Monday, August 30, 2010

The right-wing is the haves nitch.

The right-wing cure for human misery: More pain


What commentators suggest President Obama do to get the voters is just run- of-the-mill political-ploy. He cannot change generations of bigotry. Fuming crowds led by FOX foamers want a white man in the white-house but are willing to settled for a femme de la nasty. 
President Obama, his cabinet, and many legislators, have made enormous progress if one cares to really look into it. That he is demeaned by pied-pipers is just ploy to bring him down to the level of dirty politics. 
It is true, he is a president for the people by the people and therefore I don't expect him to put on a "good show"
The country was under water, it's still on the lake and damaged. The last crew wants to sink it gain because without a strong captain they can do, as they will.
Bush’s debt is increasing because it accrues interest. 
The bailouts by the current administration are almost all paid. 
The health and financial industry want to sink President Obama and supporters because he passed reforms and enforces regulations instituted after the great depression to stop another great depression. 


Need to Know



Saturday, August 28, 2010

We need Warren now!



We need Elizabeth Warren NOW. We need a Financial GUARD on duty to put back in place regulations that removed in the last decade. Regulations put in after the great depression to prevent another great depression.
We have not hit a bottom yet, and our country needs to stop behaving like unwashed-uneducated masses of abusive-dysfunctional government and stop eating the poisonous lies that in the last decade got us into this mess.
Deregulations are causing the current fiasco. Al that stuff about less government just means, “get rid of those who police the predators.”
Trickle-Down economics, deregulation, irresponsible investing and lending by financial institutions have made the top 10% billionaires and the bottom broke. Not as some elected officials and media selling water by the riverbank say it is irresponsible consumerism. The regular consumer is a sardine to the sharks of the financial industry.
The wall street must be regulated as it was after the great depression to protect the ordinary investor from predators and deregulation.
Wake up America! We have lost homes, jobs, and retirement savings while the top gets more. 



Friday, August 27, 2010

Into Palin's pen.

AFL-CIO NOW BLOG | Trumka Takes It to Palin in Her Back Yard

"Palin’s rhetoric is poisonous, dangerous and strikes of McCarthyism."






Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6" Display, Graphite - Latest Generation

Racism is raging and the Latin vote is gold.

Why do conservatives pretend "racism is dead"?


The Latin American (yes, the Hispanic, Herpanic) vote is gold. We must Latinize this election and support the Democrats. We are over 27.1 million but less then 10% are registered to vote. We have a strong voice, and we must vote. We cannot try to be white, white is just a color of skin, nothing more, and most of us are just as European as any white. For it was Europeans who conquered ALL of the Americas, not just the US. We are all human and one race. We must nock out the "i" (illegal) word and "anchor babies" Republicans use to define us. 


Read more: Political Participation - Voter Registration - Registered, Voting, Americans, Million, Hispanic, and Asian http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/2933/Political-Participation-VOTER-REGISTRATION.html#ixzz0zWxzlT4C

Hey, Glenn Beck, I was at the March on Washington

Hey, Glenn Beck, I was at the March on Washington

Thoughts Become Things, Clip 2 -  2 of 6 Visualizing Guidelines



Thursday, August 26, 2010

Let them play golf

Let them play golf

Shame on Boehner but worst shame on Government employees who still vote for Republicans. What does it take to be a Republican? One as-hole following another into the shit-hole. I apologize for my bad language.

DN! Deficit Commission Co-Chair Soc. Security like Cow with 310 Million ...



Shame on Senator Simpson


It is appalling that Republican Senator Alan Simpson, in spite that he called Social Security a "milk cow” is still serving as co-chairman of President Obama's Fiscal Commission.

The "milk cow" is our taxes that elected officials milk from taxpayers to get their unearned salaries and or perks. They should be paid in commission according to the prosperity and wellbeing of the communities they were elected to serve. Instead, they and their families receive salaries, benefits and kickbacks while betraying the people they are supposed to serve in behalf of big business and foreign countries. 

Social Security. Is paid for by the contributions of all hard working Americans, and does not contribute a cent to the federal deficit.

