An old sales adage is “A great product speaks for itself. Put it out there and it’s a winner without ever having to sell it.” John McCain’s ability as a top salesman was unequaled when he picked a woman to stand against the rise of intolerance and unrest within the inner workings of the GOP itself. Now, a fresh new face rises up for the betterment of women everywhere especially for those that had almost given up hope that this day would ever arrive. However, it’s a new face that identifies more with the meatloaf and potatoes crowd than with the champagne and caviar based one that had aligned itself alongside the GOP for decades.

It’s the rise of the proletariat or the working class and what better way to promote it than have one of its own representing them at the top of a political ticket. After all, she has a large family, her husband was a union member and she has been a member of the PTA in her children’s schools for years before she entered into public service. Unlike, McCain’s upbringing in the Episcopalian and elite Naval Academy world of Annapolis and other places before becoming a war veteran, a congressman and a senator. The new GOP is drawing crowds by the thousands even those sick of partisan politics where policy is dictated by party ideology. They were becoming unsure of where their party wanted to go in terms of their country’s future in the twenty-first century and beyond are now crossing over giving a much needed liberated boost to the more rigidly right one of years past.

Of course, the newly elected going to the White House faces a much greater and more
overwhelming agenda much like the one that Ronald Reagan faced in the nineteen eighties such as; high unemployment, a federal budget deficit, the threat of terrorism that had to be corrected without burdening the taxpayers. He headed a Reagan Revolution where his open glasnost policies dictated getting big government off the citizens backs while at the same time lowering the high unemployment rate of that time. He was also a champion of free trade and the supply- side lowering taxes to help decrease the budget deficit of economics. Whatever the election outcome of this time, the electorate will also face conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan and the recent government takeover of the housing market as though they had the time to become mortgage specialists. It will take a huge elephant with the mental capacity of a beaten down donkey not to steer the course of America’s future straight ahead without tipping over a large ship full of a discontented nation sick of bearing the burden of partisan policies.

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You’ve got a web site, some products, maybe a mailing list with several buyers, and you’re wondering if it’s some to go to one of those $997 or $1997 seminars the gurus are promoting. Internet marketing… basket weaving… beanie baby collecting… geocaching… just about every niche in the world has some kind of paid physical seminar you can attend.

But how do you know if you’re ready to take your business to the next level and go to one of these events? To be honest, the decider is: “Do you need it as a tax writeoff?” Are you making enough money in your business that you need the expenses of a plane ride, hotel fare, the seminar fee, transportation, and food as deductions? (This turns out to be roughly $700 in addition to the entrance fee at the seminar).

Ultimately, you’re going to learn the most at seminars from people hanging out in the back of the room or talking outside… the one on one chats. Speakers at seminars are either trying to sell you something or cover the more basic info — so that they appeal to the largest group of individuals.

On the other hand, if you are a newbie in your niche, you can learn a lot from LOCAL seminars. Is there an event within driving distance, 1 to 5 hours away? Can you stay at a low-cost Doubletree or Motel 6 nearby? If so then you might accelerate your learning curve and avoid many of the mistakes other newbies in your niche have made.

Attend $500 to $1000 weekend seminars that last 2-4 days, avoid 1-hour lunches. Allow one day before and after for travel. Don’t expect lots of joint ventures to land in your lap… most of people will throw your business card away or file them in a stack, that’s just a reality.

If you make business cards for this trip, make sure it has your picture, an attention-grabbing headline, and your URL. A phone number is optional. No one really cares about the other details like your mailing address or fax number.

Finally, it’s important to have fun on these trips. It is your vacation and you get the opportunity to see different parts of the world being a seminar-hopper. You get to know new people, gather lots of tips to improve your business and ultimately make more money. Above all, be social!

Are you a professional newbie? Stay focused and keep pumping out new products with this great advice… http://www.robertplank.com/professional-newbie

Many entrepreneurs are now contemplating to buy hotel businesses in their hometowns. It is because these areas, which were earlier considered as secluded areas, are now undergoing major change. Foothold of new multinational companies and availability of infrastructural facilities have lead to prosperity in many lesser known areas of states.

