Thanks to negative TV ads by Morman presidential candidate Mitt Ronmey, Mike Huckabee’s Iowa lead is narrowing.  These negative campaign messages have created question marks in the minds of Iowa Christian conservatives as to who will win the Republican nomination in their state.

This means that by January 3^rd when the Iowa Caucus gets underway these conservative voters will be forced to decide if they like naysayer Mitt Romney, are intrigued by Fred Thompson, of Law and Order fame, or if they want to risk the presidency to a Baptist minister who raised taxes to unbefore seen rates in Arkansas.

It is a fact, that Huckabee is still leading in the Iowa polls but it is unknown if the former Baptist minister can maintain his lead. Some of those surveyed saw him as down-to-earth and the fact that he is slinging around the evangelical title makes him desirable in some eyes. However, in my opinion religion is very important but should not be the main and only factor used when selecting a president. Huckabee only survived one term as Arkansas governor even though he went in with a firm support base. Arkansas residents have led me to believe that this was because of his flawed financial policies. We do not need another evangelical Christian along the lines of George W. Bush who has no idea of what it takes to lead a nation that has to work along side of the rest of the world to maintain peace and prosperity.

I am also aware that Huckabee comes across as likable especially given incidents like the one at the Sioux City High School auditorium where he borrowed a bass guitar to play “Takin’ Care of Business”, but it takes more than being funny or charming to make a great leader.

In his campaign meetings Huckabee seems to lack a lot of substance not bothering to explain what he plans to do to improve America’s foreign policy or impending credit crisis. Instead he seems to spend a lot of time separating himself from Mitt Romney and solidifying in voters mind that he is a fundamentalist. Of course in some ways I can’t blame him since Romney has been attacking him on all issues including his record on immigration.

General consensus?  I wouldn’t vote for either of these two men. My big question once again is where is Ron Paul? We need him. We need his ethics and his strength of character. Other than him Fred Thompson appears to be the next candidate who has a mind of his own and has some concept of how foreign policy is supposed to work.

On the Democratic ticket it still seems like Obama is a better option than Clinton so there you have it. Good luck to you and I sincerely hope that whoever receives your vote proves to have the intelligence to get us out of the world mess that has been created by George W.

Tags: mike huckabee, clinton, obama, fred thompson, mitt romney, presidential campaign, iowa caucus, democratic ticket, ron paul, america’s foreign policy, credit crisis, sioux city, mormon, baptist, arkansas

Hide and Seek is an entertaining action adventure by New York best selling author Fern Michaels that is due to be released on January 2, 2008. Fortunately I was able to snag an early copy and found myself caught up in the adventure of a group of women who call themselves the sisterhood.

Having never been fortunate enough to read any other of Ms Michaels works I was delighted to find a comedic element that had me laughing for several pages causing me to overlook her perhaps predictable tale that began on a mountaintop that overlooked the Mediterranean. This beautiful mountaintop was, however, not a vacation resort but the sisterhood’s hideout from US FBI agents who were determined to arrest them for their vigilante tactics which had begun years ago when the members of the Sisterhood met to plan a mission to avenge one of their own. Since then this brave group of women have meted out their own brand of justice on many more villains who thought that they were above the law.

The current tale has them reentering the U.S., in disguise, in an attempt to abort an attempt by the rogue assistant director of the FBI, Mitch Riley, who intends to frame their allies in the U.S. for crimes that they had no part in. Mitch Riley is one of these men who is in love with himself and has no regard for the law or any of the people in his life including his wife and daughter. Part of the tale’s interest is due to his wife’s deep hatred for him and her willingness to join forces with the sisterhood to bring him down.

Like I said earlier the tale is predictable, there is no roller coaster ride of twists and turns but the tale is quite enjoyable and a relaxing change of pace for those of us who like a respite from the traditional murder mystery. Overall, a story filled with the typical cat and mouse drama that we all enjoy and fortunately for us we are glad to see the mice win despite the fact that some of what they do lies outside the auspices of the law.

