Written By CTA

Written By CTA

What is passive income?
Passive income is money that is earned from doing nothing, or almost nothing. Getting up and going to work is active income. You have to do something to get it. If you don’t do something then you don’t get the money. Passive income is the opposite. Investments are passive income. Books, songs, and films are passive income. Once you’ve created the thing, it can be sold in perpetuity with little to no more work from you. It’s a truly beautiful thing.

Why do we want it?
There is no greater satisfaction than knowing that you are earning money while you sleep. A key axiom of life is that we should work smarter, not harder. You may be thinking that you enjoy your job. You don’t have a problem with your income and you don’t have the will to create a passive stream of income for yourself, and all of that may be true, but if you could earn income from doing little more than you’re doing right this second and get more income, wouldn’t you do it?

How do we get it?
There are several ways to set up streams of passive income, but one of the most direct way is to create something from nothing and sell it. That could be recording a CD that can be sold on CDBaby.com or publishing a book at CreateSpace.com. The key is to create something that can be easily replicated and sold online. Another great option is to own multi-family dwelling units. You let other people pay your mortgage off while a property management company handles the day-to-day problems.

Regardless what form of passive income you choose to pursue, the point is that you must incorporate passive streams of income into your wealth building goals.

What streams of passive income are you considering?

Written by Shay Olivarria

This won’t stop the tongues from wagging about it as if the gossip from the dozens of the unnamed sources cited on the purported inner workings of the White House is the paragon of truth and accuracy. It’s another case of flim-flamming the public into taking a voyeuristic look into the alleged squabbles, fights, bickering, and confusion, with a strong hint of dysfunctionality that supposedly reigns between the president, Michelle and staff members. The cover to sell the tabloid hit-job on the Obamas is that the alleged personal foibles and quirks of the Obamas in some way has some bearing on the weighty matters of politics and public policy. But that’s what the book tries to do. It ridicules a Halloween party in which Michelle wore a leopard-print sweater, cat ears and sparkly eye makeup.

This supposedly is a prime example of extravagance, frivolity, and plain goofiness that supposedly goes on behind the White House doors. The proof of this is that Obama supposedly hid the party from the press and the public. They didn’t. The press corps were invited, and the party was for the children of military personnel. What does this or any of the other gossipy tales about the Obamas have to do with administration policy and decision-making about job creation, deficit reduction, immigration reform, the war on terrorism, the Afghan war, the European debt crisis, environmental and labor protections, and transportation polices, is anybody’s guess. But that’s irrelevant anyway. The point is to tantalize the public and belittle the administration. The timing that this purported tell-all-stuff hit is no accident. It comes as the 2012 presidential campaign kicks into high gear, and this ensures that it’s even more fodder for the GOP political sleaze machine oiled by right-wing bloggers, talk show hosts, and websites that delight in spewing out the litany of race baiting slurs and lies about the Obamas.

News editors, TV executives, and publishers insist that the alleged foibles and peccadilloes of celebrities, even those that wear the mantle of the presidency, and now in the case of Michelle, their wives, are fair game for exposure. They are public figures and there is no such thing as privacy when that’s the case. This is bunkum. Their only interest is how high ratings can be shoved upward, and how many newspapers and books can be sold in mining journalistic muck.

News gathering is, of course, a business and it’s certainly well established that sensational news, manufactured or otherwise, sells more than any other news. The rash of books on presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and most recently with Nixon, as with The Obamas, that purport to tell all about their foibles, insecurities, the behind the scenes squabbles and domestic or sexual quirks, are guaranteed to be big hits and will almost always translate into jingling cash registers at book stores, and in online sales. By contrast, a book about the inside debates and deliberations in a White House over a job or health care bill or a foreign policy issue is guaranteed to draw snores from the public and gather dust on bookstore shelves.

The only difference between The Obamas and the latest frivolities and inanities about the Kardashians is that publishers make no pretense that they are informing or educating the public about any vital public policy issue. It’s just pure titillation, and industry flacks cull the most lurid and prurient quotes and anecdotes from the books and stories on them to grab a headline or a sound bite.

But that’s not all. In a book that purports to tell all about the private quirks and rages of the Obamas the author and the publisher can have it both ways. They smugly climb up on their high horse and claim that the public has a right to know about a president’s inner life and then turn the table and claim that the public wants to know this stuff anyway and couldn’t give a hoot about substantive public policy issues.

