I might be wrong, but from what I can see Americans like to think of their forefathers bravely fighting against the armies of a mad tyrannical king.
In reality however it wasn’t like that. The structure of the government of Britain in 1776 was basically the same as it is today. Although the monarch is head of state, it’s the Prime Minister who has executive power and is accountable to the democratically elected parliament. George III did state his opinion more than would be acceptable today, but all the controversial taxation was approved by parliament and Prime Minister Frederick North. Yet the declaration of independence is directed solely at the King, and Americans always say "we fort a war to get rid of a king", when in fact the war was fort against the policies of a Prime Minister.
Why blame poor old King George III of the United Kingdom?
When George III assumed the throne in 1760, upon the death of his grandfather, he was full of resentments. Power had been draining away from the monarchy for seventy years, and he meant to reverse this. His widowed mother encouraged this, exhorting him to "be a King, George. Be a King!".
George III could have ensured himself a tranquil reign had he retained Pitt as his Prime Minister, and been content to reign as the royal figurehead you suggest he was. His mother was being consoled by the third Earl of Bute, John Stuart, and it was to Bute he turned for guidance on how to "be a King". Together they decided that Pitt must go and replaced him with Grenville, whom the King found tedious and called "Mr. Greenville". Pitt had toyed with the idea of direct taxation of the colonists in 1759, when he was annoyed at what he thought was slow payment of war taxes from the colonies, but dropped the idea when he was assured that such a move would set off a firestorm of protest.
The colonists thought they had already paid quite a lot in taxes during the war, besides raising and supporting many thousands of troops for his majesty’s campaigns in North America. Grenville decided to impose taxes to help retire the remaining debt and to pay for the maintenance of troops in the colonies at levels never seen before. With the French gone from North America, in no small part due to the fighting men of the colonies, who could these troops be meant for if not the colonists themselves? The first protests at this scheme of taxation were from the King’s own party, and as a policy it was most unwise, for it gave the nascent Patriot movement its cause.
Through subsequent ministers and different plans for taxation and other oppressive measures, the King held fast to his policy of bringing the colonists to heel. Upon passage of the Port Act the King jeered from the throne at the weakness of the opposition. "The die is now cast" he told North. "The colonies must either submit or triumph."
In his removals of Pitt, and of Grenville (due to affronts to his mother during the regency), and his selection of North, and his several refusals to allow North to resign, the King was much more actively involved in North American policy than you seem to imagine.
The essence of folly has always been to adopt policies directly contrary to your own self-interest, and then to cling to those policies with pathetic stubbornness.
Looks like tv executives are once again counting on the massive stupidity of the people and once again, there seems an opportunity for these executives, sponsors, etc., to derive joy (read Money$) from the misery of others. Namely the misery of those of us who find Nadya Suleman to be a freeloading psycho.
definitely not
Show like America’s Next Top Model? So Banks says she made this show to counter stereotypes about beauty huh? Why don’t she just tell the truth & admit she made the show b/c she knew enough people would be foolish enough to believe in this fake farce?
Chaos erupts in crowd at NYC ‘Top Model’ auditions
NEW YORK – Three people were arrested and six others hurt after bedlam broke out while they waited to audition for "America’s Next Top Model," police said.
Police didn’t know what prompted the chaos involving hundreds of people Saturday outside the Park Central New York hotel in Manhattan. The panic left the street outside the hotel littered with shoes and clothing, according to news reports.
"It was pretty scary," Jessica Paravati told WNYW-TV. She said she was caught up in a stampede after waiting on line overnight, hoping for a shot at stardom on the reality show.
Two women and a man were arrested on disorderly conduct charges, police said. Authorities also shut down the audition, saying it wasn’t properly organized.
Four injured people declined treatment, while two others were taken to a hospital, the fire department said. Their conditions weren’t immediately available.
The hotel’s phone rang unanswered. Representatives for The CW Network, which airs the show, released a statement saying it was working with authorities investigating the incident.
The model competition is hosted by supermodel Tyra Banks, who also serves as its executive producer. The current season began March 4.
Her agent and publicist didn’t immediately return telephone calls.
Banks has said she created the show to counter stereotypes about beauty, and Saturday’s auditions were open only to women no taller than 5-foot-7, which is shorter than the industry’s conventions.