Tags: hide and seek, fern michaels, new york bestselling author, action novel, fiction, sisterhood, fbi, rogue agents, revenge, frame, allies, law

Everything in life comes down to attitude and with the right attitude you can change the loss of a job into an opportunity to change yourself from a mediocre employee to an outstanding one while working at a job you enjoy.

According to the National Association for Counseling and Development, the average person experiences 5 to 12 job changes during their working lifetime. However, even though it is a common experience the person going through the stress of losing a job and having to find another one cannot escape the stress associated with being temporarily out of work. To make it easier experts tell us to simply take one day at a time and to follow a simple 12-step program.

Careerbuilder.com lists this twelve-step plan which includes the following:

1. Make sure that you file your unemployment claim as soon as feasibly possible. This can be filed at your nearest state unemployment office on the first day after you lose your job.
2. Take time to recover from the shock of losing your job and realize that it doesn’t matter if you have known about the loss for months or if it was sudden. No matter how long the length of time is you may still suffer from a range of emotions that range from guilt to anger to depression. You should realize that these feeling are not unique and are shared by everyone who is forced to endure this situation.
3. Draft a budget to ensure that you have the necessary funds to survive. To do this you will need to first determine how you spent your money prior to your unemployment and then decide how you can cut temporarily cut back to live within your out-of-work budget.
4. Once you are sure that you can survive sit down and prepare a dynamite resume that will knock the socks off the people interviewing you. Make sure that your resume is accurate and describes your qualifications and achievements including examples of measurable accomplishments that you have documented.
5. Draft a cover letter for your resume. While each letter must be customized for the job you are seeking you can prepare one that overall allows you to make quick changes to fit the bill for any position that you are seeking.
6. Next, network with the people you know. Here the old adage that it isn’t what you know so much as who you know that can help to land you the position you want. A network can include former co-workers, family, and/or friends.
7. Now you are ready, so buy a great interview outfit that will give you the confidence you need to face the person you hope will be your new boss. On top of making you feel better, the outfit can also help to make a good first impression. Remember, however, that while casual dress is often ok in the work environment itself it is never ok for the interview. For the interview you need to look all-business.
8. Before the interview practice your interview skills. A minimum of three hours should be spent preparing for each interview. This preparation should include learning facts about the company you are hoping to work for such as the number of employees they have, their products, and their long-term vision. You should also draft concise answers to the most commonly asked questions such as why you want to work for the said company. You may also want to ask your own questions such as what is the company looking for in their ideal candidate.
9. Keep a schedule just like you were at work. Your job during this time is preparing for interviews and interviewing so make yourself unavailable to family and friends during business hours.
10. While you are waiting for an interview to be offered enhance the skills you need to qualify for the job. This will boost your self-esteem as well as better prepare you to fill the needs of the company you are hoping to work for.
11. After 5 take time for fun. Get away from the stresses of looking for work and plan time to spend with your family and friends.
12. Lastly, stay connected. Just because you are no longer working for the same company you most likely have friends that you would like to stay in contact with. Don’t isolate yourself this will lead to depression and until you have established yourself in a new job you will need the contacts from the old job to feel like you have the necessary ties. 

Given, you will need to keep yourself in top shape if you want to be considered for an equal or better job especially if you had worked for a company long enough to have moved up the salary ladder. However, if you can hang in there you can be assured of the old adage that anyone who really wants to work will find work even if it is only temporary until they land the job that they really want.

I know this is true after watching my daughter when she lost a job to down-sizing. She was a single mother and refused to accept any help. As a result, she started work at a temp agency while she was still receiving severance pay from her old employer. She actually made more during the two-weeks she was working this way than she did when she was working for her former employer. Thankfully, her job ethic provided her with a regular full-time job opportunity within the first month of her lay off and she ended up making more money than she had in her previous position. Given that, one must realize that every cloud can have a silver lining if you are willing to look for it and yes, work for it.

