This is the day when my topic field is Health and Wealth. How can I not comment on the downfall of the Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and the 504 point stock market plunge given my topic theme? What I will not do is go about it in the same way as so many others.
As a [...]
The four charts below will tell you everything you need to know about why the good life in America has gone "bye bye" and will not be coming back.Today the financial headlines screamed that the U.S. government had taken over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but most Americans paid no attention.But they should have.The American Dream has become an American Nightmare.Fannie Mae and the Federal Home Loan
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L.L. Cool J performs onstage during the “2008 Teen Choice Awards” at Gibson Amphitheater in
Los Angeles, California on August 3, 2008.
I have to give it up to LL Cool J! I can&
By: Roshawn WatsonThe American Dream has gone from having a good job and owning a home to driving an Ashton Martin, living in a McMansion, frequenting our favorite vacation spots, and jet-setting. In short, we want to become millionaires.Our popular culture and personal finance literature is filled with an emphasis on millionaires.EntertainmentThere are abundant examples of shows with million doll
It's the old American double standard, you know, say one thing, do something different. And, of course, the country is founded on the double standard. That's our history. We were founded on a very basic double standard. This country was founded ...
If you want the "true spirit" of the "American Dream" you have to speak italian...When I was a little girl, we had a distorted view of How USA was born.As usual you had the "bad" and the "good".The good of course were the pioneers, painted like heroes, dying in the name of freedom, while the bad were those bastards of Indians whose only sport was collecting enemy's hair and killing mostly children
What is "The American Dream"? In the dusty sunshine of
nostaligia, it was a nuclear family with a mother at home caring
for the 2.5 children, and a work-a-holic father (who eventually
retires after thirty or forty years of service with a nice secure
pension) who comes home every day at exactly the same time
expecting the little woman to have the house clean, the kids clean,
and a nice pot roast o
Laura RowleyOnce upon a time there was a greedy young man with shiny wingtips and important degrees. His father, an advisor to the king, had paid the young man's way through an Ivy League college and got him a job managing the village's pension investments.The greedy young man went to his magic mirror and said, "Mirror, mirror, I'm at the top of my field, I'm entitled to a higher yield. I'd like t
1 Once upon a time, computers were really large, had very little memory and were extremely expensive. Now computers are really cheap, compact and have tons of memory. They've become an addictive obsession, stealing the time we used to spend together just hanging out. 2 Once upon time, there was no way to call or text someone from a crowded...
Although I only watched American Idol infrequently I did catch it last night when David Cook won the title.
This brings to mind Joni Mitchel when she penned it and Neil Diamond when he sang about;...
NOT RECOMMENDED FOR THE OVERLY RELIGIOUS, POLITICAL OR STUPID!
The distribution of income in the United States is becoming more unequal! Labor still captures about two-thirds of national income, but only skilled workers have benefited. See *Rich Nation, poor NationAsia's crony capitalism has proved that it isn't ready for prime time. Europe's mixed economies perch on a powder keg of 20 percent youth unemployment. In the American system - for the last quarter century, virtually all the rewards of growth have gone to the educated, enterprising and already affluent. See *As Cheap Oil EndsAmericans are delusional, They think they can continue living the way they’ve been living for the last 50 years. They think the key to it is to find a way to keep getting fuel.For Americans, the American way of life is non-negotiable. The trouble is, Americans may not
The benefits of home based business are becoming clear to many in the U.S. and across the world as more and more people set up to work from home. Statistics collected in 2006 estimate that legitimate home based businesses account for an annual revenue, in the U.S., of more than $100 billion dollars. This is [...]
It’s unbelievable how much it costs to buy a house these days. Looking at single family home prices in my area and even those located in less appealing crime ridden neighborhoods, I am just now realizing that I may never be able to afford one in my lifetime. Well, at least not the American dream [...]
Barack Obama's first book, Dreams from My Father, was a compelling and moving memoir focusing on personal issues of race, identity, and community. With his second book The Audacity of Hope, Obama engages themes raised in his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, shares personal views on faith and values and offers a vision of the future that involves repairing a "political process that is broken" and restoring a government that has fallen out of touch with the people. We had the opportunity to ask Senator Obama a few questions about writing, reading, and politics--see his responses below. --Daphne Durham
They say that a component of what is considered the American Dream is home ownership and those of us in the city properties who aspire to buy a home and want to own a stake in this community feel like we are being somewhat punished for wanting it. The way the development plans are unfolding, those who qualify for Section 8 or prefer rental housing are offered an opportunity to move into the new developments first. The rest of us who aligned with the city’s idea of facilitating property ownership among the community’s residents will have to wait for an undisclosed amount of time for our opportunity to move. If the new properties are ready this summer, they will be literally 25 feet from my front door. I wonder how I am going to feel, seeing a beautiful living space with gardens and
I beg your pardon, mama, what did you say? My mind was drifting off on Martinique Bay. It's not that I'm not interested, you see; Augusta, Georgia is just no place to be. I think Jamaican in the moonlight. Sandy beaches, drinking rum every night. We got no money, mama, but we can go; We'll split the difference, go to Coconut Grove. Keep on talking, mama, I can hear Your voice, it tickles down inside of my ear. I feel a tropical vacation this year, Might be the answer to this hillbilly fear. I think Jamaican in the moonlight. Sandy beaches, drinking rum every night. We got no money, mama, but we can go; We'll split the difference, go to Coconut Grove. Voila! An American Dream. Well, we can travel girl, without any means. When it's as easy as closing your eyes And dream Jamaica is a big neon sign. Just keep talking, mama, I like that sound. It goes so easy with that rain falling down. I think a tropical vacation this year, Might be the answer to this hillbilly fear. Voila! An Americ
This post has been submitted by Ritu from www.worknplay.net.