The Obamas won’t be the last book to corral a legion of unnamed alleged inside sources to spin their personal grudges and wounded slights into a juicy tangle of rumor, gossip, and exaggerations to sell a book. In the tabloid media, dumping on a celebrity, especially if that celebrity is President Obama, is standard procedure.

Written by Earl Ofari Hutchinson

Written by CTA

Written By CTA

“Hazing is demeaning, dangerous, and, sadly, deadly,” said Rep. Wilson in a release. “It’s time that we put an end to this horrible and humiliating ritual once and for all, so that no more students suffer the way that Robert and others have.”

Several states, including Florida, already have laws that target hazing activity. In Florida, anyone who participates in hazing can be charged with a third-degree felony.

The details of Wilson’s bill have yet to be worked out, but the Democrat says she is in discussions with several members of historically black colleges, including everyone from college presidents to band members, to craft the proposed bill.

Via AP

Obama’s overall standing in the poll suggests he could be in jeopardy of losing re-election even as the survey showed that public’s outlook on the economy appears to be improving. For the first time since spring, more people said the economy got better in the past month than said it got worse. The president’s approval rating on unemployment shifted upward – from 40 percent in October to 45 percent in the latest poll – as the jobless rate fell to 8.6 percent last month, its lowest level since March 2009.

But Obama’s approval rating on his handling of the economy overall remains stagnant: Thirty-nine percent approve and 60 percent disapprove.

Heading into his re-election campaign, the president faces a conflicted public. It does not support his steering of the economy, the most dominant issue for Americans, or his overhaul of health care, one of his signature accomplishments, but it also is grappling with whether to replace him with Republican contenders Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich.

The poll found Americans were evenly divided over whether they expect Obama to be re-elected next year.

For the first time, the poll found that a majority of adults, 52 percent, said Obama should be voted out of office while 43 percent said he deserves another term. The numbers mark a reversal since last May, when 53 percent said Obama should be re-elected while 43 percent said he didn’t deserve four more years.

Obama’s overall job approval stands at a new low, with 44 percent approving and 54 percent disapproving. The president’s standing among independents is worse: Thirty-eight percent approve while 59 percent disapprove. Among Democrats, the president holds steady with an approval rating of 78 percent while only 12 percent of Republicans approve of the job he’s doing.

“I think he’s doing the best he can. The problem is the Congress won’t help at all,” said Rosario Navarro, a Democrat and a 44-year-old truck driver from Fresno, Calif., who voted for Obama in 2008 and intends to support him again.

Robin Dein, a 54-year-old homemaker from Villanova, Pa., who is an independent, said she supported Republican John McCain in 2008 and has not been impressed with Obama’s economic policies. She intends to support Romney if he wins the GOP nomination.

Obama, she said, “spent the first part of his presidency blaming Bush for everything, not that he was innocent, and now his way of solving anything is by spending more money.”

Despite the soft level of support, many are uncertain whether a Republican president would be a better choice. Asked whom they would support next November, 47 percent of adults favored Obama and 46 percent Romney, the former Massachusetts governor. Against Gingrich, the president holds a solid advantage, receiving 51 percent compared with 42 percent for the former House speaker.

The potential matchups paint a better picture for the president among independents. Obama receives 45 percent of nonaligned adults compared with 41 percent for Romney. Against Gingrich, Obama holds a wide lead among independents, with 54 percent supporting the president and 31 percent backing the former Georgia congressman.

Another piece of good news for Obama: People generally like him personally. Obama’s personal favorability rating held steady at 53 percent, with 46 percent viewing him unfavorably. About three-quarters called him likable.

The economy remains a source of pessimism, though the poll suggests the first positive movement in public opinion on the economy in months. One in five said the economy improved in the last month, double the share saying so in October. Still most expect it to stay the same or get worse.

“I suppose you could make some sort of argument that it’s getting better, but I’m not sure I even see that,” said independent voter John Bailey, a 61-year-old education consultant from East Jordan, Mich. “I think it’s bad and it’s gotten worse under (Obama’s) policies. At best, it’s going to stay bad.”

Despite the high rate of joblessness, the poll found some optimism on the economy. Although 80 percent described the economy as “poor,” respondents describing it “very poor” fell from 43 percent in October to 34 percent in the latest poll, the lowest since May. Twenty percent said the economy got better in the past month while 37 percent said they expected the economy to improve next year.