Tryouts also were being held this month around the country, including in Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles.
At least one would-be contestant in the New York throng said the tumult wouldn’t stop her from trying again.
"This is my dream, so I’m not going to give up," Gifty Asika told WNBC-TV.(Did someone let her know that the show is fake & scripted? Does she really think this stuff is real? LOL!)
Easy! People tend to use their physical beauty to get all competitious for their 15-minute fame and boost their ego.
What is even more fake and sad is that in order to be a model, they got to feel you got physical looks to perfection, and well, I would not have a chance, and my 5′3" height has not much to do with it! I can be taller, and though I’m 60 pounds over, I would not even get looked at for a split second to be a plus-size model ( however, I don’t have to wear plus size clothing, fortunately). But then, I got better things to do than anything that requires shallowness. Life is too short for that!
Ratings champion "American Idol" will face serious competition when it returns next month -the U. S. Department of Homeland Security.
"Homeland Security USA," an ABC reality series debuting Jan. 6, tracks the daily efforts of the federal workers responsible for safeguarding the nation’s airports, borders, waters and anyplace else threats might arise.
While viewers see the mechanics of
agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Transportation Security Administration, absent is discussion of such hot-button issues as post-Sept. 11 security programs or immigration policies.
That’s by design, said series executive producer Arnold Shapiro, whose credits include "Rescue 911" and "Big Brother."
"It doesn’t have a political point of view," Shapiro said. "It’s not meant to show the (department) higher-ups … just the average men and women on the front lines protecting our country from various things illegal and dangerous."
"Homeland Security USA" has a week to win viewers before it has to face Fox’s hit singing contest, back Jan. 13.
The ABC series, filmed with the department’s co-operation, is a virtual travelogue in the first episode as it skips from border crossings at Blaine, Wash., and San Ysidro, Calif., to Los Angeles International Airport to a mail processing plant.
Turns out even mail has dramatic possibilities, as sharp-eyed officers pry open toys containing black-market prescription drugs and uncover an exotic and illicit food item – barbecued bats from Thailand.
The show mixes the offbeat and the serious, including drug smugglers, people trying to enter the country with doctored papers and a woman who’s been shoved under a car seat in a painful, failed effort to slip into the country.
Not all goes the department’s way in the 13 episodes. In one scene, guns are drawn against a man trying to drive across the U. S.-Mexico border with his family, terrifying his wife and young children, until agents discover it’s a case of mistaken identity.Shapiro says he retained control over the show’s creative content. The department pre-screened episodes and could ask for deletion of elements that would have revealed law-enforcement strategies, infringed on personal rights or jeopardized pending legal cases.
The series is based on Australia’s popular "Border Security," which was optioned by ABC. "Homeland Security USA" is intended as entertainment without a political point of view, said Vicki Dummer, ABC’s executive in charge of alternative series.
The department saw the show "as a great opportunity to help the American public understand what their government does and what the Department of Homeland Security, the youngest department, does," said department spokesman Ed Fox.
But "Homeland Security USA" has provoked debate sight unseen. A Facebook page opposing the series drew more than 500 postings within its first few days. Many were negative, including denunciations of the show as government propaganda.http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1361715
I wonder how long it will last when Obama takes office. He wants raids and deportation stopped. Why have a Dept if your not going to allow them to do their job? Napalitano is his pick for Homeland Security remember?
Because I respect Sarah Palin, even though she is running with McCain, when I saw these untrue rumors, I just had to post them on Y! Answers and show the reality
Myth: Sarah Palin likes to eat raw polar bear meat.
FACT: She likes it medium rare.
Myth: Sarah Palin uses live penguins for target practice.
FACT: The live ones wiggle too much.
Myth: Sarah Palin doesn’t know much about defense.
FACT:She was once an excellent basketball player.
Myth: Sarah Palin is under investigation for possible abuse of power. FACT: She is under investigation for being CAUGHT possibly abusing power.
Myth: Sarah Palin wants to drill for oil throughout the beautiful Alaskan wilderness.
FACT: She has no interest in doing that at all. She just wants oil companies to do it.
