How Specter's Switch affects the Senate and you!

Senior Republican Senator Arlen Specter has announced today that he will become a Democrat, a switch that has many people wondering what is going on in the Senate.

Senator Specter said:
"I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than Republicans."

With Senator Specter becoming a Democrat, this would allow him to run for re-election as a Democrat in 2010. He states that many of his constituents have switched parties as more and more Pennsylvanians turn away from the far right stand the Republican party has taken.

The swine flu outbreak has brought to the forefront the fact that the Republican Senate's filibuster (or just lack of voting) has left the confirmation of an HHS Secretary up in the air when we need that person the most. The Secretary of Homeland Security should not be having to do the work of the Health and Human Services Secretary.

Specter's switch would also raise the stakes for the outcome of the disputed Senate race in Minnesota. His decision would give Democrats a 60-seat majority in the Senate, assuming Al Franken is eventually sworn in as the next Senator of Minnesota, a margin that would allow Democrats to break Republican filibusters.

Maybe the Senate could get a little more work done then.

Swine Flu from Mexico, today's Montezuma's Revenge

Did your child go to Mexico for Spring Break? How many Colleges and High Schools have been infected by students that went "South of the Border" for Spring Break? If you are planning a trip "Down Mexico Way", should you go?

Yesterday the Secretary of the Department Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, declared a public health emergency in the United States and the CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center to coordinate the agency's response to this emerging health threat. This will allow funds to be released to support the public health response. CDC's goals during this public health emergency are to reduce transmission and illness severity, and provide information to assist health care providers, public health officials and the public in addressing the challenges posed by this newly identified influenza virus.

What You Can Do to Stay Healthy

There are everyday actions people can take to stay healthy.

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze.

Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.

Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.

If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

To keep up with the latest go here.

Beta Testing Video Games for a Living?

Have you ever played Video Games? World of WarCraft, BioShock, Call of Duty, Crysis are just a few of them. Well, my Brother was going crazy because all his 24 year old
son was doing was playing these video games. He had gotten out of the service and was talking about going to school but all he did do was sit in his room playing these games. It was driving my brother crazy.

Well, he stopped complaining when his son started getting paychecks for playing these games. He had become a beta tester of video games and got paid to find the little bugs in the games. This has to be done before any of the games go on sale to the public (and look how many games there are!).

Maybe this is something you would be interested in doing for fun (and get paid for it) or to supplement your income. My nephew is doing pretty good at it and has decided he wants to go into computer game design. He already has acquired a great deal of knowledge just from beta testing these games. And he has made some great contacts to help him. Check it out here.
This is how he got started.

Same-Sex Marriage Controversy on Miss USA pagent

When judge Perez Hilton asked Carrie Prejean (Miss California) about legalizing same-sex marriage she was honest in her feelings on the matter.

She respected the rights of others to feel differently but she was raised that marriage was between a man and a woman and that was how she felt it should be.

She did not say she would not respect the feelings of others.

Would Perez Hilton prefer that she had lied just to win the competition, knowing her answer could cause her to lose. (and may have)

I believe her honesty with her answer shows her integrity. People say do we want someone like her being a role model to our girls. I would! She stood up for her principles. She respected others rights to theirs.

Why is everyone putting her down? Everyone has the right to their own views.

That is what America is all about.

picture Credit:Richard Salyer/Miss USA

Keep Columbine in your Thoughts Today.

Ten years ago today a tragedy befell Columbine High School. Two students went on a rampage and killed 12 students and one teacher. We all morn along with the families that have had to deal with the loss of their loved one and also those who tried to figure out why these two boys did such a thing.

Were they ostracised because they were different, were they bullied, were they depressed. What ever the reason for what they did, they changed High School life across the country. Security, Counseling and more have all been added to schools to try to change the atmosphere that causes these things to happen.

Oprah Winfrey cancelled her show today because after looking at it she felt it centered to much on the shooters instead of the victims.

Celebrate the students that survived and where they have gone today. Celebrate their families, their accomplishments, their children and more.

Celebrate the braveness that the families of those who died have showed.

The parents that started a scholarship program in their daughter's name and went to the graduation of one of those students.

The step-daughter of the teacher that gave his life saving so many of the kids, her daughter now attends Columbine. She is not afraid to go to school there.

So much love and community love came out of the tragedy. Keep the Columbine community in your thoughts today.

There should be a lesson to all communities that maybe you should not wait for the tragedies to happen, Spread the Love Now and maybe they will not happen.

