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Let me start by saying I’m 59 years old and consider myself to be a rational, practical, common sense person. I believe that God created us in his likeness. I believe in equal rights, the Constitution and the U. S. A. We are not always right in our decisions but I believe we are a good member in the overall world standing. I believe in less, not more government inclusion in our lives and rights. There are numerous sayings I could quote, and I’m sure most of you have heard them. One such saying is “those who don’t learn from history, are doomed to repeat it”.

As far back as I can remember, it has been said “what is wrong with this generation of kids?” This country is doomed when this generation takes over. We have survived each generation that has come before me and after me. We have had brilliant minds that have enabled us to walk on the moon, build a space station, create computers and the internet. We have gone from records, reel to reel tape, to 8 tracks, cassettes, cd’s, and ipods. We have gone from a crank phone complete with an operator, to rotary dial, to push button, tone, pulse to cell phones complete with built in cameras and internet availability. We have seen some amazing, incredible technological advances. In that area, we are in good hands but those are not the areas that concern me.

The areas that concern me are: our morals, values, principles. The thing that keeps a society, it’s people and a country grounded. These are the areas where I have to question where are we as a country headed?

Let’s take a look at the recent news headlines. The California Supreme Court just over ruled a lower court on the topic of gay marriage. They also ignored the vote of the people who voted it down. Regardless, of where you stand on this issue, doesn’t the fact of what this means concern you? The court is telling you that your vote doesn’t matter. What matters is how judges rule. Excuse me, but this goes against everything our country was founded on. Personally, I’m not in favor of a legal gay marriage. I’m not a bible scholar but when God created Adam and Eve, he told them to “be fruitful and multiply”. I was a health and physical education major and unless there has been a radical new development I’m unaware of, a same sex marriage cannot do that. I’m not anti-gay or whatever the politically correct saying is. I’m fine with them living together, a man and woman living together don’t qualify for tax breaks either, so my feeling is where is the difference?

Texas is next, is anyone paying attention to what’s going on with the children from the FLDS compound? Religious freedoms are all well and good however, multiple wives, arranged marriages, girls being abused by men more than twice their age. There are at least six underage girls who are pregnant, there are other underage girls who have had children and in some cases multiple children. Has anyone else noticed other than color the women all dress basically the same and wear their hair the same way. Does anyone still remember Jim Jones? I grew up in Amish and Mennonite country but I never heard nor have I seen reported things of this magnitude in either of those communities. Isn’t it our duty to protect our nation’s children? They don’t have a vote, their voices are not heard but they are being sent back to live under the same conditions they were in previously.

How about the recent murders of college students, most of which have been women? The mysterious and questionable disappearance of couples and individuals across our country? The beatings of students, which are being videoed for the sole purpose of putting them on the internet so that the beaters can get their 15 minutes of fame? The sexually explicit “dance” at a Memphis school by students while teacher chaperons stood and did nothing. Isn’t anyone offended by anything anymore? What has happened to right and wrong?

I worked in cable television for 25 years from 1972-1997, I’ve seen the changes. People say it’s because we live in a 24/7 news cycle. CNN first aired almost 28 years ago. Prior to that, we had news on television early morning, noon, early and late evening and news breaks based on importance. We also had radio and newspapers. We did not exactly live in the dark ages folks. We need to get our moral compass, values, principles and priorities in order and quickly. Unless we make these changes, “we will repeat history”.

http://www.randyblessingsemporium.com

Well, I do not know about you, but I am getting pretty tired of being called a racist or being accused for the issues of slavery in the early history of this country. For the record, I’d like to announce that most of my family came over on the Mayflower and settled in the North, they were Yankees. My ancestors fought and some of them died during this Nation’s Civil War to free the slaves.

Further, my wife’s family came over in the 1900s and they were not even around for those early days of slavery. Not only am I not a racist, my family and my wife’s family fought the NAZIs and who were definitely racists. All of our grandfathers fought in World War II. So, if you would refrain from calling me a racist, well, I’d definitely appreciate it.

Now then, I am happy for you if you are a Black-American and are excited about Junior Senator Barrack Obama becoming president of the United States of America. And you have every right to vote for him because you and he are of similar color, even if Barrack Obama is only 18% black, 50% white and 32% Arab. Nevertheless, if you believe he is black and that turns you on, then go ahead and vote for him - this is a free country.

