Please visit our blog site at http://www.practicalmanifestations.com/blog.html
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
There is a new way to get paid for writing blogs and it is offered by Amazon. Kindle ® is Amazon’s new wireless reading device that is able to download entire books in just 60 seconds. But books are not the only thing Kindle can download, blog authors can create an account with Amazon and make their own blog also available to the world for download.
If you are a blog author, visit the following link to create a new Amazon account and upload your blog: https://kindlepublishing.amazon.com/gp/vendor/sign-in
When someone wants to purchase a subscription to your blog, they can visit the Amazon Kindle store. Currently Amazon pays blog authors 30% of the subscription price when someone purchases a subscription. Furthermore, Kindle currently offers access to about 7,000 blogs. Technorati's 2008 report states there are over 133 Million blogs in the internet. This gives your blog an advantage since you are only competing with the rest of the 7,000 blogs offered on Kindle.
Link for more information on Amazon’s Kindle device:
http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Wireless-Reading-Display-Generation/dp/B0015T963C/ref=amb_link_86172951_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0A654H5NX8ZR32YB3MXT&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=501372471&pf_rd_i=507846#kindle-features
For more information on the advantages and opportunities available to bloggers, please visit our blog and click on the labels “blogging secrets” or “how to blog” and check out our post below:
http://practicalmanifestations.blogspot.com/2009/06/small-biz-individual-opportunities.html
Link for Technorati's State of the Blogosphere Report for years 2004 through 2009: http://technorati.com/state-of-the-blogosphere/
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Email to My US Senator on Government Transparency and Health Care Reform
Please visit our blog site at http://www.practicalmanifestations.com/blog.html
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
I wrote to my local senator, Jack Reed, about a week ago asking if he had a blog and if not, if he was thinking of starting one. I referred him to the blog the senator of a neighboring state was hosting http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=blog/1 He responded that he did not have a blog, but would add me to his email list to keep me up to date with the work he was doing. You can read my previous email here: http://practicalmanifestations.blogspot.com/2009/11/copy-of-my-email-to-ri-senator-jack.html
Below is my follow-up email asking first if my senator hosts or participates in any online forums so people can comment on and support his work and second a few questions on America's Health Care Reform Bill.
My senator is a great guy, I met him years ago when I was in Boy Scouts.
START EMAIL
Dear Senator Reed
I thank you for your quick response to my email and for adding me to your email list to receive updates on the work you are doing, I think this is a big step in the right direction. Along those lines I was wondering if there was some sort of online forum where people were allowed to discuss political issues on their mind. Perhaps you participate in a forum and fellow citizens of Rhode Island and maybe even other states are able to show their support for your work. I cannot imagine the amount of correspondence you must receive via email, telephone, mail, faxes, etc. I would think an open discussion among all citizens of Rhode Island might be more effective in resolving some of the major issues we are facing today, as opposed to each of us corresponding with you individually. I was just wondering if something like this already existed or if you were considering doing something in the future. I’m sure there would be many legalities involved, censorship, review of the censorship, and so on, however I would think the benefits would out-weigh the frustrations of setting up and managing such a forum.
The second reason I am writing to you is on my concern about the health care bill. I was wondering if provisions were being made for uncollectible debts. I would think that sizable amount of people are not going to be reimbursing the government for the health care they receive. When it comes to accounting and the federal government’s accounts receivable department, the reason behind the debts not being paid is important, but it does not pay back the debt. Assuming the federal government is reimbursed for the costs of health care through the collection of taxes, the debt could come from otherwise good tax-payers that recently started having trouble paying taxes, from people that never paid taxes and are just hoping the government never catches up with them, or from people that are here illegally, therefore not paying taxes. I would think that if everyone is being afforded health care, there will be no way to prevent a person from creating a debt in the first year and compounding it each year thereafter. The federal government’s only means for collecting the debt would be to 1) take legal action, which could have the following results a) the debt being paid, or b) putting the person in jail, which would only add to the debt. In either case certainly more debt would be incurred from legal fees. 2) attaching the debt to the person’s social security pension. Given the projections for the social security program, social security may not be around much longer, so the second option may not be viable.