Listen to your children and pay attention to what they are saying (and what they may not be saying out loud but in the way they are saying things)

We have become so involved with working, stressing out over everything, that we are losing ourselves and our families.

The computer should be used as a tool to help our lives but not as a babysitter, friend, and sole contact with reality for our children. Computers are not real people!

We are the real people!

Stop and talk to your children, your neighbors, family, and friends. Say hello to perfect strangers and maybe they will say hello back.

Smile, as they say, it is the best medicine. Pass it on!! One good turn does bring another! These may seem like just old sayings but they became "old sayings" because they were found to be truths.

Pass these actions down to our children and they will pass them on to their friend.
Imagine if everyone just did one good turn, just imagine.

5 Reasons not to Invest in Gold!

Jamie Dlugosch is a contributor to InvestorPlace.com. and has listed
the following as "5 Reasons not to Invest in Gold"

I found it very interesting reading and he has some great points.

Here are five reasons why gold should be avoided (click for more details):

Reason #1: There is no inflation.

Reason #2: Gold prices are easily manipulated.

Reason #3: Gold is in limited supply.

Reason #4: Gold was dead for 20 years.

Reason #5: The dollar is the global currency.

Click on each Reason for more details and click here for complete article.

Canon AE1 and Vivitar 400SL Cameras for Sale

I am selling the following cameras to help pay for my Medical Bills from Breast Cancer. I was diagnosed 18 months ago and since then I have had 4 types of Chemo
(I just finished the 4th) and will be on Anti-Hormone medication for 4 more years.
(Boy, how I love having all those menopause symptoms again, night sweats, mood swings, hot flashes, swelling etc. My poor Husband)

If you know anyone who is into photography these cameras are in fantastic condition.
They are both 35mm SLR Film Cameras. My husband and I used them a few years back for a photography class we took.

The packages are on ebay. each contains camera body, lenses, filters etc.

for the Canon AE1 package go here
for the Vivitar 400SL package go here

Cristian de la Fuente back on In Plain Sight!

For those who miss seeing Cristian de la Fuente waltzing around Dancing with the Stars, He's back! De la Fuente returns as Mary McCormick's on-again-off-again boyfriend, Rafael, in the second season of USA's In Plain Sight (which premieres Sunday, April 19, 10 pm/ET). TVGuide.com spoke to De la Fuente about why Raf stays with Mary, when he might actually pop the question again and who he thinks should go home with the mirrorball trophy on Dancing with the Stars.

for full article go here

Want to Play Better Golf?

GO Here for More Information!

TaxDay Discounts and Specials for All!

We all can use a little help on TAX DAY and here is a list of some of the
Specials by national restaurants: Grab them today and take advantage!!!


Here's a compiled list of some of the well-advertised deals available:

-- Buy a McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese or Big Mac and receive the second sandwich for a penny.

-- MaggieMoo's Ice Cream chain will offer a single scoop of free ice cream on April 15th. They call it their "e-CONE-omic" stimulus package.

-- Walgreens is offering 15 percent off on all online orders until April 20th. Enter coupon code TAXED at checkout.

-- Papa John's is offering a $10.40 pizza special with up to three free toppings on a large cheese pizza. For online orders, use the promotional code 1040M. Offer valid from April 13 – 15th. Taco Del Mar

--Sign up online to receive a coupon for a free taco (regularly $1.89) during the “Taxes Suck, Tacos Don’t” promotion April 15.

--T.G.I. Friday’s
On April 15, diners receive a $5 gift card when they spend $15 to $25. They earn a $10 card for a purchase of more than $25.

--Zazzle.com
Save 10.4% (it's advertised as 10.40%) on all orders at this T-shirt and apparel web site using code TAXDAYZAZZLE at checkout. Offer only good on April 15.

-- Mall-based Cinnabon stores are offering free bites on tax day from 5 to 8 p.m.

-- P.F. Chang's will knock off 15 percent from customers' checks on April 15th.


Sign up for a Free TWITTER eBook from fyitoday.com.

Sould we go to FLAT TAX rate for everyone?

With tomorrow being TAX DAY, April 15, there is a lot of talk going around that we should go to a flat tax.

The US Tax Code is so complicated that I think we should consider it. If we did it would simplefy most people's lives and uncomplicate tax filing. You simply have 15% flat taken out of you pay or pay 15% of your income.

This would also cut down the IRS staff needed which would cut down on government cost.

If we did this there would not be all the loop holes that a lot of people go through to pay no taxes. They would pay 15%.

You can't write of you mortgage interest, your Hummer for business, etc.