Tags: unemployment, unemployment insurance, job opportunity, job interviews, interviewing, national association for counseling and development, nacd, careerbuilder.com

Many of us are faced with, elderly, disabled, or needy relatives who require care 24/7. In such instances the burden for their care often falls to a specific caregiver who puts their own health and needs on hold to provide this care. Sadly, while  you may wish to help you are not able to give the time needed due to job and family responsibilities of your own. Since I am sure you want to help the current caregiver and show them how much their efforts mean to you her are some practical things that you can do to make life easier for them.

1. Be willing to let the primary caregiver do their job. Work to avoid family conflicts that will add additional stress to the already overwhelming job that the caregiver is doing. If you are a sibling to the caregiver who is tending to your aged parents put aside old issues and pull together for the good of everyone involved.
2. Be there to backup the current caregiver in the event of their illness or an illness in their family. Help by taking on the task of filing insurance and medical insurance paperwork and help to make the difficult decisions regarding your parent’s health care choices.
3. Seek out support groups and others who will act as a sounding board for the caregiver. This type of group allows the caregiver to vent their frustrations without feeling ungrateful or guilty for those feelings.
4. If the situation becomes to stressful for the caregiver or between yourselves and the caregiver seek professional outside help from someone who can act as a negotiator in the given situation.
5. Assist the caregiver by providing web sites and books that address the illness that they are dealing with so that they can better deal with it.
6. Provide a list of family members or others who are available to relieve the caregiver of certain duties. This may be as simple as finding someone willing to stay with the disabled person while the caregiver goes to the hairdresser or spends an evening out with friends.
7. Encourage the caregiver to keep a journal expressing her feelings at different times of the day or under certain situations. This will act as a starting place to help others better see what the caregiver is facing on a daily basis and step in to relieve some of the day-to-day stress.
8. Be specific in telling the caregiver where you can be of assistance or where others are better qualified. This will make it easier for the caregiver to know where she can seek advice and/or help.
9. Lastly, make time to spend with the caregiver outside of the stressful, home/care environment. Take them to tea or out to a movie after arranging for a sitter. This shows you not only care about the job that they are doing but also about them as individuals with needs of their own. 

By following these simple steps you can help keep the caregiver’s moral up and keep them from giving up. In the long run it can prevent the caregiver from becoming ill and forcing you into the role of caregiver on a day-to-day basis for your loved one.

Tags: caregiver, caregiver relief, daily care, elderly care, disabled care, 24/7 care, full-time care

When a woman experiences menopause several key body factors change sometimes taking with them her enjoyment the sexual act. It doesn’t mean that she loves her partner any less just that issues like vaginal dryness, fatigue, and emotional mood swings make the act itself less enjoyable. Even for men, there are many physical challenges such as shrinking prostrates, high blood pressure, or diabetes that can rob them of their desire for sexual intimacy. Basically, anyone over 50 is going to be faced with issues that may decrease their sexual desire.

To counteract these changes you may have to change the way you think about sex. In what ways you might ask. Well, first don’t start out saying no because you aren’t feeling aroused. Instead, say yes to sex even when you’re not in the mood. Often you may find that the games leading up to sex can bring arousal and pleasure with them.

Second, assemble a good support team if you suspect your libido problems may have a medical factor involved. To do this it is important to find yourself the right doctor to help you. This doctor should make you feel comfortable discussing such intimate details.

A knowledgeable doctor is one who will ask a lot of questions and listen carefully as you attempt to describe the problems you are experiencing. This doesn’t mean that even this doctor will have a take two aspirin in the morning answer so be prepared to be patient and to return later if needed to further discuss any additional problems that you might experience. In addition, your physician may choose to prescribe one of many drug options that are available today.

Thirdly, you may be able to increase your libido if you go outside of your comfort zone by trying something new and different for you. You may be uncomfortable at first but just taking the challenge may cause you to become aroused.

Next, confront any fears that you have by putting them out on the table to discuss with your partner. These issues could involve unresolved anger, hurt, or resentment which until dealt with can get in the way of intimacy. Remember in the case of hurt feelings forgiveness not only helps the one you are forgiving but also may heal you of the bitterness that is standing in the way of your sexual satisfaction.