It seems as if Republican elected officials are listening to trash media and thinking trash. Calling the unemployed lazy and saying go feed your children from trash.  As they leach out tax coffers into retirement and death. Condone the outsourcing of business, the importing "legally" over 80 thousand workers form other countries, under H-1B visas, to fill jobs we need; even at this high unemployment is! In addition, made in the USA has become a joke to their sellouts and unfair trade practices.

We need those jobs. We need made in the USA. We need our benefits. What we do not are these leaches like Republican Senator Simpson and the like.

Maybe those who continue to vote and support the likes of Republican Senator Simpson should have all benefits taken away but they know that couldn't happened and even though they are collecting Social Security and other benefits like cattle to the slaughter they follow their party politicians to the detriment of our country.
If the past cannot teach these people what can?

In addition, how can any commission led by Sen. Simpson make fair and equitable decisions as to the welfare of the people in our country?

If we cannot count on the Fiscal Commission to protect even Social Security, what can we trust them with?

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Experiences working with undocumented immigrants | TheUnion.com

Experiences working with undocumented immigrants | TheUnion.com

This is how so called "illegals" the "N" word for Latin Americans get ripped off.

The business of permanent war | TheUnion.com

The business of permanent war | TheUnion.com

Questions for Gen. Petraeus | TheUnion.com

Questions for Gen. Petraeus | TheUnion.com

English doesn't need help from Republicans

English doesn't need help from Republicans

Paul Krugman: "I told you so, again"

Paul Krugman: "I told you so, again"

10 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex

10 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex

Target Ain't People



Blogger Buzz: New Comments System on Blogger

Blogger Buzz: New Comments System on Blogger

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Third and last grab, for now, form Christina Katz


Prospering in the Gig Economy: Simple Habits for Writers That Pay Off Quickly
By Christina Katz

Money is what writers earn for their time and energy. Furthermore, writing careers are built over time not overnight. So don't put your career in jeopardy by paying attention to everything else at the expense of your bottom line.

Here are nine prosperity-increasing tips that can quickly become habit and put more money in the bank for the same number of hours you already work or maybe even less:

  1. Make a list of paid work vs. unpaid work, if you don't have one already and update it monthly. Add to-dos like upcoming deadlines and prep for future efforts, to make sure you don't have to scramble later.
  2. Prioritize the work you do that is paid over the work you do that is unpaid. This doesn't mean the unpaid work is not important or doesn't need to get done. It simply means that you will get the paid work done first and then tackle the unpaid work.
  3. Spend time with other writers who make money writing. If they are too busy (making money) to spend time with you, sign up for their newsletters, read their blogs or connect with them via social networking whenever possible. When contacting successful writers, keep your expectations realistic. There's a reason they make the big bucks and it's not because they are just hanging out all day. When you are working, whether online or off, be aware of folks who drain your energy or co-opt your time. You simply don't have time for those people when you are supposed to be working.
  4. Don't confuse "nice" people with profitable people. Let's say one writer invests all of his time trying to make sure everyone knows what a great guy he is, while another writer invests his time landing assignments, delivering on deadlines, and landing the next gig. Who is the more successful writer? I'd say it's the more productive writer (the second example). And he's the one I'd be more likely to trust, as well. So go ahead, broadcast your success!
  5. Tackle the types of assignments that pay directly. Forget about any kind of writing job you "might" get paid for. Also don't count writing you do for exposure as "paid." And when someone offers you vague future money for today's actual work, take twice as much time to carefully consider the offer. Why not just take on the sure-thing assignments, which are the projects that pay you directly for your work? If you keep things simple, you are more likely to prosper in both the short run and the long run.
  6. Spend the most time doing whatever you do best even if that means doing a few different things. For example, I don't only write because if I only wrote all day, I'd soon be bored out of my mind, no matter how interesting the topics were that I was writing on. A restless person like me needs to do a variety of things. So I also teach and speak and the three efforts feed each other and increase my overall value as a writer.
  7. However, don't spread yourself too thin. I do a lot of different things but I've noticed that I can only do so many things before I hit overload, especially since I am a busy mom and wife, as well as a working professional. This overload point is going to be different for everyone and can change with your life circumstances, so adjust your expectations accordingly. You want to do everything you do well, not just scrape by.
  8. Capture all of your business expense receipts as the year ticks along so that you can benefit from every deduction available to you when you pay your taxes. I am not the queen of filing things, so I just get a big basket and toss all my receipts in there until I'm ready to sort and report. If you need a primer on the specifics of what you can and can't expense, pick up the March/April issue of Writer's Digest magazine and check out the article, "Taxpertise For Writers" by Bonnie Lee. In fact, the theme of the issue is, "Your Economic Survival Guide," so why not read the whole thing?
  9. Be timely. Seek and adopt the simplest systems to help you meet your deadlines, pay your bills, get your taxes submitted, etc. It doesn't matter which system you use. What matters more is that you make good use of the systems that work best for you and switch when one method stops working for you.

