Miami Hostels for Budget Travellers

13. April 2012 USA T 7

Miami Beach is one holiday destination that many people consider to be an expensive place to stay, but there are quite a few Hostels in Miami and budget Hotels in Miami Beach that offer affordable accommodation.

What a lot of travellers look in Miami accommodation is good price and within easy reach of the beach and all the trendy places to visit, this can sometimes mean expensive prices, but there is no need to break the bank for a place to stay in Miami, below are some of the best value Miami hostels and budget accommodations in Miami

South Beach hostel in Miami is an ideal beach front hostel for travellers and holiday makers looking for an affordable place to stay in Miami

Bikini Hostel offers guest a affordable dorm rooms and apartments accommodation in Miami

Hollywood Beach Hostel offers cheap beds and great facilities, the staff are helpful, knowledgeable and waiting to welcome you to Miami

Miami Beach International Travellers Hostel is great value accommodation located within easy reach of the beach and all the sights and places to visit

Wakulla Suites in Miami have affordable private rooms and suites  a true home away from home in Miami for holiday makers

Enjoy the Sun, Sea and great entertainment in Miami and have the peace of mind that you won’t be spending too much money on a Miami accommodation, always remember that Miami Hostels for Budget Travellers

Miami Hostels for Budget Travellers | 0 Kommentare »

Be a New York Insider by Hostels247

16. March 2012 USA T 7

New York City

There are numerous holiday destinations Worldwide, but no matter what you are looking for when it comes to going on holiday, it must be acknowledged that there are some cities that stand out as being the better places to stay, this is in terms of famous sights and monuments, entertainment, wining and dining, amazing shops and places to chill out to budget air fares and cheap hostels.

New York City is without a doubt one city that covers all the bases for holiday makers. To begin, for a safe, clean and affordable base to explore New York visitors can choose from hotels accommodation, from youth hostel New York City, budget hotels to luxury 5 star hotels, studio apartments, bed and breakfast and motels depending on your budget and taste there definitely is a place to stay in New York to suit.

For tourist’s eager to snap a picture or two of some famous sights, NYC has loads of places to visit like Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Time Square, 5th Avenue, Central Park & Madison Square Gardens to mention but a few.

In terms of entertainment and places to Chillout you can take in a movie at the cinema, enjoy a show in theatre land, check out the countless restaurants, cafes and bars across the city, or grab a bargain in the shops such as Macys.

Getting around New York is easy, just jump on the Subway for fast, affordable and easy access to everywhere in New York, or if you prefer you can always hail one of the famous Yellow Cabs on the street.

There is so much to do and see in the Big Apple, New York City, if you want to enjoy your holiday in New York without any head ache or stress, just make sure that you are not a gullible tourists, if you wouldn’t do it at home or take that chance at home then don’t do it in New York City.

If you want to be a New York Insider it’s important to use your common sense and be aware of your surroundings, just because you’re a visitor to NYC there is no need to walk around with a map glued to your hand. Know where you are going and where you came from i.e the New York Hostel where your staying, if you happen to get lost on the way (which is very unlikely) just take a minute, check where you are and where you want to be and in a few minutes your back on track to your chosen destination. Just like a New Yorker.

New York City | 0 Kommentare »

President Barack Obama - 20 Jan 2009 - A day in History

20. January 2009 USA T 7

‘We have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.”

President Barack Obama shakes hands with Chief Justice John Roberts after taking the oath of office with First Lady Michelle Obama at his side.

By Mark Silva

President Barack Obama, calling on Americans to embrace “a new era of responsibility,” delivered an inaugural address sober in its recognition of crises that Americans confront at home and abroad yet soaring in its assignment.

Obama, sworn in today as 44th president of the United States outside the Capitol before a crowd filling the National Mall from end to end, focused on not only the economic crisis that the nation confronts, but also a crisis of confidence that he says can only be overcome with a renewed national resolve for greatness. “What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility,” Obama said, “a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

“This is the price and the promise of citizenship,” the newly inaugurated president said under sunny skies and a wintry day that drew hundreds of thousands of people to see a historic event - with a celebrant crowd apparently open to his call to “pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work.” “On this day,” Obama said, “we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.” Barack Hussein Obama, born of a mother from Kansas and father from Kenya who had their only son in Hawaii, is unique in American history: The first African-American president of a nation once riven by slavery and racially segregated by law for decades.

