Reinventing the 312 Home Improvement Loan Program

Over the last thirty years the community development field has moved away from its early focus on helping homeowners maintain and improve their properties towards the development of new affordable housing. Fueled by the resources of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC) and a confident economy, and in flight from lead remediation requirements for housing rehab, non-profits as well as for profit developers and local governments began to shift towards the promotion of new construction - both rental and homeownership - and away from housing rehab aimed at assisting individual owners.

The time has come to shift back.

Hundreds of thousands of foreclosed properties, declining property values and the loss of home equity, the absence of conventional credit, the need to make older houses energy efficient, opportunities to stimulate the local small construction trades and building supply markets - all of these factors demand that we look again at housing rehabilitation as an important policy option.

We need tools to promote the repair and rehabilitation of our older housing stock. Historically, the federal government played a leadership role in promoting home rehab and we need the Federal government to play this role again. A key role government can play is to authorize a significant amount of funding for the Section 312 Loan Program. We need to revisit this old tool and reinvent it making it relevant to the current situation.

The 312 Loan Program was authorized in the Housing Act of 1964. It provided loans from the Federal government through local municipal governments to home owners and landlords at 3% for a twenty year term. The per unit rehab cost allowed was $27,000, which in the 1970s and 1980s was a significant amount of money. It was used often in Urban Renewal Conservation Areas to assist homeowners in improving their properties and where it had a fairly major impact. It also served as a key component in the Federally Assisted Code Enforcement Program (FACE) to help owners bring their properties into code compliance. And it was the source of financing in the Urban Homesteading Program where vacant properties owned by the Federal government where auctioned off for a dollar.

The 312 Loan Program had some issues. It was cumbersome and time consuming for borrowers. It took a long time to get loans approved and people often deferred work while waiting for approval. People who were savvy enough to use architects, i.e. people of higher incomes, were often the most successful in securing funds. As local governments began to use Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to support housing rehab, 312 became diminished as a tool and fewer funds were allocated to it. While the 312 Loan Program currently exists in the HUD menu of programs, it has no money allocated for it.

This needs to change.

Today we are confronted with a situation that demands a significant response. We as a nation want to overcome the effects of the foreclosure crisis and return more properties to productive use. We want to increase the energy efficiency of residential properties, and we want to stimulate the economy. These efforts are hampered by the absence of capital, but they are also hampered by an anti-government investment ethos on Capitol Hill. Why should government do what the private sector can do? Why bother funding an obscure program, the kind of "legacy program" that HUD in its strategic plan wants to shift its focus from?

Here are ten reasons:

1. It is a stimulus that everyday people in cities and inner ring suburbs can see and understand. While earlier stimulus efforts have created results that people can see, a national home improvement loan program can benefit thousands of citizens directly.

2. It promotes confidence. When someone sees their neighbor down the street put on a new roof or rebuild their porch it makes them feel more confident about the future of the neighborhood and it may lead them to seek to make repairs on their own. We need to put this dynamic in place.

3. It's simple. Unlike several of the initiatives being developed by HUD that are marching down the same sad path of prior Federal interventions in cities, it is simple and understandable. It helps people and not just developers. It's not social engineering and it doesn't have a lot of moving parts. It can effectively be described in thirty seconds.

4. It's a loan and not a grant. People paid on their 312 loans. Money invested in a national home improvement loan program will get substantially returned.

5. It has a multiplier effect. It creates jobs in the construction industry as well as in the building supply and manufacturing sectors of the economy.

6. The process can be improved. We know more than we did in the 1970s about how to bring products to consumers. With new technologies around developing the scope of work, loan origination and servicing software - and the potential for outsourcing these functions-all are potential ways this program can be more accessible and user friendly. We also know more about marketing and how to effectively promote such a program.

7. A delivery system exists to get this money out. We have a host of institutions like NeighborWorks America organizations, community development corporations, Community Development Financial Institutions, as well as delivery systems that still exist in local governments that can be organized to help citizens access these resources. We also have financial institutions that have been a delivery system for tax-exempt housing bonds that also could be part of a delivery system.

8. It can generate revenue for this delivery system. Charging loan origination and rehab service fees can generate revenue for cities and other providers.

9. It can promote widespread energy conservation. Borrowers could be required to have an energy audit and make changes based on the audit findings. Borrowers who choose to install solar heat could receive an interest rate benefit for their whole project.

10. It is more "shovel ready" than many stimulus efforts. Large public works projects require significant planning. Home improvement projects require planning and bidding out jobs but this process is usually less complex.

