop and think for a moment how expensive it is to
live. Then think of how expensive it is for Pearl Jam to live.
They have kids, mortgages, college tuitions, wives who have to
shop, mistresses who need apartments, and those prescription
drugs don't buy themselves.

Sure there are bands that walk the walk and wouldn't take a dime
from a corporation to save a spotted owl. But those bands sell 11
albums a year and play for 100 fans at a venue that doubles as a
furniture store.

The best way for Pearl Jam to spread their message and affect
change is by reaching as many people as possible. Sometimes that
involves producing albums, sometimes that involves selling
concert tickets and sometimes that involves working with
corporate America.

After all, the best way to bring down the machine is from within.
Fight the power and pass me my iPhone.

Copyright 2009, ClickItTicket.com






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event tickets and a wealth of original entertainment content
at: http://www.ClickitTicket.com/


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A Free-Reprint Article Written by: Donald Tex Bryant

Article Title:
Steps for the Installation of an Electronic Medical Record

See TERMS OF REPRINT to the end of the article.

Article Description:
Because of the funds available for electronic medical
records in the Federal Stimulus Package, many healthcare
sites will be installing them. If you follow the steps
described in this article, the choosing of a vendor, the
installation of the EMR and the initial use of the EMR will
go much more smoothly.


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===============================

1258 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Distribution Date and Time: 2009-08-19 11:24:00

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Copyright:      2009
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Steps for the Installation of an Electronic Medical Record
Copyright (c) 2009 Donald Tex Bryant
Bryants Statistical Consulting
http://www.bryantsstatisticalconsulting.com/



Change can be very difficult and unpleasant for some of us;
others welcome change as opportunity for growth and new
experiences. One change that is surely coming to almost all
healthcare sites is the adoption and installation of electronic
medical records, or electronic health records. The recently
passed stimulus bill in the U.S. funds the use of electronic
medical records; those that do not adopt EMR's will suffer some
penalties; more on that later. Another impetus driving the
adoption of electronic medical records is the NCQA inclusion of
EMR's in its criteria for primary care providers being
designated a Patient Centered Medical Home.

Being that EMR's will be almost universally adopted, if you
haven't yet installed such a system I propose that you use Lean
Healthcare or Design for Six Sigma techniques to implement the
installation and incorporation of the HIT systems. Those who do
not carefully plan will probably add complications and wasted
efforts (muda) to their care processes and become very frustrated
besides. Suppose, for instance, that you do not include
physicians in planning the implementation and the physicians
using the new system do not understand it well enough to use it
effectively and become upset using it. What is likely to happen?
They will avoid it as much as they can or use it inefficiently.
This can result in poorer outcomes for patients as well as lost
billing opportunities. What could have been an opportunity to
increase the effectiveness of billing and improve income instead
becomes a financial burden and a source of contention.

Such a scenario is not necessary though. Those who plan and
choose well can reap significant benefits from the use of EMR's.
Achieving these benefits will require significant changes, such
as in the way of logging patient data. Of course the data will
now be electronically stored instead of on paper. The type of
data being captured will also change. For instance, suppose that
a physician making rounds at a hospital leaves a note for nurses
that involves the drawing of a figure on paper, such as the
position of a bedsore. For most EMR's this will not be possible.
However, there will be room for comments to be added to the
record. Hence, the physician will need to more descriptive.
Becoming adept at the new ways of entering data into the records
will improve outcomes for patients and the caregivers.

Even better results can be had if the healthcare sites use teams
to plan the implementation of the EMR. Let me suggest several
steps that you might use. First, someone should be leading the
overall effort of adopting and using the system. If your site has
a Lean Leader, this is the best candidate. Otherwise, you might
choose someone who is very familiar with quality improvement.

The leader should then form a team of representatives of those
who will be using the system. In a primary care office I would
include someone from billing, a physician, a nurse, an office
manager and others who might be using the system. You might even
want to include a patient if you intend to supply your patients
their own records upon request, as suggested in the Institute of
Medicine's Crossing the Quality Chasm. Such a team will make
better choices than a person working alone to get the system up
and running.

I suggest that the team assume several responsibilities over its
useful lifetime. First the team should choose the vendor and
software. There are several hundred different EMR's available.
Choosing the right one will be difficult, to say the least. It is
very likely that the team can choose one that fits the working
style of the healthcare staff best. Using only one person to
choose such a system, on the other hand, will probably lead to
information from others who have already installed an EMR at
their site, resulting in a choice that does not fit the needs of
your site.

After the team has chosen a EMR it should be the first to be
trained on using it. Since they are vested in it they are more
likely to be the easiest to train in its use and also probably
the most interested in making the best use of it. Once they are
trained, they can then train others at the site in its use.
Further, through the training they can decide which features of
the EMR should be utilized by the office. Generally, most EMR's
come with many features; to use them all at startup would be
overwhelming for new users.

Finally, this team can be used as the first responders to others
who are first time users and who have questions about the
software's use. Rather than have the vendor be responsible for
answering all questions, it will be much more effective if
someone who is comfortable with the software at the site tries
first as face-to-face instruction is generally more effective. If
someone on the team cannot answer the question, they can contact
the technical support of the vendor or the person with the
question can.

Now that I have briefly explained the advantages of implementing
an EMR with a team let me add a few tips about EMR's in general:

1. EMR's do not eliminate all errors. True, illegible
handwriting will not be a problem anymore. However, if the EMR is
not used effectively, it will create its own problems. Remember
the old dictum from the early days of the advent of computers in
the workplace: garbage in, garbage out.

2. EMR's are not like paper and pencil, as described in the
opening of this newsletter. I read recently in Family Practice
Management (March 2007) that one vendor described his EMR as the
best possible paper and pencil record that could be achieved. A
physician responded that is like stating we can use a very good
horse and buggy to design an automobile.

3. It is very important that your site consider interoperability
with other healthcare sites with which you do much business. For
example, a primary care site will want to use an EMR that
communicates effectively with the hospital(s) with which it
commonly interacts.

4. As stated in the opening paragraph there are bonuses for
adopting the EMR's earlier. You can receive up to $44,000 over 5
years from Medicare if you meet certain conditions. You must
adopt by 2011 or 2012 to receive this payout. Adopters in 2013
and 2014 will receive less. Adopters in 2015 receive nothing.
Physicians who treat Medicare patients in 2015 without an EMR
will receive 1% less in reimbursements; in 2016, 2% less. To
qualify for these reimbursements you must make meaningful use of
the technology; "meaningful use" is still not defined by
Medicare. One of the certain qualifications will be that the EMR
talks to other EMR's at hospitals and labs.

In conclusion, we know that electronic medical records will soon
be necessary at your healthcare site if you do not already use
them. Implementing the use of an EMR can be very disruptive if
the implementation is not well thought out and planned. The best
way to implement the use of an EMR is through a team of
representatives of those who will be using the EMR. The team will
be responsible for choosing the right EMR, for being the first to
be trained in its use so that the members can help other first
time users become familiar with the EMR, and for helping
troubleshoot problems with the use of the EMR at the site.




---------------------------------------------------------------------
Donald Bryant helps healthcare providers meet their challenges.
If you want more free tips on improving your health care site,
visit http://www.bryantsstatisticalconsulting.com/ for a free
article to help you start making improvements right away.


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Article Title:
==============

Volunteer Abroad with a Clean Conscience

Article Description:
====================

Guidance for anyone thinking of volunteering abroad who is
concerned about the negative impact of air travel.


Additional Article Information:
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923 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Distribution Date and Time: 2009-08-06 12:00:00

Written By:     Stephen Knight
Copyright:      2009
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Volunteer Abroad with a Clean Conscience
Copyright (c) 2009 Stephen Knight
Volunteer Latin America
http://www.volunteerlatinamerica.com



It is understandable why the green lobby and the tourism
industry has brought into question the justification for
volunteering abroad and why volunteers sometimes feel like
they are caught in a conundrum.

Global warming is one of the most serious threats facing the
world and some of the leading campaign groups have stated that
the most ethical thing we can do for the environment is to stay
at home. Whilst we can all agree that the best form of travel is
to avoid flying, we should not stop flying altogether. That would
send us back to the dark ages with massive unemployment (1 in 10
people work in the tourism sector), business recession, and
increased poverty (deepening recession, increased unemployment
and worsening poverty is not conducive to creating new lower
carbon technologies and lifestyles).

There are many people who rely on tourism for their livelihoods
and many natural habitats depend on visitors for their survival.
If you want evidence of this you should look no further than
Latin America. Tourism is a big contributor to the economy of
many Latin American countries and the industry generated nearly
US$2 billion in Costa Rica alone in 2007 (three-fifths of GNP).
Tourism helps support some of Latin America's most fragile
natural habitats and if we stopped flying there many national
parks and private reserves will lose their incomes, deforestation
will increase and global warming will accelerate. Unless we
support the people and communities now making money through
ecotourism they have no other choice but to exploit natural
resources.

Similarly, it is worth noting the importance of international
volunteers to conservation efforts in the region. Without the
commitment and financial support of international volunteers,
many organizations would be unable to carry out their vital work.
This is because there is generally very little governmental or
outside support for these organisations and the projects which
they manage. Your contribution as a volunteer could help ensure
the long-term survival of a tropical forest or an endangered
species. This is because you are actively participating in the
conservation of that habitat or species. The participation of
international volunteers also enables money to reach grassroots
level of society and this can change a small communities
perception of their environment or an endangered species.

The question of whether it is possible to be an ethical volunteer
seems to largely rest on the ability to make informed choices
before and during your trip. If you choose the right project,
minimise the impact of your travel, maximise the benefits for
local economies, and stay for a considerable period of time, then
you can most definitely volunteer abroad with a clean conscience.

It is worth mentioning the importance of choosing the right
project before setting off and the key message is - do your
research if you want to so some really valuable work. Prospective
volunteers must examine the work they will be doing and how it
affects local people and the natural environment. Although there
are some good placement companies out there, a do-it-yourself
placement is the most ethical form of volunteering as you work
directly with the host organization. You also have the assurance
that all your money goes to the cause rather than paying for the
marketing and administration expenses of a volunteer placement
(sending) agency. If you opt to work through an agency please be
aware that some of these agencies offer little more than
glorified holidays and others are more interested in making money
than helping the environment or providing sustainable and
well-targeted help for local communities. No one benefits from
these placements apart from the companies that organise them. An
ethical volunteer ensures that as much of their money as possible
reaches the grassroots level of society. Eco-conscious travellers
should consider contributing to a project that helps reduce the
impact of climate change and/or provides a hands-on approach to
offsetting their own carbon emissions.

It is also worth mentioning the length of time volunteers spend
overseas. You are clearly going to do more harm than good if you
travel all the way to Costa Rica from the UK (a carbon-heavy
8,700km flight) to rescue sea turtles and stay for only a few
weeks. To maximise the benefits for local communities and negate
the environmental impact of your flight you need to contribute to
a project for a much longer period of time. A long stay is more
sustainable if travelling long distances as this will enable you
to minimise the impact of your flight. The time spent as a
volunteer is time not spent contributing to carbon emissions in
your home country (i.e. non use of home appliances, zero
emissions form you car, etc). A long stay also eliminates the
need to take several shorter holidays throughout the year.

In reality, the dramatic growth in short breaks and cheap flights
is a more pressing issue than questioning the justification for
volunteering abroad, particularly if volunteers wish to devote
their time and energy to do something positive for the
environment. Those who want to stop us flying should focus more
on the business and the leisure side of flying rather people
wanting to make a difference (e.g. those that fly with a
purpose). The destruction of the Amazon and other tropical
forests around the world should also be a priority for campaign
groups (e.g. air travel accounts for less than 5% of carbon
dioxide emissions, clearing tropical forests for agriculture is
estimated to produce 18% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions
- more than the entire global transport system).




---------------------------------------------------------------------
Stephen Knight is the webmaster of Volunteer Latin
America and the main contributor to the Latin Lounge
(http://www.volunteerlatinamericablog.com/). We enable
volunteers to work abroad without paying large
participation or placement fees. We are your gateway
to independent volunteering in Central and South America.
Learn more at: http://www.volunteerlatinamerica.com/


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Article Title:
==============

Finding Flags Made In The USA

Article Description:
====================

Finding Flags made in the USA is not easy. Civil War flags,
Military Flags and Colonial Flags hold special meaning to many
Americans, especially those that have served in the Armed Forces.
However, it is very discouraging to purchase a flag only to find
a label Made In China or WhereEver Else!!


Additional Article Information:
===============================

704 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Distribution Date and Time: 2009-07-14 12:24:00

Written By:     Beth Mark
Copyright:      2009
Contact Email:  mailto:beth.mark@...



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Finding Flags Made In The USA
Copyright (c) 2009 Beth Mark
Made In America Decor
http://www.MadeInAmericaDecor.com



Finding Flags made in the USA is not easy. Civil War flags,
Military Flags and Colonial Flags hold special meaning to many
Americans, especially those that have served in the Armed Forces.
However, it is very discouraging to purchase a flag only to find
a label Made In WhereEver!! And there are so many different ones,
that mean a lot to particular groups, like the Military or
Historical Buffs.

History Of Flags:

The original 13 star version of the United States flag originated
on June 14, 1777 and the current 50 star version originated on
July 4, 1960. The flag is the most recognized symbol in the
nation, and this country has had many different versions
throughout its changing growth and history.

While the flag represents the government established under the
U.S. Constitution, it has always represented our freedom and
liberty. It has been said that the stripes represent rays of
sunlight and the stars refer to the heavens, or the highest place
a person can aim to reach.

This symbolism is true of the United States flags, however, other
flags, such as Military and Civil War flags have a different
symbolism represented in the emblems and layouts chosen. The
majority of Colonial flags are based on the original versions,
including the famous Betsy Ross flag, which is the most symbolic
flag story, other than the story of the Star Spangled Banner
version, which our national anthem is based on.

Civil Wars Flags:

For Civil War history buffs, these flags made in the USA
symbolize different periods in the Civil War era, and the flags
were flown at different times in the history of the Confederate
Union. While it was an American War, there are many people,
especially in the South that still pay honor to the Confederate
soldiers that fought for their rights of different opinion, right
or wrong.

Many of the Southern States still fly what they call the "Rebel
Flag". In fact, these flags have actual names, and they are made
in the USA. Flags that are similar in appearance are the C.S.A.
Naval Jack Battle Flag, C.S.A. Cavalry Battle Flag, C.S.A.
Artillery Battle Flag, C.S.A. Infantry Battle and General Nathan
Bedford Forrest Battle Flag. These flags are symbolized with a
Red background and the Blue "X" of White Stars.

Other Civil War Flags available are: General Robert E. Lee
Headquarters, C.S.A. Eleven Stars and Bars, Union Thirty Four
Star, Union Cavalry Guidon, Custer 7th Cavalry Guidon, Terry's
Texas Rangers, Confederate 1st, 2nd, and 3rd National flags, and
the C.S.A. Bonnie Blue Flags. For the Civil War enthusiast, this
is a comprehensive of historical flags, at affordable prices,
most under $50.

Military Flags:

These flags made in the USA primarily honor the different
branches of the military, although they include the POW/MIA flag
and the Jolly Roger Pirate Flag. You can get the flag that
represents United States Army, United States Navy, United States
Marine Corps, United States Air Force and the United States Coast
Guard. Many military veterans are delighted to get these as gifts
and they fly them proudly throughout the United States.

Colonial Flags:

There are a wide variety of Colonial Flags made in the USA. These
include flags that were flown at different times throughout the
Colonial period of the United States. They include the Betsy Ross
flag, Grand Union flag, Star Spangled Banner flag, Washington's
Headquarters flag and the Bunker Hill flag, for example.

There are a variety of other Colonial flags that may be familiar
to some people and not others, such as Commodore Perry, Taunton,
Cowpens, Bedford, Continental, Bennington, Gadsden, Culpepper,
Fort Moultrie and Guilford Courthouse flags. Some of these flags
have significance to people in certain areas or through
historical family references, but for flag collectors they can be
difficult to find in many places.

Choice of Materials:

Most of the flags made in the USA are 3 foot by 5 foot flags, and
they are available in Sewn Cotton, Sewn Nylon or Sewn 2 ply. With
reinforced edges and brass grommet flags, they are constructed
for the wind and weather elements of the United States and not
cheaply constructed like overseas flags. So be sure to check the
labels before you purchase!




---------------------------------------------------------------------
Beth Mark enjoys sharing home decoration ideas with her
readers. These and many other items can be found online at
http://www.MadeInAmericaDecor.com/ Made In America Decor is
always adding to their collections and everything in the store
is guaranteed to be "Made In America"!!  The store owners say
that it is their goal to eventually offer products from every
State in the Union.


--- END ARTICLE ---

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Article Title:
==============

George Washington, Known OPSEC Practitioner - OPSEC In His Own Words

Article Description:
====================

Within OPSEC circles, Washington is often quoted as saying,
"Even minutiae should have a place in our collection, for things
of a seemingly trifling nature, when enjoined with others of a
more serious cast, may lead to valuable conclusion." This is
only a small window into our first president's life as a
spymaster...