We might be surprised how in the long run we might acturally come out better off.

This is just my opinion, but it should be something to consider.

Make Money Selling Private Label Software

Make Money Selling Private Label Software

Liz Tomey (known as the "Queen Of PLR") just gave out a great resource to her list and I wanted to share it with you as quickly as possible.

If you're looking for a REAL way to make money online you're going to want to pay attention to this...

================================================

If you are looking to escape the nine to five workplace, you are not alone. This is because many jobs are not just nine to five anymore; instead there are many jobs that require employees to work longer. If you are looking for an easier way to make money, you have come to the rights place, the internet. Online you will find a number of different business opportunities. Some of those opportunities may be just what you were looking for.

The first step in finding a work at home opportunity is to know what your available options are. You can easily do this by examining a number of different sources. Your local book stores and libraries should have a number of different informational books and guides for those who are looking to learn more about working from home. You can also use the internet to search for that same information. Once you start researching work at home business opportunities, you will find that there are a number of different opportunities out there. For the best results, you are encouraged to examine all of them, including private label resell rights.

Private label resell rights are offered on a number of different products, including software programs. These software programs are created by professional software designers or software developers. Although these professionals have experience creating software, there are many who are unfamiliar with selling their products. This is where the private label resell rights come in. Instead of spending money or taking the time to learn how to market and sell their products, many software creators choose to let someone else sell their product for them. They do this by selling the private label resell rights to someone who is looking to make money, someone just like you.

If you are interested in making money by obtaining the resell rights to a private label software program, you will need to find a program. The program that you choose is important because it often determines whether or not you will find success with this business opportunity. You are also advised to be on the lookout for resell right offers that allow you to change the program or claim it as your own. These types of offers may cost more that traditional resell right offers, but they are well worth it.

Once you have obtained the resell rights to a software program, you will then need to start thinking about making money. To make money with this business opportunity, you need to sell the software program, which you now own the rights to. Every time that you may a sale you will see a profit. That is why it is important that you try your best to sell the product. Despite what you may think, this does not mean that you have to work endless hours. Instead, you are advised to find and use the most effective selling methods. These methods may include the development an online product website or the use of online classified ads. In many cases, you will find that these selling methods are quick, but effective.

If selling a software program, that you didn’t even create, sounds nice, you are advised to get started. The sooner you take part in this potentially profitable business opportunity, the sooner you may be able to escape the nine to five workplace.

================================================

Can you imagine being able to have software products that you own the right to, and then turning them into cash cows that do nothing but put money in your pocket?

I am just totally blown away by this! Liz is constantly giving out great tips for making money with PLR products. Some of the things she comes up with are truly mind blowing, but so easy to implement.

As a matter of fact,she's just come out with a new site at http://tinyurl.com/cvnf7d where she is teaching you 9 different tactics that you can use to start cashing in with PLR products.

These are actually 9 seperate step-by-step video tutorials where she takes you by the hand, and shows you exactly what to do. You can check them out by going to

http://tinyurl.com/cvnf7d
Okay, that's it for today... I hope you take what has been shared here and put it to use right now!

Leigh

What a Finish to the Masters

Didn't I say this was going to be a great finish.

The Argentine Angel Cabrara WON in the Sudden Death.

A triple Sudden Death Playoff between Angel Cabrara,
Chad Campbell, and Kenny Perry.

Campbell is out on the No. 18, and Perry out on the No. 10.

During regular play there were some great moments.

Campbell caught up with the leaders.

Harrington had 2 eagles. And so many more great shots.

Mickelson was really on his way with 7 birdies and then
got a boggie and another birdie to end up at -9.

go to the official Masters site to get all the results
and check all the videos

Final Round Masters Golf Tournament

The Leaders have just started their Final Round of Golf at the Masters. No changes in the top 4 after hole #1.

P Mickelson has dropped -3 for the today after No. 5, Putting him -8 for the tournament. So far the best round but still a lot to come.

T Woods has dropped -1 after No. 6. He still seems to be having some problems.

Keep up with the leaders here.

WOW, Masters Last Round should be Great!

The Last Round of the Masters Golf Tournament today should be Great!

Will Angel Cabrara and Kenny Perry keep their Cool and keep getting those birdies?

Can Chad Campbell shake off that double boogie on No.16 and bogey on No. 18 yesterday?

Can Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson catch up to the leaders?

Padraig Harrington had a quadruple boogie on No. 2 after hitting a tree and sits
at -1. It would be a major accomplishment if he could even make the top 10 at this point.