Obama swore to the oath of office on Abraham Lincoln’s Bible before an audience jamming and spanning a two-mile length of the National Mall from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. At 47, Obama is not be the nation’s youngest chief executive — Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and William Jefferson Clinton were younger at their inaugurations. But the Democrat from Chicago, a lawmaker, constitutional lawyer and onetime community activist, has united young and old with his call for “a new declaration of independence” from divisiveness. “Every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms,” Obama said in his inaugural address. “At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because ‘we the people’ have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents. “So it has been,” Obama said. “So it must be with this generation of Americans.” Obama enters office at one of the most challenging junctures in modern history: In the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and with the nation at war on two fronts.

“We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth,” Obama said. “Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished… “Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.” The new president will ask the Congress to approve, within his first month in office, a nearly $1-trillion economic stimulus that promises more than 3 million new jobs in the next few years. At the same time, it will compound an annual national debt which already surpasses $1 trillion before he enters office. “He is going to be counting on the American people to come together,” said retired Army Gen. Colin Powell, who served as secretary of state for former President George W. Bush and supported Obama’s election. “We all have to do something to help the country move forward under the leadership of this new president.” “Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred,” Obama said. “Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age… “Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights,” he said.

“The challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met…” Among the many who packed the National Mall on this day: Gloria Washington-Lewis Randall, an African-American from Alabama who spent two and a half weeks in jail after participating in a civil rights demonstration in 1963. Now, at 62, she was joined by her friends waiting to watch the swearing-in on a Jumbotron in the cold. “I’m totally ecstatic,” she said. “You don’t really notice the cold out here. It’s a warmness that’s coming up. Because no more will we be called black or white. We’ll be called Americans.” “Today is about victory,” said House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) “This is a victory for democracy, for all Americans who see their hopes and dreams in Barack Obama, who now feel that they have a voice, and a person with the vision to sail this ship through the rough waters all of us are experiencing.” Obama enters office with a pledge for an “orderly” and “responsible” withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq after nearly six years of war that has claimed more than 4,000 American lives.

At the same time, he supports an escalation of U.S. military force in Afghanistan, which he considers “the real front in the war against terrorism.” A Harvard-bred attorney who served less than one term in the Senate, the former Illinois state lawmaker will assume office as the culmination of a dream which he himself has billed as “audacious:” A candidate with a “funny name” who was unknown to much of the nation just five years ago. Obama shed his anonymity with the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in the summer of 2004.

“I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible,” Obama said at that convention in Boston. The upstart Democrat remained a long-shot for the nation’s highest office when he announced his candidacy in front of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., on Feb. 10, 2007. “I recognize there is a certain presumptuousness - a certain audacity - to this announcement,” Obama told a crowd filling the square on a frigid winter day. “I know I haven’t spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I’ve been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change. ” He entered a crowded contest for the Democratic Party’s nomination, with much of the party’s conventional wisdom pointed toward the nomination of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, a former first lady. In the end, after outrunning Clinton in a long-fought primary race, he has named her secretary of state. In Republican Sen. John McCain, the GOP’s early-settled presidential nominee, Obama faced a much older, more seasoned senator with a military hero’s story to boot.

At first, the war in Iraq stood as a defining difference. Yet, as the campaign progressed, the protracted war was eclipsed by economic calamity. By Election Day, Obama had amassed support in enough states - including some that had long voted Republican, such as Virginia and Indiana - for an Electoral College landslide. “It’s been a long time coming,,” Obama told tens of thousands filling Chicago’s Grant Park on election night, “But tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.” On Tuesday,

“I, Barack Hussein Obama” raised his right hand and swore to preserve the office of the presidency and the U.S. Constitution. “With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come,” Obama said in his address. “Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter, and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.”

God Bless America. God Bless President Obama.

---

“On this day,” Obama said, “we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.” Just thought this worth repeating!

President Barack Obama | 0 Kommentare »

Something to bring Democrats and Republicans together

30. October 2008 USA T 7

Whether Democrat or Republican, I think you’ll get a kick out of this!

A little boy goes to his dad and asks,

‘What is Politics?’

Dad says, ‘Well son, let me try to explain it this way:

I am the head of the family, so call me The President.

