Top of August Month Links

Bpoilspill

Sporn

Carwrecks

Tiger cub smuggler

When a ground zero mosque really is neither 2

How beaches looked 100 years ago Pics

Meanwhile in India Pic

What to do on a flight from new york to berlin 2

Munies – You’ve Totally Arrived

For about the last hundred years or so, there has been one certifiable way to know if you have “arrived” when it comes to your finances. This is when you start thinking so much about your tax bracket that the idea of Municipal bonds start to sound like a really good investment idea. Municipal bonds, or “Munies” as they are lovingly called by those who frequent them, are a pretty nice way to keep your money paying you without too much fuss or muss. They do not require you to pay federal or state taxes on what you receive from them, they typically pay somewhere in the six to seven percent range (which can be the equivalent of a lot more, when you consider that there are no taxes involved), and do not require as much managing due to this level of simplicity.

And as if that was not enough to make you consider changing your allocation to involve muni rates, you might also want to consider that investing in Munies is a way to make your local world a better place. While a lot of municipal bonds are on the state level (for things such as monuments) a decent number are for roads and bridges. if you are the type of person who shells out for Munies on a regular basis, you have some clout just by default. Power goes to power, after all.

Can you imagine being one of the financiers of a bridge that could last for centuries, and that everybody will see (and depend on!) for generations to come? That has got to be one of the biggest rushes in life other than winning the Super Bowl or of out-wrestling a ravenous beast and punching it into a bloody pulp after it started the fight in the first place. Munies rock!

Giving Yourself Financial Help: Credit Counseling and More

Managing finances in this society can be very difficult. Even though the United States is one of the countries that is better off, many citizens are finding it difficult to make ends meet. Hopefully, Americans will be able to break this trend soon. If you have noticed that you are having a harder time paying for everything, it is time to seek help. Before you jump on the bankruptcy bandwagon like so many others, try to get out of debt on your own.

If you are able to find your own solution, you will save your credit and have a fresh start. Bankruptcy is only a fresh start in terms of monthly bills. Many people in this large society would still like having the option of a credit card, even while attempting to get out of debt. Payday loans and personal loans from relatives could work as well. Basically, you will want to free yourself from debt but have some sort of backup plan should you need quick cash.

Spend Less in this Society

This sounds easy, but it is going to take a lot of planning on your part. You may want to seek out the help of a credit counseling service. If you do not want to do that, you can tackle this problem on your own, like many others in this society have done. Start by looking for any expenses in your monthly budget that you can cut.

This would include things such as cable television, dinners out, dance classes, charitable donations, and lawn care. You might not like it, but this is just a temporary situation. All of these are luxuries that many in today’s society are used to, but they are not needed. When you are financially back on track, you can always pick them back up.

The Government’s Role in Women’s Reproductive Health

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, has information for women regarding their reproductive health. This can include topics on infertility, different contraception methods available, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including HIV/AIDS and teens reproductive health. The CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health conducts all types of research, not only studying various biomedical issues and consequences, but looking at behavioral effects on reproductive health as well. The CDC works with many diverse groups, including women in prison, women in managed care facilities and women of different ages, races and sexual orientation. This enables the researchers to get a wide cross section of the population in order to achieve the most comprehensive results.
The CDC wishes to help women protect their reproductive system, noting that this is one of the most delicate systems in a woman’s body and is prone to infection or injury. Without taking care of problems when they first occur, it can turn into a problem you might have for the rest of your life. There are precautions women can take to help prevent health problems. For instance, you can avoid sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS by knowing who your partner is and if he or she already is infected with a disease. However, many women don’t even know that they have an STD since the symptoms aren’t visible. So it’s important to go to the doctor or clinic for regular checkups and testing for STDs.
The CDC is there to help you have control over your own body and reproductive system. That means understanding the importance of birth control and what options are available, so you don’t have an unwanted pregnancy. This is especially important for sexually active teens. Many types of birth control are available, including IUDs, pills, a contraceptive ring, patches, injections and female and male condoms.

Scammed by a Business? Get Help From Business Fraud Lawyers

There are thousands of businesses out there that would never earn a spot on the website of the Better Business Bureau, except through a customer leaving a negative remark or complaint. These are often fly by night businesses with the sole purpose of perpetrating a quick scam and running with your money. There are so many different kinds of scams that it’s useless to try to name them all. However, scammers all have one thing in common: They think that they can get away with it.