Yet plenty of warning signs remain for Obama. Only 26 percent said the United States is headed in the right direction while 70 percent said the country was moving in the wrong direction.

The president won a substantial number of female voters in 2008 yet there does not appear to be a significant tilt toward Obama among women now. The poll found 44 percent of women say Obama deserves a second term, down from 51 percent in October, while 43 percent of men say the president should be re-elected.

About two-thirds of white voters without college degrees say Obama should be a one-term president, while 33 percent of those voters say he should get another four years. Among white voters with a college degree, 57 percent said Obama should be voted out of office.

The poll found unpopularity for last year’s health care overhaul. About half of the respondents oppose the health care law and support for it dipped to 29 percent from 36 percent in June. Just 15 percent said the federal government should have the power to require all Americans to buy health insurance.

Even among Democrats, the health care law has tepid support. Fifty percent of Democrats supported the health care law, compared with 59 percent of Democrats last June. Only about a quarter of independents back the law.

The president has taken a more populist tone in his handling of the economy, arguing that the wealthy should pay more in taxes to help pay for the extension of a payroll tax cut that would provide about $1,000 in tax cuts to a family earning about $50,000 a year. Among those with annual household incomes of $50,000 or less, Obama’s approval rating on unemployment climbed to 53 percent from 43 percent in October.

The Associated Press-GfK Poll was conducted Dec. 8-12 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,000 adults nationwide and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Via AP

While Christians want to bitch and moan that Jesus is allegedly being taken out of the celebration of Christmas, it is my contention that the representational sentiment of Jesus is being removed from too much by far too many.

Even many so-called Christians.

The representational sentiment of Jesus is found in many other religious icons.

That sentiment is of kindness and gentleness. That sentiment is of efforts to be beautiful humans and beautiful to other humans.

But sadly, the current season of giving and loving begins to fade when people return to work and begin to face the check placed on their metaphysical table for the spending during the holiday season.

When the season fades away, much of the spirit of that season fades away as well.

People go right back to being selfish and greedy, focusing more on what they will get as opposed to what they grudgingly are forced to give.

Few remain focused on the conscious evolution pursued by Jesus of Nazareth.

That conscious evolution was more than a slogan for a season and more of a way of life.

That conscious evolution, when embraced, brought about a lasting season.

I have undergone my own journey into a conscious evolution.

There are a number of key events in my life that moved that evolution along, but none more significant than becoming a father and becoming a kinder, gentler person with the love I give and receive from my son.

Indignant morons can still get a verbal beatdown, but mostly I avoid confrontations where possible.

And I hold dearest the fond memories from when life itself was all about love and beauty

The days of my very own childhood.

It was cold in Chicago when I was a child, and since my fortitude against the elements had yet to develop, it seemed even colder then.

I remember playing outside in the wintertime until my feet and hands were numb and frozen. Running in the house, my mother was always there to rub them until they got warm and to make me feel better.

And she always had a hug ready.

My mother’s hugs could make a bitter, cold day seem warm and turn any frown upside down. Her powerful hugs provided comfort for all things wrong and simply made the world make sense.

When she died, there was no hug strong enough to comfort me. For years, I felt empty inside, and even when my heart finally began to heal, there remained a place that couldn’t be reached.

Some years later, I found myself in my house alone and sick. My girlfriend was out of town and trying to play “Macho Man,” I neglected to call on friends or family. In the middle of the night I awakened, and in my illness-induced stupor, I began to search for my mother to comfort me.

Once my mind cleared and I realized that it was years after my mother’s death, my eyes filled with tears. Then, my mind flooded with all the goodness of a son’s memories of his mother. The warmth of those memories surrounded me and held me like a hug.

That hug felt real to me. And it became real, along with its healing properties. The place that previously couldn’t be reached was touched and filled by the goodness of my memories.

That hug was powerful, helping me in the healing process and fortifying me to be more receptive to the power of hugs.

After my last breakup, I was also carrying the burden of professional turmoil. My heart was broken and my life was in disarray. I knew instinctively that I had to be in Chicago where there was an abundance of loved ones to help me shoulder my burden.

Being around my friends and family gave me comfort, but when I held one of my best friend’s daughters, I literally felt the ache and the pain and the stress and the strain melt away.

Sydney Paige was two at the time, and the sweetest little bundle of joy from heaven. She fell asleep in my arms with her little head on my shoulder and her heart on my chest. The warmth of my goddaughter, along with the rhythm of her heartbeat and breathing, made my heavy load light and made me smile deeply.