Myth: Scholars say Sarah Palin is the least experienced, least qualified, least credentialed person to join a major-party ticket in the modern era.
FACT: According to a very recent Wikipedia entry, the “modern era” began in the year 1000 a.d. and records suggest there may have been as many as 3 other people with a comparable degree of inexperience who attempted to gain a national leadership position in their respective countries during that time.
Myth: Sarah Palin strongly dislikes gays.
FACT: Her hair stylist for her first major campaign (her town’s beauty pageant) was gay, and she thought he did a fantastic job with her highlights, and used just the right amount of hairspray, and was a pretty likeable person considering his abominable lifestyle.
Myth: Sarah Palin has less than two years of executive leadership experience, in one of the least populated states in the nation, and is completely unprepared to take on international issues.
FACT: Her several years of grueling leadership experience as both a PTA leader, and as a part time mayor of a small Alaskan town MORE than qualify her for trips to Russia to negotiate over the Georgian crisis, and trips to Jordon and Egypt to represent the U.S. in talks over Iran’s nuclear weapons program. These are basically the same issue as school bathroom graffiti, just on a slightly larger scale. In addition, Alaska is one of the most populated states in the U.S.*
* source: “From Mice to Moose- The Millions of Alaskan Mammals“.
I hope you now see the light about Sarah Palin and pass these on to your other igno-I mean, Republican friends
HAHAHAHHAH!!!!!!
Then, read it through carefully and correct the errors by inserting the proper punctuation marks or deleting those that are incorrect.
Post the revised copy in the provided text box.
Foreclosure Filings Hit Record High
By Kenneth Musante,
CNNMoney
Posted: 2008-05-14 13:00:31
NEW YORK (May 14) — US foreclosure filings reached a record high in April rising almost 65% over the previous year and putting municipalities at risk by cutting into the value of taxed property according to a study released Wednesday.
Some 243,353 households nearly one in 519 received a foreclosure filing during April according to the US Foreclosure Market Report from RealtyTrac an online marketplace that tracks foreclosed properties That was up 4% from March, and surpassed the record of 239,851 set in August 2007.
It’s "the highest monthly total we’ve seen since we began issuing the report in January 2005 said chief executive James J. Saccacio in a statement.
RealtyTracs measure of foreclosure filings includes notices of default auction sales and bank repossessions According to the report, 54,574 were fully repossessed by banks in April.
Property tax plunge: The record number of foreclosures added their weight to an already saturated real estate market pulling down home prices Plunging home values reduce the money that cities villages and towns collect in property taxes.
In particular jeopardy are parts of Nevada California Arizona and Florida whose states maintained the highest foreclosure rates, according to RealtyTrac.
"For example the city council in Vallejo Calif. – part of a metropolitan area with a foreclosure rate that ranked sixth highest in the nation in April – last week voted to have the city file for bankruptcy said Saccacio.
The state of California had the second-highest foreclosure rate in the nation up 112% over the previous year and affecting about one in 204 households The top spot among states was held by Nevada which maintained a foreclosure rate 3.6 times the national average affecting about one in 146 homes.
Nationwide single-family home prices have fallen 7.7% since the beginning of the year to the lowest level since at least 1982 according to the National Association of Realtors and data from real-estate broker Zip Realty showed that the number of houses on the market grew by 3.5% in April.
With more homes being seized by banks, local governments also lose out on tax revenue from sale transactions. "It’s really hitting the municipalities from multiple fronts said RealtyTrac marketing vice president Rick Sharga in an interview.
Ten hardest hit metro areas: Cities in California and Florida have been particularly hard-hit. Areas in those states accounted for 9 of the top 10 metropolitan foreclosure rates.
The California metro areas of Merced Stockton Modesto and Riverside-San Bernardino took the top four spots. In Merced one out of 66 households was hit by foreclosure in April.
In Florida Cape Coral-Fort Myers came in at number 5 Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce and Fort Lauderdale came in at numbers 9 and 10.
Also making an appearance was Las Vegas a city that had seen heavy real estate speculation at number 7 with one in 116 households receiving foreclosure notices.
As Congress debates plans to prop up troubled homeowners the foreclosure rate shows little signs of slowing. Delinquent mortgage payments which lead to foreclosure will likely rise over the next six to 12 months according to a key mortgage trend statistic from First American CoreLogic.