Your mother is the administrator of the money, so we call her the Government.

We are here to take care of your needs, so we will call you the People.

The nanny, we will consider her the Working Class.

And your baby brother, we will call him the Future.

Now think about that and see if it makes sense.’

So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what Dad said.

Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper.

So the little boy goes to his parent’s room and finds his mother asleep.

Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny’s room.

Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny.

He gives up and goes back to bed.

The next morning, the little boy says to his father, ‘Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now.’

The father says, ‘Good, son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about.

‘ The little boy replies, ‘The President is screwing the Working Class while the Government is sound asleep. The People are being ignored and the Future is in deep shit.

Business & Finance, Political Joke, Politics & Current Affairs, Sarah Palin, USA NEWS | 0 Kommentare »

Report On Palin’s Alaska Gas PipeLine

26. October 2008 USA T 7

Gov. Sarah Palin’s signature accomplishment

Gov. Sarah Palin’s signature accomplishment - a contract to build a 1,715-mile pipeline to bring natural gas from Alaska to the Lower 48 - emerged from a flawed bidding process that narrowed the field to a company with ties to her administration, an Associated Press(AP) investigation shows.
Beginning at the Republican National Convention in August, the McCain-Palin ticket has touted the pipeline as an example of how it would help America achieve energy independence.
“We’re building a nearly $40 billion natural gas pipeline, which is North America’s largest and most expensive infrastructure project ever, to flow those sources of energy into hungry markets,” Palin said during the October 2 vice presidential debate.
Despite Palin’s boast of a smart and fair bidding process, the AP found that her team crafted terms that favoured only a few independent pipeline companies and ultimately benefited the winner, TransCanada Corp.
And contrary to the ballyhoo, there’s no guarantee the pipeline will ever be built; at a minimum, any project is years away, as TransCanada must first overcome major financial and regulatory hurdles.
In interviews and a review of records, the AP found that:
•Instead of creating a process that would attract many potential builders, Palin slanted the terms away from an important group - the global energy giants that own the rights to the gas.
Despite promises and legal guidance not to talk directly with potential bidders, Palin had meetings or phone calls with nearly every major candidate, including TransCanada.
•The leader of Palin’s pipeline team had been a partner at a lobbying firm where she worked on behalf of a TransCanada subsidiary. Also, that woman’s former business partner at the lobbying firm was TransCanada’s lead private lobbyist on the pipeline deal, interacting with legislators in the weeks before the vote to grant TransCanada the contract. Plus, a former TransCanada executive served as an outside consultant to Palin’s pipeline team.
•Under a different set of rules four years earlier, TransCanada had offered to build the pipeline without a state subsidy; under Palin, the company could receive a maximum $500 million.
“Governor Palin held firmly to her fundamental belief that Alaska could best serve Alaskans and the nation’s interests by pursuing a competitive approach to building a natural gas pipeline,” said McCain-Palin spokesman Taylor Griffin. “There was an open and transparent process that subjected the decision to extensive public scrutiny and due diligence.”

ONLY ONE VIABLE BIDDER
There were never more than a few players that could execute such a complex undertaking - at least a million tons of steel stretching across some of Earth’s most hostile and remote terrain.
TransCanada estimates it will cost $26 billion; Palin’s consultants estimate nearly $40 billion.
The pipeline would run from Alaska’s North Slope to Alberta in Canada; secondary supply lines would take the gas to various points in the United States and Canada. The pipeline would carry 4.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily, about 8 percent of the present U.S. market.
Building such a pipeline had been a dream for decades. The rising cost and demand for energy injected new urgency into the proposal.
So too did the depletion of Alaska’s long-reliable reserves of oil, which are trapped in the same Arctic Circle reservoirs as clean-burning natural gas. Not only does that oil provide jobs, it pays for an annual dividend check to nearly every Alaska resident. This year’s payment was $2,069, 25 percent higher than 2007 - plus a $1,200 bonus rebate to help offset higher energy costs.
Palin was elected as governor two years ago in part because of her populist appeal. Promising “New Energy for Alaska,” she vowed to take on Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips and BP, the multinational energy companies that long dominated the state’s biggest industry.
Oil interests were particularly unpopular at that moment: Federal agents had recently raided the offices of six lawmakers in a Justice Department investigation into whether an Alaska oil services company paid bribes in exchange for promoting a new taxing formula that would ultimately further the multinationals’ pipeline plans.
Palin ousted fellow Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski, who pushed a pipeline deal he negotiated in secret with the “Big Three” energy companies. That deal went nowhere.
With Alaskans eager for progress and sour on Big Oil, Palin tackled the pipeline issue with gusto, meeting with representatives from all sides and assembling her own team of experts to draw up terms.
Palin invited bidders to submit applications and offered the multimillion-dollar subsidy. Members of Palin’s team say that without the incentive, it might not have received any bids for the risky undertaking.