Additional Article Information:
===============================

1249 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Distribution Date and Time: 2009-07-07 14:36:00

Written By:     Chris Cox
Copyright:      2009
Contact Email:  mailto:info@...



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George Washington, Known OPSEC Practitioner - OPSEC In His Own Words
Copyright (c) 2009 Chris Cox
OPSEC Professionals
http://www.opsecprofessionals.org/



Arguably, no President in history has received a legendary status
equal to George Washington. His reputation as a gifted military
leader stems partially from his unique perspective as the leader
of counterinsurgency forces (as a young officer in the Seven
Year's War) and as the leader of an insurgent army (in the
Revolutionary War).

Within OPSEC circles, Washington is often quoted as saying,
"Even minutiae should have a place in our collection, for things
of a seemingly trifling nature, when enjoined with others of a
more serious cast, may lead to valuable conclusion." While this
is certainly true you must understand that this is a lesson our
first president learned through bitter, near fatal experience.

Washington's first experience with OPSEC (a term not used at the
time, but the principles remain the same) came at the age of 21
when he was a young officer in the Seven Year's War under
British General Braddock. The effective French intelligence
network (no doubt enabled by ineffective security) was able to
ascertain Braddock's moves well in advance and successfully
ambushed the combined British and Colonial forces on their first
expedition. In this attack, the combined forces lost 615 of their
officers and 914 soldiers; in addition General Braddock was
mortally wounded and barely escaped with the aid of Washington.
Before his death four days later, Braddock gave Washington his
ceremonial sash, one of the two reminders of this lesson that
would stay with him forever.

If this hard lesson taught Washington one thing, it was the
necessity of effective intelligence, as well as that of secrecy.
He was later quoted as saying, "(U)pon Secrecy, Success depends
in Most Enterprises - and for want of it, they are generally
defeated."

With this philosophy, Washington would establish and lead an
effective spy network during the Revolutionary War. These spies
would operate, at times, directly with or under British forces
and would provide Washington with critical military information
regarding British plans, strategies and objectives. In order to
evade detection, all agents would memorize and refer only to code
names (for instance, George Washington was only referred to as
"711" and New York was "727"), which demonstrates a clear
understanding of the importance of obfuscating key names and
locations. Using the same scheme for names and locations also
helped to hide their true meaning. In addition, the use of secret
codes, invisible ink and encryption demonstrated Washington's
awareness of the necessity of not only attempting to avoid the
capture of information, but also to prevent the use of
information should capture occur.

Unfortunately, this valuable lesson seemed to be forgotten when
Washington sent a seemingly harmless letter to his dentist in
Philadelphia asking for denture wires and a cleaning tool. In and
of itself, this letter provided no military intelligence of value
when it and other messages were captured by the British. However,
some of the other messages indicated a potential attack on New
York. Sir Henry Clinton, then chief of the British Army, was
skeptical. The letters almost seemed too good to be true
especially when you understand that Washington's skill in
military deception was known by the enemy. Clinton was left to
wonder of the validity and value of the "intelligence."
However, Clinton correctly reasoned that this letter would most
likely not have been included in a package was to be
intentionally "captured" and surmised that the captured
intelligence was legitimate. Clinton was able to strengthen his
forces in New York, prompting Washington to abandon that
campaign.

This setback did not discourage Washington from continuing to use
deception and disinformation however. This lesson learned became
a very effective strategy to fabricate documents to be
"captured", or to instruct agents to discuss certain matters in
areas that British soldiers or spies were able to overhear, or
even to intercept messages meant for British forces and alter
them before passing them along seemingly unchanged. For example:
When Washington had his army outside of Philadelphia he
instructed his procurement officers make sizable purchases of
supplies, and even constructed fake military facilities, which
convinced the British that his 3,000-strong army contained 40,000
men.

Throughout the war, Washington relied heavily on espionage and
intelligence. The Culper Spy Ring, headed by Major Benjamin
Talmadge (under the pseudonym "John Bolton") learned that the
British had plans to attack an allied French expedition in Rhode
Island (it is not clear how British Forces learned of the
landing). Washington responded by planting false intelligence
with British agents indicating that he intended to move against
New York City. In response, the British Commander held his forces
at New York, which had the additional benefit of masking
Washington's movement towards Chesapeake Bay and Yorktown. It
was imperative that Washington's forces practice good OPSEC in
order to avoid detection of this grand deception.

Washington understood the importance of educating those under him
about what we've come to call OPSEC. In a clear early
understanding of what we now know as the OPSEC process,
Washington wrote to thank James Lovell for a piece of
intelligence, saying, "it is by comparing a variety of
information, we are frequently enabled to investigate facts,
which were so intricate or hidden, that no single clue could have
led to the knowledge of them. . . intelligence becomes
interesting which but from its connection and collateral
circumstances, would not be important." He also spoke to General
Rufus Putnam in August 1777 about calculating an adversary's
strength, saying, "Deserters and people of that class always
speak of number. . . indeed, scarce any person can form a
judgment unless he sees the troops paraded and can count the
divisions. But, if you can by any means obtain a list of the
regiments left upon the island, we can compute the number of men
within a few hundreds, over or under." This "training"
prompted Federalist William Duer to write, "To say more in a
Letter, might be imprudent" when discussing a matter of
potential value.

Similarly, to the credit of the Continental Congress, the first
secrecy agreement was adopted for government employees. It read,
in part, "I do solemnly swear, that I will not directly or
indirectly divulge any manner or thing which shall come to my
knowledge as (clerk, secretary) of the board of War and Ordnance
for the United Colonies. . . So help me God."

Perhaps the best example of OPSEC in Washington's strategy was
in the attack on Stony Point. Stony Point was an ominous British
fort on the Hudson River, with walls 150 feet high, water on
three sides and a swamp on the fourth, and an imposing garrison
of 500 men and many cannons. Colonel Wayne was convinced that it
could be taken, and eventually convinced Washington that it could
be done. Washington approved the plan with the advice, "That it
should be attempted by the Light Infantry only, which should
march under cover of the night and with the utmost secrecy to the
enemy's lines, securing every person they find to prevent
discovery". Note especially the use of darkness to mask movement
and the securing of potential witnesses/agents. Because of this
secrecy, the surprise attack was a success resulting in only 15
American deaths versus 63 British.

Clearly, George Washington effectively led the newly formed army
to victory not only because of excellent military tactics, but
also because a solid understanding of OPSEC. If OPSEC
(http://www.opsecprofessionals.org) can help General Washington
win a war then who are we to deny its use today to protect our
sensitive information?




---------------------------------------------------------------------
Written by: Chris Cox. The Operations Security Professional's
Association (OSPA) is an International entity dedicated to
promoting OPSEC by providing free resources and member
collaboration. OSPA works with groups all over the world,
from US Federal Agencies to Neighborhood Watch programs,
and believes that each one deserves security.
http://www.opsecprofessionals.org/


--- END ARTICLE ---

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.....................................

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   You Must Set All URL's or Mailto Addresses in the body
   of the article AND in the Author's Resource Box as
   Hyperlinks (clickable links).

* Links must remain in the form that we published them.
   Clean links should point to the Author's links without
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   the paragraph breaks fall, but you cannot eliminate all
   paragraph breaks as some have chosen to do.

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   Opt-in Email Only. No Unsolicited Commercial Email.


* You Are Allowed to format the layout of the article for
   proper display of the article in your website or in your
   ezine, so long as you can maintain the author's interests
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   for any software that steals sentences from others in
   order to build an article with software. The copyright on
   this article applies to the "WHOLE" article.


*** Author Notification ***

   We ask that you notify the author of publication of his
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   info@...


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=====================================================================

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE SUBMISSION

http://thePhantomWriters.com is a paid article distribution
service. thePhantomWriters.com and Article-Distribution.com
are owned and operated by Bill Platt of Stillwater, Oklahoma USA.
Learn more about our article distribution services by visiting:
http://thephantomwriters.com/x.pl/tpw/info/article-distribution/index.html

The content of this article is solely the property
and opinion of its author, Chris Cox
http://www.opsecprofessionals.org/



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OF REPRINT when you use this article. Thank you.

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Article Title:
==============

George Washington, Known OPSEC Practitioner - OPSEC In His Own Words

Article Description:
====================

Within OPSEC circles, Washington is often quoted as saying,
"Even minutiae should have a place in our collection, for things
of a seemingly trifling nature, when enjoined with others of a
more serious cast, may lead to valuable conclusion." This is
only a small window into our first president's life as a
spymaster...


Additional Article Information:
===============================

1249 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Distribution Date and Time: 2009-06-30 11:24:00

Written By:     Chris Cox
Copyright:      2009
Contact Email:  mailto:info@...



For more free-reprint articles by Chris Cox, please visit:
http://www.thePhantomWriters.com/recent/author/chris-cox.html


=============================================
Special Notice For Publishers and Webmasters:
=============================================

If you use this article on your website or in your ezine,
We Want To Know About It. Use the following URL to let
us know where you have used this article, and we will
include a link to your website on thePhantomWriters.com:

http://thephantomwriters.com/notify.php?id=6822&p=load


HTML Copy-and-Paste and TEXT Copy-and-Paste
Versions Of Article Are Available at:
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ner.shtml#get_code

---------------------------------------------------------------------

George Washington, Known OPSEC Practitioner - OPSEC In His Own Words
Copyright (c) 2009 Chris Cox
OPSEC Professionals
http://www.opsecprofessionals.org/



Arguably, no President in history has received a legendary status
equal to George Washington. His reputation as a gifted military
leader stems partially from his unique perspective as the leader
of counterinsurgency forces (as a young officer in the Seven
Year's War) and as the leader of an insurgent army (in the
Revolutionary War).

Within OPSEC circles, Washington is often quoted as saying,
"Even minutiae should have a place in our collection, for things
of a seemingly trifling nature, when enjoined with others of a
more serious cast, may lead to valuable conclusion." While this
is certainly true you must understand that this is a lesson our
first president learned through bitter, near fatal experience.

Washington's first experience with OPSEC (a term not used at the
time, but the principles remain the same) came at the age of 21
when he was a young officer in the Seven Year's War under
British General Braddock. The effective French intelligence
network (no doubt enabled by ineffective security) was able to
ascertain Braddock's moves well in advance and successfully
ambushed the combined British and Colonial forces on their first
expedition. In this attack, the combined forces lost 615 of their
officers and 914 soldiers; in addition General Braddock was
mortally wounded and barely escaped with the aid of Washington.
Before his death four days later, Braddock gave Washington his
ceremonial sash, one of the two reminders of this lesson that
would stay with him forever.

If this hard lesson taught Washington one thing, it was the
necessity of effective intelligence, as well as that of secrecy.
He was later quoted as saying, "(U)pon Secrecy, Success depends
in Most Enterprises - and for want of it, they are generally
defeated."

With this philosophy, Washington would establish and lead an
effective spy network during the Revolutionary War. These spies
would operate, at times, directly with or under British forces
and would provide Washington with critical military information
regarding British plans, strategies and objectives. In order to
evade detection, all agents would memorize and refer only to code
names (for instance, George Washington was only referred to as
"711" and New York was "727"), which demonstrates a clear
understanding of the importance of obfuscating key names and
locations. Using the same scheme for names and locations also
helped to hide their true meaning. In addition, the use of secret
codes, invisible ink and encryption demonstrated Washington's
awareness of the necessity of not only attempting to avoid the
capture of information, but also to prevent the use of
information should capture occur.

Unfortunately, this valuable lesson seemed to be forgotten when
Washington sent a seemingly harmless letter to his dentist in
Philadelphia asking for denture wires and a cleaning tool. In and
of itself, this letter provided no military intelligence of value
when it and other messages were captured by the British. However,
some of the other messages indicated a potential attack on New
York. Sir Henry Clinton, then chief of the British Army, was
skeptical. The letters almost seemed too good to be true
especially when you understand that Washington's skill in
military deception was known by the enemy. Clinton was left to
wonder of the validity and value of the "intelligence."
However, Clinton correctly reasoned that this letter would most
likely not have been included in a package was to be
intentionally "captured" and surmised that the captured
intelligence was legitimate. Clinton was able to strengthen his
forces in New York, prompting Washington to abandon that
campaign.

This setback did not discourage Washington from continuing to use
deception and disinformation however. This lesson learned became
a very effective strategy to fabricate documents to be
"captured", or to instruct agents to discuss certain matters in
areas that British soldiers or spies were able to overhear, or
even to intercept messages meant for British forces and alter
them before passing them along seemingly unchanged. For example:
When Washington had his army outside of Philadelphia he
instructed his procurement officers make sizable purchases of
supplies, and even constructed fake military facilities, which
convinced the British that his 3,000-strong army contained 40,000
men.

Throughout the war, Washington relied heavily on espionage and
intelligence. The Culper Spy Ring, headed by Major Benjamin
Talmadge (under the pseudonym "John Bolton") learned that the
British had plans to attack an allied French expedition in Rhode
Island (it is not clear how British Forces learned of the
landing). Washington responded by planting false intelligence
with British agents indicating that he intended to move against
New York City. In response, the British Commander held his forces
at New York, which had the additional benefit of masking
Washington's movement towards Chesapeake Bay and Yorktown. It
was imperative that Washington's forces practice good OPSEC in
order to avoid detection of this grand deception.

Washington understood the importance of educating those under him
about what we've come to call OPSEC. In a clear early
understanding of what we now know as the OPSEC process,
Washington wrote to thank James Lovell for a piece of
intelligence, saying, "it is by comparing a variety of
information, we are frequently enabled to investigate facts,
which were so intricate or hidden, that no single clue could have
led to the knowledge of them. . . intelligence becomes
interesting which but from its connection and collateral
circumstances, would not be important." He also spoke to General
Rufus Putnam in August 1777 about calculating an adversary's
strength, saying, "Deserters and people of that class always
speak of number. . . indeed, scarce any person can form a
judgment unless he sees the troops paraded and can count the
divisions. But, if you can by any means obtain a list of the
regiments left upon the island, we can compute the number of men
within a few hundreds, over or under." This "training"
prompted Federalist William Duer to write, "To say more in a
Letter, might be imprudent" when discussing a matter of
potential value.

Similarly, to the credit of the Continental Congress, the first
secrecy agreement was adopted for government employees. It read,
in part, "I do solemnly swear, that I will not directly or
indirectly divulge any manner or thing which shall come to my
knowledge as (clerk, secretary) of the board of War and Ordnance
for the United Colonies. . . So help me God."

Perhaps the best example of OPSEC in Washington's strategy was
in the attack on Stony Point. Stony Point was an ominous British
fort on the Hudson River, with walls 150 feet high, water on
three sides and a swamp on the fourth, and an imposing garrison
of 500 men and many cannons. Colonel Wayne was convinced that it
could be taken, and eventually convinced Washington that it could
be done. Washington approved the plan with the advice, "That it
should be attempted by the Light Infantry only, which should
march under cover of the night and with the utmost secrecy to the
enemy's lines, securing every person they find to prevent
discovery". Note especially the use of darkness to mask movement
and the securing of potential witnesses/agents. Because of this
secrecy, the surprise attack was a success resulting in only 15
American deaths versus 63 British.

Clearly, George Washington effectively led the newly formed army
to victory not only because of excellent military tactics, but
also because a solid understanding of OPSEC. If OPSEC
(http://www.opsecprofessionals.org) can help General Washington
win a war then who are we to deny its use today to protect our
sensitive information?




---------------------------------------------------------------------
Written by: Chris Cox. The Operations Security Professional's
Association (OSPA) is an International entity dedicated to
promoting OPSEC by providing free resources and member
collaboration. OSPA works with groups all over the world,
from US Federal Agencies to Neighborhood Watch programs,
and believes that each one deserves security.
http://www.opsecprofessionals.org/


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Article Title:
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Finding Flags Made In The USA

Article Description:
====================

Finding Flags made in the USA is not easy. Civil War flags,
Military Flags and Colonial Flags hold special meaning to many
Americans, especially those that have served in the Armed Forces.
However, it is very discouraging to purchase a flag only to find
a label Made In China or WhereEver Else!!


Additional Article Information:
===============================

704 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Distribution Date and Time: 2009-06-30 10:12:00

Written By:     Beth Mark
Copyright:      2009
Contact Email:  mailto:beth.mark@...



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Finding Flags Made In The USA
Copyright (c) 2009 Beth Mark
Made In America Decor
http://www.MadeInAmericaDecor.com



Finding Flags made in the USA is not easy. Civil War flags,
Military Flags and Colonial Flags hold special meaning to many
Americans, especially those that have served in the Armed Forces.
However, it is very discouraging to purchase a flag only to find
a label Made In WhereEver!! And there are so many different ones,
that mean a lot to particular groups, like the Military or
Historical Buffs.

History Of Flags:

The original 13 star version of the United States flag originated
on June 14, 1777 and the current 50 star version originated on
July 4, 1960. The flag is the most recognized symbol in the
nation, and this country has had many different versions
throughout its changing growth and history.