Therefore, all those hotel enthusiasts, can now purchase hotels available for sale, give it few modernized touches and start running the ventures successfully. The first step is considering the capital required for down payment as well as for the operational work.

Running a hotel business is not only about buying a hotel, but an owner needs to look after its facilitation also. It takes money to renovate the hotel, advertise it and make payment to the staff people. These factors depend on the solid monetary decisions. So, always make a sound financial plan before purchasing a hotel.

Other step is finding the hotel that meets the individual’s requirements. For that purpose, approach any of local brokers who practice in hotel assets. Tell them about the budget, favorable area of town and so on. Such expert brokers search the potential hotels fitting their client’s requirements. Entrepreneurs can also check out the hotel properties available for sale through internet.

Hotel Buying Plan:

Before buying a hotel, find out if the hotel has any outstanding issues or is under any legal case. Financing a hotel business is another daunting task. If the current owner has mortgaged the hotel, ask the owner to pay back the mortgage amount by giving them a part of purchase price.

If many partners are involved in buying a high investment hotel business, enter into LLC agreement. LLC refers to Limited Liability Company, which is compulsory as per the U.S laws if at all a business includes more than two partners. If people want to obtain loan from any local bank, they need to locate a bank accordingly. If a person has good credit report and ensures of making excellent prospect in business, banks willingly sanction loans to such a person.

Financial organizations consider various options before sanctioning a loan amount to entrepreneur, such as their credit ratings, hotel experience, and prospects of cash flow and capacity of down payment. Hence, locate a good broker. Many times, brokers do the negotiation job. They also help to locate outer source of financial help also.

The length of negotiation also has to limit within the stretch. If owners are demanding unsubstantial sum for their hotels and consuming more time, better shelve that project and look out for some other hotels on sale.

Conclusion:

Hotel business is around-the-clock type of business. It is imperative to keep few targets on weekly basis. If an entrepreneur wants to run hotel business successfully, consider reasons of business failure by earlier owners. Hire new staff or employ more staff. Poor managers at desk can lose the business by the way they handle their customer’s calls.

Customer staying in a hotel expects the excellent customer service, room service and good amenities. Remember that entrepreneurs have to look into these details, if they want to excel in their newly bought hotel business.

John Elton owns and operates a Best Penny Stocks Picks website to help other investors with their stock decisions. He also operates a Home Based Business earn money online site to help entrepreneurs gain experience and wealth.”

Split thicket voting means that one electorate chooses simultaneously for two or more different party options in different elections that are held concurrently, or more exactly when a voter supports or votes for a candidate against his or her party affiliation in order to prevent an undesirable result. This behavior is interesting and important and challenges some classical theories of electoral behavior: why is that the same person votes for two or more different party in a specific period of time? The purpose of this paper is to investigate split voting in the U.S. presidential and congress election.

Split voting in American elections is not unprecedented: of the 43American presidents, more than 20 were serving with a house of representative which was under the control of the opposing party. First of all I think we have to consider theories of voting behavior: Party identification theory argues that people vote due to their party affiliation which they feel some sort of psychological attachment developed during the voters life; issue voting model argues that people do not vote just due to their party affiliation or party identification but based on the important issues of their society. As it was mentioned split voting in America is not a new phenomenon, but what are the reasons for such a voting behavior?

There are some reasons for such behavior: It can be argued that when people feel more dissatisfaction with national executive performance the probability of ticket splitting will increase and the voters tend to elect a party that would change and moderate the situation. So one of the reasons for split voting in America is voter’s intention for creating a sort of balance in both presidential and congressional electorates; in this way the power would be distributed between the two parties that are influential in different institutions and it creates more balance and control. This case can be seen during Bush’s presidency and his two wars of attrition in Iraq and Afghanistan, Americans who were searching for more stability voted for Democrats.

Another explanation for such a behavior is known as accidental model of split- ticket voting: it says that voters decision in both presidential and Congressional election are independent; it means that they do not depend on any preference of the voters on the final configuration of the forces in different institutions. So what make electors to act are the political offers that the parties in each election present. On the other hand, split-ticket voting could happen because of differences of what the citizens demand in each type of election. In America, although the voters demand the executive an effort to maximize the collective goods, they demand to legislative power an effort to minimize individual risks, to optimize wealth distribution and minimize local costs. (Jacobson 1991: 641), so as you see people have different expectations from executive and legislative branch.