So my question is: is this additional debt being carried in the budget and are provisions being made to create a cost-effective way of collecting it?
Secondly I would hope that when a person participating in the federal health care plan receives treatment, there would be a co-pay comparable to that of the insurance companies we have now. If a person incurs no immediate out-of-pocket expense at the time of treatment, there would be no incentive for the person to avoid going to the hospital for even the smallest ailment.
Finally I was wondering what checks and balances would be put into place to make sure the cost of medications and various other medical costs do not skyrocket. What is keeping the cost of medical products and services from becoming completely absurd is the fact that a few people are actually paying for them out of their own pocket, without any assistance from insurance. When we set up a program where a third party is paying for all products and services, we leave it up to the discretion of the companies to keep their prices reasonable. From past experience we know that the honor system does not work with so much money involved. Granted there will be some competition between drug companies on similar products, but this will be significantly dampened by patents.
I thank you for reading my email and I look forward to your response.
END EMAIL
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
I wrote to my local senator, Jack Reed, about a week ago asking if he had a blog and if not, if he was thinking of starting one. I referred him to the blog the senator of a neighboring state was hosting http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=blog/1 He responded that he did not have a blog, but would add me to his email list to keep me up to date with the work he was doing. You can read my previous email here: http://practicalmanifestations.blogspot.com/2009/11/copy-of-my-email-to-ri-senator-jack.html
Below is my follow-up email asking first if my senator hosts or participates in any online forums so people can comment on and support his work and second a few questions on America's Health Care Reform Bill.
My senator is a great guy, I met him years ago when I was in Boy Scouts.
START EMAIL
Dear Senator Reed
I thank you for your quick response to my email and for adding me to your email list to receive updates on the work you are doing, I think this is a big step in the right direction. Along those lines I was wondering if there was some sort of online forum where people were allowed to discuss political issues on their mind. Perhaps you participate in a forum and fellow citizens of Rhode Island and maybe even other states are able to show their support for your work. I cannot imagine the amount of correspondence you must receive via email, telephone, mail, faxes, etc. I would think an open discussion among all citizens of Rhode Island might be more effective in resolving some of the major issues we are facing today, as opposed to each of us corresponding with you individually. I was just wondering if something like this already existed or if you were considering doing something in the future. I’m sure there would be many legalities involved, censorship, review of the censorship, and so on, however I would think the benefits would out-weigh the frustrations of setting up and managing such a forum.
The second reason I am writing to you is on my concern about the health care bill. I was wondering if provisions were being made for uncollectible debts. I would think that sizable amount of people are not going to be reimbursing the government for the health care they receive. When it comes to accounting and the federal government’s accounts receivable department, the reason behind the debts not being paid is important, but it does not pay back the debt. Assuming the federal government is reimbursed for the costs of health care through the collection of taxes, the debt could come from otherwise good tax-payers that recently started having trouble paying taxes, from people that never paid taxes and are just hoping the government never catches up with them, or from people that are here illegally, therefore not paying taxes. I would think that if everyone is being afforded health care, there will be no way to prevent a person from creating a debt in the first year and compounding it each year thereafter. The federal government’s only means for collecting the debt would be to 1) take legal action, which could have the following results a) the debt being paid, or b) putting the person in jail, which would only add to the debt. In either case certainly more debt would be incurred from legal fees. 2) attaching the debt to the person’s social security pension. Given the projections for the social security program, social security may not be around much longer, so the second option may not be viable.
So my question is: is this additional debt being carried in the budget and are provisions being made to create a cost-effective way of collecting it?
Secondly I would hope that when a person participating in the federal health care plan receives treatment, there would be a co-pay comparable to that of the insurance companies we have now. If a person incurs no immediate out-of-pocket expense at the time of treatment, there would be no incentive for the person to avoid going to the hospital for even the smallest ailment.