While the flag represents the government established under the
U.S. Constitution, it has always represented our freedom and
liberty. It has been said that the stripes represent rays of
sunlight and the stars refer to the heavens, or the highest place
a person can aim to reach.

This symbolism is true of the United States flags, however, other
flags, such as Military and Civil War flags have a different
symbolism represented in the emblems and layouts chosen. The
majority of Colonial flags are based on the original versions,
including the famous Betsy Ross flag, which is the most symbolic
flag story, other than the story of the Star Spangled Banner
version, which our national anthem is based on.

Civil Wars Flags:

For Civil War history buffs, these flags made in the USA
symbolize different periods in the Civil War era, and the flags
were flown at different times in the history of the Confederate
Union. While it was an American War, there are many people,
especially in the South that still pay honor to the Confederate
soldiers that fought for their rights of different opinion, right
or wrong.

Many of the Southern States still fly what they call the "Rebel
Flag". In fact, these flags have actual names, and they are made
in the USA. Flags that are similar in appearance are the C.S.A.
Naval Jack Battle Flag, C.S.A. Cavalry Battle Flag, C.S.A.
Artillery Battle Flag, C.S.A. Infantry Battle and General Nathan
Bedford Forrest Battle Flag. These flags are symbolized with a
Red background and the Blue "X" of White Stars.

Other Civil War Flags available are: General Robert E. Lee
Headquarters, C.S.A. Eleven Stars and Bars, Union Thirty Four
Star, Union Cavalry Guidon, Custer 7th Cavalry Guidon, Terry's
Texas Rangers, Confederate 1st, 2nd, and 3rd National flags, and
the C.S.A. Bonnie Blue Flags. For the Civil War enthusiast, this
is a comprehensive of historical flags, at affordable prices,
most under $50.

Military Flags:

These flags made in the USA primarily honor the different
branches of the military, although they include the POW/MIA flag
and the Jolly Roger Pirate Flag. You can get the flag that
represents United States Army, United States Navy, United States
Marine Corps, United States Air Force and the United States Coast
Guard. Many military veterans are delighted to get these as gifts
and they fly them proudly throughout the United States.

Colonial Flags:

There are a wide variety of Colonial Flags made in the USA. These
include flags that were flown at different times throughout the
Colonial period of the United States. They include the Betsy Ross
flag, Grand Union flag, Star Spangled Banner flag, Washington's
Headquarters flag and the Bunker Hill flag, for example.

There are a variety of other Colonial flags that may be familiar
to some people and not others, such as Commodore Perry, Taunton,
Cowpens, Bedford, Continental, Bennington, Gadsden, Culpepper,
Fort Moultrie and Guilford Courthouse flags. Some of these flags
have significance to people in certain areas or through
historical family references, but for flag collectors they can be
difficult to find in many places.

Choice of Materials:

Most of the flags made in the USA are 3 foot by 5 foot flags, and
they are available in Sewn Cotton, Sewn Nylon or Sewn 2 ply. With
reinforced edges and brass grommet flags, they are constructed
for the wind and weather elements of the United States and not
cheaply constructed like overseas flags. So be sure to check the
labels before you purchase!




---------------------------------------------------------------------
Beth Mark enjoys sharing home decoration ideas with her
readers. These and many other items can be found online at
http://www.MadeInAmericaDecor.com/ Made In America Decor is
always adding to their collections and everything in the store
is guaranteed to be "Made In America"!!  The store owners say
that it is their goal to eventually offer products from every
State in the Union.


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Howdy  everyone, I just received this.  --Scott



--- On Thu, 5/7/09, Gun Owners of America
<Gun_Owners_of_America@...> wrote:

Some Republicans still don't understand why mainstream America is so
upset with their Party.

Now that Sen. Arlen Specter has defected to the Democrat Party, many
prominent Republicans are openly recruiting liberal Republicans to run
against Specter.

And at the top of their list is Tom Ridge.

Ridge is the turncoat Republican whose vote was crucial in passing the
semi-auto ban in 1994.

After having opposed a similar ban in 1991, then-Rep. Tom Ridge
flip-flopped and teamed up with Charles Schumer (D-NY) to
  pass the
semi-auto
  gun and magazine ban.  The gun ban passed narrowly, 216 to
214, thanks to Tom Ridge.

Later, as Governor of Pennsylvania, Ridge signed one of the most
restrictive gun control laws in the State's history -- the infamous Act
17 which registered and taxed long gun buyers and placed other
restrictions on Keystone State gun owners.

As the head of the
  Department of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge opposed
arming pilots.  He asked, sarcastically, if pilots carry guns, then
should we also arm railroad engineers and bus drivers? As DHS Director,
Ridge should have led the charge to arm pilots and people in other
positions that fell under the agency's purview.

Instead, he just repeated the same tired old anti-gun line that we hear
every time a state passes a concealed carry handgun law.

Guess who else opposed the armed pilots program?  Pennsylvania's
"Benedict" Arlen Specter, who was one of only two Republican Senators to
vote against the bill.

The last thing we need is another elitist in Congress who does not trust
law-abiding citizens with firearms.  And yet, wishy-washy Republican
Senators like Utah's Orrin Hatch and South Carolina's Lindsey Graham are
touting Ridge over Specter.  In other words, let's replace one turncoat
with
  another.

There is a better option.  His name is Pat Toomey, a Gun Owners of
America "A" rated pro-gunner who served in the U.S. House of
Representatives for three terms, before honoring a self-imposed term
limit and retiring in 2004.

Those who are pushing anti-gunner Tom Ridge claim that Pat Toomey is
unelectable because he's "too conservative" for Pennsylvania.

But that's what self-appointed experts said before Toomey got elected
term after term in a largely Democrat district in the eastern part of
Pennsylvania.  And that's what they said before he accrued a gigantic
lead in the polls over a sitting Senator this year, forcing Specter to
jump parties.

It was Pat Toomey who forced Specter to jump to the Democrat Party.
Toomey -- who was backed by Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund
-- was leading Specter in polls by an overwhelming margin.

That's also what they said about
  Ronald Reagan -- who was supposedly too
conservative to win a national election.  (By the way, Reagan also won
Pennsylvania.)

Bottom line:  We need to put these squishy politicians on alert.  Their
internal party politics is their business.  But when party leaders start
pushing noted gun banners -- using the money contributed by millions of
gun owners around the country -- we're not going to remain silent.

Texas Senator John Cornyn is the head of the National Republican
Senatorial Committee.  Michael Steele heads the Republican National
Committee.  The decision to support an anti-gunner over a defender of
the Second Amendment rests largely in their hands.

ACTION:  Please urge Senator John Cornyn and Chairman Michael Steele not
to interfere in Pennsylvania's primary.  There is already a pro-gun,
electable conservative running in the primary who deserves
  their
support.

You can contact NRSC's Sen. Cornyn at info@... or by phone at (202)
675-6000.

You can contact RNC Chairman Michael Steele at chairman@... or by
phone at (202) 863-8700.


----- Pre-written letter -----

Dear Senator Cornyn / Chairman Steele:

Please don't cave in to pressure to support anti-gun candidate Tom Ridge
over pro-gunner Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania's Republican primary.

When in Congress, Ridge provided crucial support to pass the Clinton
semi-auto gun ban.  As Governor of Pennsylvania, Ridge signed one of the
most restrictive gun laws in the State's history.  And as head of the
Department of Homeland Security, Ridge opposed the successful
congressional effort to arm commercial airline
  pilots.

The last thing we need is another Senator who does not trust "We the
People" with firearms.

Pat Toomey served three terms in the House before honoring a
self-imposed term limit and retiring.  Rep. Toomey was "A" rated by Gun
Owners of America, and stood firm on conservative principles even though
he was supposedly "too conservative" for his district.

I urge you not to interfere in this race on behalf of an anti-gun
candidate.


****************************

What's Your Current GOA Status?

Obviously, we now face years of invigorated attacks on our gun rights.
Shutting down gun shows, prohibitions on specific calibers, another
semi-auto ban, and the anti-gun extremists' Holy Grail of mandatory
federal licensing and registration of all gun owners -- these are just
some of the horrors that we already know we'll have to defeat head-on.
Meanwhile, we'll take every
  opportunity to go on offense and advance the
Second Amendment.

It can't be done without every single voice being counted. That's why we
are asking you to consider making the commitment of becoming a Gun
Owners of America Life Member. By doing so, you put the politicians on
notice that neither you nor GOA is going away -- that no matter who's in
the White House, there is always going to be a solid wall of resistance.

Now is a perfect time to become a Life Member.  And if you aren't a GOA
member at all, isn't it time you became one?

Please go to http://gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm to upgrade your
participation in GOA.

****************************

Please do not reply directly to this message, as your reply will
bounce back as undeliverable.

To subscribe to free, low-volume GOA alerts, go to
http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm on the web. Change of e-mail
address may also be made at that location.

To unsubscribe send a message to
gunowners_list@... with the word unsubscribe in
the subject line or use the url below.

Problems, questions or comments? The main GOA e-mail address
goamail@... is at your disposal. Please do not add that
address to distribution lists sending more than ten messages per
week or lists associated with issues other than gun rights.


---
If you no longer wish to receive e-mail from us, please visit
http://capwiz.com/gunowners/lmx/u/?jobid=123943112&queueid=3308245301.
   





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I just spotted this on wired.com.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/05/prison-awaiting-hostile-bloggers/

Sincerely,
Scott




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- On Tue, 4/21/09, Gun Owners of America
<Gun_Owners_of_America@...> wrote:


Remember CANDIDATE Barack Obama?  The guy who "wasn't going to take away
our guns"?

Well, guess what?

Less than 100 days into his administration, he's never met a gun he
didn't hate.

A week ago, Obama went to Mexico, whined about the United States, and
bemoaned (before the whole world) the fact that he didn't have the
political power to take away our semi-automatics.  Nevertheless, that
didn't keep him from pushing additional restrictions on American gun
owners.

It's called the Inter-American Convention
  Against Illicit
  Manufacturing
of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Other
Related Materials.  To be sure, this imponderable title masks a really
nasty piece of work.

First of all, when the treaty purports to ban the "illicit" manufacture
of firearms, what does that mean?

1. "Illicit manufacturing" of firearms is defined as "assembly of
firearms [or] ammunition... without a license...."

Hence, reloading ammunition -- or putting together a lawful firearm from
a kit -- is clearly "illicit manufacturing."

Modifying a firearm in any way would surely be "illicit manufacturing."
And, while it would be a stretch, assembling a firearm after cleaning it
could, in any plain reading of the words, come within the screwy
definition of "illicit manufacturing."

2. "Firearm" has a similarly questionable definition.

"[A]ny other weapon" is a "firearm," according to the treaty -- and
  the
term "weapon" is nowhere defined.

So, is a BB gun a "firearm"?  Probably.

A toy gun?  Possibly.

A pistol grip or firing pin?  Probably.  And who knows what else.

If these provisions (and others) become the law of the land, the Obama
administration could have a heyday in enforcing them.  Consider some of
the other provisions in the treaty:

* Banning Reloading.  In Article IV of the treaty, countries commit to
adopting "necessary legislative or other measures" to criminalize
illicit manufacturing and trafficking in firearms.

Remember that "illicit manufacturing" includes reloading and modifying
or assembling a firearm in any way.  This would mean that the Obama
administration could promulgate regulations banning reloading on the
basis of this treaty -- just as it is currently circumventing Congress
to write legislation taxing greenhouse
  gases.

* Banning Gun Clubs.  Article IV goes on to state that the criminalized
acts should include "association or conspiracy" in connection with said
offenses -- which is arguably a term broad enough to allow, by
regulation, the criminalization of entire pro-gun organizations or gun
clubs, based on the facilities which they provide their membership.

* Extraditing US Gun Dealers. Article V requires each party to "adopt
such measures as may be necessary to establish its jurisdiction over the
offenses it has established in accordance with this Convention" under a
variety of circumstances.

We know that Mexico is blaming U.S. gun dealers for the fact that its
streets are flowing with blood.  And we know it is possible for Mexico
to define offenses "committed in its territory" in a very broad way.
And we know that we have an extradition obligation under Article XIX of
the proposed treaty. 
  So we know that Mexico could try to use the treaty
to demand to extradition of American gun dealers.

Under Article XXIX, if Mexico demands the extradition of a lawful
American gun dealer, the U.S. would be required to resolve the dispute
through "other means of peaceful settlement."

Does anyone want to risk twenty years in a sweltering Mexican jail on
the proposition that the Obama administration would apply this provision
in a pro-gun manner?

* Microstamping.  Article VI requires "appropriate markings" on
firearms.  And, it is not inconceivable that this provision could be
used to require microstamping of firearms and/or ammunition -- a
requirement which is clearly intended to impose specifications which are
not technologically possible or which are possible only at a
prohibitively expensive cost.

* Gun Registration.  Article XI requires the maintenance of any records,
for a
  "reasonable time," that the government determines to be necessary
to trace firearms.  This provision would almost certainly repeal
portions of McClure-Volkmer and could arguably be used to require a
national registry or database.

ACTION:  Write your Senators and urge them to oppose the Inter-American
Convention Against Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms,
Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related Materials.

Please use the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at
http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Senators the
pre-written e-mail message below.

----- Pre-written letter -----

Dear Senator:

I am urging you, in the strongest terms, to oppose the Inter-American
Convention Against Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms,
Ammunition, Explosives, and Other Related
  Materials.

This anti-gun treaty was written by international bureaucrats who are
either stupid or virulently anti-gun -- or both.

This treaty could very well ban the ability to reload ammunition, to put
new stocks on rifles lawfully owned by American citizens, and, possibly,
even ban BB guns!

There are too many problems with this treaty to mention them all in this
letter.  The rest can be read on the website of Gun Owners of America
at:
http://www.gunowners.org/fs0901.htm

Please do not tell me the treaty has not yet been abused in this way by
the bevy of Third World countries which have signed it.  We do not
expect the real ramifications of the treaty to become clear until the
big prize -- the U.S. -- has stepped into the trap.

For all of these reasons, I must insist that you oppose ratification
  of
the
  treaty.

Sincerely,


****************************

What's Your Current GOA Status?

Obviously, we now face years of invigorated attacks on our gun rights.
Shutting down gun shows, prohibitions on specific calibers, another
semi-auto ban, and the anti-gun extremists' Holy Grail of mandatory
federal licensing and registration of all gun owners -- these are just
some of the horrors that we already know we'll have to defeat head-on.
Not to mention this treaty nonsense.  Meanwhile, we'll take every
opportunity to go on offense and advance the Second Amendment.

It can't be done without every single voice being counted.  That's why
we are asking you to consider making the commitment of becoming a Gun
Owners of America Life Member.  By doing so, you put the politicians on
notice that neither you nor GOA is going away -- that no matter who's in
the White House, there is always going
  to be a solid wall of resistance.

Now is a perfect time to become a Life Member.  And if you aren't a GOA
member at all, isn't it time you became one?

Please go to http://gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm to upgrade your
participation in GOA.


****************************

Please do not reply directly to this message, as your reply will
bounce back as undeliverable.

To subscribe to free, low-volume GOA alerts, go to
http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm on the web. Change of e-mail
address may also be made at that location.

To unsubscribe send a message to
gunowners_list@... with the word unsubscribe in
the subject line or use
  the url below.

Problems, questions or comments? The main GOA e-mail address
goamail@... is at your disposal. Please do not add that
address to distribution lists sending more than ten messages per
week or lists associated with issues other than gun rights.


---
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http://capwiz.com/gunowners/lmx/u/?jobid=122633111&queueid=3223962746.
   




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hedge Fund ETFs: Under The Radar Wall Street Con

The other day, with the market giving up about a third of its March gain in DJIA
points, I went looking through my favorite market stats to see if any remaining
profits could be pounced upon. Typically, profit possibilities can be identified
quickly on NYSE lists of the largest dollar and percent gainers.

Alarmingly, 75% of the largest percent gainers were ETFs, and many of those
operate using the same strategies as classic hedge funds--- most owned no common
stock at all! At the same time, 93% of the largest dollar gainers were ETFs with
a large proportion plainly operating like a hedge fund.

Earlier in March, while we were all sunning ourselves in the
far-too-infrequent-lately UVs of a brief rally, I was doing a similar search for
undervalued IGVSI stocks. Yes, Virginia, there is an equally impressive array of
hedge funds betting that the markets (and the South) actually will rise again.

What is a hedge fund, and just what does it try to accomplish? I think the key
legal element is that they don't say how they intend to get the job done.

Initially, hedging was used as a risk mollifier in the securities markets in the
same way as insurance is used for protection against disasters impacting life,
health, and personal property. Taking a short position on an owned security, for
example, protects an investor's profit if the company's market price plunges.

Naked shorting, shorting baskets of securities, and shorting indices, however,
have morphed into a risk creator, not a risk reducer. Similarly, hedge funds
that hold index funds as betting devices on market sector performance are not
what the investment gods envisioned when they blessed the sector experiment.