TIES THAT BIND
Palin’s team was led by Marty Rutherford, a widely respected energy specialist who entered the upper levels of state government nearly 20 years ago. Rutherford solidified her status when, in 2005, she joined an exodus of Department of Natural Resources staff who felt Murkowski was selling out to the oil giants.
What the Palin administration didn’t tell legislators - and neglected to mention in its announcement of Rutherford’s appointment - was that in 2003, Rutherford left public service and worked for 10 months at the Anchorage-based Jade North lobbying firm. There she did $40,200 worth of work for Foothills Pipe Lines Alaska, Inc., a subsidiary of TransCanada.

Sarah Palin, USA NEWS | 0 Kommentare »

America - World Financial Crisis

19. September 2008 USA T 7

Blame Ourselves for the Housing Bubble - Contrary Barry

America’s financial and economic woes continue to mount and multiply. With them, so too do the woes of the global economy. The US government takeover of mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae is followed by the bankruptcy of finance giant Lehman Brothers during which time Treasury secretary Paulson assures that the United States government is not going to bail out failing companies. Two days later, the US government rescues insurance giant AIG with an $85 billion bridge loan which suddenly makes American taxpayers owners of AIG. What does it all mean?

It means that we live in a complex economic world which grows increasingly interconnected. When one nation’s economy coughs, another nation sneezes. It also speaks to the complexity of life in which neither erudite economists or self-assured bankers understand what is going on any more than the average consumer on the street. Although the tendency is to feign incredulity and point fingers at “greedy” CEOs whilst castigating governments and politicians ( Mr. Obama has this game down pat ), the truth is much simpler. When individual consumers and investors behave badly ( or make faulty choices/decisions) , bankers, brokers, and CEOs can also follow suit making their own poor decisions. And government will always behave like government which is to say that they are the last to act and do not always make good decisions either.

America and the world do not end up in this tumultuous situation overnight. It’s been a long process building for many years. It derives from misguided assumptions by all sorts of parties; careless optimism by individuals, poor diligence by businesses, greed in the board rooms and executive offices of corporations, lack of sufficient oversight by governments and plain and simple arrogance by politicians who feign incredulity and meddle with affairs without providing positive assistance. No, in this instance we share responsibility for events. Unfortunately, it’s the folks at the bottom who get stepped on the hardest. But wait! It does seem that some of those wealthy business elites are also getting spanked on this one. Not a cause for celebration, but certainly heartening to turn and see a suit standing astride you in the slit trench everyone has fallen into.

In America several factors lay behind the current crisis. It begins back in the 90s when banks and other financial institutions frenetically issue credit cards to folks with doubtful credit histories. Many folks see easy credit as an excuse to buy now and pay later, despite credit card interest rates of 18% to 28%. These anxious spenders gleefully take the cards and rack up mountains of credit card debt while they assuage every desire for instant gratification. The habit of spend today and pay tomorrow is burned into the brains of millions of carefree folks who ignore budgets & consequences of excessive debt or self responsibility. Of course, the banks, whose bad debt ratios rise don’t mind since everyone seems to be happy.

Consumer irresponsibility becomes a habit which grows exponentially along with consumer debt. This in turn fuels a salutary response amongst banks and businesses who discard discipline & caution in favor of chasing the rising wave of consumer demand. Finance banks step into the market and up the ante. The target? Home ownership. There follows a 10 to 15 year period during which home ownership becomes the mantra of bankers, finance banks, mortgage brokers, and politicians - while anxious consumers queue the housing line.