However, in most cases, they can’t get away with it. So, if you have fallen prey to a scam, do not lose heart. Find business fraud lawyers in your city and get help. A business fraud lawyer will know exactly how to handle a situation like this. If they figure that the potential to get high monetary damages exists, which is almost always true in fraud cases, then they will even work for you without a retainer. Basically, that means you do not have to pay them a dime unless they win the case for you. If you win, you may have to pay a part of the award in legal fees; but most people do not mind doing that.

Lawyers who specialize in business fraud play an important role in holding corporate entities accountable for their fraudulent actions. Because of the expertise of these attorneys, business owners think twice before they do something criminal. They know that with a good lawyer against them, penalties can be very high, and will include not only monetary damages, but may even include jail time if criminal charges are filed and proven. Don’t let yourself fall victim to corporate bad guys. Fight back with a good lawyer by your side.

Supreme Court Nominee Rejections

Many people, including some of the nominees(like Maryland trial lawyers), consider Supreme Court confirmation hearings to be a waste of time. Often, the nominees don’t answer direct questions about their beliefs so, as they have testified, they don’t jeopardize possible future votes. But issues and problems with nominees can be uncovered during a confirmation hearing. And though a nominee might survive the hearing to be appointed to the court, his or her reputation can be sullied in the process. This happened with Clarence Thomas when Anita Hill, a law professor at the University of Oklahoma, accused Thomas of sexual harassment when she worked for him on the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. Since there was no direct evidence and it was Hill’s word against Thomas’s, he was confirmed as an associate justice of the Supreme Court. The accusation, though, hangs over his head to this day.

Probably the most well-known recent Supreme Court nominee rejection is Robert Bork. President Reagan nominated the U.S. Court of Appeals judge who was known for his ultra-conservative opinions. Civil rights groups and other liberals were able block his nomination with a 58-42 vote against Bork. Some people felt he was treated unfairly and Bork himself resigned as a judge after the confirmation hearing.

Reagan then nominated appellate judge Douglas Ginsburg. But during his confirmation hearing, it was revealed that he smoked marijuana and he, too, was rejected. (Reagan’s third choice, Anthony Kennedy, was confirmed.)

Roger Taney was rejected in 1835, but he was nominated again—both times by Andrew Jackson—won confirmation as chief justice and eventually wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision stating that no black person could ever become a citizen of the United States.

The strongest rejection in Supreme Court history was for Alexander Wolcott in 1811. Walcott, a customs inspector, was rejected with a vote of 9-24 because of his embargoes against Great Britain and France.

Money and Running for Office

How much does the amount of money a political candidate has play into the success or failure of running for office? Can an American citizen who’s outside the political arena or who doesn’t have personal wealth successfully campaign and win an election?

It appears more and more that politics is becoming a game of money instead of based on issues and concern for the country. The 2010 governor’s race in California is a good example. Candidate Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, has broken that state’s record on campaign spending by outlaying close to $90 million with the race still months from conclusion. Estimates put her personal contribution to the campaign close to 90 percent of what’s been spent so far. Her campaign’s spending is over seven times what her opponents have spent on their campaigns. Critics point out that Whitman could have done much to help California’s budget crisis and the state’s citizens instead of spending the money on negative ads, chartered jets with top-notch service, high-end fundraisers in Beverly Hills and high-salary political consultants. (Mike Murphy, the candidate’s chief consultant, reportedly makes $90,000 per month.) Other opponents accuse Whitman of deciding on a whim to run for office after she left eBay.

But the spending appears to be working, at least during the primary election. Whitman won over her main opponent Steve Poizner who accused Whitman of blatantly buying the election. She’ll be pitted against the Democratic candidate, former California governor Jerry Brown, who is known for his fiscally conservative public and private values. As of July 2010, the two are tied in the race for governor.

And don’t expect to see any third parties having much success at the polls. It’s difficult for them to compete with the highly funded Democratic and Republican parties. Third party candidates have been trying to work their way into the American political scene for years. The most well known are the Independent, Progressive, Libertarian and Green parties. But only two percent of the third party candidates in the past nine years have won their elections.

Moving Quotes and Your Money

The economy is taking a beating time these days. It’s been set back by the excesses of the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, the Trade Tower attacks of 2001, and most recently, the housing mortgage abuses of the banking industry. This last blow has lead to 1,954,000 foreclosures throughout the United States. California has seen 66,910 foreclosures, followed by Florida with 51,557.