But, if you are only voting for him for the sole reason that you believe he is black and want him to help the black community, as he has promised and if you are voting for him because you trust a black man over a white man and believe he is the better candidate because he is black then please realize that makes you a racist, not me.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Blog Content Service. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/.

Looking for the perfect gift for someone who never seems to like anything? Gift buying can be so difficult. You can never be sure what the recipient truly wants. You also may not know if the recipient already has the gift you plan on buying. Plus it always seems like it is time to buy someone a gift, whether it is Christmas, a birthday, marriage, or some other special occasion. If only there was a gift you could give to someone that would be assured to make the person happy and you knew would be useful. There is.

Think Gift Card

You think a gift card would be a good gift; however, you do not know what specific store to get the gift card from. Maybe you should consider a Wachovia gift card.

Can Use Anywhere

A Wachovia gift card can be used anywhere that Visa is accepted. That means the person you give the Wachovia gift card can use it for dinner, movies, books, travel, or virtually anything else he or she desires. The recipient can use the gift card at retail stores or online. You are assured that the person you give this to will find a use for it and enjoy it. You are giving the gift of freedom to choose.

Where to Purchase

You can purchase a Wachovia gift card at their bank locations. You can also purchase a gift card online at Wachovia dot com. Either way is a simple way to get the perfect gift for that special someone. For each card there is a processing fee of $3.95.

How It Works

When you purchase a gift card, you specify how much money you want to put on the card. The gift card recipient can choose to spend the amount however they wish. They can spend it all on one purchase or make several purchases with the same card.

Protections

Just like a regular Visa card, Wachovia gift cards are give the recipient protection in case the card is fraudulently used or lost. You can just contact Wachovia and they will help the cardholder and issue a replacement card if necessary. These protections make giving a Wachovia gift card much better than giving an equal amount in cash.

Why Wachovia?

If you are already a customer, choosing Wachovia as the gift card issuer will be convenient. You can purchase the card when you are at a location taking care of other bank business. Wachovia is one of the largest banks in the United States, so you will know that there is no risk of money not being available.

Gary Pearson is an accomplished niche website developer and author.

To learn more about wachovia gift cards, visit Giving Gift Cards Shop for current articles and discussions.

If you don’t know where to stay in order to get your piano teaching business off the ground, you will be happy to learn that there are resources to assist you. By taking a look around in local music stores and online you will find all sorts of piano teacher resources that you can incorporate. They include lesson plans, billing, and even scheduling so that you can stay in top of everything.

The lesson plans are among the most helpful piano teacher resources. You don’t want to spend more time than you have to developing the lessons for your students. It is important to realize that your students will progress at different rates. Therefore you need to have many lessons ready to go for those that move along rapidly. It can be frustrating and difficult to develop your own lessons so take advantage of the great resources that are out there.

You may find you don’t have a clue about where to start with the piano lessons. With the right resources you can find that starting point. You can also be confident you won’t be wasting your time or the time of your students. You will be able to use effective learning tools that they will benefit from.

One of the many rewards of teaching piano is to be able to make money at it. Yet keeping track of who owes you money, who has already paid, and your expenses can be a chore if you aren’t organized about it. With the right piano teacher resources you can easily keep track of all of that. In fact, you can choose to use a software program that will print out bills and receipts for you.

Scheduling is another very important aspect of teaching piano to keep track of. You need to be able to determine how many students you can take on in the time you have committed to this type of work. You also need to keep track of when you should be teaching someone. You don’t want to not show up or to be waiting for a student that doesn’t show up because they aren’t supposed to.

Get the most out of your time due to the various types of piano teacher resources available. You won’t feel overwhelmed and you will be known as a reliable teacher as you are always where you need to be on time. Being organized will definitely make teaching piano more enjoyable for you as well. You may love the concept of teaching piano but organization is lacking for you. Get all the help you can in this department so you and your students can stay on track.

Take the time to explore the various piano teacher resources out there that are available. By incorporating them into your routine you will find the process of teaching piano to be more enjoyable for you. Remember that sense you have to claim the income you make from this type of work you need to keep your receipts for any resources you do buy. That way you can count them as a deduction on your income tax returns.

Sheryl Quinn loves teaching piano to her students.To learn more about Piano Teaching Profits and how to become a WEALTHY piano teacher, visit visit her site. And don’t forget to signup for the free report!