The new definition of hedge fund speaks of an aggressively managed entity that
uses leverage, long, short, options, futures, and derivative positions with the
goal of generating high returns. Risk reduction is no longer the objective.

Hedge funds have never been regulated like their open-end mutual fund cousins---
the rationale being that they cater to a wealthy and sophisticated clientele. In
fact, the law requires that participants in hedge funds jump over income, net
worth, and investment high-hurdles before being eligible to participate.

Investopedia refers to them as mutual funds for the super rich, but the only
similarities to the plain vanilla equity mutual fund are the pooling of
participants' money and professional management. During the past decade, a
series of ill advised and shortsighted rules changes gave hedge fund managers
destructive powers that exacerbated the financial crisis that will mourn its
second anniversary this summer.

But regulating the hedge fund is clearly a too late closing of a barn door
encrusted with diamonds (no pun intended). A few years ago, the masters of the
universe rediscovered, redefined, and complicated the world of closed end mutual
funds by creating many different forms of passively managed index/hedge funds.

As innocent as these funds may appear, they too have altered the investment
landscape. Speculators (not investors) place their bets on the rise or fall of
the index. These bets artificially impact the market price of securities because
many (if not all) of the funds actually own the securities they are tracking.

Additionally, many individual stocks fall into several indices, and most of the
major ETF marketing companies sell similar index funds. Didn't we just go
through this with mortgage-backed securities? Aren't these funds artificially
taking common stock pricing further and further away from the fundamentals of
the companies themselves?

Today, it appears that every passive fund has two or three accompanying
short/bear ETFs plus an equal number of bull/long funds to choose from.
Apparently, the SEC has not taken the trouble to look inside the thousands of
boutique ETFs that by now must outnumber the securities they are tracking.

Wall Street wants all CEFs (index, hedge, bond, equity, real estate, whatever)
to be regulated and reported upon as though they were simply common stocks. As a
whole, they aren't even close. In fact, there are more of these derivatives
traded on the NYSE than common stocks and preferred stocks combined.

And the real crime is this: investors as naive as the wet-diapered E-Trade
spokesbaby can push a button and buy operational hedge funds more bizarre and
sophisticated than any ever imagined buy the rich and famous.

If an ETF harbors a hedge fund, but doesn't call it a hedge fund, is it really
not a hedge fund? If Merrill Lynch creates a mutual fund with pro rata
individual account statements, is it any less of a mutual fund? Is it really
individual account management? Have the commissions really disappeared? The SEC
thought so.

Shouldn't the regulators be smart enough (and brave enough) to put an end to
these legal-in-name-only frauds? Should your mother's IRA be speculating in puts
on Netherlands Tulip Bulb futures? How about 200% of the inverse of the
Financial Select Sector Index?

A search at ETF-Connect for US Equity ETFs finds roughly 500 potential
speculations that absolutely anyone can buy into. All are self-directed IRA
eligible--- 401(k) eligible, possibly. A look inside reveals hedge-fund-like
operations. But technically, they are not hedge funds because they describe the
strategies employed.

So long as we tolerate Wall Street attorneys circumventing the intent of our
securities laws, and so long as we reward regulators for their blind worship of
the letter of these laws, we will have this kind of manipulation.

Index ETFs (and the no doubt about it hedge fund casinos they front) need a
league of their own, located in Vegas, AC, or Uncasville. (A free "Brainwashing"
book to the first three people who explain Uncasville!) They demand a new
rulebook that recognizes content and strategy--- not trading form.

The ETF derivative market requires a fresh new breed of big picture aware,
loophole fillers --- the Obama team is accepting applications.

Whatever happened to stocks and bonds?


Steve Selengut
http://www.sancoservices.com
The Brainwashing of the American Investor
Professional Investment Management Since 1979



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Vacations For Veterans: A Charity Worth Our Support

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Vacations for Veterans is a nonprofit created to provide recently
wounded veterans free lodging donated by a vacation home owner or
a bed and breakfast proprietor.


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Vacations For Veterans: A Charity Worth Our Support
Copyright (c) 2009 Jon Ludwig
Find Vacation Rentals
http://www.findvacationrentals.com/



Vacations for Veterans is a nonprofit created to provide recently
wounded veterans free lodging donated by a vacation home owner or
a bed and breakfast proprietor.

Regardless of your views on our foreign policy, I think everyone
can agree that what our veterans do for our country is incredible
honorable and they are not recognized enough for their service.

As vacation rental owners, we are in a unique position to offer
our homes up and to give our wounded veterans a brief respite
when they need it most. If you do offer your vacation rental, you
have the final say on what dates your unit will be available.

On a personal note, I had the opportunity to offer one of my
beach condos to a veteran a few months ago. VFV does the work to
verify the Purple Heart status of the veteran and, if you wish,
will put you in contact with the veteran directly. It was
immensely gratifying to not only offer my condo up to this
veteran and his family, but to receive the thank you note from
him and his wife after their trip.

This year, please think about giving back to this outstanding
organization. http://www.FindVacationRentals.com,
http://www.FindBnB.com, and http://www.VacationSpaces.com are
proud corporate sponsors.

Please visit http://www.VacationsForVeterans.org for more
information on this organization and to learn how you can help.
And while VFV needs inventory, they also are in need of financial
donations which go directly to support the travel expenses of
those veterans in need of financial aid.

Originally published at:
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Investing in Life's Necessities

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With the stock market down 55% or so from its high of October
2007, many investors feel they are between the proverbial rock
and a hard place. We've all seen the data that shows that over
the long term, stocks outperform every other common asset class,
but that knowledge certainly doesn't make the going any easier
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Investing in Life's Necessities
Copyright (c) 2009 Mack Courter
Courter Financial
http://www.courterfinancial.com/



With the stock market down 55% or so from its high of October
2007, many investors feel they are between the proverbial rock
and a hard place. We've all seen the data that shows that over
the long term, stocks outperform every other common asset class,
but that knowledge certainly doesn't make the going any easier
on a day to day basis. And with the shocking events surrounding
the instability and collapse of some of this country's biggest
and reputable institutions, the long-term picture gets even
hazier.

So what are your options, knowing that you need equities for
portfolio growth and inflation protection, but are very
uncomfortable with the stock market? Here's an idea I've been
sharing with other investors that makes sense to them.

For starters, all successful investors from Warren Buffett to
Peter Lynch focus on companies whose products and services stack
up nicely from a supply and demand standpoint. On the demand
side, investing in areas where demand is stable or increasing
would appear to fit these guidelines. An area that I feel meets
these criteria is the consumer staples sector. Thankfully, I am
not alone in this assessment. Wall Street strategists such as
Richard Bernstein are expecting good relative performance from
this industry.

Consumer Staples contains such household names like Wal-Mart,
Procter and Gamble, Coca Cola, and General Mills. Economists have
touted the inelasticity of consumer goods for years, and with
good reason. Regardless of how poorly we are doing financially,
we still find the money to buy food, beverages, and toiletries.

The County Fair

Every year I go to an old fashioned county fair. This is not just
any ordinary fair; it is reputedly the largest tent fair in the
nation. Yes, believe it or not, people actually pitch tents or
park their RVs and camp out for a whole week. And there is a
40-year waiting list to get a campsite! Thousands come from miles
around for the fellowship, competitions, and well, the food.
Frankly, many people I talk to come solely for the last reason.
There are vendors offering everything from French fries to snow
cones.

With the economy in recession, I was very interested to see if
this fair would be slower than most. I spent practically the
whole weekend at it. There were no signs that attendance was down
or that concession stands were less busy than normal. Matter of
fact, I had my normal tedious time making my way through the
throngs of people to the next concession stand.

Just to make sure I wasn't imagining anything, I spoke with one
of my friends who own a stand. He said business was even better
than normal. A phone call to the Fair management also confirmed
this. Attendance was as good as last year, and the vendors
reported an average increase of 10% in sales. And this
considering that food at a fair is not exactly cheap. You can get
an ice cream cone one block from the fairgrounds for half the
price. It did not make a difference.

Some analysts on Wall Street have been concerned about consumer
goods companies this year, because they feel that rising
commodity costs impact the bottom line. With the price of oil and
other commodities well off last summer's highs, this fear seems
to have dissipated somewhat. Also, it seems to me that these
companies are not exactly taking these increases lying down.
They're passing them on to the consumer. I noticed this at the
fair. Prices on many of my favorite things were up 5 or even 10%.

I am noticing a different approach at restaurants I routinely
visit. Instead of raising prices, many are cutting portion sizes.

How have consumer staples done so far in this downturn? Over the
past twelve months, the Dow Jones U.S. Consumer Goods Index is
down 35% as of the date of this writing. The S&P 500 Index is off
45%. Over the past three years, this consumer goods index has
outpaced the S&P by around 7% annually.

The Historical Perspective

A look further back into history shows consumer staples out
performance during bear markets is not unusual. During the
2000-2002 bear market, the cumulative return for the Dow Jones
U.S. Consumer Goods Index was -1.56%, according to Morningstar
data. As we all know, it could have been worse. The S&P 500 lost
over 37% during that time.

According to Russell Napier in his excellent book, Anatomy of the
Bear, consumer staples stocks have been strongholds in the three
great bear markets since 1929.

He writes that during the 1968-1982 secular bear market, even
though the S&P Composite Index increased by 82% cumulatively in
nominal terms, it lost value in real terms. The "Consumer Price
Index" increased by 174% during the same timeframe. At this
time, there were 30 industrial sectors, and the average return
for them was 107%. Only 9 of the 30 sectors did better than
average. Among them was Food. The best sector at this time was
Tobacco, a sub-category of consumer staples. It boasted a
cumulative return of 420%.

Table 1:: Key Sector Performance from December 1968-August 1982
  Tobacco... 420%
  Oil... 185%
  S&P Composite... 82%
  Source: Russell Napier

Let's look at the mother of all bear markets, the 1929-1932
plunge that ushered in the Great Depression. Again we see that
the qualities of Consumer Goods held up-at least on a relative
basis. The Dow shed an incredible 89% of its value. Food and
tobacco stocks lost a lot of money as well, just not as much.
Tobacco stocks again turned out to be the best performer, with a
38% loss. Food dropped 72%. Napier surmises that perhaps this
decline occurred because packaged food was not yet mainstream.
85% of bread was still homemade in 1932. Therefore, people were
not as dependent on grocery stores as we are today. Granted,
losing 72% or even 38% of your money compared to 89% isn't much
consolation. But at least this tells us what happened in the acid
test for investing.

Table 2:: Key Sector Performance from September 1929-June 1932
  Tobacco... -38%
  Oil... -74%
  Food... -72%
  Dow Industrial... -89%
  Source: Russell Napier

Three Ways to Invest

Here are three ways venture into the sector without risking your
shirt:

  * Consider buying ETFs, not individual stock. This hopefully
minimizes the negative impact of such events like Pepsi's recent
fall from favor. Some examples include State Street Global
Advisors Consumer Staples SPDR (XLP) or iShares Dow Jones U.S.
Consumer Goods (IYK). The former has 41 holdings and sports an
expense ratio of 23 basis points. The latter owns 148 stocks and
has an expense ratio of 48 basis points.

  * Consider using Stop Losses. Place a good ‘til canceled stop
loss order under the ETF or stock. I've placed these at either
support levels for the security or at absolute loss levels a
client is willing to sustain.

  * Consider selling covered calls. Selling a covered call on the
ETF or stock you own is another way to reduce the risk. The
premium gives you an immediate return on your money, and also
serves as a buffer if the investment declines. Recently, I've
found myself considering at-the-money or in-the-money options
since they afford the most downside protection. I would avoid
using ETFs that do not have a lot of open interest and volume in
options trading.

Although there are never any guarantees when investing in stocks,
the consumer staples industry may be a more conservative
alternative at a time like this. And using some of the strategies
above, you can hopefully lower your risk even more.



Disclosures:

The principal and yield of investment securities will fluctuate
with changes in market conditions. The information presented is
general in nature and should not be considered legal or tax
advice.

The opinions offered are not to be construed as an offer to buy
or sell individual securities mentioned herein.

Securities offered through Cadaret, Grant and Co., Inc., member
FINRA/SIPC.




---------------------------------------------------------------------
Mack Courter is a Certified Financial Planner (tm) who
specializes in Retirement Investing in State College,
Pennsylvania and works with clients nationwide.  If you have
any questions about the article, or would like a complimentary
copy of his report "7 Critical Mistakes Investors Make,"
visit his website at http://www.courterfinancial.com
or email him at his website.


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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,510937,00.html













[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

"The Big Takeover" by Matt Taibbi is probably the best article written to date
explaining the financial crisis and how we got to where we are now. Taibbi's
necessarily lengthy article explains the problems, names the "poipetrators", and
exposes all of the conflicts of interest--- absolutely a must read.

AIG, Goldman Sachs, and J. P. Morgan turn out to be the major players causing
perhaps the greatest financial crisis in modern history--- even if the pain is
unlikely to get near Great Depression proportions, the dollar losses to
individual investors have certainly gone as far.

JPM was the brewmeister of the CDO, a vat full of various kinds of income
securities, determined to be less risky because the income on most would almost
certainly keep flowing--- kind of like the once popular junk bond fund that Wall
Street insisted was not risky at all because of the great diversification.

A few years later, the Captains of the Universe created a breed of high yield
foreign government bonds where the interest was guaranteed but not the
principal. (Read that again.) Certainly, the CDO product should have been looked
over thoroughly by all the normal scam detectors and regulators.

But, what's that? Senator Phil Gramm, and his cronies on both sides of the
aisle, had just OK'd the demise of the depression era regulations that
prohibited the combination of Insurance Companies, Banks, and Investment Banks.
Let the games begin.

Later on, the bewigged ones would loosen bank-lending rules, institute others
that value mortgages as if they were common stocks, eliminate the only firewall
protecting shareowners from predatory short-sellers, and deem that derivatives
were not something that could be regulated by any existing entity.

Basically, Taibbi rightly accuses Wall Street firms of finding loopholes in
rules and regulations, and squeezing creative products through the cracks in the
law for their own benefit. Even in areas where they are under SEC supervision,
over paid corporate lawyers and mathematicians are faster on their feet than
your average government employee.

AIG, and more specifically, its AIG Financial Products Unit was responsiple for
making the ridiculously risky CDO (Collateralized Debt Obligation) the subject
of the quasi insurance gambling devices known as Credit Default Swaps, or CDS---
a CD with a capital S. (The AIGFP was headed by Joseph Cassano, allegedly a
student of Michael Milken.)

Taibbi explains how AIG used these Certificates of Doom as gambling chips to
create a multi-level risk betting industry, with no backing other than the idea
that nothing would ever cause the housing bubble to pop. The CDS vehicle allowed
the CDO industry to multiply because all of the risk was being assumed by AIG.

But, and this particular "but" should be in 72-point type, they insured the same
loss multiple times without ever having the reserves on hand to cover any of the
potential losses. The house-of-cards on the Hudson is built on a shared and
intertwined foundation. Paulson's Goldman Sachs, for example, was AIG's biggest
whale.

The final straw was how AIG got itself out from under the regulatory eye by
fraudulently arranging for supervision by the OTS (Office of Thrift
Supervision), a regulatory entity with only one insurance specialist on its
entire staff. The OTS, it seems, never examined AIG, ever.

The article goes on to dig deeply into the bailouts; the Paulson, Geitner, and
Liddy interrelationships, and more. But it reverberates the message voiced years
ago in the first edition of "The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book
that Wall Street Does Not Want You to Read".

The arrogance of the financial institutions, the mad scientists they employ to
manipulate the rules and rule makers, and the Emperor's New Clothes (trust me
they're safe) marketing tactics they employ really do need to be regulated--- by
the government, sure; by corporate boards of directors, absolutely.

In a Working Capital Model world, there would be no financial crisis.

Steve Selengut
http://www.sancoservices.com/
http://www.kiawahgolfinvestmentseminars.com
Professional Investment Management from 1979
Author of: "The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street
Does Not Want YOU to Read", and "A Millionaire's Secret Investment Strategy"

Now more than ever, you can appreciate the need for comprehensive investment
education. All of a sudden, fifty percent of your nest egg has disappeared---
and the bad news? There never was a plan for income generation. Ouch!

Dwelling on coulda's, woulda's, and shoulda's isn't going to rebuild your
portfolio. Attempting to become proficient in the speculation of the month will
do little to decrease the long-term pain. Casting blame on government regulators
and Wall Street scam artists does little to grow retirement income.

There are at least three things you can do to protect yourself now, and
throughout your more quickly approaching than you realize retirement years:

(1) Actively support income tax code replacement surgery, be it Flat Tax, Fair
Tax, or a combination; (2) actively support a Social Security reform plan with
smaller mandatory contributions, higher guaranteed benefits, and trustee managed
income portfolios; (3) attend investment web-workshops that prepare you for the
long-term gyrations of economic, interest rate, and stock market cycles.

It's important to find non-product-biased investment education, so that you can
knowledgeably choose the investment vehicles that are most suitable for your
plan--- avoid education generated by product sales organizations.