A national home improvement loan program based on the 312 Loan Program is not a panacea for urban ills. It is not an anti-poverty program - it is a home improvement program that can benefit low-income as well as other income homeowners - and as such can have a larger constituency.

Can't the private market do this? Sure, but it isn't. Capital is not flowing like it once did. Lenders aren't doing much in the way of home improvement lending and both supply of capital and demand for such capital is down. Equity lines that financed home improvement in the last several decades have dissipated, Demand needs to be stimulated. Providing an attractively priced loan product that is marketed well can stimulate that demand.

So how much would this cost? An initial allocation of $2.5 billion would potentially generate 50,000 loans with an average loan size of $50,000. Fees charged to borrowers for rehab services and origination could produce $100,000,000 - $125,000,000 in revenues throughout the delivery chain. $20,000 in materials purchases on a $50,000 rehab job could provide $1 billion in materials purchases for 50,000 projects, along with various sales tax revenues those purchases generate. This kind of volume would provide work for thousands of contractors, laborers, architects, building suppliers, and manufacturers of building supplies. It would also provide an interest rate return for the Federal Treasury.

For a redesigned 312 Loan Program to be effective in today's environment it would need a few changes. First, change the name. 312 means nothing to anyone outside government. The name does not encourage one to borrow money. Second, raise the interest rate to 5%, but retain the ability to finance projects at 3% if they meet certain criteria, like the installation of solar energy or the rehab of a foreclosed property. Third, raise the per unit amounts to $57,000 per unit, and $75,000 for the rehab of a vacant property. Fourth, make the loan available in cities and older suburbs with no qualifying income requirements, so that people would not have to be low-income to borrow the funds.

This is a conservative program. It is about conserving what we have - our rich and diverse housing stock - by promoting maintenance and improvement. It is easy to understand. It supports rank and file homeowners and not just developers. It engages all homeowners and is not limited to low income borrowers. While driven by the Federal government it allows for partnerships with local banks and non-profits with consumer lending capacity. It has the potential to stimulate local economies and lessen the cost burdens on municipal governments. But most of all it is a loan and not a grant program. It will return money to the Treasury.

Innovation is not only inventing new things. When we look ahead for change sometimes we ignore what worked in the past. We assume that just because something was done once, its shelf life has expired and can't be done again. Reinvention is also innovation. Repositioning old products to make sense in a new situation can be just as innovative as inventing complex new programs that look good on paper but don't deliver. Let's get real. Let's keep things simple. Let's reinvent 312.

Michael Schubert is the Principal of Community Development Strategies, a consulting firm that focuses on building organizational capacity for planning, implementing, and evaluating neighborhood revitalization strategies. For the last twenty years Michael has worked with municipal and state governments, foundations, and non-profits to improve neighborhoods. He can be reached at mfscds@aol.com

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The Media in the US Is Much Better Than in Other Nations - But Still Not Good Enough

If you are a reporter in some countries, you are a marked man and the government is watching you, and one slip up and you are history, you disappear, or are thrown in jail. In the United States we have freedom of the press thankfully, and although we export our products, know-how, and services all over the world, don't expect us to be able to export that as a "new found freedom" to ports afar. In fact, many nations are busy tightening down the reins on the media, and not just newspapers and TV either. Okay so, let's discuss this for a moment shall we?

Not long ago, an acquaintance from Australia said to me; "Modern media today such as news channels do not perform a truly non biased account of the events they broadcast on."

True, but we should expect them too considering how they are paid. If a media company gets money from, oh let's say the Obama Campaign for president, then they are going to run more favorable news content when his name is mentioned, and really this happens at all levels of government, no surprise there, local newspapers cater to those who spend the most on ads too, generally. I find the Murdoch scandal in the UK interesting with the cell-phone spying as well.

It's too bad that people believe everything they view in the media, my acquaintance notes that part of the challenge is the folks are just not educated as to how the media really works, true enough I say; yes, especially kids, and the lower IQ folks just take it all in as gospel, not that gospel is any better or reality based in and of itself. For instance, as my acquaintance correctly notes; "The child grows up looking at the television for both learning and entertainment, the TV becomes effectively a third parent and in doing so we lose the battle for the child's mind."

Right and a child's mind may not recognize the difference between advertising and reality, and to my acquaintance's comments, indeed, he's right; this is an empirically proven fact, he is correct. Do we need to teach our children better about these realities, it seems we do.