If you are one of the unhappy people who can no longer afford the region where you live, it may be necessary to move. This means that you will need to gather moving quotes.

Whether you are moving from Virginia to West Virginia, or from Florida to California, the moving process will be challenging. What will it take to move from here to there? What are the costs? How difficult is it going to be? Contacting various agencies and getting accurate quotes for the move will save you all kinds of potential headaches. Don’t schedule a pickup until you know the costs and know that you can manage the bill.

If it is too expensive to move all your belongings, it is not unreasonable to liquidate your furnishings and pick up new ones at the new location. If you are single or a young couple, making the move from the East Coast to the West Coast can be exciting. You can leave a lot of old things behind, pick up new ones later, and make a fresh start.

If you are older and have accumulated way too many possessions, you may cringe when you see the moving quotes. You can’t liquidate your furnishings as easily as the younger crowd (how will your wife leave behind her mother’s tables and chairs?). In this case, moving quotes will play an important role in finding the best deal for your money and helping to smooth the moving process.

Campaign Finance Reform

American citizens are becoming fed up with the amount of money that’s being spent on political campaigns. The elections appear to be going to the highest bidder. Either rich candidates are spending their own seemingly endless fortunes, or they’re being funded by special interest groups. Is the election process being wrenched from the hands of the voters?

Some efforts have been made to curb and regulate campaign spending, even as far back as 1867. But the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1972 was the first successful legislation for campaign finance reform. Part of the act’s provisions required candidates to reveal who contributed to their campaigns and how much they spent. In 1974, the Federal Election Commission Act added to the reform by capping individual donations at $1,000 and Political Action Committee (PAC) donations to $5,000.

The McCain-Feingold reform, officially called the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) of 2002, is the latest campaign finance law at the federal level. The act outlawed so-called soft money, unregulated contributions from independent entities or those contributions that don’t go directly to the candidates’ campaigns. Senators McCain and Feingold are still, in 2010, trying to get stronger reform laws passed.

One major obstacle to campaign finance reform is some people and organization’s belief that it violates first amendment constitutional rights. In 1976, the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment guarantees the right to contribute to and spend money on political campaigns, which comes from American citizens’ right to self-government and to freedom itself.

Some people feel that the limits should be raised since they haven’t been changed for decades. Opponents believe that increasing the spending limits on campaign contributions will allow wealthier people to buy into the elections, financing candidates and propositions that support their causes. Proponents of raising the limits also say candidates could then spend more time on their duties of office rather than fundraising. Opponents counter that throwing more money into the system won’t help with the current problems.

Energy Efficiency Innovations and Programs

The government has been promoting energy conservation programs and certain types of energy efficiency innovations for decades, but many people feel the government has not been doing enough. Some tax incentives have existed for solar technology and other renewable energy, and these have increased since President Barack Obama came into office. But the majority of innovation and new energy technology has been created because of individual inventors and businesses. Tesla is a good example with its new Roadster, which uses Li-Ion batteries and has a distance rating of 220 miles before it must be recharged. The Roadster is no slacker on the road, either. It’s been clocked doing 0-60 in 4 seconds or less.

Other innovations in energy efficiency include efficient water heaters, and simply putting insulation around your existing water heater can save much energy, not to mention your power bill. Refrigerators and freezers are much more efficient than from years past, and for those that fit certain efficiency criteria, the government offers rebates. Windows and window coverings are available that adjust to your room’s temperature and light. And compact fluorescent light bulbs are replacing the traditional incandescent. Manufacturing fluorescent light bulbs versus incandescent reduces greenhouse gases, so simply switching types of light bulbs will significantly help the environment.

Many states have implemented their own energy efficiency policies, often facing lawsuits by the federal government. California ran into this problem when the California legislation increased the required mileage per gallon for automobiles. The EPA argued that a state cannot set a limit on auto greenhouse gas emissions that are more stringent than the federal government’s rules. Since President Obama came into office, California has agreed to hold off on its legislation and to work with the federal government on a national greenhouse standard for automobiles.

The Obama administration has invested billions in energy efficiency and conservation programs in America. President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants program have provided a multitude of grants toward a goal of eventual energy independence from the oil producing countries.