The weather (wind and possible afternoon showers) and hole placement (watch out for the trees)will make for an interesting day and most of the real action is predicted to come on the back nine.

You can see the leaderboard at the Official Masters Site.

Update 3rd Round Masters

Kenny Perry took over the lead at the Masters after the 5th hole. Kenny was at
-2 for the first 5 holes and Chad Campbell was -1. Angel Cabrara is even as of
the 6th hole. We will see how this hold up.

There are still quite a lot of players grouped together as they go through the course today. Maybe we will see more of a shakeup in the later holes.

You can see the leaderboard at the official Masters Site

Masters Golf Tournament 2nd round over

Well, I said the weather was going to change for the second round and it did. Storms coming across the Southeastern states caused havoc in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and brought rain and wind to the Masters Course.

We now have Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry tied for first after the 2 round at -9 par. Angel Cabrera is in third at -8 par. There are 8 people tied for Sixth place including Geoff Ogilvy , Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson.

Eight people are tied at 14th with -3 par, 4 tied at 22nd with -2 par, and 7 tied at 26th at -1 including Tiger Woods.

Gary Player and Fuzzy Zoeller, two of the most beloved Masters Champions of all time, bid a tear-filled goodbye as active participants at the Tournament Friday after 52- and 31 years respectively.

Player is a three-time winner and Zoeller won the 1979 Masters in his first try.

Player and Zoeller both received a large ovation coming up the 18th fairway, Player knelt when he arrived at the putting surface to show his appreciation.

Zoeller called the walk up 18 one of the greatest thrills of his life.

I am sure they will be watching next year from the crowd.

The weather caused Ireland’s Padraig Harrington to see a potential birdie on the par-5 15th hole turn into a par, when he was penalized one shot because his ball moved after he had addressed it.

After setting up to putt, a gust of wind caused the ball to move twice. Harrington backed off the putt and called for rules professional David Price, who explained the one-shot penalty. Harrington finished his round with a one-over-par 73 and stood two-under-par for the tournament and tied for 19th place


The weather today is the mid 70s and Sunny so it should make for some great golf.

I have been learning to play golf and just read a book to help me lower my score and it has really helped. It's called "Breaking 80" but I haven't broken 80 yet but it has helped me lower my score.

I'll be back shortly with highlights of today's action.

For full article go to the Official Masters Site

Masters Golf Tournament First Round Results

Chad Campbell started with birdies on the first five holes at Augusta National Golf Club – an opening string unparalleled in Masters’ history Thursday – and went on to shoot 65. At 7-under-par, he’s the leader by one stroke after the opening round.

Jim Furyk and Hunter Mahan are at 66, followed by Larry Mize, the 1987 Masters champion, and Shingo Katayama of Japan at 67.

Defending champion Trevor Immelman opened his title defense with 71.

Tiger Woods, a four-time Masters Champion, almost accomplished something he’s never done at Augusta National – break 70 in the opening round.

Woods was at three-under-par before a bogey at the 18th, where he flew his second shot over the green and could not get it up-and-down to save par.
It is the fourth time Woods has opened the tournament with 2-under 70. On each of the three previous occasions – 1997, 2001 and 2002 – he went on to win a Green Jacket.

Mize is another who took advantage of the picture-perfect setting. Mize shot 67, matching his third-best ever score at Augusta National. He shot 65 in the final round in 1986 and 66 in the third round five years later. In his victory year, Mize shot 70-72-72-71—285 and won a three-way playoff against Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman.

The 66 by Furyk was his best ever score at Augusta National. He has twice finished fourth at the Masters (1998, 2003) and tied for sixth in 2001.

Greg Norman's first round score was his best opening round since a 63 in 1996, which resulted in the third of his three second place finish.
Norman was playing in the Masters for the first time in seven years, but he received a warm five-hour welcome from Patrons.

This years starting to look like a very interesting Masters. I can't wait to see the results after the end of today. Weather may play more in the results as rain is predicted.

More articles can be seen at the official Masters Site.

Geoff Ogilvy Odds to Win 2009 US Masters Golf Tournament

I couldn't help but notice that SBG Global initially had Geoff Ogilvy lumped in around +5000 odds. Ogilvy's odds to win the 2009 Masters Golf Tournament were now at +1100 odds for a payout potential of $1100 on every $100 bet. Apparently SBG has gotten some decent action on Ogilvy. Tiger Woods is still the Favorite but don’t write off
Geoff yet. He played well last week and says he is ready to win this week. I am not better myself but have found the action going on in golf exciting.

for complete article go here

The Masters US Golf Tournament Odds

The Masters U.S. Golf Tournament is set to kickoff Thursday, April 9 and run through Sunday, April 12.