If you choose to use packaged investment products, after you've gathered all the
information you need, go for it. But spend some time (and a reasonable amount of
dollars) on this six-pack curriculum before making any moves from where you are
today:

One: Developing an Investment Plan. a) Identify personal financial goals,
objectives, and timeframes for various interim achievements; b) Appreciate the
importance of base income, and know what it is; c) Determine the appropriate
Asset Allocation for personal goal achievement; c) Learn how to change an
existing investment portfolio.

Two: Appreciating Basic Risk Minimization Techniques. a) Understand the purpose
and use of Asset Allocation; b) Develop appropriate security selection criteria;
c) Establish diversification and income rules; d) Adopt downward-only-flexible
profit taking guidelines.

Three: Understanding the Investment Environment. a) Recognize and deal with the
three cycles that impact investment portfolios; b) Formulate realistic
expectations about investment securities... by class and by type. c) Identify
and minimize the true risks inherent in investment securities. d) Win the war
against fear and greed--- while others don't.

Four: Managing the Retirement Income Portfolio. a) Identify the different types
of income securities; b) Formulate reasonable yield assumptions; c) Position
intellectual and emotional blinders; d) Keep your eye on the ball--- spending
money; e) Understand the "total return" shell game.

Five: Managing the Equity portfolio: a) Develop an equity investment selection
universe; b) Understand that QDI rules, and study the rules of QDI; c) Formulate
reasonable profit taking targets; d) Keep your eye on the ball--- realized
capital gains; e) Setting up small portfolios.

Six: Exorcizing the Wall Street Demons. a) For Equities, using The Working
Capital Model for calendar year performance evaluation and portfolio market
value only for Peak-to-Peak performance monitoring; b) For Income Securities,
using realized income alone for yield analysis; c) Using The Working Capital
Model for all Asset Allocation and Diversification decision making; d) And the
demons are?

Certainly, there are other things you need to know and appreciate before you
will become comfortable as an investor. Terms like leverage, fundamentals,
interest rate expectations, uncertainty, ADRs, and capitalization are a few of
the hundreds that need, at the least, to be understood.

So an inter-active, Q & A workshop format might be more interesting and
informative than a simple lecture or slide show. And you may find that the
experience of a practitioner may be more practical and useful to you than the
research and theories of the most erudite university department heads.

The important thing is to get started. When you're ready you'll understand---
consumers buy products; investors buy identifiable securities.


Steve Selengut
http://www.kiawahgolfinvestmentseminars.com/
Professional Portfolio Management since 1979
Author of: "The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street
Does Not Want YOU to Read", and "A Millionaire's Secret Investment Strategy"

The purpose of IBOR is to protect financial markets and to create
self-sufficient investors who produce economic growth instead of government
deficits. IBOR standards create transparent financial markets, regulate
speculation, and protect retirement portfolios. Here's a sampling:

Section One: Product Transparency. All investors have a right to see precisely
what securities are inside any investment product by accessing real time
information that includes names and cost-based allocation percentages.

Section Two: Regulation and Education.

Section Three: Protection from Speculators. Investors have a right to protection
from risks added to portfolios without their control, knowledge, or permission.
Naked shorting, index fund ownership of large share positions, and all naked
option transactions would be prohibited.

Section Four: Controls of Hedge Funds.

Section Five: Brokerage Account Statements. Investors have a right to account
statements that: 1) help manage asset allocation targets, 2) report realized
gains and losses, 3) track cost basis and net deposits, and 4) emphasize the
long-term, cyclical nature of the investment process.

Section Six: Retirement Account Investments.

Section Seven: Executive Compensation. Every shareholder of a publicly traded
entity has a right to share in the growth and profits of the business in the
same manner as highly paid employees.

Section Eight: Corporate Financial Statements.

Section Nine: Taxation Considerations. Investors have a right to formulate their
investment and retirement plans without having to worry about changing tax code
requirements. IBOR compliant retirement plans would be exempt from taxation.

Section Ten: Financial Industry Restructuring.

Section Eleven:  Global Reform Investor Protection and Education Board. A 15 to
25 member multi-national GRIPE board will be established with representatives of
regulatory agencies, investor associations, academia, the media, and just one 
person each from Banking, Brokerage, Insurance, and Investment Banking.

Section Twelve: Transactional Fear and Greed Controls.

General Note: The above is a summary of the October 2008 SIBORAP report,
published by Steve Selengut, in collaboration with Claus Silfverberg, Managing
Director, World Federation of Investors Corporations --- for the whole thing,
google the title.

Steve Selengut
http://www.sancoservices.com/
http://www.kiawahgolfinvestmentseminars.com
Professional Investment Management from 1979
Author of: "The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street
Does Not Want YOU to Read", and "A Millionaire's Secret Investment Strategy"

The President's $10,000,000,000,000 Economic Stimulus Package

For homeowners: Cut the interest rate on all mortgage loans by 50 basis points
and extend the payment schedule by three to five years. Convert all variable
rate loans to fixed, at prevailing rates, and extend the payment schedule by six
to ten years. No fees, points or charges tolerated.

More for homeowners: Provide a pre-paid $5,000 debit card to all free and clear
homeowners. The cards are worth double for Ford or GM car purchases, and expire
valueless if not used for retail purchases within 60 days of issue.

For retirees: Eliminate all income taxation, at all levels, on any formalized
retirement income program. Eliminate all income taxation on one half of all
non-retirement plan investment income received by retirees. Provide totally free
health care coverage.

For Social Security tax payers below age 35: Reduce mandated contributions to 3%
of salary, but allow for additional voluntary contributions. Redirect all
contributions to personally owned but "untouchable until age 60" SSRIA contracts
with private insurance and annuity companies. Participants would be permanently
assigned to qualified providors.

These fixed-income-investments-only contracts would be non-commisionable,
management fee only, and benefit identical at all providors. Trustees
responsible for directing the investments of SSRIA funds would have strict QDI
(Quality, Diversification, & Income) guidelines, with a focus on all kinds of
government securities--- federal, state, and local.

For Social Security tax payers from ages 35 to 55: Reduce mandated contributions
as above and redirect to SSRIAs. Deposit one half of each person's total
existing Social Security deposit account to the SSRIAs.

For Social Security recipients and taxpayers above age 55: Annuitize the income
benefit over the next ten years using SSRIAs, starting with the youngest
recipients.

For income tax payers: Over a five-year period, replace the Internal Revenue
Code with a 10% tax on all income above $40,000 per year. During the same time
frame, bring all state and local income taxes to a total of no more than 5%.

There are no tax deductions, but those earning less than $40,000 per year would
be exempt from sales taxes.

For governments: Over the same five-year period, institute a 12% Federal Sales
Tax on all goods and services consumed or used by individuals. Do the same at
the state and local level with a combined cap of 6%. Decrease (thru attrition)
the number of federal, state, and local government employees by 30%.

As surpluses develop, sales taxes on food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, and
education would be cut or eliminated.

For the financial sector: Abandon mark-to-market accounting rules with regard to
mortgage-backed securities until such time as all multi-level mortgage products
can be unwound and restructured. Consider a permanent ban of all market value
assessment of income purpose, and other illiquid, securities.

More for the financial sector: Unravel all multi-level derivatives, control
blatant and damaging speculation, and protect shareholders from abuse by
corporate executives. Adopt a global SIBORAP code, one that is created by
securities investors.

For health care and insurance cost control: Reform the tort law system with an
eye to restricting awards at reasonable numbers and to subject all law suits to
non-peer, economic-impact, review before allowing them to move forward. All
costs of extortionary and frivolous lawsuits must be borne by plaintiff
attorneys.

For corporations: Eliminate all income taxes, fees, and nuisance charges at all
levels in exchange for an audited requirement of: more jobs, higher
non-management compensation, reduced product prices, or increased health care
benefits.

Also for corporations: Eliminate matching contributions for Social Security over
the next five years, starting with the age 35 participants and working higher.
Note that all such contributions would have been reduced to 3% already.

For the self employed: Eliminate matching contributions for Social Security
immediately, and refund all such contributions made over the past ten years to
any business still in operation.

For heirs: Repeal the confiscatory death and gift taxes at all government levels
and return all the stolen monies to the estates involved for immediate
distribution--- also retroactive 10 years.

For investors: All investment income would be treated equally (at flat tax
rates), except municipal bond interest would continue to be tax free--- but at
all jurisdictional levels. All public corporations reporting profits would be
required to disburse at least 25% of their profits to shareholders.

For education: The federal government would support and subsidize (even
construct if necessary) fifty, non-sectarian, non-political, four-year,
non-research, colleges or universities.

A total enrollment of between 100,000 and 150,000 students, with 75% tuition
coverage, and some form of qualified pool lottery selection system. Management,
administration, student selection, and professional staffing would be provided
by the private sector.

For everyone: bring back usury laws with respect to credit card debt.

Chances are good that this revised package will reduce taxes, increase
disposable incomes, grow the economy, eliminate the Social Security mess,
increase tax revenues, reduce all budget deficits, provide better health care,
reduce insurance costs, encourage home ownership, and reduce the size of
government.

Hmmmm. Maybe the next President.


Steve Selengut
http://www.sancoservices.com/
http://www.kiawahgolfinvestmentseminars.com
Professional Investment Management from 1979
Author of: "The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street
Does Not Want YOU to Read", and "A Millionaire's Secret Investment Strategy"



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Learn From History - The Anatomy Of An Economic Meltdown

Article Description:
====================

When we look at the current economic crisis, lots of people are
asking how we got into this mess. This story walks out the steps
the brought us into the current economic meltdown, prompted by
the recent credit crisis.


Additional Article Information:
===============================

2376 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Distribution Date and Time: 2009-03-18 11:00:00

Written By:     Arlo Mooney
Copyright:      2009
Contact Email:  mailto:arlo.mooney@...



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Learn From History - The Anatomy Of An Economic Meltdown
Copyright (c) 2009 Arlo Mooney
The Financial Side of Economics Blog
http://cash-advance-payday-loans.org/blog/



Over the last couple years, many consumers were burned badly by
the state of the economy and the failing of many of the banks
people have relied upon for generations.

At the beginning of 2007, the United States had five investment
banks, through which a lot of investment transactions occurred.
By the end of 2008, there were zero investment banks in the
United States. The investment banks that did not fail outright,
changed their charters to commercial banks, thereby eliminating
all investment banks in the U.S. by the end of 2008.

Where people got hurt the worst in the recent economic meltdown
was when banks stopped loaning money to consumers and businesses.

Banker fears turned our economy on its ear, erasing positive
growth and replacing it with recession.

Bankers started to question the viability of their competitors
and stopped loaning money to their competitors. Suddenly, when
major banking institutions were no longer able to get money to
loan to their own clients, banks began to turn off the business
credit and consumer credit tap.

We knew the gig was up when General Electric could no longer get
loans to float their production cycles. We also knew that the
situation was getting bad when banks started freezing credit
lines to the automakers. And when the State Of California could
not get loans to carry the state through the course of a single
economic year, we knew it was ready to hit the fan.

Economic Contraction Has Deep Roots

The lack of business credit is not what killed the auto industry.
What brought the automakers to their financial knees was the
inability of consumers to get auto loans for new vehicles. This
started to happen nearly a year before the commercial credit
began to dry up.

When consumers could no longer get loans for major purchases, the
economy began to contract significantly, as manufacturers could
no longer sell products already in inventory.

As major manufacturers begin to fall by the wayside, the ripple
effects hurt hundreds of other businesses, employing thousands.

For every automaker that falls, there are companies that produce
tires, car seats, carpet, radios, and automotive parts that will
also have to lay off people. The automaker is the easiest example
to show the ripple effects of a crumbling economy.

When auto sales fall, car dealerships begin to shut their doors.
Dealerships provide hundreds of additional jobs in small towns
across America, providing employment for sales people, mechanics,
supplies and support. Once you get past the jobs supplied
directly by the dealerships, then one must realize that local
detail shops generally contract most of their work from car
dealerships.

If General Motors fails, jobs are not lost only in Detroit, but
in Oklahoma City; Lansing, Michigan; Doraville, Georgia; Ontario,
Canada; Spring Hill, Tennessee; Moraine, Ohio; Flint, Michigan;
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Ypsilanti, Michigan; and Portland,
Oregon. (This list is actually derived from a GM plant closing
list from 2005.)

In 2008, GM also closed plants in Grand Rapids, Michigan and
Janesville, Wisconsin.

As 2009 approached, GM announced further plant closings. When the
announcement came in December of 2008, there were 20 more GM
plants on the cutting block for temporary shutdown. This round of
plant closings will affect plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Specific states affected by these plant closings include plants
in Delaware, Maryland and Texas.

Consumer Credit Dried Up One Year Before Commercial Credit Ended

I mostly respect Bill O'Reilly's view on the world, but one
day, he went on a rampage about the economic meltdown, stating
that he pays attention to things and did not see the economic
meltdown coming. He was complaining that no one warned us of this
happening.

I wrote to O'Reilly that day, for the first time ever. I told
him that if he watched his own news channel - we knew it was
coming. If only he had turned on Neil Cavuto once in a while or
watched the Saturday morning business block, then he would have
seen this mess coming too.

It all started with a real estate bubble that we all knew was
there.

When the real estate bubble began to pop in remote areas of the
country and banks started to realize that home foreclosures where
on the rise, banks reacted by stopping consumer loans for big
ticket purchases, such as homes, cars, furniture and electronics.

The economy began to contract, as consumers could no longer drive
the economy unimpeded.

It took business a little while to notice the contraction of
business. Most assumed the contraction in sales was more related
to the price of gasoline, without noticing that the problems ran
deeper than that.

Most business managers assumed that once the price of gasoline
dropped back to its historical threshold that all would recover.
But gasoline prices only masked the real problem - the lack of
consumer credit.

The Roots Of The Real Estate Bubble

The roots of the real estate bubble and subsequent implosion
began in the 1990's. Interestingly, both G.W. Bush and Bill
Clinton opposed the policies that created this mess, but both
were either ineffective or unable to change the course of
government policy in this matter.

Bush and Clinton seemed to agree that the credit practices of
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were bound to create problems that
could not be overcome easily. In the discussion I was listening
to about this issue assumed that both Bush and Clinton were
"unable" to fix this problem, although both spoke about it
regularly.

I tend to find it hard to believe that any President of the
United States is "unable" to do anything... but then again,
Bush was "unable" to address the political hot potato of Social
Security in his second term.

In the early 1990's, the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was
changed from helping the underprivileged to buy a home, to
guaranteeing banks that wrote loans to anyone and everyone who
wanted to buy a home.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac began buying loans from banks,
packaging those loans, and selling them to investors. Ah... you
see the connection... you have heard about that stuff on the
news... Good.

Since bank interest rates were so low, banks and mortgage brokers
soon realized that they could not make their money collecting
interest. So, they began the transition to selling loans to
consumers based on closing costs. So long as the consumer could
meet and pay for the required closing costs, then the bank would
be able to write a loan to the consumer.

If that loan to the consumer was for a home, then the bank could
sell those loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who would then
package a group of loans to sell to investors.

Here is where the story goes south.

Since banks were selling loans only for the closing costs and
selling the loans to a third-party investor, banks stopped
looking at whether an individual could afford the loans being
given to the consumer.

You know, if I can only afford $900 per month on my mortgage,
what makes anyone believe that I can repay a mortgage worth $1200
per month?

Within the system as it was constructed, the bank could care less
if I could afford to pay $1200 per month. They only cared that
they could sell me the loan, get their closing costs, and then
they would pass the liability of my problem loan to a third-party
investor.

Because the bank had no financial interest in my ability to repay
the loan, they did not concern themselves with writing loans that
could be afforded by consumers.

As a result, banks lined up to write consumer loans that
consumers could not afford to repay. (We can also slap the
consumer at this point, because the people who took those loans
also knew that they could not repay them.)

The Contribution Of The Consumer

Each consumer who took a mortgage they could not hope to repay
contributed to our current economic meltdown.

I know that many felt strongly that they could repay the loan or
that they could get a salary increase to help ends meet. But when
consumers are struggling to get by, it only takes one unexpected
car repair or other large expense to bring the house of cards
tumbling down. The end of the road could also come as soon as one
got sick enough to miss a couple days of work.

The consumer should have known better than to take the loans they
were offered. But many people also expected that banks still
worked the way they did in the 1970's and 1980's - making sure
that consumers could afford a loan, before offering that loan.

Lining Up The Dominoes

Consumers had taken loans that they could barely hope to repay.
But when an unexpected expense came up, people began to get
behind on their mortgage payments. Eventually, the added pressure
of being behind on payments pushed consumers to cut their losses
and default their home mortgages.

Of course, this process was accelerated when the real estate
bubble burst and homeowners began to realize that they owed
$120,000 on a home only worth $100,000!

As consumers began to default on their home mortgages, banks
started to tighten up their credit policies on other large
consumer loans such as cars, furniture and electronics.

As consumers became unable to get loans for the things they
desired to purchase, manufacturers and retailers began to
struggle under slowing sales.