Then set a schedule to insure that you have sex at least once every two weeks. This is necessary to keep the blood flowing in all the right places. While scheduling may seem to businesslike it is important because if you wait until everything is perfect you may be ninety before you ever want sex again.

Lastly, remember that regular exercise will make you feel better and even sexy and when you feel better about your body you don’t mind others seeing you without your cloths on. So don’t give up. Remember that love does not require a perfect body but it does require a lot of patience, work, and honest discussion to lead it to its ultimate conclusion.

Want to know if you descended from a king or a famous pirate? Then a genealogy search may be right up your alley. To begin the search is simple.

First decide who the oldest living member of your family is and see what information they have available for you. Generally, they can at least provide you with the information of their own grandparent’s names and possibly even their great parent’s information. Try to tape or video-record their answers. It is wise to do this as soon as it can be arranged since once this person passes on so does any information that they could have provided you with.

Second, go to your public library or favorite bookstore that will lead you through the process of tracing your family’s roots. You can also search the internet by searching the Google database for additional books or resources to help you in your search.

Thirdly, courthouses and churches often have public records that you have the right to access, like birth records, marriage certificates, baptismal information, probate, military, and death records.

Fourthly, check out the phone directories where you think your family resided during a certain era. This is helpful especially if you have an unusual surname or spelling for your surname. People finder Web Sites are also a great place to look for information, especially for those still living.

Lastly, if any of your relatives were in the military the public library can provide information regarding the addresses for the different branches so that you can request access to public records regarding the individual. This is a great place to find information regarding deceased family members.

Good luck on your search and don’t give up. You may learn that you are the descendent of George Washington or King Louie even though you didn’t inherit their wealth.

If you are the parent of the all adventurous, wanting to be liberated teenager you may want to be on alert for the signs of an unexpected pregnancy. According to a new government survey government health officials are telling us that the teen birth rate, that hit its peak in 1991, showed a 3 percent increase between 2005 and 2006.

While US Health Officials tell us that this could just be a one-year blip they are concerned that sexually transmitted diseases are also on the increase in these young sexual experimenters. They are, as should be expected, blaming the increases in both pregnancies and disease on the increase in federal funding being granted for abstinence-only health education programs that do not teach how to use condoms or other contraceptives.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention based this new report on a review of more than 99 percent of the birth certificates from last year.  It is based on the 15-19 age group which accounted for about 99 percent of the more than 440,000 births to teens in 2006. That amounts to an extra 20,000 births to teen mothers during this one year period.

What do you do if you suspect that your teenager is sexually active? Whether it be a boy or a girl I would definitely advise a visit to your primary care physician who can advise your teen on the dangers associated with unprotected sex. While I do not promote schools teaching sexual education to our young people since I do not believe that they can teach a child the morals that their parents endorse I do think that as parents we need to be aware of the fact that our teens are curious.

What do you do if your daughter ends up pregnant? That has to be an individual family’s choice but I beg you to offer a loving, supportive hand to your daughter. For some this is handled as if it were the worst sin that has ever occurred on the earth but that is not the case. It is a stressor for the family that is for sure but being the mother of a daughter who gave birth to a son outside the confines of wedlock I can attest to the fact that it in no way lessens or child’s worth. My daughter is still the blessing to us that she has always been and now we have a wonderful grandson who is the joy of our lives. He is 8, smart, funny and sometimes a pain but our lives would not be as enriched if she had chosen to have an abortion. However, that is not to say that you should not allow your teen to make her own decision about what is right for her. That may mean giving her baby up for adoption or deciding that a medical option is what she needs to do.

In other words, be informed, be vigilant, but most of all be there for your child so that you can help her make the best decisions for her life. You are not going to prevent sexual experimentation if your child is determined to pursue it so do your best to instill the moral principles you believe in and then be there if she makes the wrong decision.