So it can be argued that Americans mostly vote based on issue voting model than party identification.

If you are interested in purchasing an existing business, you might be working with either a real estate agent or a business broker. Once you’ve decided on the business that you want to purchase and the purchase price, there are a number of factors to consider when it comes to drafting the Agreement of Purchase and Sale and completing the transaction. Keep in mind that the written Agreement of Purchase and Sale represents the entire agreement between the parties and anything that is important to the deal needs to be included in this Agreement.

Here are some things to keep in mind:
 
How are you allocating the purchase price?
                                   
Once you have agreed upon the price, you need to decide how the purchase price will be allocated. The purchase price is allocated to goodwill, equipment, and leasehold improvements (and, sometimes, the lease itself). The allocation of the purchase price is important because it allows you to allocate part of the price to items which can be depreciated quickly such as leasehold improvements or equipment. From a tax perspective, this can be advantageous. Usually, it is in the buyer’s interests to allocate as much as possible of the purchase price to leasehold improvements. On the other hand, from the seller’s perspective, it is preferable to allocate as much as possible to goodwill.  Depending upon the type of business you are purchasing, it is advisable to speak with an accountant about the best way to allocate the purchase price in your Agreement.
 
Will the landlord consent to you assuming the lease?
 
For some businesses, the value of the business includes a favourable lease in a good location. If you are purchasing a business on leased premises, you will need to obtain the consent of the landlord prior to assuming the existing lease. This is usually included as a condition of the Agreement. The type of information that a landlord will want before agreeing to an assignment of a lease will vary but, at a minimum, they will want credit information and information about your experience running a business. 
 
What should you look for in a lease?
 
The complexity of a lease will vary depending upon whether your business is located in a major shopping centre or a small commercial building. In reviewing a lease, pay attention to how many years are left on the lease prior to renewal, and whether there is a right of renewal. Ideally, what you want is a right to extend the lease, as opposed to an option to renew. An option to renew is only a right to negotiate a new lease, with new terms and provisions. It is more favourable to have a commitment that the lease can be extended upon the same terms and conditions as contained in the original lease. If the end of the term is coming up on the existing lease, it might be better to negotiate a new lease altogether.
 
Most leases are ‘net’ leases meaning that in addition to rent per square footage, you also pay to the landlord additional rent such as property taxes, and operating costs such as utilities, insurance, maintenance, repair & property management. You need to know the amount of these additional costs since you will be paying for them. Quantifying the additional rent will help you decide whether the lease is affordable based upon the type of business you will be operating at that location.  
 
Employees
 
It is important to ascertain whether the business you are buying has any part time or full time employees. If so, you will become liable as a successor employer for obligations to these employees, including salary, vacation pay, unemployment insurance premiums and worker’s compensation premiums. Because of these obligations, and the difficulty of determining the full extent of your obligations as a prospective purchaser, you may not want to retain any employees, and hire your own employees after the purchase transaction is completed. If you are buying a small business, it can be preferable to include a provision in the Agreement which requires the vendor to terminate all employees before closing.
 
GST
 
If you don’t already have one, you will need to obtain a GST number for the closing. When you are purchasing all, or substantially all, of the assets of a business, you are entitled to make an election to defer payment of GST. This election can only be made if the buyer is a GST registrant.
 
Warranties
 
You need to have adequate warranties included in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale to ensure that the vendor has paid any GST and provincial sales taxes which are owing by the business, and that there are no other liabilities attaching to the business. It is always advisable to obtain a retail sales clearance certificate confirming that provincial sales taxes are up-do-date (although, if it is a short closing, some purchasers will opt to accept a written warranty that retail sales tax has been paid).  You will also want warranties that all books and records produced during your due diligence period are accurate and fully disclose all financial matters.

Since a warranty is merely a legal promise by the vendor, it is always best to have an accountant review the financial records of the business before the Agreement is finalized.
 