Slowing sales further complicated the issue, because banks began
to realize that their business clients were having a harder time
paying back business loans.

At this point, the banks worried about their business clients,
but they did not close all commercial credit just yet.

Like you and I, banks borrow money from each other, in order to
enable ensure that bank liquidity is maintained. In the banking
industry, the government requires that a bank always has
cash-on-hand to match 10% of the total loans it has in the
marketplace.

On days like payday, banks will often borrow enough money from
another bank to help them cash all of the checks that will be
brought to their bank. They borrow that money to be able to meet
their cash needs, without tapping into the money in their safe
that is required to meet federal lending standards.

Of course, banks will cash a check on Friday and they will have
that money back in their own coffers by the following Wednesday,
when the employer's bank is able to send the money back to the
bank who cashed the check. Within the banking industry, few-day
loans and one-week loans between banks are common for this
reason.

It did not really hit the fan until banks stopped loaning money
to each other. When the investment banks began to fall, other
major banks also began to fail. With banks failing everyday, bank
managers began to wonder about the banks to whom they loan money.

Fear crept into the bank-to-bank lending cycle, and bank-to-bank
credit came crashing to a halt.

This is the point where commercial credit died. It was September
of 2008 - only weeks before the Presidential election. John
McCain handled himself badly during this time frame, ensuring
that he would forever be only a footnote in history. "I am
suspending my campaign to focus on this problem," - John McCain,
famous last words of the top dunce of 2008.

When banks stopped lending to each other, other banks had to
freeze commercial credit lines. When General Electric's top
lender was unable to get bank-to-bank loans, it was unable to
loan money to GE, regardless of their belief in GE's ability to
pay back the loan.

The Fallout Is Wide And Painful

When GE can no longer get loans to finance the manufacturing
cycle of their products, then GE is forced to lay off workers.

When the automakers customers cannot get consumer loans and the
automakers cannot get loans to keep them afloat during this
economic downtown, the automakers are forced to lay off people.
Along with the automakers laying off people, part suppliers and
dealerships also have to lay off people.

When the State Of California cannot get loans to keep the state
operational until tax payments start coming in, Governor
Schwarzenegger has to make some hard decisions, stopping certain
government services and stopping production of development
projects. Of course, Schwarzenegger does not have the political
courage to fix the problem, but only to survive the crisis.
Either way, money stops flowing in California from government
coffers, leading to taxpayers receiving IOU's from the
California tax agency and people losing their jobs in state
construction projects.

The Downward Spiral

Consumers cannot borrow money to buy consumer goods, which in
turn slows sales at major manufacturers and major retailers.
Slowed sales leads to more layoffs and fewer jobs. Slowed sales
also leads to lower stock prices and fewer stock dividends.

Sometimes the pain felt at the business level leads to business
failures, which in turn leads to more lost jobs. Fewer jobs leads
to more defaulted loans and home foreclosures.

It is a cycle that is hard to break.

According to a story by the Fox Business Network last week,
American consumers have lost $11 trillion dollars in their net
worth over the last one year.

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Certainly there is,
although it is a bit hard to see right now. Every down cycle in
an economy ends with an up cycle. It is just that we have yet to
discern a bottom in this economic downturn, so it is hard to
predict when recovery will come.

I am an optimist by nature. I see good days ahead, although those
good days will necessarily be preceded by some pain.

The best advice I can give anyone in this current recession is to
only spend within your means, until this economy recovers its
vitality. At my house, we are still spending, but we are not
doing it with credit. Instead, we are paying cash for what we
want and making darn sure not to increase our debt load during
this down cycle.



Author's Note: This article was originally published at:
http://cash-advance-payday-loans.org/blog/economic-meltdown/2009/03/






---------------------------------------------------------------------
Arlo Mooney writes about the economy and credit. The only loans
he will consider at this time are short term loans, in the form
of payday loans (http://www.fastcash4all.net/) or cash advance
loans to bridge a cash shortage until the following payday.
You can read more of Arlo's work at:
http://cash-advance-payday-loans.org/blog/


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Obama Leadership: 8 Ways to Lead in the 21st Century

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Leadership lessons from Obama style leadership with 8 tips for
leading in the new world economy.


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884 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Distribution Date and Time: 2009-03-03 11:24:00

Written By:     Sharif Khan
Copyright:      2009
Contact Email:  mailto:sharif.khan@...


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Obama Leadership: 8 Ways to Lead in the 21st Century
Copyright (c) 2009 Sharif Khan
Psychology of the Hero Soul
http://www.herosoul.com/



"I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends." - Abraham
Lincoln, 16th President of the United States

The world is looking for a new kind of leader who can bring hope
and stability in dark economic times. President Obama could very
well be that leader. Only time will tell. What can we learn so
far from Obama's style of leadership? Here are some observations
to note for leading in the 21st century:

1. Survival of the Fittest

Charles Darwin spoke of survival of the fittest belonging to the
species that is not necessarily the strongest, but the most
adaptive. Obama was strong, bold and fiercely determined at the
very start of his campaign. But what catapulted his success into
the stratosphere was how his communications team adapted to the
power of the internet to engage voters through various online
social media channels such as Facebook, Myspace, YouTube and
Twitter, and by developing a powerful web presence that helped
raise over half a billion dollars online for his campaign.

2. Foes to Friends

Will Lincoln's "team of rivals" strategy of appointing
campaign opponents to his cabinet work for President Obama? That
remains to be seen; but Obama has shown so far that he is a
charismatic leader who can successfully put differences behind
and get opponents onboard his team using charm and intelligence.
Although easier said than done, an enemy turned into a true
friend can prove to be a loyal ally. On a broader scale, Obama's
consensus building approach to international relations by seeking
to understand before being understood and welcoming multilateral
decision making, could help ease world tensions and maybe even
convert certain enemy nations into allies. Naïve yes, impossible
no.

3. Lead by Example

On his first day of office, President Obama froze senior White
House staff salaries exceeding $100,000 and promised more
openness and transparency to "make government more trustworthy
in the eyes of the American people." His example sends a clear
message to the public that his leadership team is willing to
share in the sacrifices necessary to turn the economy around.

4. Bold and Swift Action

Rhetoric has to be backed by action. In his inaugural speech,
Obama spoke of 'bold and swift' action. From the decision to
close down Guantanamo prison in a year, to vowing to pull out
American combat troops from Iraq in sixteen months, not to
mention the herculean task of getting Congress to pass an $800
billion-plus stimulus package, Obama has so far delivered on his
call for 'bold and swift' action. Leadership is about judgment
- the ability to make decisions. Some of the choices may be wrong
in retrospect, but leadership, like a river, must keep moving
forward.

5. Admit Mistakes

It takes a special person of character to readily admit mistakes.
When Tom Daschle pulled out of the nomination process for the
post of Health Secretary after controversy over his personal tax
records, Obama admitted, "I screwed up." He was sincere,
direct, and to the point. True leaders earn respect by honestly
admitting their mistakes. False leaders are despised, and their
plans eventually undermined, because they hide behind their title
or position and blame someone else for their own mistakes.

6. Maintain Poise

Whether in a public debate, press conference, or media interview,
Obama has shown his trademark signature of remaining cool, calm,
and collected by neither overreacting nor underreacting to curve
ball questions and attacks. When all is said and done, the person
who can keep cool when others are hot is usually the one to boss
the job.

7. Powered by Purpose

One of the reasons why President Obama has such a high approval
rating is that people see that he is driven by a genuine sense of
moral purpose. While he could have easily pursued a high paying
corporate law career, Obama chose civil rights law practice
instead and served as a community organizer who took a grassroots
approach to improving his community in the South Side of Chicago.
He is a caring and compassionate leader who burns for justice. In
perhaps the greatest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich
in the history of America, Obama expresses outrage at Wall Street
execs who pocketed billions in bonuses from taxpayer bailout
money and calls for a 'new era of responsibility'.

8. Hope Rooted in Reality

Abraham Lincoln once said, "You can fool all the people some of
the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot
fool all the people all the time." With unprecedented access to
information today, it is becoming nearly impossible to fool all
the people even some of the time. People want the facts and
aren't fooled easily. Leaders who make the mistake of blind
optimism or obscuring the facts are in for a rude awakening.
Without the facts, without the proper diagnosis, the disease will
only get worse and spread.

President Obama understands this phenomenon and is a leader who
provides hope rooted in reality. With sobering resolve, Obama is
telling his people that they will have to hunker down, roll up
their sleeves, and work hard to rebuild the American dream; a
dream that may take more than a term to rebuild, but that can
become a reality - with the audacity of hope.




---------------------------------------------------------------------
Sharif Khan (http://www.herosoul.com; sharif@...) is
a freelance writer, consultant, speaker, and author of the
inspirational leadership book, Psychology of the Hero Soul.


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Article Title:
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Federal Jobs Are Plentiful

Article Description:
====================

Think there are no job hiring anywhere in america today? Have you
tried to job search in one place? Truth is, there are plenty of
federal jobs with the federal government right now, with even
increased worker hiring scheduled. And here's how and where!


Additional Article Information:
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1351 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Distribution Date and Time: 2009-02-26 15:24:00

Written By:     Benji O. Anosike
Copyright:      2009
Contact Email:  mailto:benji.o.anosike@...



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Federal Jobs Are Plentiful
Copyright (c) 2009 Benji O. Anosike
Get Federal Jobs Now Org
http://www.GetFederalJobNow.com



Think we have a severe economic recession in the United States
today, right? Or, at least, that the magnitude of the apparent
severe unemployment situation that we have today, is such that
you probably can't find any significant job openings existing
just about anywhere in America today, and that there simply
aren't any employer today who is making any significant hiring
of new workers, right?

Well, think again!

Oh, I know. There's this virtual avalanche of grim economic news
flooding Americans even by the minute these days out of
Washington, telling about growing business and industry shut
downs, worker lay offs and rising unemployment. And sure, it's
real. But, this is probably the biggest job-related secret in
America today, the common, conventional thinking of general
joblessness in America today. Actually, the plain FACT is that
there are, in fact, plenty of Federal government job hiring going
on right now, and plenty of job openings available around the
clock right this minute, and you'd just need the "informed
tricks" that' are required for it, and you'd be able to
properly job search for and dig out those Federal job openings,
then properly apply for them and get one of them.

Point is, what we actually have here in the American job market
today, is a diminution, or, if you will, a shrinkage in certain
types of jobs. But there is no overall shortage of jobs, no
complete dry-up of employment or employment opportunities in the
totality of the American economy. Particularly, there is our own
Federal Government of the United States. It has large job
openings right now and continues to hire new workers in large
numbers all along even as we speak right now. And, will not only
continue to have need for new workers, and to hire sizable
numbers of them in the months ahead, but in numbers even higher
and larger.

In deed, several studies by respectable labor and manpower
economists and experts, including a recent report by experts
(http://www.cnbc.com/id/28948055;
http://news.aol.com/article/despite-layoffs-federal-work-force-is
/324326?cid=9), released in January 2009 by the White House
Council of Economic Advisers, have amply projected that a large
number of jobs are to be created by the Federal Government in
this 2009 year, and beyond. For example, this latest study
estimates that, just based on a $600 billion economic stimulus
package by the new Obama administration (a higher amount of some
$800-900 billion is what is currently being discussed), about
244,000 newly created government jobs at Federal, state and local
levels, are to be expected by that measure alone.

In deed, this is actually totally in keeping with the expected
Federal government role in times of unusually hard economic times
or crises such as we have today. At such times, the Federal
Government is expected and anticipated to have an even higher
job-creation and worker and labor hiring load than usual, for one
fundamental reason, which is simply that such a role is, in fact,
the natural, responsible role meant for the Federal government to
play. The Federal Government just has to step in, in such a dire
national economic time (the kind we seem to have right now), and
play the role of a stabilizer." In fact, the notion has become
the common thinking among labor management experts and economists
today, that in unusually severe economic times such as today when
general employment continues to dwindle, and when major American
employers (Microsoft corp., Pfizer, Caterpillar, Home Deport, and
the Wall Street, to name just a few) are massively laying off
workers, it becomes therefore the "natural, built-in" role of
the Federal government to step in and try to pick up the
employment slack by stepping up worker hiring, not lessening it.

THE CENTRAL QUESTION: Given the FACT, solidly established, that
the Federal government has an abundance of job openings
available, and is poised for even higher levels of new worker
hiring in the near future, if you are a job seeker who is serious
about securing a job with the Federal Government, what would you
need to do to secure one of these Federal jobs? Essentially, what
and what to do, fundamentally lies in the serious job-seeker
making certain to have the vital knowledge, information and
skill, to be able to properly job search for where the jobs
actually are (in terms of the specific agencies of the Federal
government having them, as well as their geographic locations
across the country), and to uncover them; and having located
those jobs, the other critical necessity is that the job-seeker
has got to be able to know how exactly to properly apply for them
in a way that will meet the special Federal job standards, and
thereby result in his or her landing the priced Federal job.

The question, in short, will really boil down to this: which and
which ones among the American jobless or those who want jobs,
will be equipped enough and informed enough to be able to take
proper advantage of these real, existing 'recession proof'
Federal job openings, and therefore be able to walk away with
those jobs for which they're qualified?

GETTING FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT IN THE MIDST OF SEVERE UNEMPLOYMENT
CLIMATE!?

Here, in a nutshell, are some of the major things that my own new
publication, published by the Self-Helper Law Press of America,
titled The Handbook of Federal Jobs: How to Job Search for, Apply
for and Get Federal Job (www.GetFederalJobNow.com), provides you,
as it methodologically guides the reader, in a simple,
step-by-step outline, through a maze of the entire Federal job
hiring process:

  * information on the present and projected civilian job openings
and career opportunities that are continually available in the
federal government;

  * the present as well as the projected future areas of Federal
job growth and openings, and where exactly those jobs are or will
be in the future (in terms of the particular government agencies
that are applicable, as well as the jobs' geographic locations);

  * how to search for them and to find them, how to understudy
precisely the actual core qualifications required for the job,
and to "decode" them;

  * how to properly apply for the jobs using precisely the
appropriate Federal-style procedures and standards (including the
Federal-style job interviewing, job resume and KSA writing
standards), and

  * how to successfully process your job application, from the
very start to the end, in such a way as to win the Federal hiring
officer's nod for the job, etc.

IN SUM: "Just arm yourself with a copy of this Handbook,"
chimed Dan Benjamin, the Sales Manager of the book's publisher,
"and you'll see yourself go quickly, from the ranks of the
despairing long lasting unemployed, to the ranks of the happy
newly Federally employed."

In this ground-breaking Federal job-hunting Handbook, the
Publishers of this Handbook have become even more encouraged and
more emboldened by one major, new, unique development that was
not earlier unanticipated but which busted lately on the American
economic scene, to make an even better and more compelling case
for why it's now almost like a dire necessity of life for any
serious Federal job hunter today to hurry and grab a copy of the
book: the new Obama Presidency! The projected infusion of
humongous sums into the economy out of the Obama economic
stimulus program, some one trillion dollars or so of it, will
clearly mean far more big-government programs and initiatives,
and, hence, the creation of a lot more new government jobs across
the board in the months ahead. And, even more so, still more new
Federal government civil service jobs and new federal hires to be
had!

Those are the virtually GUARANTEED new Federal job opportunities
that are either already here, or are soon to come! Again, which
American jobless or job-seekers would have been properly
equipped, informed, and adequately prepared, to take proper
advantage of these opportunities? That's the central question!
Having in hand this prime essential tool you'd need for it (a
copy of The FEDERAL JOBS HANDBOOK), according to author Anosike,
will assure precisely that you'd be up to that challenge - an
the tremendous opportunity to become a prized Federal employee.




---------------------------------------------------------------------
Benji O. Anosike, has been characterized by one analyst as "one
of the keenest-eyed Federal government employment researchers and
experts around." His latest new study just released, is titled
THE FEDERAL JOBS HANDBOOK: HOW TO JOB SEARCH FOR, APPLY FOR AND
GET FEDERAL JOB. SUBTITLE: "America's Biggest Job Secret: How the
Federal Government is Loaded with Jobs, Where they are, and How
to Get Them." (http://www.GetFederalJobNow.com). A recognized
national expert on self-help law and consumer cost-saving
techniques, Dr. Anosike, holds graduate degrees in labor
management economics and a Ph.D. in jurisprudence, and is the
acclaimed author of some 26 books, guidebooks and manuals,
including several best-sellers, on various topics of American
consumer interests and savings.


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One of the great things about being a professional investor is the opportunity
one has to apply his or her long-term experience to the investment environment
that is unfolding (or coming unglued) in the present.

If nothing else, most successful investors develop a consistent strategy that
allows them to take advantage of short-term changes and the opportunities that
they create in a somewhat unemotional manner. You can always tell a "newbie" by
a "let's see how you do for a year" comment, or a "what's hot" question.

Wall Street would like us to ignore the fact that the stock market is a cyclical
beast that changes direction periodically, and almost never at the turn of a
calendar quarter or year--- cycles vary in length, breadth, and direction. 
Inevitably, less experienced investors get caught with their portfolio egos
unprepared for market realities.