As a capitalist, I do not wish to diminish the media, it's a business, and that's fine, still a little education could go a long way. Now then if we'd teach children to think and question authority we'd be there, but we teach them to submit to authority instead, perhaps as a way to ensure they grow up and do not become trouble makers to the system or status quo.

Of course in doing so, eventually some of them will wake up and be VERY Pissed-Off for being lied too, which is probably why we have Hacker Groups, Disruptors, and even some mild-version terrorists. For the "powers that be" it's a challenge of getting the mix right, and it's a trade off.

If we teach kids early on of all the deception in our society, we are indeed, teaching them to deceive, and a lack of integrity also can bring down a society or prevent it from giving future generations a fair deal. We are also teaching them to be distrustful as well. Perhaps, we ought to be teaching the "philosophical" aspect, rather than the tactics.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Future Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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What Kind of Capitalism Is Good for America?

The year was 1945, two forces joined together to beat the biggest threat in the world, fascism. To put it in simple terms, fascism was a form of government used by Nazi Germany. The forces that joined together were communism and capitalism. In today's world this would seem to be an impossible mix of ideology due to the "Cold War".

Nuclear wars were almost started as the two countries tried to prove to one another that their form of government was best for the world. Communist believe in everyone have the same or equal and capitalist believe in free-markets and only the strong and hard-working will thrive. At least this was the theory.

The "Cold War" ended in 1989 as the USA out spent the USSR in the Reagan military build up. Because of economic pressure the USSR final gasp came with the defeat in Afghanistan. The Berlin Wall soon fell after.

With the USSR style of communism defeated, all eyes were on the free-market capitalism. In the '90s the US economy boomed, and the 2000s the economy continued to grow but a new trend was starting to happen. Job creating wasn't the main focus, but making money off money was the main way of making money. The term "jobless recover" begin to be the new norm. This trend started under Ronald Reagan administration theory of trickle-down economics.

Now, the year is 2012 and in the presidential elections capitalism is on display. Republicans argue an attack on capitalism is now an attack on America as a whole, at the same time the country is witnessing the greatest unequal distribution of wealth in its history.

To help form the argument, people are now focusing on two types of capitalism "stakeholder capitalism" and "shareholder capitalism."

Stakeholder capitalism theory is stated by CNN as:

corporations are and should be quasi-public entities with responsibilities to the nation-state and to the communities in which they are embedded. The corporation should make a profit and provide a fair return to investors. At the same time, workers who contribute their labor to the company have a legitimate interest in it as well as investors who provide capital. Managers serve the company and the country, not merely the investors.

This form of capitalism would seem to be the best for a country. Corporation who care about the community is moral. The combination of stakeholder capitalism, with community churches could really boomerang this country. The poverty rate could be lowered and the middle-class could blossom under stakeholder capitalism

The theory of Shareholder capitalism is:

the corporation exists solely for the purpose of the investors, whom the managers serve as agents. In shareholder capitalism, short-term profits are the only goal, and if that means laying off workers instead of retraining them or reassigning them, breaking up the company and selling the assets to enrich private equity partners and shareholders, so be it.

This form of capitalism seems to be un-American, but Wall Street love this type of capitalism. This is the main problem for this country, outsourcing jobs to cheaper labor. Some people call this modern-day slavery. This proves that all capitalism isn't good for the country.

All capitalism isn't good for a country just like all communism isn't bad. China is a communist country and many US companies love to do business with China because of the cheap labor. Times has changed.

The moral standing in this country is under attack as the rich refuse to accept their role in society. This is why occupy wall street will continue to grow, a nation without a middle-class is a country with no class.

Jerome Furlow lives in Los Angeles CA after moving from Indianapolis IN in 2008. He's an internet entrepreneur, political freelance writer and political blogger who studied political science and history in college. Jerome is very passionate about this country and the direction it's heading. His website is http://www.everythingispolitics.org/. The content he writes about is clean-cut & informative. In the future he hopes to draw a sizable audience for an informative conversation.

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What Is the Red Shirt Friday Tradition?

What is the Red Shirt Friday Tradition and Why?

Who can forget the home coming that many of the Vietnam Vets received in the late 1960's and early 1970's? The Vietnam Conflict became a long drawn out affair and eventually public opinion slowly turned against the successful conclusion of the War. Those of us who lived through those troubled years remember very quickly how the returning Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine and Coast Guard Veterans were treated and welcomed home. Who can forget the rotten eggs, tomatoes and even a popular movie star that made a public spectacle of her self and those who heard the Call of Duty when their Country needed them? The challenges in the theater of conflict was bad enough for those that chose to wear their Country's Uniform but to be publicly humiliated and maligned was over the top.