Finally I was wondering what checks and balances would be put into place to make sure the cost of medications and various other medical costs do not skyrocket. What is keeping the cost of medical products and services from becoming completely absurd is the fact that a few people are actually paying for them out of their own pocket, without any assistance from insurance. When we set up a program where a third party is paying for all products and services, we leave it up to the discretion of the companies to keep their prices reasonable. From past experience we know that the honor system does not work with so much money involved. Granted there will be some competition between drug companies on similar products, but this will be significantly dampened by patents.
I thank you for reading my email and I look forward to your response.
END EMAIL
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Church Feeds 5000 People in Charlotte, North Carolina
Please visit our blog site at http://www.practicalmanifestations.com/blog.html
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
Great video I found on the internet after hearing the story on the Sirius/XM Radio. I left a comment below the video, "Great video, looking forward to more news like this :)". They need to approve my comment before the rest of the world can see it.
Link to video and story on FoxCharlotte.com: http://www.foxcharlotte.com/dpp/news/feeding_five_thousand_111309
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
Great video I found on the internet after hearing the story on the Sirius/XM Radio. I left a comment below the video, "Great video, looking forward to more news like this :)". They need to approve my comment before the rest of the world can see it.
Link to video and story on FoxCharlotte.com: http://www.foxcharlotte.com/dpp/news/feeding_five_thousand_111309
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
Monday, November 16, 2009
A Weekend Full of Helping People
Please visit our blog site at http://www.practicalmanifestations.com/blog.html
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
This past weekend was a lot of fun, we were able to help a lot of people in different ways. Throughout this entire month we had been helping to promote the concerts our friends of Col’ Areo String Quartet were putting on at the Music School Carter Center in East Providence, Rhode Island. I contacted the Providence Journal Newspaper, Television Channel 10, Television Channel 12, and whofish.org and each one posted the event on their respective web site. We walked down Wickenden Street in Providence, Rhode Island and hung up flyers for the event in 4 coffee shops. I was asked to introduce the quartet at the concert and I gladly did so. Proceeds from the concert went to the Rhode Island Food Bank. We collected a fair amount of cash and canned goods and are bringing them to the Food Bank tomorrow.
One of the best parts of the concert was the fact that a new friend of ours, Paul of Supreme Coffee and Donuts of East Providence, RI on Route 6 about 1 mile east of Seekonk Speedway donated enough coffee, donuts, and muffins for 50 to 60 people to snack on during intermission. Everyone loved the coffee and donuts and we left the left-over pastries for the teachers to snack on the following day. Everything had the coffee shop name on it, so it gave the shop great publicity. I included a thank-you to the shop in my introduction. When I returned the coffee dispenser and equipment, we got to talking about how the owner of the shop was taking a collection of worn-out American flags, is doing a canned food drive to help poor people in the area, and is having Santa come on November 28th to entertain the kids. I asked Paul if they had created a FaceBook.com or MySpace.com profile yet. They said it was on their to-do list, but they were going to wait until winter to get going on the computer. We exchanged contact information and agreed to stay in touch. I told him about the Practical Manifestations project and he seemed pretty interested.
Our friend Conrad Ferla of Mass Mutual Financial Services out of the Providence office made a contribution on the behalf of his company too. We were able to let him set up an information booth at the concert hall entrance. It was a nice way of incorporating a friend in the event we were holding and maybe send a little business his way.
Next, a friend of mine was having some back pain, so I went over their house and showed them some stretching exercises and muscle massage techniques that would help. They were thrilled to know there was something they could do about the aches and pains. It was my pleasure to share the information I had learned.
Then another friend of mine was having some money troubles. We talked for a little while about some options that were available for them. It turned out that she had a few items to sell on Ebay but was unsure where to start. I told her about a store in the area that actually puts things their customers bring in on Ebay and when they sell, the shop gets a commission on the sale. I’ll be going up that way again this coming weekend, so we’ll take a ride to the Ebay shop to see what they have to say. She is also handy with carpentry so we are putting her in contact with people that need some work done on their houses.