Call this an age of unbridled housing optimism. But in defense of this optimism, it should be noted that Americans are an especially optimistic people. Home ownership is one of the foundations of the American dream and a tangible measure of individual success. One can not completely blame individuals aspiring ownership or politicians who encourage home ownership for more folks, especially first-time buyers. Both presidents Clinton and Bush encourage markets to open up and allow more individuals to participate in credit; in time this becomes pursuit of home ownership. It’s both an earnest gesture to individuals trying to climb the ladder of success, and wise politics to encourage home ownership. Of course when things go sour, folks naturally throw hand grenades at the last guy standing which in America, means president Bush.

But what is Mr. Bush guilty of? He simply echoes the whims and desires of individuals, financiers, builders, and politicians who all queue on behalf of the American dream. This housing circus is a consequence of individuals making poor/misinformed decisions which are then echoed and amplified by aiding and abetting home builders, banks, financial institutions, and politicians. Once unleashed, this housing juggernaut becomes a fast train speeding towards the end of the tracks. And no single brake man can stop it.

In essence, individuals queue up for mortgages for which many of them in no way, shape, or form qualify for - does a babysitter really qualify for a $700K mortgage on a California house? In many cases government agencies and lenders do not require borrowers to place a down payment on their purchase - the process is broken at the earliest stages of the game. Market frenzy ( along with a touch of greed by all parties ) bolsters a false confidence amongst buyers, home-builders, banks and brokers whilst the Wall Street financial community digests all of these loans into derivatives. Housing prices soar & it seems there is no way to go but upwards.

This is one of many disconnects which occur; the first sign that something is wrong while lenders shirk due diligence & assure themselves that a qualified buyer sits before them. An individual who does not put up any of their own money to purchase their house and has no stake in the process except distorted expectations about the wisdom of purchasing a home whose payments they can’t afford when interest rates are reset. Many of these folks are the same individuals who already hold tens of thousands of dollars of credit card debt which magically does not matter to lenders anymore. Banks, brokers, and government all sign off on these dubious loans. Joining the queues are hoards of speculators who grab this easy money so that they can “churn” a house in a matter of weeks and walk away with a quick profit in a market with spiraling prices ( America has scores of television shows touting this “path to success” ). Once again banks often require no down payments on these loans - it is sufficient that the individual has their own ( inflated) primary residence. The nation is too busy singing “we’re in the money” to ponder the consequences of free-for-all lending.

Housing bubbles are nothing new in economic history. But the unique twist in this fiasco is how the men in suits are themselves deceived by the upwards momentum of the markets. The culprit is complex financial instruments called derivatives. These derivatives require the minds of calculus gurus who employ computer algorithms to bend, twist and meld these mountains of debts into subdivided lots, in essence atomized loans which contain toxic mortgages. This presumably spreads the risk around and thus minimizes the dangers to all - at least this is how it appears in theory to folks who sell the idea of derivatives to CEOs. In retrospect, derivatives are the computer age’s version of a perpetual motion machine. Suffice it to say that if finance bankers and CEO’s are clueless as to how these derivatives actually work, how should one expect bureaucrats and individuals to fathom them. As we all now know, derivatives did not work as promised. The problem is that every bank, every lender, every broker, every business and yes, even the government and the Federal Reserve all assume that things are covered.

Yes today, there is an urge to “blame” and to signal out the responsible parties (cue the politicians again). But the responsibility falls upon all of us. It begins with spendthrift consumers who delude themselves into believing that instant gratification is a constitutional right which excuses them from constraining their spending habits in accordance with their income ( if Lenin were alive to do a MasterCard commercial he might say, “from each according to his ability, to each according to his bank balance & credit rating”).

It continues with overly optimistic builders and buyers whose greed for quick returns clouds their judgment. They close their eyes and click their heels like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz hoping that they will be magically transported to a place where housing prices never fall. Admittedly, consumer and market momentum is a powerful force, difficult for all parties to resist. But neither financers, banks, nor government is prepared for magnitude of the bubble which bursts beneath their feet. Markets never grasp what derivatives were. Analysts fail to gage their impact upon the balance sheet. Wall Street and the Feds look at balance sheets which appear sound but are in fact over-mortgaged Potemkin villages. Government, which is always slow to react and tends instead to address tomorrow’s problems with yesterday’s solutions plays its usual clueless part.