I bet you want to spend as little of your time as possible being inefficient, so that you can get back to writing. So keep things simple: write, earn and prosper. An efficient writer is a profitable writer.
And now if you'll excuse me, I have some writing deadlines to meet.

Bio for Christina Katz

Bio for Christina Katz

grabs from Christina Katz

Just grabbed another goodie form http://christinakatz.com/free/ 


Platform Resolutions for Writers 2010
Before writers establish an author platform, they typically establish a writer platform. Over the past decade, thousands of writers have parlayed established influence into traditional book deals. Landing a traditional book deal is still an effective way to exponentially increase your credibility and visibility.
Your “platform” refers to what you do in the world with your professional expertise that makes you visible and influential in the world. Having friends on Facebook or followers on Twitter is not your platform, unless the majority of those people know who you are, what you do, and are enthusiastic about your work.
I thought I would offer some advice about how to slowly and steadily establish a lasting platform. You may note the lack of fanaticism in this advice and the emphasis on enduring success instead. I’m a mother and a wife, a freelancer, a speaker, a teacher, and a blogger, so aiming for balance is the only way I can afford to work if I plan on sticking around for the long haul.

This advice has worked consistently for my students over the past several years. I think you will find that a grounded, step-by-step approach works just as well for you if you choose to follow it:

1.     Develop a platform topic that you love and can work on tirelessly for the next few years. Your passion of the moment should come in second to the topic you could delve into deeply for a good, long time. Prior professional education and a depth of personal experience are going to be a boon to your platform if you have an eye on a future book deal.
2.     Hang back from establishing a blog on your topic until you have cultivated a wealth of content and experience working with others on specialty-related activities that lend credibility and trust to your name. Others will tell you to start blogging immediately, but don’t, if you want to be efficient with your time and money.
3.     Instead, gain authority by seeking publication in established, highly visible publications both in print and online that serve your target audience. Avoid the kind of publishing that anyone can accomplish, like posting on article sites, and work on your professional communication skills instead. By all means, avoid the content mills offering writers slave wages with the promise of future earnings.
4.     Don’t begin any kind of marketing campaign for any product or service offerings until you have established yourself as a go-to person on your topic, again saving you time and money. Before you look at ways to serve others directly, channel your expertise into the best service methods possible based on your strengths and weaknesses. This is a meaty topic that is covered in-depth in my book, Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform (Writer’s Digest Books 2008).
5.     Then, develop a product or service that can become one of several multiple income streams over time that will support your goal of becoming a published author. For example, teaching classes over the years has allowed me to re-invest more of the money I earn from writing books back into book marketing. Make sure any offerings you produce are released conscientiously and are integrated into the professional writing you already do. Otherwise, you will seem like you are all over the place and just trying to score a buck.
6.     Don’t expect your platform to support you financially for at least one or two years, as you micro-invest in it, re-invest in it as it grows, and expand your visibility.
7.     Once you have a professional publication track record in your niche topic, then it’s time to hang your online shingle. I’ve seen this accomplished in as little as six months by exceptionally focused students. Take a portion of the money you’ve earned writing and invest it in a professional quality online presence.
8.     A low-cost way to do this is to purchase your name as a URL and use a hosting site like GoDaddy.com to host a Wordpress.org blog. I use the Thesis Theme, which you can see in action at my blog. In this way, a blog can also serve as your website where you post your published clips, offerings and bio. If you don’t have a ton of money to invest in the look of your site, you can always pay a designer later.
9.     Delay partnering with others on joint ventures until you have a clear idea of your own strengths and weaknesses in and around your topic. And when you do partner with others be extremely discriminating. Make sure the partnership is going to be win-win-win for everyone involved.
10.  Start an e-mail newsletter or e-zine with those who are most interested in your topic. Build your list by invitation and then grow it into a permission-based following over time. Create an expected, ongoing dialogue that is mutually beneficial to everyone involved and your list will grow.
11.  Now you are ready to start blogging. And yes, I mean while you continue to do all the things we’ve already discussed. Be sure to zoom-focus your blog on what you have to add to the conversation that is already going on about your topic. Don’t just share information; make an impact. Make your blog a go-to, up-to-date resource for your audience.
12.  Partner selectively with others who serve the same general audience that you do with integrity and humility. Spend time getting to know folks before you decide to partner with them. You can’t afford to taint the reputation you have worked so hard to establish by partnering with just anyone.
13.  Now that you have an established niche and audience, definitely participate in social networking. I like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn because they all offer something unique. The best way to learn is to jump in, spend an hour online each week until you are up and running. Follow the instructions for getting started provided by social media expert Meryl K. Evans.