Non-competition clauses
 
Often, purchasers will want to negotiate a covenant with the vendor limiting the vendor’s ability to compete with them after closing in a similar business. If you are buying a bakery, you don’t want the vendor opening up shop a few doors down after the closing. If the vendor will agree to a non-competition covenant on closing, this possibility is eliminated.
 
Non-competition covenants can be useful but, in order to be enforceable, they cannot be overly restrictive. It might be reasonable to restrict the vendor from opening up a similar business for 1 to 5 years following the closing, and for this restriction to operate within a radius of 1 to 5 kilometres surrounding the current business location, depending upon the type of business being sold.
 
This information is not meant as a substitute for obtaining legal advice. If you need advice based upon your particular circumstances, please consult a lawyer.

Kerry is a lawyer practising in Ottawa, Ontario with the firm of Augustine Bater Polowin LLP. She advises small and medium-sized business owners in the areas of commercial real estate, business structures and agreements, and intellectual property. For more practical legal information check out http://www.KerryFoxLegal.com

Wouldn’t it be nice if someone walked up to you and gave you the amount of money you need to pay off your mortgage? Of course, if there were no strings attached, it would be a great thing to happen to you. Then, your next likely question would be: “should I actually pay off my mortgage with this money or should I invest it?”

To a lesser extent, a lot of people are faced with this same decision monthly when they have some extra dollars available. Is it better to take this money and put it toward paying off the principal of the mortgage, or would it be more profitable to invest it in the stock market, mutual funds or some other opportunity.

The Two Schools Of Thought

There are those who feel, since they are budgeting successfully each month and because, at some point their mortgage will be paid off anyway, they should invest any extra funds at the end of the month. There are others who feel their number one concern is to get the mortgage payment off their back and then they will have a lot of money to invest each month.

People who fall into the first category will say “sure you’ll have a lot of money to invest then, but had you been investing all along, you would be way ahead of the game.”

It’s a Matter of Rate of Return or Mortgage Rate

If life were simple, you would know in advance how much money you’re going to get from your invested money. Unfortunately, life isn’t that simple. Oh sure! you know when you put money into savings accounts or Cd’s how much money you will get back, but you also know the percentage you are being paid in these investments is small in comparison to your mortgage interest rate.

Many times throughout the last 30 years, there have been mutual funds that have returned in excess of 25% some years. This, of course, is a tremendous return. If we knew in advance we would get this kind of return, we wouldn’t hesitate to invest all our extra money in mutual funds. The problem is, even though you might think a particular mutual fund will give you a tremendous return, you can’t be absolutely certain.

The rule of thumb is, the safer the investment, the lower their return. There is no escaping it, in order to get a high rate of return, you must take a substantial risk.

Credit Cards Are the Real Culprit

Anyone who is saddled with a lot of credit card debt need look no further to find a high rate of return. Many credit cards charge 20 percent per year. Some actually charge 30 percent. While a mutual fund has to have a great year to return 20 percent, you know what you’ll save once you pay off your credit cards.

So, if you’re debating paying off your mortgage or investing your money and you still have credit card debt, adjust your thinking. Any financial advisor will tell you to pay off your high interest debt first. After you do so, you can decide what to do with the rest of your money.

Your Safest Bet

I believe in capitalism. I also believe that there’s more opportunity today than there has ever been in history. Still, all economies, no matter what country you are in or what era it is, have their ups and downs. For a normal family, it doesn’t take too much of a down to cause big financial problems.

Therefore, I always advise taking the safest bet. Even if your mortgage rate is only 6% per year, it is still compounding at a higher rate than a safe investment, like a savings account, for instance. So, if you can find a way, pay off your mortgage and then have yourself one heck of a mortgage burning party!

The author of this article, Ed Lathrop has created a Website all about amortization. Here, you will get tips on paying off your mortgage ahead of schedule. Also, you can print out as many amortization schedules as you would like – Free! all this, at: Amortization Schedule Free. Also, here is a free return on investment calculator so you can find out how much those mutual funds will repay over the course of many years. ROI Calculator

Since 9/11 we have become complacent in America, and that is due to Homeland Security (all law enforcement) agencies doing a good job at keeping terrorist attacks from happening stateside. It doesn’t mean that we are safe from “sleeper cells”. or “Al Queda” here at home. What that means is we have again been lulled to sleep, as we deal with economic problems, family and personal pursuits. We have not come together as a nation on just “what” is changing in the world, and what we should do about it. There is an internal struggle over what is important, and which mindset we should follow. As in all election years, we are presented with a choice of which side has the answer to a problem that will never be resolved. This isn’t the place for biblical prophecies, but of a presentation of facts that you may not be aware of, but should investigate.