The phrases, Jack Booted Thugs, Baby Killers, and so forth still rings loud and clear in the minds and conciousness of many of those who served in Vietnam as well as the Families and Friends of many who lost loved ones and friends. The Vietnam Memorial (The Wall) is a constant reminder to many of those days. In the heat of a political election in 2004 and 2005, we heard the same phrases about those young men and women who chose to hear the Call of Duty, when once again their Country needed them. Today's Military is All Voluntary! Since September 11, 2001, there have been over five million (5,000,000) young men and women, just in the United States alone step up to the plate for their Country! Many of America's friends and allies also came to our aid and volunteered their fighting forces to take it to the people that attacked America on that day.

This time though, it was going to be different! The Silent Majority and many of the Vietnam Vets said, "Enough is Enough!" The Red Shirt Friday Tradition Was Born! Slowly but surely that Tradition was catching on, not only in the United States but Canada as well and many of us have taken it by advertising and conferences to the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and beyond. In 2005, Deb and I had two of our sons, Scotty and Tony, were in the United States Army. So it was a natural for us. They loved to hear that Mom and Dad were proud of them and that Mom and Dad said they were heroes to them. Our Two Boys, along with the over Five Million other Young Men and Women who answered the Call of Duty, WERE NOT DRAFTED OR EVEN HAD THE REMOTES THOUGHT OF BEING DRAFTED! As our two sons said to us: "We want to do what you, Papa, Uncle Jim and Uncle Frank did!" I knew what that meant and so did my Dad and two brothers. They, like so many others, wanted to be a part of the solution.

What the Red Shirt Friday Tradition is:

1) It is our way of very simply wearing a red shirt on Friday to honor their commitment

2) It is our way of showing them that we appreciate their Call to Duty

3) It is our way to let them know that they are heroes to us

What the Red Shirt Friday Tradition is Not:

1) It is not political in any way, we have turned down several politicians who wanted to capitalize on it

2) It in no way shows a support for or against the Global War on Terror

Those of us who commit to the Red Shirt Friday Tradition will do so, Until They All Come Home!

Sam and Deb Burgess have been very active and vocal supporters of the Red Shirt Friday Tradition since the Fall of 2005. We have done numerous presentations, interviews and articles regarding the Red Shirt Friday Tradition, Until They All Come Home! On the Red Shirt Friday site you will find many articles, pictures, videos, and interviews regarding the tradition.

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Groundhog Day - A Little Science

Groundhogs day is the second of February, where groundhogs emerge from their burrows early in the morning. Once they're out of the burrow they do one of two things: either they continue with what they started, or they go back for 6 more weeks.

The legend says that when they emerge in a sunny day and they see their shadows they predict 6 more weeks of harsh winter and decide to hide in their burrows for 6 more weeks. If that day is cloudy and they don't see their shadows they predict a nice spring weather in 2 weeks and they stay.

Money wise it's a nice idea. People gather early in the mornings for the groundhogs day festivals where they are celebrated and tourists spend money on their transportation, accommodation, food, and entertainment. Relying on those predictions is another story.

Let's use a little bit of science. The critter was hiding under the ground for months, where its dark. Naturally when they go out and it's too bright on a sunny day their eyes are not going to take it. Also naturally when they get out of their burrows they look towards the north west where the sun is to their backs. And this direction where they're looking is where their shadows are, so whether they see their shadows or not, this is where they are looking.

On another level, the predictions made by people watching the behavior of groundhogs on this day are not always accurate. In fact, they are only accurate 37% of the time. Now let's remember some of the probability math we studied in the school. We have four variables here: sunny vs. cloudy, and good weather vs. bad. From the behavior of the animal sunny groundhogs days are always accompanied by a prediction of bad weather, and cloudy days are linked to good weather.

This reduces our variables to only two: sunny days with prediction of bad weather vs. cloudy days with good weather coming ahead. This is exactly like the two probabilities in throwing one coin. Each side gets 50% chance of showing on top every time you throw it.

Compare that to the accuracy of the weather predictions made by the groundhogs event planner. This is not even as good as throwing a coin.

But at the end of the day it's a nice tradition that keeps people attached to nature and to mother Earth a way or another, which is a very attractive outcome of the event if nothing else.