This start-up plan for a writer platform will eventually blossom into an author platform. From start to finish, implementing a solid platform following this advice should take you about a year. By the end of that year, you will have established yourself as a serious contender in both professional and online circles, without killing yourself for some huckster’s promise of overnight success.

Have a plan. Leave a legacy in words, connections and professional influence. If you are consistent, by the time the year is done, you will have made effective use of your time and money in 2010.  I wish you the best of luck in your platform-building efforts!


Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform and Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids for Writer’s Digest Books. She has written hundreds of articles for national, regional, and online publications, presents at literary and publishing events around the country, and is a monthly columnist for the Willamette Writer. Katz publishes a weekly e-zine, The Prosperous Writer, and hosts The Northwest Author Series. She holds an MFA in writing from Columbia College Chicago and a BA from Dartmouth College. A “gentle taskmaster” to her hundred or so students each year, Katz channels over a decade of professional writing experience into success strategies that help writers get on track and get published. Learn more at ChristinaKatz.com.


grabs from Christina Katz

Just grabbed from http://christinakatz.com/free/ a great site to get lots of stuff on writing and for posting FOR FREE.

An Interview with Christina Katz

Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform and Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids for Writer’s Digest Books. She has written hundreds of articles for national, regional, and online publications, presents at literary and publishing events around the country, and is a monthly columnist for the Willamette Writer. Katz publishes a weekly e-zine, The Prosperous Writer, and hosts The Northwest Author Series. She holds an MFA in writing from Columbia College Chicago and a BA from Dartmouth College. A “gentle taskmaster” to her hundred or so students each year, Katz channels over a decade of professional writing experience into success strategies that help writers get on track and get published.

Q: What is a platform?

CK: Long story short: Your platform communicates your expertise to others, and it works all the time so you don’t have to. Your platform includes your Web presence, any public speaking you do, the classes you teach, the media contacts you’ve established, the articles you’ve published, and any other means you currently have for making your name and your future books known to a viable readership. If others already recognize your expertise on a given topic or for a specific audience or both, then that is your platform.

A platform-strong writer is a writer with influence. Get Known explains in plain English, without buzzwords, how any writer can stand out from the crowd of other writers and get the book deal. The book clears an easy-to-follow path through a formerly confusing forest of ideas so that even the most inexperienced platform-builder can get started building a solid platform.

Q: Why is platform development important for writers today?