Copyright 2008 CNNMoney
2008-05-14 06:06:18
Yeah, what they said.
Buying or selling real estate in Las Vegas? The Karten Group at realty executives is here to serve you. If you’re a buyer, we help you understand the entire process with clear communication, educate and guide you on making the best offers, with no transaction fees. We negotiate the best price for you and stand by you from start to finish. Best of all, our concierge service is free to you for as long as you own your home. To learn more, visit us at www.TheKartenGroup.com. Selling your home? No matter what your situation, we can help. We offer the exposure your home needs through network television, internet and print media to sell your home for the most money, in the shortest amount of time. We have national and international buyers, and we believe your home needs to be marketed worldwide. Call us today at 800-756-4640 for a free, confidential consultation.
Duration : 0:0:33
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: Las Vegas Real Estate, Las Vegas Realtors, Luxury Real Estate, Mark Karten, realty executives, Rhodes Ranch Realtors, Summerlin Realtors, The Karten Group
http://www.mikefinkkansascityrealestate.com Mike Fink 913-579-7220 realty executives Real Estate Agent Residential Realtor Kansas City, Missouri Overland Park, KS
Duration : 0:0:40
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: agent, by owner, City Realtor, Executives, for sale, fs, Kansas, Mike Fink, Overland, Park Realtor, real estate, Realty
http://www.tourfactory.com/s502940/r_www.youtube.com
For more information, contact:
Judi Starliper
(865) 693-3232
realty executives Associates
GROVE PARK IN FOUNTAIN CITY! Southern charm exudes from this Colonial 2 story with 4 bedrooms, nestled in the trees on 2+/- acres on a low traffic Fountain City area. Living room with fireplace. Sunken family room. New addition added with large eatin breakfast bay area, tiled flooring, new cabinets and Corian countertops, large island and its open to the dining room. Sunroom added. 4 Spacious bedrooms up. 2 Story tall barn 20×30. Master with remodeled bath. Music room. Playhouse. New tile in kitchen, foyer and dining room. Updated carpeting.
Duration : 0:7:0
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: 37918, 6013, Associates, estate, Executives, for, Grove, Home, homes, Judi, Knoxville, Park, real, Realty, Road, sale, Starliper, TN, Tour502940, TourFactory, Virtual
Mike Fink,Ward Nicholay, Business Network International, BNI, BNI Overland Park Ks Chapter 5, www.bniop5.org, Overland Park BNI, Johnson County BNI, Overland Park BNI, Lenexa BNI, Leawood BNI, Shawnee BNI, Mission BNI, Olathe BNI, bni groups, business development, business network, network business, business networking, bni, network marketing business, business marketing development, marketing business development, new business development, business development management, business networks, social business networking, small business networking, network marketing internet business, network marketing internet business, network marketing internet business, networking for business, business development strategy, business strategy development, international business development, networking and business, business development service, social network business, strategic business development, business development group, business networking groups, business networking group, corporate business development, businesses networking, business networking sites, bni networking, online business network, business development agency, online business networking, business network support, business networking events, business development strategies, business development companies, market business development, small business networks, business developments, business networking international, international business networking, business networking tips, networking for small business, networking for small business, free business networking, business networking event, business networking services, business networking site, business to business networking, business network group, business network referral, business referral network, business networking websites, business development analysis, business networking opportunities, business network groups, business networking organizations, business networking bni, business networks international, bni referral, business networking meetings, business networking meetings, business networking organization, business referral networking, business development tips, business networking clubs, business networking club, best business networking, bni business network, bni business network international, bni business networking international, bni company, bni leads, bni leads group, bni marketing, bni networking groups, bni networks, bni referral, bni referrals, bni success
Duration : 0:0:38
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: BNI, bni groups, BNI Overland Park Ks Chapter 5, business development, business marketing development, business network, Business Network International, business networking, Johnson County BNI, Leawood BNI, Lenexa BNI, marketing business development, Mike Fink, Mission BNI, network business, network marketing business, new business development, Olathe BNI, Overland Park BNI, Shawnee BNI, Ward Nicholay, www.bniop5.org