More funny stuff about groundhogs day can be found on this website: http://free-giftcard.net/?p=161

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Garrett A Morgan Technology and Transportation Education Program

The Federal Highway Administration, otherwise known as the FHWA, is an agency operating in the United States Department of Transportation that is largely answerable for the management of the country's road transportation system.

The programs and initiatives of the FHWA are constantly steered by its general agency mission which is to"improve mobility on our Community's highways through nationwide leadership, innovation, and programme delivery."

In line with this mission, the Federal Highway Administration has just established the Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Education Program whereby it aims to improve the readiness of scholars in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics by way of the application of curriculum development and a number of other activities that are related to transportation education.

The activities that are included in this investigation can include the following:

a) Internship programs that offer the target students with the experience in the transportation field

b) Programs and activities which will enable scholars to spend time observing active scientist and engineers while they're immersed in the transportation field

c) Programs and activities that highlight the development of applicable curriculum pertaining to examples and issues that are linked with transportation

The program is at first built to develop programmes that are aimed at the improvement of the target students' capabilities in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The target scholars of the program are those who fall under the elementary and secondary college levels.

The Federal Highway Administration is set to administer funds in the amount of $1,800,000 to support the initiatives of 18 grant awardees as well as to financially support the appropriate planning, implementation, and execution of the Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Education Program.

The establishments and setups that are able to submit an application under the Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Education Program are the following:

a) Local education agencies (LEA)

b) State educational agencies (SEA)

Business establishments, non-profit, and for profit organizations are also eligible to enter into a cooperative agreement with the LEAs and SEAs to assist in the process of implementing the actions of the programme.

The Department of Transportation, the most important agency that's financing the Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Education Program, is the nation's leading agency that is responsible for ensuring a fast, safe, efficient, accessible and convenient transportation system that is literally capable of meeting the requirements of the American people.

Michael Saunders is an editor of TopGovernmentGrants.com. He maintains Websites providing resources on small business grants and home improvement grants.

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Top Five Most Popular Videos of the Queen Online

The beautiful thing about the internet is that anyone has access to a plethora of stock footage beneath their fingertips. Any person is able to look back through time and watch and hear key moments in history from the comfort of their homes, gaining knowledge and understanding about our own history as humankind. As we move into 2012 in the UK, it is important to note that Queen Elizabeth II approaches the 60th anniversary of her reign; we can take a look back through her defining online moments - which have proved most popular with audiences all over the world.

Search any of these following titles on YouTube to find the referenced videos.

"The Queen's Arrival at the Funeral of Diana Princess of Wales"

This is remembered as one of the upsetting days in recent English history. The catastrophic event of Diana's death bought gloom to the nation, perhaps to the World, whilst unfortunately being the cause of much controversy and conspiracy surrounding the Royals. The stock footage of the Queen arriving at the funeral is one of the most watched videos on the internet her Royal Majesty is featured in.

"Queen snubs Prince Charles' wife Camilla at the Royal Wedding!!!"

In this online video the Queen Mother, the Queen is shown to ignore Prince Charles's wife Camilla Parker Bowles at the Royal Wedding in 2011. The relationship between the Queen Mother and Camilla has always been slightly dubious for many reasons - however a clever cameraman seemed to pick up this small leak, capturing the real sentiment the Queen towards Camilla.

"The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II "

In this rare stock footage in black and white from 1953, we see the BBC footage of Elizabeth becoming Queen Elizabeth II. In front of around ten thousand people, Prime Ministers, heads of states and Commonwealth; Elizabeth takes a Coronation oath bound to serve her people and maintain the laws of God. One of the most important national moments in living UK history, which clocks in just under 800,000 thousand hits.

"The Queen is almost assaulted... "

The misleading title is probably what attracted nearly 350,000 people to watching it. At the 'Trooping of the Colours' in 2006 a streaker covered only by a union jack flag tried to 'get a closer look' at the Queen and ran towards her from the crowd who was only to be heavily restrained from security and trooping Beefeaters. The Queen did not comment on the incident, but I'm sure the Queen was not amused.

"Queen humiliates President Obama at Buckingham Palace by refusing toast - May 24 2011"

In May 2011, the American President Barack Obama came to Buckingham Palace for a banquet. Obama whilst giving his toast stopped for a poignant pause which the orchestra mistook for the end and struck up 'God Save The Queen' - which then Obama toasted. The Queen did not respond till the Orchestra had finished, as is tradition. Many unhappy Americans mistook this for downright rudeness, even though Obama understood his mistake and joked about it with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg describing the mishap as 'out of the movies'. Not the strongest stock footage of the Queen, but popular all the same.