CK: Learning about and working on a solid platform plan gives writers an edge in selling books. Agents and editors have known this for years and have been looking for platform-strong writers and getting them deals. But from the writer’s point-of-view, there has not been enough information on platform development to help unprepared writers put their best platform forward.

Now suddenly, there is a flood of information on platform, not all necessarily comprehensive, useful or well organized for folks who don’t have a platform yet. Writers can promote themselves in a gradual, grounded manner without feeling like they are selling out. I do it, I teach other writers to do it, I write about it on an ongoing basis, and I encourage all writers to heed the trend. And hopefully, I communicate how in a practical, step-by-step manner that can serve any writer. Something we never hear enough is that platform development is an inside job requiring concentration, thoughtfulness and a consideration of personal values.

Q: Why was a book on platform development needed?

CK: At every conference I presented, I took polls and found that about 50 percent of attendees expressed a desire for a clearer understanding of platform. Some were completely in the dark about it, even though they were attending a conference in hopes of landing a book deal. Writers often underestimate how important platform is and they often don’t leverage the platform they already have as much as they could. Since book deals are granted largely based on the impressiveness of a writer’s platform, I wanted to address the communication gap.

My intention was that Get Known would be the book every writer would want to read before attending a writer’s conference, and that it would increase any writer’s chances of landing a book deal whether they pitched in-person or by query. As I wrote the book, I saw how this type of information was being offered online as “insider secrets” at outrageous prices. No one should have to pay thousands of dollars for the information they can find in my book for the price of a paperback! Seriously. You can even ask your library to order it and read it for free.

Q: What is the key idea behind Get Known Before the Book Deal?

CK: Getting known doesn’t take a lot of money, but it does take an understanding of platform, and the investment of time, skills and consistent effort to build one. Marketing experience and technological expertise are also not necessary. I show how to avoid the biggest time and money-waster, which is not understanding who your platform is for and why – and hopefully save writers from the confusion and inertia that can result from either information overload or not taking the big picture into account before they jump into writing for traditional publication.

Q: Why is there so much confusion about platform among writers?

Often writers with weak platforms are over-confident that they can impress agents and editors, while others with decent platforms are under-confident or aren’t stressing their platform-strength enough. Writers have to wear so many hats these days, we can use all the help we can get. Platform development is a muscle, and the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Anyone can do it, but most don’t or won’t because they either don’t understand what is being asked for, or they haven’t overcome their own resistance to the idea. Get Known offers a concrete plan that can help any writer make gains in the rapidly changing and increasingly competitive publishing landscape.

Q: What is the structure of the book and why did you choose it?

CK: Get Known has three sections: section one is mostly stories and cautionary tales, section two has a lot of to-do lists any writer should be able to use, and section three is how to articulate your platform clearly and concisely so you won’t waste a single minute wondering if you are on the right track.

Most of the platform books already out there were for authors, not writers or aspiring authors. To make platform evolution easy to comprehend, I dialed the concepts back to the beginning and talked about what it’s like to try and find your place in the world as an author way before you’ve signed a contract, even before you’ve written a book proposal. No one had done that before in a book for writers. I felt writers needed a context in which to chart a course towards platform development that would not be completely overwhelming.

Q: At the front of Get Known, you discuss four phases of the authoring process. What are they?

CK: First comes the platform development and building phase. In this phase you are developing authority and trust. Second comes the book proposal development phase (or if you are writing fiction, the book-writing phase). In this phase, you are leveraging your expertise and your persuasive writing skills. Third, comes the actual writing of the book (for fiction writers this is likely the re-writing of the book). In this phase, you demonstrate that you are a skilled writer, who understands how to craft polished prose. And finally, once the book is published, comes the book marketing and promoting phase. In this final phase, you leverage all your existing influence and connect with as many readers as you can.

Many first-time authors scramble once they get a book deal if they haven’t done a thorough job on the platform development phase. Writers who already have a platform have influence with a fan base, and they can leverage that influence no matter what kind of book they write. Writing a book is a lot easier if you are not struggling to find readers for the book at the same time. Again, agents and editors have known this for a long time.