No small wonder then that America’s Treasury and Federal Reserve sends mixed signals as this economic crisis shifts and undulates daily. Storm clouds had been long on Freddie Mac’s and Fannie Mae’s horizons. The Treasury acts. America’s finance banks take their bitter medicine. AIG gets a government respite, but sells it’s soul to taxpayers. No surprise that the Treasury is writing the book case by case during this unprecedented finance catastrophe. Ripples spread around the globe creating a tidal wave effect on housing in Ireland, the UK, and Spain. Folks there are learning the same lesson that Americans learn. What does the future hold? You’ll have to get up each day and find out.

In the mean time, we all need to get back to the basics of the individual. Presently, Adam Smith’s invisible hand is stuck up our back side. But we all asked for it. Time to fess up, get our own finances and spending in order, and to learn from our mistakes. As to government? They sure didn’t help on this one, and none of us should be surprised. Let’s see how America votes, not that it will really make a difference. Then again, politicians need only make promises while individuals live with the direct consequences of their decisions.

Article By Contrary Barry

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Business & Finance | 0 Kommentare »

Obama V McCain 2008

19. September 2008 USA T 7

The Game Changer US Election 2008 - History Will Be Made

The American news media is telling one story about America’s Presidential election, but the real story of this election is much more interesting than the media or democrats suggest. Both America’s mainstream media and the democrats remain entrenched in an anti-Bush, anti-republican mindset which does little to speak to the true concerns of the voters. This election is more exciting and more complicated than anyone wishes to admit.

Make no mistake, Obama should win the election because everything is going in his favor ( public discontent with Presedent Bush, a sour economy, & impatience about Iraq). There is no way that Obama should lose this election. Yet McCain has (temporarily) pulled even.

Why?

Democrats & the media fail to divine the true mood of voters. Instead they convince themselves that everyone buys into the democrat’s assumptions/arguments because there does exist a national sense that it is indeed time for Mr. Bush to go. It’s an easy mistake to make because the democrats themselves have campaigned against Mr. Bush for over 8 years arguing that he is an incompetent fool ( and the media endlessly hammers this message home). Say something long enough, and you begin to believe in your own rhetoric. Obama’s meteoric rise seems to confirm this assumption in the minds of both media and political pundits.

During the primary, Hillary sets her campaign theme upon experience whilst Obama runs on the theme of reform. Impatient left-wing democrats of the Move-on.org ilk view Hillary as too mainstream and antithical to their core beliefs. They instead gravitate towards and embrace Obama’s reform theme. These energized factions become the fulcrum of Internet fund-raising which suddenly makes Obama a viable alternative to a center-left Hillary who is not radical enough for them. Of course it also takes the deep pockets of billionaire George Soros to propel Obama past an out-gunned Hillary. But give Obama credit for finding the correct message to win the democrat nomination.

A similar process occurs on the republican side where McCain is the old man who stands in the woods by himself. He votes in favor of an unpopular troop surge in Iraq.

All of the other GOP hopefuls zoom past him. The troop surge proves successful bringing stability to Iraq and the possibility of a positive outcome ( to the chagrin of media and democrats who preach certain failure in Iraq for years ). McCain brings in new advisors who stress a message of change & reform.

This along with McCain’s reputation as a maverick at odds with his party seals the deal and he becomes the republican nominee. Democrats and the media are initially not very concerned about McCain. Obama himself behaves like an already-anointed leader during his visit to Europe and the Democrat Convention is staged in an open stadium with huge crowds & a stage backdrop complete with Greek columns. The “assumption” was that Obama would pull away from McCain after the convention making the election a mere formality. This has not happened. It all changes when McCain takes a huge risk and nominates governor Palin, a rustic woman and a contrarian governor to be his running mate. Mrs. Palin hits a home run with voters.

The odd thing about this election is that both Hillary and Obama are correct. Voters want change and experience.

Both McCain & Obama correctly acknowledge voters’ desire for reform & change. But voter desire for reform is more about breaking with the bad habits of the past and getting down to the job of government than it is an ideological groundswell to turn Washington upside down and reinvent politics. Voters are pissed off at Congress for it’s decades of bad behavior, special interest deals, and a general inertia in Washington which stalls and chokes most legislation. This is the part that the mainstream media is getting wrong — so too does Obama who overplays his hand with grandiose hype during his visit to Europe and the democrat convention.