That was a powerful hug at the beginning of my conscious evolution.

That was during the beginning of my own lasting season of love.

That hug was also a powerful lesson.

I hugged her mother, and I hugged her father. I hugged my sisters and I hugged my brothers. I hugged everyone I knew and when I was leaving Chicago, I hugged the airline attendant because she gave me an extra pillow.

I began to once again cherish every hug and relish in the power of something so simple, yet so amazing.

I began to realize the power I had to impact lives.

When friends or family are down, I know that whatever else they may need, a hug will do the most good and Dr. Darryl has plenty of them.

Call me sappy if you want to, but that just means that you probably need a hug your damned self.

The beauty of hugging is that every time you give one, you receive one in return. I give the comfort of hugs because I find comfort in the hugs I receive.

Sometimes, I find that comfort in my mother’s daughters. And sometimes I find it in my cousins or the wives of my best friends. I’ve found that the hug of a mother is deeper and stronger than most hugs, but that all hugs are powerful.

And so I hug my son.

I hug my brothers. I hug my friends.

And I understand deeply that the conscious evolution is made real when love is exchanged with other human beings.

There is no more crucial giving of gifts than humans giving each other warmth and love.

And, thank God I am a part of the most loving group of people on the planet–Blacks, with all of their unresolved pain and unattended issues, still greet friends with a shake and a hug, exchanging power, which grows exponentially.

They tell you to do it in church and sometimes, you comply. But, today, you don’t need to be in church–at least not in the building. While standing and living in the universal church of the world–earth–which is God’s house for real, give somebody a hug.

Believe in the power of the universal gift that keeps on giving.

Embrace other humans and know that in doing so, you are extending the season of giving. Know that you are extending the season of love.

And know that you have the power to make that season a lasting season.

The song says that what the world needs now is love sweet love and it’s true.

And love begins with and is sustained by hugs.

The Christmas season will come and go each year.

But we have the power to make that season a lasting season of love and of giving.

Written By Darryl James

The Republicans finally played themselves last week when the House tried to dictate to the Senate after the upper house left for Christmas vacation. The House threatened not to pass the bi-partisan Payroll Tax extension passed by the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said “Go for it. We ain’t comin back in session.” With the eyes of the world on the House of Representatives, Speaker John Boehner, who had been walked out on a plank several times by the Tea Party activists—Particularly Rep. Eric Kantor (whom he can’t control)—finally grabbed his nuts and came on in the house and told his party to “Shut da f*#k up,” while he announced the House was signing the bill. The Republican Party is on the verge of imploding in Congress, and they want to lead the country? Not even the Republican candidates for President can figure out this Congress, so what signal could they be sending to the American public?

What makes the Republican primary candidates interesting to watch is waiting to see which one says the most outlandish comments, knowing someone else is going to try to top it. I must say that the campaign has been a lot less entertaining since Herman Cain left. Cain was good for at least two five star dumb gaffes a week, followed by Rick Perry’s one, Mitt Romney’s “me too,” Ron Paul’s “what for,” Newt’s “It wasn’t me,” and Michelle Bauchmann’s “Partridge in a pear tree” stare. Without Cain to “set it off” we now see the candidates turning on each other and ideas about solving problems falling by the wayside. Funny how they can ignore the foolishness going on in Congress (for the most part) but can focus on President Obama for not providing leadership in Washington. What would they do with a Tea Party led Congress? Well, we’d know what Newt would do, but the rest would have no solution for legislative obstructionism. So stop frontin.

If I was in Iowa, I would ask the Republicans what are they going to do with the Tea Party? I know Democrats and Independents will…just wait. But to pretend that the Tea Party speaks for the frustrated masses just doesn’t work anymore. All the Tea Party has done is frustrate the political process. That’s not governing. That’s filibustering Congress in a different way that we’re used to seeing. Between anti-tax pledges and protect the rich proclamations…excuse me, “job-creators” is the Republican’s new name for the rich. Sounds like more shenanigans to me—and much of the American public.

The good thing about the Iowa Caucuses is some of these clowns will drop out after they finish out of the running. This show is about to come to an end. At least for most of them. The one that’s left Obama will handle. But we’re all ready for the dumbsh#t to be over. Let’s get it on in Iowa. Let the goofy show begin…

Sorry. No offense to Goofy.

Written By Anthony Asadullah Samad