Q: What are some common platform mistakes writers make?

CK: Here are a few:

  • They don’t spend time clarifying who they are to others.
  • They don’t zoom in specifically on what they offer.
  • They confuse socializing with platform development.
  • They think about themselves too much and their audience not enough.
  • They don’t precisely articulate all they offer so others get it immediately.
  • They don’t create a plan before they jump online.
  • They undervalue the platform they already have.
  • They are overconfident and think they have a solid platform when they have only made a beginning.
  • They burn out from trying to figure out platform as they go.
  • They imitate “insider secrets” instead of trusting their own instincts.
  • They blog like crazy for six months and then look at their bank accounts and abandon the process as going nowhere.
Suffice it to say that many writers promise publishers they have the ability to make readers seek out and purchase their book. But when it comes time to demonstrate this ability, they can’t deliver.

Q: You write, teach, speak and blog. What motivates you?

My mission is to empower writers to be 100 percent responsible for their writing career success and stop looking to others to do their promotional work for them. Get Known shows writers of every stripe how to become the writer who can not only land a book deal, but also influence future readers to plunk down ten or twenty bucks to purchase their book. It all starts with a little preparation and planning. The rest unfolds from there. But you’ve got to start working on your platform today, if you want to become an author some day. Get Known can help anyone get off to a solid start.


Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform and Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids for Writer’s Digest Books. She has written hundreds of articles for national, regional, and online publications, presents at literary and publishing events around the country, and is a monthly columnist for the Willamette Writer. Katz publishes a weekly e-zine, The Prosperous Writer, and hosts The Northwest Author Series. She holds an MFA in writing from Columbia College Chicago and a BA from Dartmouth College. A “gentle taskmaster” to her hundred or so students each year, Katz channels over a decade of professional writing experience into success strategies that help writers get on track and get published. Learn more at ChristinaKatz.com.

Friday, August 06, 2010

Email from a fellow writer with excellent information and advice.

Hello all,

Several of us have book-length manuscripts that are virtually finished. At our meetings I keep wondering why none of them have been published already. If they have been submitted without success to at least one agent or editor, there must be some small (and easily corrected?) flaw or lack that keeps them from the big time.

My "Writer" (September issue), which came in the mail yesterday, contains a special section on how to get your material market-ready, titled "SELL YOUR WORK." Articles therein refer to specifics for nonfiction (books, articles, essays, etc.) and for fiction (novels, short stories, and children's books).

Another article, by an editor, defines a "small press" and describes what small presses look for. And as a preface to a listing of seven micro presses currently seeking authors, there is a short article on what is a "boutique" or a "micro" press.

This issue contains other good stuff I haven't described. Check it out.

The following is for all but Margaret, who does not need it (but she is welcome to read what follows).

As we know, Margaret has taken writing courses at UC Davis Extension in Sacramento. She has tried to explain how valuable they are to her. For the rest of us, if you are interested and you want more information, UC Davis offers a free info session on the evening of September 1st, from 6:00 to 8:30 pm. It covers their writing coursework, their certificate program, and their Tomales Bay Workshops.

For further information, go to:

http://www.extension.ucdavis.edu/writing/

The first page that comes up should show a link for the free info session near the top, under HIGHLIGHTS. If you click on that link, you will see a page with full details on that session, and a button to click to enroll in it.

If you scroll down toward the bottom of that first page, there is a link for the Tomales Bay Workshops page, where you can learn more or download a brochure (PDF). If you want to sign up, go to the top left of that page and, under COURSES, click on the link for Writing, then on that page find the link under COURSE TITLE for the Tomales Bay Workshops.

Note that, when you read this, one or both of those offerings may be nearing capacity, so time is of the essence if you are at all interested.

I note also that two of the writing courses have as a required text the book Making Shapely Fiction, by Jerome Stern. I do not know this book but I suspect that whether or not one takes a UC Davis writing course, this book may be useful in honing our craft. Margaret, do you have that book? Does anyone else know this book?

Best regards,
Phil