Tags: teen pregnancy, center for disease control, survey, abortion, adoption, moral principles, teenage sex, sexual experimentation, sexually transmitted disease, condom use, abstinence only health education, government survey

The freeze is an agreement with mortgage industries to hold interest rates at their sub-prime rates for five years in an effort to combat the current tide of foreclosures.  The Bush Administration revealed the plan on Thursday, December 6, 2007 during a news conference held by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson. The technical briefing will include plans to begin a five-year moratorium on loans made at the start of 2005 through July 30, 2007 and will affect those rates that were scheduled to rise between January 1, 2008 and July 31, 2010.

The plan emerged from talks between Paulson and other banking regulators and banks, mortgage investors and consumer groups trying to address an avalanche of foreclosures that are feared as an estimated 2 million sub-prime mortgages reset from lower introductory rates to higher rates. The fear that the higher rate could boost monthly payments by as much as 30%, has made the plan necessary to keep the industry solvent.

 Sub-prime loans are those that are offered at lower introductory mortgage rates to help homeowners qualify. The plan is aimed at these homeowners who have kept their mortgages current but who cannot now afford a higher adjusted rate and will be forced into foreclosure as a result of the increase. The plan was implemented when administration officials became convinced that he tide of foreclosures threatened by the mortgage resets represented such a severe threat that a more sweeping approach was needed rather than the case-by-case approach that had initially been considered.

Tags: adjustable mortgages, mortgage freeze, sub-prime loans, bush administration, mortgage industry, henry paulson, alphonso jackson, foreclosure

Unfortunately, especially at this time of year, parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles must think twice about the toy they are considering buying for those good little boys and girls out there.

To date, dozens of toys have been determined to contain dangerous levels of lead or other hazardous chemicals. As a result the CPSC, Consumer Product Safety Commission, has been forced to recall 50% more toys in 2007 than it did in 2006. Sadly, some of these toys are the old standbys that kids have loved for years such as the Curious George plush doll, Baby Einstein color blocks, and J.C. Penney’s Winnie the Pooh play set.

For retailers the panic this is causing in consumers trying to protect their young ones will be sure to affect their profit margins. For parents this means living with the fear that they may be purchasing a toy that they cannot feel confident has been thoroughly tested for safety and may make their child sick even if it hasn’t been recalled yet.

According to Nychelle Fleming, CPSC spokesperson, anyone buying for youngsters must be extra diligent and research proposed purchases before purchasing them. Ms Fleming continues by saying that parents need to be better educated than ever when making purchases and that current recall information is available at the CPSC Web site. Here you can find a list of all recalled toys and the reason for their recall.

It is interesting to point out that in the last two years the majority of recalled toys are being manufactured in China and out of these there is an alarming number being recalled due to dangerous levels of lead. Lead is apparently found in the paint being used on these toys and if ingested can lead to mental retardation and death.

That being said, Christmas can still be a time of Santa bringing desired gifts to our little ones as long as those purchasing the gifts take just a little time to insure that every toy under the tree is safe.

According to Business Watch (Springfield Leader) the Internal Revenue service may delay the start of the 2007 filing season. Normally the season begins around the 14^th of January but if Congress fails to pass tax-reform legislation in the next two weeks the beginning filing date may be pushed back.

At issue is how to handle a dramatic increase in the number of people facing a higher alternative minimum tax. The alternative minimum tax was passed in 1969 to prevent 155 of America’s wealthiest families from avoiding paying any tax at all. However, it has not been adjusted since it was established and as a result has hit a growing number of middle-income taxpayers.

The tax itself disallows certain deductions and credits thus preventing the wealthy from cheating the system of thousands of dollars in revenue. If the delay is imposed, however, and it extends into February it would slow nearly 32 million refunds worth a total of about 587 billion. Since this only affects wealthy Amercans I would call for those with incomes over a certain amount to be delayed while allowing the majority of us to file our returns on time. One must, however, realize that this is probably just another ploy by the Bush Administration to find additional revenue for his war on the world.