Similarly, Wall Street would like investors to look at income securities (bonds,
CEFs, preferred stocks, etc.) with the same analytical eye that they use for
equities. They too are expected to grow in market value forever, even though
it's the income that the investor is after. High total returns mean missed
profit taking opportunities more often than they signal increased income.

So as much as the wizards would like us to believe (a) that up arrows are always
good and down arrows always bad, and (b) that they can get you safely hedged
(protected) against the bad stuff with all forms of creative portfolio care
products; its just never going to work that way.

Cycles are a good thing. They cleanse the markets of both fear and greed
residue, and (all appendages crossed please) this time, perhaps, they'll point
out that both multi-level derivatives and congressional tinkering don't ever
produce the intended results.

Unfortunately, investors in general are a lot like teenagers. They know
everything immediately; expect instant gratification; take unnecessary risks;
fall in love too easily; ignore all voices of experience; prefer the easy
approach; and feel that the lessons of the past just can't possibly apply to
what's going on now. Duh, dude!

That said, what can Joe the plumber do to protect his 401(k), IRA, or personal
investment portfolio from the Bernies, Nancys, and Harrys that are waiting in
ambush? How does he protect himself from unregulated scams, and Wall Street
toxins now, and into the future?

Well, it requires a slightly more mature mindset than the new media allows most
investors the patience to develop, and an appreciation of the miracle drugs that
have saved the lives of comatose portfolios victimized by the correction viruses
of the past.

What if: (1) In the 30's, you had purchased shares in from 20 to 40 prominent,
dividend paying, NYSE companies, or even in October '87, or '97. Now, if you had
sold all those issues that gained 10%, and reinvested 70% of the profits keeping
a diversified portfolio of similar stocks, hitting "replay" religiously, how
much more market value would you have today?

What if: (2) At the same start date, 30% of your portfolio was placed in high
quality income securities, and 30% of the income produced (and the remainder of
that produced by equity profits) was reinvested similarly, how much more income
would you have today than you do now?

If you combined the two analyses, how much more working capital would be in your
wallet? You would be amazed at the results of this research; it would lead you
to these portfolio life saving, and KISS-principle preserving, conclusions:

One: Every market up cycle produces profit-taking opportunities, and all
reasonable profits should be realized--- in spite of the taxes. Two: Every
market down cycle produces buying opportunities, and buying activities of three
kinds must be continued throughout the downturn.

Three: Compound income growth is a wonderful thing, so find investment vehicles
that can be added to routinely and, if spend you must, always spend less than
you make. Four: Unhappily, nearly all of your past decision-making has been
back---wards.

Just as the process described above is significantly more difficult to implement
with mutual funds and other products, so too is the three-pronged strategy for
dealing with market opportunities.

Reinvest portfolio generated income in three ways, and leisurely according to
your planned, working-capital-calculated, asset allocation. Good judgment and an
awareness of overall industry conditions are always required:

One: Add new equity positions, in new industries if possible, and keep initial
positions smaller than usual. Never buy a stock that does not meet all Working
Capital Model (WCM) selection criteria, and never stray more than 5% from your
overall portfolio asset allocation guidelines.

These acquisitions should be monitored closely for quick turnover, at net/net
profits of from seven to ten percent, depending on the amount of smart cash (WCM
again) in your portfolio.

Two: Add new income positions when yields are unusually or artificially high,
and watch for quick profits in this area as well. When yields are normal or
lower than normal, diversify into new areas. For better results, do more "ones"
than "twos" if possible.

Three: Add to positions in stocks that have maintained their quality rating and
dividend while falling 30% or more from your cost basis. If the addition doesn't
produce a significant change in cost per share, return to "one" or "two".

Add to positions in income securities to decrease cost per share and increase
current yield simultaneously. Never allow a single position to exceed 5% of
total working capital.

When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping, avoiding the buy high, sell
low Wall Street game plan.

Steve Selengut
http://www.kiawahgolfinvestmentseminars.com/
http://www.sancoservices.com
Professional Portfolio Management since 1979
Author of: "The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street
Does Not Want YOU to Read", and "A Millionaire's Secret Investment Strategy"




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Article Title:
==============

Is Government Working For You - Or Are You Working For Government?

Article Description:
====================

The new Congress and President are hard-at-work trying to push
through a new economic stimulus package. Our elected leaders are
claim the stimulus package will cost $825 billion. To put the
$825 billion into perspective, the government could give a
$17,000 check to every American and the numbers would add up to
the same amount of the new stimulus package...


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Distribution Date and Time: 2009-01-28 12:24:00

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Copyright:      2009
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Is Government Working For You - Or Are You Working For Government?
Copyright (c) 2009 Fred Vanhoosen
Fast Cash 4 All Net
http://www.fastcash4all.net/



The new Congress and President are hard-at-work trying to push
through a new economic stimulus package. Our elected leaders are
claim the stimulus package will cost $825 billion, but the
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) - which is known for its
accurate accounting - says that with interest costs, the package
will actually cost $1.1 trillion.

To put the $825 billion into perspective, Glenn Beck suggested
today that the government could give a $17,000 check to every
American and the numbers would add up to the same amount of the
new "stimulus" package.

We all know it - the government is not going to send any of
"us" a $17,000 check in the mail. This stimulus is about
helping political causes as opposed to helping the people who are
suffering in a bad economy.

If the current stimulus package will cost us $17,000 each, then
the TARP funds cost us the equivalent of $14,000, just a few
months ago. Between the two stimulus packages, the government is
spending at least $31,000 for every American in 2008-2009, and
that number only accounts for the "emergency stimulus"; it does
not even take into account the governments normal spending
habits.

I don't know about you, but $31,000 is equal to more than half
of what I earned last year.

If we believe in our leaders, we would be safe to assume that the
government will not come to us to collect the full $31,000 they
borrowed in our names. Instead, our leaders would have us believe
that you and I will get a tax cut and "the rich" will pay all
of that debt back to lenders. 95% of us will get a tax cut and
the 5% who are rich will pay our tax bills for us. So every rich
person will pay the tax bill for the 19 of us who are in the
middle- and lower-income tax brackets.

If this is an accurate assessment of the cost of these two
stimulus packages, then "the rich" will be responsible for an
additional $589,000 each. If the rich are really those who make
more than $250,000 per year, then I suspect that most of "the
rich" people won't be able to pay off our debts for us. But
what do I know... I am not a politician.

What Do I Know?

I will tell you what I do know. I do know that I cannot manage my
own family's finances with the same fuzzy math that government
uses to manage its money.

I know that if I only have $3500 per month to pay my bills with,
then I only have $3500 per month to pay my bills with. I also
know that if I can find a mortgage company to finance my next
home purchase, at a monthly payment I can afford to make, then I
can buy a home. I also know that if I can find a finance company,
which will loan me the money to buy a car, I can buy a car on
credit.

At every step in the process, I need to know that I can reliably
make all of my payments; within the context of the money I will
reliably earn every month.

When my income drops, I need to find something to cut from my
monthly expenses. If I cannot afford something this month, then I
will not be able to afford it next month either. Rather than to
try to live beyond my means, I have to cut something from my
monthly expenses, because in the end, I need to do what is best
for my family.

If the cash shortfall is temporary, like when I need to pay the
mechanic to fix my car, or my wife gets another speeding ticket,
then I can look to a payday loan company to help me cover that
short-term cash shortfall.

In my case, the cash advance or payday loan is cool to use, but
only if I am using it to cover a smaller, unanticipated expense.
On the other hand, if the cash shortfall is expected to last
several months, like when I needed to pay out $1100 over several
months to pay the transmission shop for the new transmission in
my car, then I would never consider a payday loan. Instead, I
would find something that I could do without for several months
and then do without that item.

Why Is This A Difficult Concept For Politicians To Understand?

At all times, we do what we can to live within our means, If we
need to borrow money, we only do so when we are reasonably sure
that we can pay that money back. If we cannot afford to borrow
the money, then we look for things in our budget that we can cut.

But our politicians will never do such things. Even cost-cutter
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger cannot seem to figure out how to
stop spending money. Experts are now suggesting that the State of
California is only collecting 60 cents on every dollar it spends!
OMG... Where does it end?

So, California is looking for money to borrow, and the federal
government is borrowing money and printing money so that they can
spend well beyond their means as well. And why are the
politicians still spending money like this? Because we are in
dire economic circumstances!

You and I cannot borrow our way to prosperity, so why would the
politicians believe that the U.S. Government could borrow its way
to prosperity?

If you ask me, it is because our elected officials are just plain
stupid. They have decided that you and I exist so that we can
take care of the needs of the government, instead of the
government existing to take care of our needs.

"The rich" are not going to be able to afford to take care of
all of the costs or our government, so in the end, you and I will
be paying out of our very limited budgets to take care of the
financial needs of our government. They have stopped working for
us - now, we work for them. We just don't know it yet.




---------------------------------------------------------------------
Fred Vanhoosen writes about the payday loan / cash advance
industry for http://www.fastcash4all.net/ Occasionally, he
feels compelled to comment on the financial habits of our
government. To learn more about cash advance loan products,
he recommends reading the following web pages:
http://www.fastcash4all.net/payday-loan-overview.php
http://www.fastcash4all.net/advantages-payday-loans.php





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Buying And Selling a Home During a Credit Crunch

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As President Obama is taking office, many people who had hoped to
buy a home in 2008 or 2009 are stressing as to whether a bank
will be found, which will finance a home purchase.


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Buying And Selling a Home During a Credit Crunch
Copyright (c) 2009 Cory Shrader
Liberty Home Sellers
http://www.libertyhomesellers.com/



As President Obama is taking office, many people who had hoped to
buy a home in 2008 or 2009 are stressing as to whether a bank
will be found, which will finance a home purchase.

The TARP bill (Troubled Assets Relief Program of 2008) was
intended to secure bad assets in our banking institutions, in
order to permit banks to open their vaults once again and issue
new loans. Four months down the road, banks are still holding
onto their cash in a miserly way.

Contrary to most Americans and my fiscally conservative roots, I
supported the passage of the TARP bill. I honestly believed that
once the federal government secured the bad debt on the books of
various banks, the banks would start loaning money again for
commercial loans, new car loans and home mortgages.

  * All around us, businesses are going under because they cannot
secure the loans they need to buy inventory or to pay staff
during the production cycle.

  * The automotive industry is suffering for two reasons, one
because their cars don't get good enough gas mileage, but more
importantly, because consumers cannot get auto loans.

  * Homeowners who need to sell homes cannot sell, because there
is no one around who can get a home loan. Even those individuals
with really good credit are having a hard time finding a bank,
which will loan on a home purchase today, except in certain small
pockets around the country.

  * For those individuals who have taken a new job in a far-off
location, owning a home in two cities is a very daunting
situation. But in the current real estate market, the owner of
two homes has to consider letting one home fall to foreclosure,
because it looks like the current financial crisis could continue
for several more years.

The TARP bill passed, money was given to troubled banks, and we
taxpayers got screwed. Along with many others - including the
likes of Donald Trump - I was wrong. We underestimated the
self-serving idiocy of the people who run our banking
institutions.

Instead of using TARP money to secure the financial well being of
their banks, the banking managers bought competing banks,
remodeled their bathrooms, threw extravagant parties and gave
themselves huge bonuses!

The credit crunch is still deeply entrenched in the United States
and around the world. If TARP was unable to fix the credit
crunch, I can only surmise that we will have a long and
difficult, economic road in front of us all.

But What If You Need To Sell A Home Now?

Home sellers who need to sell a home now, and homebuyers who want
to buy a home now, likely have only one option open to them,
during this financial crisis. Interestingly, the option for home
sellers and homebuyers is exactly the same - FSBO homes, or in
layman-speak, For Sale By Owner homes.

As a home seller, FSBO can seem quite scary, but it shouldn't be
scary. As a seller, you have options available to help ensure
that your buyer will stick to the path of righteousness.

As a seller, it is important to remember that you have something
that someone else wants. And so long as there is someone out
there that wants to own your home, you have the leverage to
ensure that you will get the terms that you want in the
transaction.

If you are wise, you will ALWAYS have your attorney review any
paperwork in relationship to the sale of your home.

It must be noted that many mortgages have what is called a "Due
On Sale Clause" in the paperwork. In essence, what this means is
that your bank or mortgage holder has the "option" to call the
mortgage "due in full", when you sign interest in your property
to a third-party. It should also be noted that if you sign a
Lease With The Option To Buy with a third-party, and you do not
tell your bank, then this amounts to fraud and is a federal
crime.

With the legal issues on the table and known upfront, we can go
to the next step. The "Due On Sale Clause" in your mortgage
paperwork is only an "option" that a bank holds in a property,
to ensure that they get paid what is owed to them. Basically,
that clause is in the mortgage paperwork to ensure that if
payment to them stops, then they still have the right to evict
the lessee and take over the property.

BUT - and this is very important to realize - just because your
mortgage has a "Due On Sale Clause" in it, does not mean that
your mortgage holder will not authorize you to do a Lease To Own
or FSBO agreement on your home. The Due On Sale Clause is an
option that banks have, but banks do not always automatically
take advantage of that option.

You have to put yourself in your banker's shoes to understand
why they would not force the "Due On Sale Clause" on your
mortgage.

If you still owe, let's say $60,000 on your $100,000 home, the
bank stands to lose as much as $30 or $40,000 if they have to
foreclose your home. When banks foreclose homes, they have to
sell the homes as soon as possible at auction. But, homes
typically sell at auction for as little as 20 to 40 cents on the
dollar. So if you still owe more than 40 cents on the dollar
against your original mortgage, chances are that the bank will
lose a ton of money, if you force them to foreclose your home.

Banks as a rule - and more so in the current economic crisis -
are typically more interested in having the house "paid off in
full" than forcing a homeowner into taking more drastic actions,
like deciding to let the bank to foreclose on the property. More
often than not, the bank will permit the FSBO arrangement, on the
condition that they continue to receive all monthly payments on
time.

As a result, many banks will permit you to bypass the Due On Sale
Clause, if you are willing to speak to them directly about the
possibility. But, you have to open your mouth and talk to your
banker, and then you need to get all of the legal agreements
necessary to protect your interest and the bank's interest in
your property.

Talk first to your banker, then talk to your attorney and have
the paperwork drawn up on a Lease with Option To Buy or other For
Sale By Owner arrangement. With the appropriate permissions
gained and the appropriate legally-binding paperwork in hand, you
are now set to sell your home FSBO.

In most cases, your buyer will lease your home on yearly
renewals, and then the moment they can secure a bank loan of
their own, they will buy out the lease, permitting you to escape
the mortgage on that home and permitting them to transfer the
property into their own name.

Are You Seeking To Buy A Home?

People, who are serious about selling their home now and not
holding that home until the financial crisis has ended, have
started to get creative about how to sell their homes.

If you see a home listed as For Sale By Owner, chances are that
the home seller has already taken the above-described steps to
ensure that they will be able to sell their home now.

So, if you have a down payment available and you want to buy a
home now, it may be in your best interests to seek out FSBO homes
in the area where you wish to buy.

A friend of mine recently bought a quarter million dollar home
under a Lease with Option To Buy agreement. Before the financial
crisis, he had been waiting to find the perfect home, and in the
current economic market, he was able to find the exact home he
wanted to buy for the exact money he desired to spend on the
purchase of his dream home.

The best thing about the Lease with Option To Buy is that you are
only locked into the home for generally one or two years at a
time, and if you decide that you would like to secure a home
mortgage after the banks have started loaning money again, then
you have the option to pay the homeowner the amount of money owed
to take full ownership of the home.

We Cannot Afford To Wait Until The Banks Fix Their Mess

With the TARP bill, it was assumed that the banks would take the
money from the federal government and fix the broken credit
system. Unfortunately, the bankers screwed us and only fixed
their personal bank accounts.

So, until the credit system magically fixes itself, we the
consumers need to take matters into our own hands and get our own
financial houses in order - no pun intended. If we are selling a
home, we need to take action to get that home sold. And if we are
trying to buy a house, seek out those people who are most
motivated to sell you their home - look for that FSBO sign in
front of the house or that FSBO ad in the newspaper.

Let us fix our economic system one FSBO at a time, and maybe we
will be able to shorten the financial crisis that our politicians
seem unable to fix for us.






---------------------------------------------------------------------
Cory Shrader writes for the Liberty Home Sellers website. If
you are ready to buy a home now, and the bank has tightened its
credit policies, putting home ownership out of reach for you now,
we might be able to help you. We buy and sell homes in north
central Oklahoma. We offer owner financing on many of the homes
we sell. Be sure to fill out the form on our website, so we can
help you find your next family home. Learn more about available
FSBO Oklahoma homes at: http://www.LibertyHomeSellers.com


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The Relationship Between The NASA Space Shuttle And The Struggling Auto Industry

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With all of the talk in the news about the potential failure of
U.S. automakers, many have begun to talk about the far-reaching
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The Relationship Between The NASA Space Shuttle And The Struggling Auto Industry
Copyright (c) 2008 Arlo Mooney
Cash Advance Payday Loans Org
http://cash-advance-payday-loans.org/blog/



With all of the talk in the news about the potential failure of
U.S. automakers, many have begun to talk about the far-reaching
effects of the auto industry on the U.S. economy.