Xavier Tibu was born 1982 in Dalston, London. After leaving school, Xavier took a long stint in the music profession working as a session musician to some top UK artists. On the side, Xavier likes to write. Hopefully you will enjoy his articles.

XT.

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Is The Justice Department Over Reaching On Fraud Enforcement in An Election Year?

It seems whenever there is a tough economy, there are more shysters who come out of the woodwork. This makes sense of course because if money is tight, and fewer people to get a job, it's more difficult for these culprits to get a real job to use their cunning and intellectual abilities for positive purposes such as making a profit in their own small businesses. Okay so, I'd like to talk about this for a moment if I might.

You see, I've also noticed another trend. Whenever there is a major election going on, candidates claim that when they get into office they will stop the crime, scams, and fraud. It's hard to say why they do this - perhaps they are redirecting attention away from themselves and their own political shenanigans. But I would suspect that's not the only reason. It's because negative events make better headlines, and if a politician can point at some negative event, and then claim they will fix it, all the suddenly more voters take interest.

In fact, I think a little bit of that is going on right now. There was an interesting piece recently on the FBI website which was of value to discuss, the title of the government press release was; "Attorney General Eric Holder Launches Consumer Protection Working Group to Combat Consumer Fraud Working Group Created Under President Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force Brings Together Federal, State, and Local Partners," and it appeared on their site on February 13, 2011.

The reality is - we already have the government bureaucracy to take care of some of these problems, not to mention lots of law enforcement agencies. So why is it now that the Obama Administration wants to jump on this right away, during an election year. How come they didn't work on this problem in the last couple of years? It is not as if there was ever a shortage of dishonest people in the world, so why now?

Another comment that I would like to make, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, is that I guess my biggest question is; when will the FBI investigate the Obama Administration for abuse of law, violating the constitution, and other fraudulent activity (in my opinion)? Seriously, let's talk about that and not just because it's an election year, we can wait until after the election to seek justice and return things back to the rule of law.

If the Obama Administration is merely trying to secure their proposed budget by showing that they need more money to do the job, then the DOJ should have been doing it all along. As we look for things such as corporate malfeasance, how about government administrative and executive leadership malfeasance? Well, I dare to ask the question, yes even in an election year. Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Online Crimes. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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Diaries Of A Disgustingly Rich Individual

Many plebeians (or "plebs" as we high-society folks call them) often ask me (from a distance, of course, since I don't go next to poor people) what is it like being so disgustingly wealthy. Buying all those rich people things, doing all that rich people stuff. Despite what you have heard about being rich, and how money can't buy you happiness, let me tell you... being rich is great. It is more important than being kind, generous, smart, eloquent, and maintaining use of your arms and legs.

Let's talk about getting rich. Many people will tell you saving, prudent investing, and hard work will get you rich. This is a fallacy. If someone was actually rich they wouldn't waste their time talking to you. The best way to become rich is to be born wealthy. Where you not born wealthy? Too bad! You've already missed out on the best way to become disgustingly rich.

Another way to become rich is to be completely heartless. As Forbes' richest man of the year Mr. Montgomery Burns said "I'll keep it short and sweet. Family, religion, friendship... these are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business". I couldn't agree more. Don't think that being cruel is a one way ticket to your own private island, however. There are a lot of poor mean people. You will certainly not get rich being nice though, so don't waste your time with "please" and "thank you."

Some people may be wondering what us high society types do with our time, because we certainly don't work. I spend a lot of time spending money, pranking on the plebs, making extravagant wagers, and funneling champagne and prescription drugs down my throat. Also, I ride horses, but only ones made entierly out of gold. When I am not riding my gold horse I skeet-shoot Faberge eggs.

I may collect horses made out of precious metals, but every rich person collects different luxury items. My father collects catamarans made out of whale bone. My brother collects orphanages (he clears out the orphans). My mother, she enjoys collecting erotic art. We, the richest people, need to occupy our time somehow, am I right?

Thanks to recent changes in the capital gains tax you no longer need to work to earn big money. Since investment and interest are taxed at a dramatically low rate these days I probably pay lower taxes than a family of five on welfare. You have got to love those Bush years.

So in to all those aspiring rich people out there, don't try. American social mobility died a long time ago. It is a myth. If you are born poor you will die poor. Toodles!

Luxury OD is a member of the AJ Blog Network, a Mecca of blog sites that provided fresh blog content on a daily basis. Check out more posts from Luxury OD and a series of other fantastic blog sites at http://www.ajblognetwork.com/.