In Brye, Oregan, there was the attempt to start an Al Queda Training Camp. It was thwarted by an international arrest. There is a 2007 article on the FoxNews website describing the events. We must come to grips with some media outlets, that will NOT always broadcast the situations of arrest, unless there is loss of life, or international efforts. We are led to believe that this will not happen again and all is under control, and that is bogus. And this information is not related to either candidate, but to your own personal need to know. In the importance, that I felt to write about this, it was almost startling to find out a federal agent had the same urgency in the same week. On The Heritage Foundation website, there is an article by James Jay Carafono PhD from November 13, 2007 entitled “US Thwarts 19 Terrorist Attacks Since 9/11″, that should be read by everyone. We must be ever vigilant in our efforts to prevent terrorism.

It must be understood that Jihad is not a war that will be won in any one country. Although, we have made great progress in Iraq, and Afghanistan, it is not the only battleground. There is an ideology battlefield, where they gain sympathizers from people throughout the world, who are haters of America. There is the population growth of muslim countries, and within our allies countries, that is overwhelming in the numbers alone. There is the retreat or pullback in Iraq, but physically they will just go elsewhere, so do not breathe a sigh of relief, just yet. One must understand their mental position, and their religion to fully understand that it has taken centuries to get to this point, and now with help from our own politicians and deceived citizens; they are ready to bring that mindset to America, in whatever way possible. Additional information can be found at An American Expat in Southeast Asia, where articles reveal their perception over there, through a religious mindset, as they observe from afar our political processes. A war is not only fought with military might, but any area of weakness will be infiltrated, if possible.

If history has taught us anything, it is that at the base of all anti-christian messages, and cultures is the desire to rule dictatorial. Take the Soviet Union, before the wall came down, and how the cold war was about international domination. In fact, it was their leader Nikita Khruschev, who said “we will take America without firing a shot” etc. At the time, they began a revolutionary effort to get communist teachers into the United States classrooms to teach socialism, as a bridge for their humanistic ideology using legal immigration; and our free openess to ideas. Today, our Universities and classrooms are filled with the humanism of “if it feels good do it” philosophy. It is a marxist propaganda to control the masses. It will and can make room for other false religious cultures, if they are dictatorial in nature. Their “accomplished goal” was to bring a sexual revolution front and center, then while the population is consumed by their own selfish personal desires and pursuits, it would be easier to bring change of monumental proportions, without conflict. The movement is still continuing.

It is necessary to remind us all, that the illegal terrorists are already here, just sitting still and in place, waiting. Our laws are being changed to benefit those who hate us, and we are not safe at home with freedoms bound. Al Queda may be on the run in Iraq, but where are they running to? They are terrorists, and will find a place to inflict their ideology and mayhem, in areas around the world that are weak or unable to fight them off. A Maryland paramedic was arrested for trying to teach terrorism, and martial arts to terrorists here in America. Many more arrests have been made since 9/11, but do you know about them? How much of a homegrown terrorist threat is here at home? Extreme Jihadists only want to transform our culture into one that supports their ideology, and any method is acceptable to them. How many of these terrorist groups have headquarters in our cities across the nation? There are some websites with maps of those organizations locations, and it is an eye opener. Please take the time to be informed, so as to protect yourself and family members should an interior attack occur. This post is not about instilling fear, it’s about awareness, preparation, and getting informed, for no agency will have a permanent 100% track record of prevention forever; for we are all human, and humans err.