This year’s election is not going to be about which party energizes its base voters and gets them to the polls as in 2000 and 2004. This election will be determined in a handful of closely contested states among a very small strata of angry, undecided voters in these states. The two Party bases will negate each other.

It will all come down to how this narrow band of voters responds to each candidate. And these voters are both independents as well as weak members of both parties. Their votes will be especially critical in this election. Additionally, the issues driving these voters vary according to the state and part of the country in which they live. Indeed the economy factors very heavily in this election. But voters are also looking for specific attributes from the candidates because these voters have heard it all before. There is no single template for either party to follow in this election. It comes down to how McCain and Obama sell themselves to these voters.

So here is the odd thing in this election. Hillary is correct in that experience matters. Yet McCain chooses an inexperienced running mate in Mrs. Palin. But she is a feisty, independent woman who is definitely not a part of the political status quo that many voters have come to despise. The GOP and many ordinary working women with children absolutely embrace her. McCain reasons that these voters will overlook Palin’s inexperience in favor of her independent character. All while he (McCain ) hammers away at Obama for lacking experience.

Thus far, Obama and the democrats are focusing 100% on Palin’s inexperience while also emphasizing that Obama is a reformer. They are also encouraging feminists to rip Palin apart in the media ( which is of course all too happy to oblige ). Little do they realize how nuanced the minds of undecided voters really are at the moment. It’s not prudent to stir the wrath of women voters who are themselves not a clearly defined group. The most important effect of Palin is that she destroys the feminist myth that only a Hillary-type of woman could run for high office. Lots of women have embraced Palin because she looks and feels like of them.

Obama’s choice of Mr. Biden as a running mate acknowledges his own lack of experience in foreign affairs. But in truth, the “reform candidate” has chosen an old fart running mate who is a part of the same political establishment that he (Obama ) criticizes while McCain puts his money where his mouth is by choosing an inexperienced Palin. How’s that for a contrast? The real question to ask is will the voters realize this and what will they ultimately think ?

It is anyone’s guess as to how this is going to play out.

There are very clear difference between the two candidates. It will fall to the hearts and minds of undecided voters in a handful of states to decide who becomes president ( Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Michigan, Minnesota, Florida, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada ).

There is no uniform way to approach these states. The best advice to either candidate is to be yourself.

For McCain, this will be easy as he has always told folks what he thinks. Obama is a great speaker, but his speeches are boiler plate prose which sound great to a crowd, but do not show his heart to those voters who count. He still has time to sell himself and regain control of the election as he should easily be doing as a democrat in post-Bush America.

Thus far, conventional wisdom has not proved to be an especially good guide for this election. Disgusted voters have heard it all before from politicos promising change. Today’s voter wants action & accountability which is not exactly synonymous with change in policy as much as it means change in behavior. Candidates had better speak their hearts during this campaign. McCain has found a way to reach out to the hearts of some undecided voters. Can Obama, the self-professed reformer respond?

This election remains a coin toss.

Article By Contrary Barry

Politics & Current Affairs | 0 Kommentare »

Travel To America

30. April 2008 USA T 7

America Holidays Offer Something For Everyone

Everyone expects something different from their travel, Holiday or vacation, it is difficult to for fill everyone’s hopes and expectations, from Families, Students, Backpackers and Budget travellers to Business Travellers.

But one thing is for sure, America with its numerous States, Cities and Holiday destinations does it’s best to please as many people as possible.

From coast to coast America has something for everyone, from Pristine Beaches, Holiday Resorts like Disney World in Orlando, Florida, Famous Sights Like the Statue of Liberty in New York, The White House in Washington DC, Grand Canyon in Arizona, Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho to mention but a few, to Bustling Cities like Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, Dallas, Atlanta and many more to Deserts and breath taking landscapes.

No matter the time of year or what you want from your Holiday or travel, you are sure to find what you want from a trip to America.

One thing that is great about USA, is Its easy to find a place to stay in America, no matter what City you’re visiting. America has all types of Accommodation from Motels, Cheap Hostels, Bed and Breakfast, Backpackers Hostels Accommodation, Discount Hotels, Guesthouse and Holiday Studio Apartments to Luxury 5 Star Hotels and Holiday Resorts.

Travel & Holidays, Uncategorized | 0 Kommentare »