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Are the New Girl's LEGO's Politically Correct?

This politically correct nonsense has to be reined in.

It is has gone overboard.

It has gone too far and "jumped the shark!"

Now what happened you may ask?

Recently, various protest groups object that the new Girl's LEGOs "promote an overt form of sexism." They scream being pretty is more important than what you can do.

They have fashionable hair styles discriminating against the poor.

The Girl LEGOs are too slim therefore ostracizing overweight little girls and they dress at a middle to upper class level so the poor cannot relate or feel improper pressure.

Really?

Probably somehow the pegs and the holes on the bottom of the pieces symbolize something too!

This is HOGWASH!

These are toys and only twisted adults with too much time on their hands could think like this!

Personally I can't believe this is even making the news!

Did you hear that Barbie wears too much expensive jewelry?

Plastic surgeons also want Barbie to go back to her original bust size because now she doesn't reflect all the enhancements that millions are spent on enhancements each and every year. With an average bust on Barbie, millions maybe billions of dollars are being lost by these poor doctors.

Is this fair??

GI Joe carried a gun so he must be in favor of killing and violence!

Train sets have locomotives that bellow smoke and pollute the environment. They are not "green!"

Rock 'em Sock 'em robots are in favor of bullying and just want to fight! They are the cause of all violence in our schools!

Sorry is a game that doesn't apologize in a polite and full manor - it's apologies are way too terse!

Monopoly?-Nope they are illegal and only played in Washington DC and in election years when BIG donations are sought.

Tinker Toys-they did not pull all necessary permits to begin construction and are structurally unsafe.

Lincoln Logs-they have to be renamed as all other past and current Presidents are offended that the logs aren't named after them. (Roosevelt Logs?)

Baby Dolls can't be sold as the pro-life people think they should have been aborted before they hit the shelves!!

Blah, blah, blah.

My God, let the kids play!

Let them have fun.

Let them grow up.

Let them use their imaginations and play over,and around any objections they may find.

Forget the objections found by Mom, found by Dad!

I can't believe the junk our media picks up and endorses.

Where does it stop?

When does it stop?

I'm worried for kids today and the children of the future.

Please, let children be children.

My hope, my wish is that by the time the kids playing with LEGOs grow up, we will fix the silly laws, the silly rules, the silly thinking that has polluted our everyday lives.

It's time to speak up and let the goof balls out there know they are goof balls.

Be assertive, take a stance, get involved and reclaim America for the land that MOST of us love!

Doug Evans is a business/life coach who has helped many people locate where they are "stuck" and move in the direction of their dreams. Doug is available to work with individuals, small groups or corporate staff. Watch for his speaking schedule in your area. Reestablishing dreaming, goal setting, goal accomplishment, master minding, marketing and embracing change all are favorite topics to speak on or help with.

For more information, please visit our website http://discoveryourmissingpower.com/

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Sound and Fury, Media, Sports, and Distraction of the Mindless Masses

Some might love to use social networks, and who can blame them as they are designed for people to communicate in a way that makes them feel good about themselves. In China, the government wants to limit the time spent on social networks, as they want a productive and obedient society. That makes sense, 1.3 Billion people, with an unbalanced percentage of males, is quite a handful. In the US we see a dummying down of our populations - sure TV, social networks, and all the time wasted is not doing us any good. Okay so let's talk.

Not long ago, I was having this discussion with an acquaintance. Should we outlaw the use of social networks and limit people's TV time? Well, I believe we should allow people their pursuit of happiness, I don't want to limit their choices on how they spend their time, I don't want the heavy hand of government telling me what I must do either you see. My acquaintance noted;

"I agree with what you're saying about people's personal choices and decisions to make their lives happier. I understand that the most basic level people only want to be happy, the issue we run into is what makes one person happy does not serve everyone in the same way. Distraction is a tool in controlling the masses. Originally the distraction was religion over the years as science progressed leaders have found that mass media can replace religion in this area."

It seems the Aztecs, Romans, and other cultures used sports - fighting to the death. Some cultures had linked it to "penalties" for going against the rule of law, generally unilaterally made by some psychotic ruler, I use "psychotic" here as an extreme form of "psychopathic-psychotic" Machiavelli type.

Both my acquaintance and I did agree that we ought to enlighten and get our kids to understand how the media is affecting their minds, and thus, help them make reason of it all and then decide. That would be a great idea, and we might start by having them read up on Media Philosophers like; Herbert Marshall McLuhan, the famous Canadian media philosopher.