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
This past weekend was a lot of fun, we were able to help a lot of people in different ways. Throughout this entire month we had been helping to promote the concerts our friends of Col’ Areo String Quartet were putting on at the Music School Carter Center in East Providence, Rhode Island. I contacted the Providence Journal Newspaper, Television Channel 10, Television Channel 12, and whofish.org and each one posted the event on their respective web site. We walked down Wickenden Street in Providence, Rhode Island and hung up flyers for the event in 4 coffee shops. I was asked to introduce the quartet at the concert and I gladly did so. Proceeds from the concert went to the Rhode Island Food Bank. We collected a fair amount of cash and canned goods and are bringing them to the Food Bank tomorrow.
One of the best parts of the concert was the fact that a new friend of ours, Paul of Supreme Coffee and Donuts of East Providence, RI on Route 6 about 1 mile east of Seekonk Speedway donated enough coffee, donuts, and muffins for 50 to 60 people to snack on during intermission. Everyone loved the coffee and donuts and we left the left-over pastries for the teachers to snack on the following day. Everything had the coffee shop name on it, so it gave the shop great publicity. I included a thank-you to the shop in my introduction. When I returned the coffee dispenser and equipment, we got to talking about how the owner of the shop was taking a collection of worn-out American flags, is doing a canned food drive to help poor people in the area, and is having Santa come on November 28th to entertain the kids. I asked Paul if they had created a FaceBook.com or MySpace.com profile yet. They said it was on their to-do list, but they were going to wait until winter to get going on the computer. We exchanged contact information and agreed to stay in touch. I told him about the Practical Manifestations project and he seemed pretty interested.
Our friend Conrad Ferla of Mass Mutual Financial Services out of the Providence office made a contribution on the behalf of his company too. We were able to let him set up an information booth at the concert hall entrance. It was a nice way of incorporating a friend in the event we were holding and maybe send a little business his way.
Next, a friend of mine was having some back pain, so I went over their house and showed them some stretching exercises and muscle massage techniques that would help. They were thrilled to know there was something they could do about the aches and pains. It was my pleasure to share the information I had learned.
Then another friend of mine was having some money troubles. We talked for a little while about some options that were available for them. It turned out that she had a few items to sell on Ebay but was unsure where to start. I told her about a store in the area that actually puts things their customers bring in on Ebay and when they sell, the shop gets a commission on the sale. I’ll be going up that way again this coming weekend, so we’ll take a ride to the Ebay shop to see what they have to say. She is also handy with carpentry so we are putting her in contact with people that need some work done on their houses.
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Tommorow's The Big Day for Col’ Areo String Quartet
Please visit our blog site at http://www.practicalmanifestations.com/blog.html
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
Tomorrow, Sunday, November 15th, our friends of Col’ Areo String Quartet are putting on a concert at the Music School in East Providence, Rhode Island, USA. They have been practicing their hearts out and I’m sure the audience will be pleased with the performance.
I made a few phone calls to local coffee shops and found one that was interested in donating coffee and pastry, Supreme Coffee and Donuts of Seekonk, Massachusetts (about 4 miles down the street from the Music School). The ladies of the quartet were thrilled when we told them about the coffee shop donating the coffee and pastry.
So we got a few boxes to collect the canned good donations to bring to the Rhode Island Food Bank. We’re guessing the Food Bank is not open on Sunday, we’ll have to store the goods until Monday. Pam made up the concert programs. She has a bunch of her business cards referring people to her web site. We just have to pick up a music recorder so we can later offer a recording of the concert through the web site.
We already contacted the local newspapers and television stations. It will be exciting to see how it all goes together. It will be a great time for everyone that comes and I’m sure there will be many more concerts to come!
You can check out Pam Lowell’s Col’ Areo event page on FaceBook to confirm your attendance: http://www.facebook.com/pamela.lowell#/event.php?eid=318579155146&ref=mf
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
Tomorrow, Sunday, November 15th, our friends of Col’ Areo String Quartet are putting on a concert at the Music School in East Providence, Rhode Island, USA. They have been practicing their hearts out and I’m sure the audience will be pleased with the performance.