The following topics are covered in this lesson:

1. Picking a trading style to reflect your personality
2. What is fundamental analysis? What is technical analysis?
3. Technical analysis 101: Support and resistance lines.

There are a million different ways to trade the financial markets. Maybe more. Swing traders, data players, Elliot Wave analysts, momentum traders, Gann theorists, spread traders, arbitrageurs - not to be confused with risk arbitrageurs - and correlation players all help to price and misprice assets. The music of the market reflects the instruments these traders use.

Yet any two traders using the same strategy could be taking wildly different trades - even taking opposites sides of the same trade. This is because, while sharing the same broad strokes, they could have different methods of analysis, different timeframes and different signals, leading to altogether different decisions.

Each person reflects his own personality in how he trades. No two traders, and therefore trading styles, are the same.

The choice of a trading strategy will depend in large part on two factors: your free time and your personality. Some strategies are more time-consuming than others. Some require a greater appetite for risk. But when you have made the decision of what your trading strategy will be, it should still be continually tweaked to fit your comfort level - and to reflect your own strengths and weaknesses.

Two types of analysis

Do you want to take a long-term view and stick to it - or do you want to buy and sell as the price moves up and down? Both of these strategies have strengths, and encapsulate the difference between the two main trading styles.

The smorgasbord of different strategies can loosely be separated into two categories: fundamental analysis and technical analysis.

Fundamental analysis considers the inherent financial health of a company, an economy or an industry.

In the stock market, you analyze company reports and pay careful attention to announcements and profit results; in the foreign exchange market, you watch data releases such as gross domestic product (GDP) growth, non-farms payrolls or interest rate releases; if you are buying an industry index or tracker you will look both at the individual companies within that industry and also macro factors (for instance, how are people in that industry affected by the price of oil?)

Technical analysis is based on the notion that prices move in trends - and that you can exploit these trends to make money.

You can either ignore the fundamental data entirely - as some brave chartists do - or you can absorb that data into your strategy, combining elements of both fundamental and technical analysis. The synthesis of the two styles is a strategy that many traders feel most comfortable with.

The technical analyst’s main tool is a price chart. By looking at this chart - seeing where the price has been before and seeing what happened when it got there - traders hope to predict where it will go next. The best way to learn technical analysis is by looking at a chart, so let’s have an example.

Next time on Spy School; Online trading guide: Technical analysis 101: Support and resistance lines.

Brought to you by Spy School - CFDSpy.com; Pros in all things Online trading | Keep an eye on the markets with CFD Spy. Enjoy trading articles, market news, with daily fundamental & technical analysis. Source online CFD & FOREX trading brokers, with user reviews, comparisons & the latest promotions. Plus dont miss our 24/5 trading blog lunch is for wimps and much more.

First thing that should come to mind is, “red flag!” On February 13, 2008 President Bush signed the economic stimulus package. Along with that came a multitude of questions. Also, we now face possible scams. Be it e-mails, telephone, the list is endless.

There are millions anxiously awaiting the 2008 tax rebate check. As I said, waiting. The thought of having their refund much faster, has prompted some to fall victim to the latest scam. The distribution of checks will not begin until the end of May.

Having said that, what can you do to protect yourself? Be informed. Through the IRS website, and other resources. I was able to gather the following information.

Types of tax rebate scams;

Rebate phone call; The caller tells the victim they will receive a large rebate, simply by filing their taxes early. To finalize, they need only to give their bank account information. This will ensure the direct deposit process. The IRS does not collect this information via telephone.

Refund e-Mail; In this scenario, the scam artist tells the suspected target to click on a link to access a refund claim form. Then you are instructed to enter your personal information. This will allow them to access your bank account information. The IRS does not send e-mails in regard to tax account matters. Whether it is an individual, business, tax-exempt or other taxpayers.

Not pertaining to the tax rebate, but equally important, are;

Audit e-Mail, Changes to Tax Law e-Mail, and Paper Check Phone Call. To find out more, IRS Warnings

Basically, should you be involved with any of the above mentioned. They suggest, if you have received either a questionable e-mail, or phone call. Send an e-mail directly from there website. The information is provided. This should be done by typing irs.gov into the address box. A reminder, never click on a link in an e-mail.

I hope this has been helpful. If you would like to find out more about the 2008 tax rebate, or share your thoughts. Please visit, Join The 2008 Tax Rebate Buzz

Stay aware, and informed!
Best regards,
Chloe Cavanaugh