Will there be a "Hole in One"? What will the Winning Margin of Victory be? Will the Masters finale be a Playoff?

These are some of the questions online sports book SBG Global's oddsmakers are figuring the odds on.

Will the winner be Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh or a Surprise winner!

For all of the prop odds for the 2009 Masters Tournament be sure to check out 2009 Masters Odds Page and 2009 Masters Start Time and Viewing Guide.

Maybe IT IS time for a RevolutionCard

At a time when both consumers and merchants are looking for ways to cut costs, several major financial firms and individual investors have pumped $42 million into Revolution Money, the payment-processing company backed by AOL co-founder Steve Case.

By harnessing the Internet for its payment platform, the company slashes costs for accepting credit cards by up to 75% for merchants, who in turn pass part of those savings on to consumers to drive loyalty. With the new funding, the company will continue developing its technology as it looks to steal market share from traditional credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard, as well as popular payment service PayPal, a unit of eBay.

Revolution Money’s Internet-based, proprietary RevolutionCard Network supports two products: RevolutionCard and RevolutionMoneyExchange.

RevolutionCard is a general-use credit card that charges no interchange fees and only a half-percent processing fee per transaction to accept – compared to a 1.5% to 4% fee charged by traditional companies. Merchants turn some of these savings into customer loyalty and cash-back programs. For example, cardholders can save three cents per gallon at the nearly 1,000 Murphy USA and Murphy Express gas stations typically located in Wal-Mart Supercenter parking areas across 20 states. RevolutionCard is accepted at more than 650,000 merchant locations and 85% of all ATMs throughout the U.S.

Revolution MoneyExchange is a free online peer-to-peer payments service that enables users to exchange money for free. Users can also access their online funds at all merchants and ATMs on the RevolutionCard Network. MoneyExchange essentially serves as a customer acquisition mechanism for the company. Once consumers register for MoneyExchange the company can pitch RevolutionCard.


The company is aggressively targeting new retailers and expects to reach 80% of the merchant community in three years.

Currently, participating retail locations include Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond, Bloomingdale’s, Buy.com, CVS, KOHL’s, Macy’s, Marshalls, Walgreen’s, Nordstrom, Office Depot, Office Max, T.J. Maxx and Whole Foods.

To read the full article go to: Wall Street Journal

Social Media for Boomers

I was watching the "Today Show" this morning and Lester Holt was talking to a rep from AARP about social media sites for "Baby Boomers". They discussed sites that seem to be slanted for "Boomers" or that "Boomers" are using more than other social media sites. Some of the sites they list were Facebook, My Space, Eons, and TBD.com. And of course the AARP site which must have a section for social media as the rep mentioned it 5 times. Twitter is the site I hear the most about.

I think it is terrific that something that originated with student populations has grown and been adapted in such a marvelous way by us "Baby Boomers".

We have tremendous opportunities not only for social networking but to connect or reconnect with old friends, family members, and new people on a much larger scale while maintaining an air of community. It also affords us inroads into marketing venues previously unavailable "or at least unexplored" to us.

Getting involved with the online social media communities has got to be one of the best things any "Boomer" can do. Don't let the kids have all the fun!

Buying Foreclosed Properties

If you're looking for a great deal on a house, one option might be to purchase a home that's in foreclosure. There's certainly no shortage of properties in or approaching foreclosure to pick from that the banks want to unload..

The best prices are in areas with the largest concentration of forclosed properties but doesn't mean you should simply go for least expensive ones.

You must do your homework, taking into consideration the neighborhood, schoot district, employment picture, etc. If you buy in an area that is experiencing large layoffs, poor economic outlooks, closing schools or bad schools, a high crime rate, etc., it's going take lot longer for home values to recover and if you are purchasing for investment you may find it hard to resell or rent the property.

There are three types of sales to consider:

You could check out pre-foreclosure sales, in which you buy from owner before the house is formally foreclosed on.

The next stage in the foreclosure process is the auction. this being the riskiest way to buy, particularly if you're new at it.

If the house doesn't sell at auction, the bank that originally issued the loan takes ownership of the property and puts it up for sale through a real estate broker.

Each of these stages have their pros and cons and you should do your due deligence for each step and the best of luck in your searches.


More Real Estate, Mortgage and Financial information is available at : fyitoday.com and sunfantasy.com