I made a few phone calls to local coffee shops and found one that was interested in donating coffee and pastry, Supreme Coffee and Donuts of Seekonk, Massachusetts (about 4 miles down the street from the Music School). The ladies of the quartet were thrilled when we told them about the coffee shop donating the coffee and pastry.
So we got a few boxes to collect the canned good donations to bring to the Rhode Island Food Bank. We’re guessing the Food Bank is not open on Sunday, we’ll have to store the goods until Monday. Pam made up the concert programs. She has a bunch of her business cards referring people to her web site. We just have to pick up a music recorder so we can later offer a recording of the concert through the web site.
We already contacted the local newspapers and television stations. It will be exciting to see how it all goes together. It will be a great time for everyone that comes and I’m sure there will be many more concerts to come!
You can check out Pam Lowell’s Col’ Areo event page on FaceBook to confirm your attendance: http://www.facebook.com/pamela.lowell#/event.php?eid=318579155146&ref=mf
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Copy of My Email to RI Senator Jack Reed on Blogging to Create Transparency in Government
Below is a copy of the email I sent to my the sentator for my state, Rhode Island, USA. I look forward to his response and to other U.S. senators and House representatives one day writing maybe a weekly blog post. In this way we can communicate with them more effectively and perhaps give them better-informed suggestions on resolutions to current issues.
BEGIN EMAIL
Dear Senator Reed,
I was wondering if you had considered starting a blog. If you are unfamiliar with blogging, it is sort of like hosting a web site, only you update the web page as often as you like and it only takes about 5 or 10 minutes to do. It is a great way to keep your supporters up to date with your official activities and elaborate on the work you are doing to improve our state and the nation. You can visit Senator Chris Dodd's blog at http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=blog/1 to see the advantage it gives him and his supporters.
As a Rhode Island resident, I would like to see more transparency in our governing bodies. I believe our officials are being called on to make decisions that will have a drastic effect on the citizens of this country both today and for many years to come. With more transparency, it will make it easier for people to give educated suggestions to their respective representatives.
I appreciate you taking a moment to read my email and I look forward to one day reading your blog.
BEGIN EMAIL
Dear Senator Reed,
I was wondering if you had considered starting a blog. If you are unfamiliar with blogging, it is sort of like hosting a web site, only you update the web page as often as you like and it only takes about 5 or 10 minutes to do. It is a great way to keep your supporters up to date with your official activities and elaborate on the work you are doing to improve our state and the nation. You can visit Senator Chris Dodd's blog at http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=blog/1 to see the advantage it gives him and his supporters.
As a Rhode Island resident, I would like to see more transparency in our governing bodies. I believe our officials are being called on to make decisions that will have a drastic effect on the citizens of this country both today and for many years to come. With more transparency, it will make it easier for people to give educated suggestions to their respective representatives.
I appreciate you taking a moment to read my email and I look forward to one day reading your blog.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Wal*Mart The High Cost of Low Prices Clip of Chinese Factory Worker Conditions
Please visit our blog site at http://www.practicalmanifestations.com/blog.html
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
I watched the movie "Wal*Mart The High Cost of Low Prices" last night. It covers all aspects of the effects of the company both domestic and abroad. Small businesses are terrified when a new Wal*Mart moves into town, it is extremely difficult to compete with them. One of the most moving parts of the film was footage from the conditions they provide their workers in the factories in China. You always hear about the wages and conditions companies like Wal*Mart and Nike provide their workers, but to see it is just heart-wrenching.
Both the movie clip and link to the clip on YouTube are below.
Link to video clip on YouTube.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CzbT1hGwmM
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
I watched the movie "Wal*Mart The High Cost of Low Prices" last night. It covers all aspects of the effects of the company both domestic and abroad. Small businesses are terrified when a new Wal*Mart moves into town, it is extremely difficult to compete with them. One of the most moving parts of the film was footage from the conditions they provide their workers in the factories in China. You always hear about the wages and conditions companies like Wal*Mart and Nike provide their workers, but to see it is just heart-wrenching.
Both the movie clip and link to the clip on YouTube are below.
Link to video clip on YouTube.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CzbT1hGwmM
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