Right now, coincidentally, I am reading OBD - Obsessive Brand Disorder and have several books on the media worthy of reading. Often I equate the Media to being the Fourth Branch of Government in the US, as our government is set up with a Judicial, Legislative, and Executive Branch, but the Media controls all three it seems, as the government caters to the wishes of the people, which changes on a whim due to the media which owns the minds of the masses now. "He who controls the media, controls the minds of the masses," as someone once said. So, let's all please consider all this.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Future Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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Jail Resource Management: Review and Revision Program

The Federal Bureau of Prisons, more usually known as BOP, is a federal law enforcement agency operating within the United States Department of Justice that's essentially accountable for the administration of the country's federal prison system.

The grants and programs of the BOP are all geared towards the achievement of its general agency mission which is to "protect society by confining offenders in the controlled environments of prisons and community-based facilities that are safe, humane, cost-efficient, and suitably secure, and that provide work and other self-development opportunities to assist offenders in becoming law-abiding citizens."

As per this mission, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has recently constituted the development of the Jail Resource Management: Review and Revision Program whereby it will solicit applications for the revision of its existing Jail Resource Management Training Program.

The existing Jail Resource Management Programme is generally attended by sheriffs and a number of other jail directors. The program offers a 3-day training course that principally concentrates on the resource needs of a jail, including the development and presentation of a budget request, the determination of alternative funding options, and the management of a jail's budget.

The Jail Resource Management: Review and Revision Program plans to enhance the current Jail Resource Management Programme in an attempt to maximise the resources of the state's jail centers.

The grant awardees will be asked to work closely with the Federal Bureau of Prisons staff for a project period of nine months. To be considered worthy, an applicant must be able to manifest knowledge in the following areas:

a) The purpose, functions, and operational difficulties of local jails

b) The budget-related concerns in jails

c) The analysis of jail resource needs

d) The development and presentation of a convincing budget request to suitable ruling bodies

e) The resource restrictions that are experienced by various local jails and central authorities.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons is about to administer funding in the sum of $80,000 to support the execution of the project.

The institutions and associations that'll be deemed eligible to take part in the Jail Resource Management: Review and Revision Program are the following:

a) State or general unit of local government

b) Private agencies

c) Educational institutions

d) Individuals or groups that may manifest expertise in the areas in focus.

All of the institutions and setups mentioned above will be given the opportunity to submit an application under the program as long as they can demonstrate their ability to successfully carry out the activities included in the project.

Michael Saunders is an editor of TopGovernmentGrants.com. He maintains Websites providing resources on small business grants and home improvement grants.

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News Media Trends for 2012

Well, they say election years are great years for the news media, and since 2012 is an election year, and there looks to be a heated race between the GOP and President Obama's reelection committee, you can be sure that lots of dollars will be flowing into the news media. Indeed it couldn't come at a better time, or at a more crucial time as media outlets have been laying off, and watching their viewership and readership dwindle.

As you probably know most of the reason for this has to do with online social networks and the amount of time people are spending online. Some of the top media outlet companies are now putting their news online and making available for mobile users with smart phones, iPads, and tablets to be viewed. Luckily, they are also harnessing their advertisers and taking them on the road as well, this gives a reprieve to a severely downtrodden news media industry.

One interesting new trend that I am watching this year is the concept of news articles being put into collections that can be downloaded by subscribers for viewing on their e-reader personal tech devices. In other words the New York Times for instance might take all the articles on Afghanistan and put them together in a collection or e-book and sell them for a $1.99 let's say, and you will have essentially an e-book which is nothing more than all the articles on that particular topic. Since the content has already been created previously, it's an excellent new income stream.

Another interesting new trend that I find fascinating is the outsourcing of new staff to places like India. Someone in the newsroom here the United States will collect all the e-mail addresses, and phone numbers for various news article sources, and then have someone in India contact these individuals collecting digital pictures as well, and doing all the work in India over the Internet and sending it back to the news outlet for publication or uploading on their websites. I find that completely fascinating, and we will see that trend continue as local news companies do this, and as larger news companies are also forced to do it to save costs and compete.

In 2012 we will see more and more stories that have been created from compiling facts in online news. We will also see the use of Social Media data extraction determining which stories to run, allowing newsrooms and editors to determine the placement of stories based on surveying the interests of the public online. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and consider how the media will change in 2012, because changes are afoot.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Innovation in America. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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