In conclusion, my point is “Just remember that without National Security all other issues are mute points, chaos ensues.” What would happen to the economy, if we had another attack? What would it matter about the border, if they are already here? What kind of chaos would ensue if multiple attacks took place in various cities? What about the banks, or the stock market? How strong is our economy, after so many bailouts? We have weathered the housing crisis, although it will take a little time to restore it to normalcy. The financials seem to have bottomed out somewhat, and are carefully recovering. The market is doing better than expected, which is great, and proves our safeguards are working. The dollar is up, and oil prices came down; albeit unstable at best. The one thing we know for sure about the terrorists is that their ideology says the infidels must die, or be converted……Would you rather be prepared in case of an attack, or just wait until it happens?

Note: Two links to articles on Homeland Security website to read are
1. New Study Highlights U.S. Cities at Greatest Risk for Terrorist Attacks
2. Terror Attacks in U.S.: Not If, But When (inhomelandsecurity.com/terrorism_threats/)

Kii Kynzer:

http://thefreedomplatform.blogspot.com/

To be a success in the home party industry you need to have an unlimited supply of customers willing to buy from you, book parties with you, and join your company. This is great if you know a lot of people, but what happens if you don’t have many friends or family, or your existing contact list has dried up?

Without customers your business won’t exist. So how do you find more customers for your business? You obviously need to go where the customers are. And where are the customers these days? Most likely online! The quickest way to find customers online is by starting a blog.

Blogging is the biggest secret to exploding your business because you can effectively talk to hundreds and thousands of people at a time. It leverages your message and is much more cost effective that most other forms of marketing.

The trick to finding customers for your home party business by blogging is to write about what your potential customer would be interested in that is related to your product. It is especially effective if you are able to solve a problem they are having.

For example, let’s say you work for an underwear/lingerie party plan company. Your blog could be filled with tips on how to bring more romance back into your relationship or which underwear is best under different clothing. Then at the end of the post you can recommend your product along with your contact details.

This works even if your company doesn’t allow you to mention their name online (and many don’t) because you don’t have to talk about the product or company directly – you can write generally and still get massive exposure.

Often it is better to not mention your product directly anyway as it gives more credibility to your blog and you start to position yourself as an expert in your field.

Want to learn how to set up your blog to get loads of traffic, make money and explode your business? Then visit Party Marketing Success

Tracey is a blogging guru and uses many blogs to promote her businesses with great success.

http://www.partymarketingsuccess.com/

On Friday May 30 the BBC World showed a scandalous live broadcast, featuring the British soldiers on their vigil roaming the vast and lush opium fields of Afghanistan. The report also showed grinning opium-harvesters and even demonstrated, though with apparent disgust, the technology of opium extraction.

The commentator lamented the British contingent ‘was just unable to do anything about the situation’, because president Karzai of Afghanistan refused to destroy the opium crops…

For Goodness’ sake, everyone in the world knows that Hamid Karzai is a NATO puppet! With the impressive rise in opium cultivation of 8,200 tons during NATO occupation, Afghanistan accounts for about 94 per cent of world production of opium. There is an incessant flow of opium narcotics to Central Asia, Russia, Kazakhstan, China and a huge opium-related death toll there (in Russia – 100,000 people a year). Isn’t it obvious that this is no other but a geopolitical strategy, a new opium war?

This has been confirmed by the contents of the recently lost and found British secret files, where funding drug smuggling was one of the prominent issues. There were names of channels of cocaine and opium smugglers (alongside with the countries and channels of money-laundering). I was really surprised and grateful that the BBC had courage to expose those facts. The British government has hurried to disclaim the obvious fact, assuring that these documents were prepared for a conference on combating terrorism and drug trafficking. Isn’t it likely that it was just a clumsy last-minute excuse?

I think it is time to strip away disguises and say it out loud. NATO is procuring the opium poisoning of the above-named world regions. The opium poison is also spreading to Europe, to Britain itself. It’s been rumored that Scotland has suffered most (which may be little surprise, if you come to think of it). And the BBC and other news channels (if we are sure of their integrity) can become the mouth-piece of justice and truth by exposing and censuring this practice.

Destroying the opium crops of Afghanistan will be a great benefit to the world. Their illegal spread can never be contained, and, honestly, NATO so far hasn’t lifted a finger to do it. These facts are so glaring, that it is high time to take action and put an end to ‘legalized’ drug trafficking.