Few people realize the reach of the auto industry and how
integral it is to the whole of the U.S. economy. It has been said
that one-of-ten jobs in the United States are connected to
automotive manufacturing, sales and maintenance.

It is hard to track down with any certainty how many U.S. cities
would be directly affected by the failure of a single automobile
model, let alone an entire company or industry. To put the impact
of the potential failure of the auto companies into better
perspective, it is easier to study the economic reach of another
vehicle in which we are all familiar: NASA's space shuttle.

Manufacturing The NASA Space Shuttle

Since NASA is an enterprise of the U.S. Federal Government, its
employees tend to create reams of reports and make those reports
available online, for the person willing to hunt them down.

While a car is not nearly as complex as the space shuttle to
build, the manufacturing base behind the space shuttle is nearly
as far-reaching as the manufacturing base behind the automakers.

The space shuttle program relied upon hundreds of manufacturers,
located in 165 U.S. Cities in 32 states, with one component built
in Canada and one other component built in Paris, France.

These manufacturers create parts as small as the screws used to
hold components together, to the parts that make wings and the
shuttle fuselage. But NASA projects cannot stop with the building
of the flight components, since life support systems are also
essential to NASA missions.

Most space shuttle components were built in California and New
York, but components were also manufactured in nearly every state
in the southwestern, south-central, and southeastern U.S.,
including: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma,
Louisiana, Alabama and Florida. Other states that filled out the
remainder of the list include: Washington, Utah, Colorado,
Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Tennessee, Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Delaware, New Hampshire and Vermont.

When the space shuttle building era ended in 1988, a vast number
of companies had to return to the process of working in the
private sector to keep workers employed.

The Coming End Of The American Automotive Manufacturing Era?

The U.S. Congress is trying hard to find ways to finance a bridge
to the future for General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.

Some argue that the U.S. auto industry is handicapped by the
retirement plans it had set up for employees in past decades.
Whereas the U.S. automakers have large sums of money set aside
for the retirement of their employees, European and Asian auto
manufacturers who have set up plants in the United States do not
have the same kinds of long-term financial commitments to their
employees.

Financial gurus argue that the combination of retirement fund
commitments and UAW contracts prevent American automakers from
competing with foreign automakers on a level playing field. This
is the reason why some are suggesting that the best thing that
could happen to GM, Ford and Chrysler is to go under, and have
other companies pick up the broken pieces of these legacy auto
companies to start again from scratch.

But as shown in the NASA space shuttle example, the effects of
this outcome will have far-ranging and deep effects on the
stability of the U.S. economy.

Perhaps failure will be good for the auto business, but it seems
likely that Congress and the soon-to-take-office President Obama
will prevent this from happening.

The greater question for General Motors is whether they will be
able to survive until January 20th, when Obama takes the reigns
of the country from George W. Bush. It is rumored that GM only
has enough cash on hand to keep them afloat until December of
2008.

Final Thoughts

My gut tells me that it may be a bad idea to let any American
automotive manufacturer fail. My gut tells me that the Chrysler
bailout of the 1980's proved to be a good investment that the
U.S. taxpayer eventually got back with interest paid.

But my gut also tells me that it is a bad idea for the U.S.
government to be in the business of bailing out every company
with a hand extended to Congress. Maybe it would be best to let
the carmakers fail, so that whatever company rises from the ashes
could compete with foreign automakers on a level playing field.

In the end, whether Washington D.C. comes to the rescue of the
automotive industry, in time or not, America will survive and
eventually thrive once again.






---------------------------------------------------------------------
Arlo Mooney has dedicated himself to helping people properly
manage their personal finances, by helping them to understand
the gravity of their personal financial decisions. With his
background in economics, he strives to help people understand
complex economic principles, by explaining conditions in ways
that few people have the patience or skill to do. Read more
of his work at: http://cash-advance-payday-loans.org/blog/


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Article Title:
==============

Hopefully President Obama Will Break A Few Campaign Promises

Article Description:
====================

Although I did not vote for President Barack Obama, I wish him
well and I hope that he is as successful as President Bill
Clinton. But I also hope that there is one campaign promise that
Obama breaks, and here is the reason why I hope he breaks this
promise...


Additional Article Information:
===============================

1272 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Distribution Date and Time: 2008-11-07 11:00:00

Written By:     Arlo Mooney
Copyright:      2008
Contact Email:  mailto:arlo.mooney@...



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Hopefully President Obama Will Break A Few Campaign Promises
Copyright (c) 2008 Arlo Mooney
Cash Advance Payday Loans Org
http://cash-advance-payday-loans.org/blog/



Although I did not vote for President Barack Obama, I wish him
well and I hope that he is as successful as President Bill
Clinton. If Obama governs as a centrist as Bill Clinton did, he
should not have any problem getting a second term. But if he
chooses to govern to the left, he will have a troublesome and
short four years as Jimmy Carter once had.

Why John McCain Failed...

John McCain failed in his quest for the presidency for a number
of reasons, but primarily because he could not or would not
explain the underlying problems with Obama's economic policies.

Perhaps he could not explain the problems of Obama's campaign
promises regarding the economy, because he did not understand
them himself. Perhaps the problems simply could not be explained
in a sound bite.

But I believe that John McCain failed in his quest for the White
House, because he would not accept advice from the faithful who
were not part of his internal campaign team. Perhaps his people
shielded him from outside input.

My wife says that the McCain team probably thought of me as a
stalker in the wild. I had sent explanations of the problems of
Obama's economic plans several times, but it would seem that my
help never escaped the email box. ;-)

Great presidents of years past were great because they surrounded
themselves with really smart people. The measure of a great
president - be it Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy,
Franklin D. Roosevelt and others - can be succinctly described by
their ability to find and get people who best understood the
needs of the nation and how to solve those problems faced by
average Americans.

In the end, the American people were worried about the economy,
and yet, John McCain could not show us why his approach to the
economy would be better than Barack Obamas. That is why he lost
his bid for the White House.

What Is In It For Me?

Barack Obama understood something else that John McCain seemingly
could not. President-elect Obama understood that people vote on
the premise of what is in the deal for them.

A tax cut for 95% of Americans and a tax increase for the richest
Americans is something that resonated for many people.

So long as the tax payer thinks that they will gain more than
they lose, they are frequently happy to hear promises of this
type.

This is where the McCain campaign failed to understand the
marketing of a politician. Jumping up and screaming about how the
42% who do not pay taxes now will receive a check from Obama, as
if that were a bad thing, alienated the 42% who do not pay taxes.
To argue that this was the equivalent of "welfare" was to stomp
on the hopes and dreams of 42% of the electorate.

To have told the story to the American people in a way that could
have swayed the electorate to McCain would have been to explain
the underlying economy of Obama's plan. But John McCain could
not or would not do so.

The rich voted on principles different than the economy, because
the rich understand what I am getting ready to show you now.

Shifting The Tax Burden To Business

Under the basic structure of Obama's tax plan, he is going to
eliminate most taxes paid by those who work for a living. On the
surface, that seems like an awesome plan. Even I would benefit
from lower taxes under Obama's plans.

But here is the problem...

The Republicans utterly failed to tell us this story, so that
most of us could understand the fallacy of this plan.

Higher taxes for business will not eliminate jobs directly, as
described by the Republican brand! As a business owner, I have a
hand's on understanding of this scenario.

Businesses will do what is possible to bring the same amount of
after-tax profits they have seen previously. Especially when the
business is a sole proprietorship like mine, our profits become
our incomes. So, if I need $70,000 per year to sustain my
lifestyle, I will find ways to increase my business back to the
level I need to be at to sustain my standard of living.

Taxing my profits only ensures that I must earn more money, so
that I can maintain my standard of living. Laying off people is
not an acceptable option, because fewer staff will ensure a
shrinking ability to earn the money I need to keep my standard of
living.

Since I am not willing to lower my standard of living and laying
off people is not an option, I will have to find other ways to
make the difference. The only way that I am going to be able to
maintain my business is to increase my prices. And so long as the
consumer feels that my products and services are necessities in
their lives, my customers will pay the higher prices.

How This Affects You...

The bakery company will not cut its profits or lay off people;
instead, it will increase the price of a loaf of bread.

The lumber store will not cut its profits or lay off people;
instead, it will increase the cost of lumber.

The oil companies will not reduce its profits or lay off people;
instead it will increase the cost of gasoline.

All in all, the prices of all products and services will increase
to reflect the new tax environment.

As prices eventually increased to reflect higher fuel prices
during the summer of 2008, so will all prices increase to reflect
higher business taxes and the increasing prices of all raw
materials, due to higher business taxes. Increasing prices for
any reason will increase the rate of inflation for everything in
the United States.

Amazingly, the 42% who did not pay taxes under George Bush will
now be paying the new taxes on everything they buy. And you will
pay those taxes, because you cannot stop eating or buying goods
and services.

Whereas 42% of Americans do not pay taxes now, all Americans will
soon be paying for Obama's "new taxes on the rich".

Maybe that check that Obama will send the 42% who do not pay
taxes now will offset the increase in the cost of living - maybe
it will not.

Will Obama's Economic Policies Reflect A Net-Gain Or A Net-Loss?

If the tax cut for the middle-income and the checks for the
lower-income families are greater than the increased cost of
goods and services, then this plan will be a net-gain for all
middle- and lower-income families home finances.

If the tax cut fails to add enough money to the budgets of
families to offset the increased cost of goods and services, then
the American people's personal finances will experience a
net-loss.

It is all about standard of living. Will you in four years have a
better standard of living under Obama's tax cuts? Or, will you
find that the increased cost of products and services have eaten
away the benefit that you received from Obama under his tax cut
for 95% of American taxpayers?

In Conclusion...

I am not very optimistic about middle- to lower-income families
finding a net-gain under Obama's tax plans... But, I hope that I
am wrong.

Many pundits suggest that Barack Obama will not be able to keep
all of his campaign promises, and it is still my hope that in
four years we will be able to look back to see that Obama's tax
plan was one of the promises that Obama did not keep.






---------------------------------------------------------------------
Arlo Mooney has dedicated himself to helping people properly
manage their personal finances, by helping them to understand
the gravity of their personal financial decisions. With his
background in economics, he strives to help people understand
complex economic principles, by explaining conditions in ways
that few people have the patience or skill to do. Read more
of Arlos' work at: http://cash-advance-payday-loans.org/blog/


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Obama: I'll make energy prices "skyrocket"

     Posted by:      "Bill Nelson"
       bnelson45@...
                

           bnelson45



       Sun Nov 2, 2008 9:44 am        (PST)


             In another clip from the same January 2008 interview with the San
Francisco

Chronicle in which Barack Obama promised to bankrupt anyone foolish enough

to build coal-burning power plants, he also made an interesting admission

about his entire energy plan. Obama told the editors that his policies would

make energy prices "skyrocket" as the energy industry passed along the

exorbitant costs of his cap-and-trade policy:



AUDIO AT LINK



The problem is not technical, uh, and the problem is not mastery of the

legislative intricacies of Washington. The problem is, uh, can you get the

American people to say, "This is really important," and force their

representatives to do the right thing? That requires mobilizing a citizenry.

That requires them understanding what is at stake. Uh, and climate change is

a great example.



You know, when I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know -

Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily

skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad.

Because I'm capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural

gas, you name it - whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh,

they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They

will pass that money on to consumers.



They - you - you can already see what the arguments will be during the

general election. People will say, "Ah, Obama and Al Gore, these folks,

they're going to destroy the economy, this is going to cost us eight

trillion dollars," or whatever their number is. Um, if you can't persuade

the American people that yes, there is going to be some increase in

electricity rates on the front end, but that over the long term, because of

combinations of more efficient energy usage, changing lightbulbs and more

efficient appliance, but also technology improving how we can produce clean

energy, the economy would benefit.



If we can't make that argument persuasively enough, you - you, uh, can be

Lyndon Johnson, you can be the master of Washington. You're not going to get

that done.



http://hotair. com/archives/ 2008/11/02/ obama-ill- make-energy-
prices-skyrocket

/







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--- On Sun, 11/2/08, Obama_NOway_NOhow@yahoogroups.com
<Obama_NOway_NOhow@yahoogroups.com> wrote:


           View All Topics | Create New Topic
1.





         Fw: government

     Posted by:      "David Sylvester"
       Feliiqs@...
                

           feliixtc



       Sun Nov 2, 2008 2:36 pm        (PST)




>'If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed; if you do

>read the newspaper you are misinformed. '

>-Mark Twain

>

>

>I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity

>is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up

>by the handle.

>-Winston Churchill

>

>A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on t

>he support of Paul.

>-George Bernard Shaw

>

>A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man,

>which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.

>-G. Gordon Liddy

>

>Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep

>voting on what to have for dinner.

>-James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)

>

>Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor

>people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.

>-Douglas Casey,

>

>Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and

>car keys to teenage boys.

>-P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian

>

>Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors

>to live at the expense of everybody else.

>-Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)

>

>Government' s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short

>phrases:  If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.

>And if it stops moving, subsidize it.

>-Ronald Reagan (1986)

>

>I don't make jokes... I just watch the government and report the

>facts.

>-Will Rogers

>

>If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what

>it costs when it's free!

>- P.J. O'Rourke

>

>In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money

>as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.

>-Voltaire (1764)

>

>Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean

>politics won't take an interest in you!

>-Pericles (430 B.C.)

>

>No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature

>is in session.

>-Mark Twain (1866 )

>

>Talk is cheap. except when Congress does it.

>-Unknown

>

>The government is like a baby's alimentary canal:  a happy

>appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.

>-Ronald Reagan

>

>The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the

>blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing

>of misery.

>-Winston Churchill

>

>The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that

>the taxidermist leaves the skin.

>-Mark Twain

>

>The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is

>to fill the world with fools.

>-Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903)

>

>There is no distinctly Native American criminal class...save Congress.

>-Mark Twain

>

>What this country needs are more unemployed politicians.

>-Edward Langley, Artist (1928 - 1995)

>

>

>

>AND THE BEST ONE.......

>

>A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong

>enough to take everything you have.

>-Thomas Jefferson







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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.1581/pub_detail.asp




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- On Sat, 10/25/08, ajrodrig@... <ajrodrig@...> wrote:




Frank envisions post-election stimulus from Democrats
 

By Steve Urbon
Standard-Times senior correspondent
October 24, 2008 6:00 AM
 
 
NEW BEDFORD — After the November election,
Democrats will push for a second economic stimulus package that
includes money for the states' stalled infrastructure projects, along
with help paying for healthcare expenses, food stamps and extended
unemployment benefits, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank said Thursday.
In a meeting with the editorial board of The
Standard-Times, Rep. Frank, D-Mass., also called for a 25 percent cut
in military spending, saying the Pentagon has to start choosing from
its many weapons programs, and that upper-income taxpayers are going to
see an increase in what they are asked to pay.
The military cuts also mean getting out of Iraq sooner, he said.
"The people of Iraq want us out, and we want to
stay over their objection," he said. "It's extraordinary." The Maliki
government in Iraq "can't sell (the withdrawal deal with the U.S.)
because it sounds like we're going to stay too long."
"I was teasing (U.S. Rep.) Jack Murtha (a key
supporter of military budgets) and I said to him, 'For the first time,
somebody else has got a bill that's almost as big as yours.' We don't
need all these fancy new weapons. I think there needs to be additional
review."
Rep. Frank called on President Bush to appoint a
senior official to guide the economic stimulus packages through the
transition to the Barack Obama or John McCain administration when it
takes office in January.
And he said that if the Democrats can't find an
adequate agreement on a stimulus package in the lame-duck Congress,
they would rather wait until the new Congress takes over — likely with
many more Democrats, if polling results bear fruit in the November
voting.
The new package, he said, will be aimed at
easing fears about lending and investing. "The psychological problem is
even worse than the real problem," he said.
"There is money to lend and projects worth
borrowing money to do. But people are afraid to lend. That's what we're
trying to unfreeze."
States have many infrastructure projects —
bridges, highways, etc. — that have been shut down because of a
cash-flow problems, he said. So it is not the case that a stimulus will
take months or years to wait for design and approval, since projects
are already in progress or ready to go.
Also, he said, "we'll increase the federal share
of medical care so states won't have to lay off people." Unemployment
insurance benefits won't increase, he said, but the period of
collecting them will, and eligibility requirements might be relaxed.
And, ultimately, there will be tax increases on
the upper brackets. "We'll have to raise taxes ultimately. Not now, but
eventually," he said.
Contact Steve Urbon at surbon@...
 
 
 
 
--
A.J.Rodriguez
Off.305-559-2326,Fax.305-559-9059,
Insurance Broker Since 1982
Life*Annuities*IRA*Health*Cancer
*Critical Illness*Commercial*
Retirement Planning* Reverse Mtg.








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