"How do you define the American Dream? Is it a nice beautiful house, a family, money enough to live comfortably, working under somebody, getting paid less than what you are worth, being able to retire at 70 and finally being able to pay off your mortgage at 80? What exactly is the American Dream?"
The above sentence might have thrown you off a little bit as it started out on a positive end and ended on a negative. The point being that American culture and society has suppressed their dreams to corporate demands and given their pool of talent into the hands of someone else. This is why I say freelancing is the road to American Dream.
You might say, "Well, I still work while freelancing, it's not like I get to sit and make money?" The fact that you work for yourself and are building your reputation or company alone is half the battle won. Freelancing allows you to offer your talent to sources that would otherwise be r
Old two-story house with a white picket fence and tiffany lamps? Never in my life did I dream I’d want a white picket fence or discuss purchasing tiffany lamps. I am living the American dream, eh? Now I get it. Climbing yellow rose bush? Check. ? Check. Old maple tree in front yard? Check. Front porch with rocking chair? Check.
If JJ could see me now. Picket fence? Can I say that enough times? Sorry, repetition isn’t pretty but it certainly makes a point. Our fence is utilitarian. Dogs in, strolling passers-by out — then I picked up a can of white exterior paint as primer for windows and doors because we’re getting ready to paint the exterior this year.
Age is catching up with me - quickly. Seriously, I’m the one bring up the discussion of lamp choices for the dining room and bringing back our 7:00pm family dinner. Less TV and more reading. For goodness sakes I have a study with a reading chair. Two married daughters - one with kids. In the last 10 years my life went fro
The Colorado-based Nitty Gritty Dirt Band had been performing together for fourteen years when they dropped the first two words from their name and changed their musical approach to formulaic pop music. Their efforts proved successful when their 1979 duet with Linda Rondtandt, "American Dream", reached the thirteenth slot on the Billboard charts and their 1981 single, "Make A Little Magic", featuring Nicolette Larson, reached the top twenty. The re-christened band provided the arrangements and musical accompaniment for Steve Martin's comic hit, "King Tut". The Dirt Band was built around the vocals and songwriting of founding members Jeff Hanna and Jimmie Fadden. Multi-instrumentalist John McEuen initially played a lesser role than he had in the past.Originally meeting when they hung out at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, California, Hanna and Fadden began to perform together as the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in late 1965. McEuen replaced original guitarist/vocalist Jackson Browne s
During my stay at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo, I often visited Latin Touch Cafe for some of the best Cuban sandwiches in St. Roberts (pop. 2500 [OK, maybe the best in a 200 mile radius]) and to visit with my good friend Jorge Chavez.
I thought his story would be interesting to some of my readers, so I asked him if he wouldn't mind me posting a little something about him and he assented to my request.
Jorge arrived in our nation five years ago on a raft, not concerned, apparently, with perpetuating that particular Cuban stereotype. After arriving in the United States, some soldiers took care of him which shocked him as Castro had told him that the American soldier was cruel. He stayed in Miami for a while, but, the Cuban Sandwich market being a little saturated in South Florida, followed the advice of a friend and moved to Missouri, where his little sandwich shop, a mere mile from the post, is a favorite lunch stop for the soldiers.
Jorge and I discuss the issues of the day. Notice the re
While there are many ways to interpret the results of the Pew Research Center survey "Muslim Americans: Middle-Class and Mostly Mainstream," it is important not to overlook the positive aspects of the study. The poll clearly showed that American Muslims are mainstream, highly educated, middle-class people who believe that hard work pays off. It also confirmed that, overall, American Muslims have a positive view of the larger society. They are overwhelmingly satisfied with their lives in the United States, and most say their communities are excellent or good places to live. The survey found that Muslim Americans reject extremism by larger margins than do Muslim minorities in western European countries. In fact, 78 percent of U.S. Muslims say that suicide bombings against civilians are never justified. Contrast this to the survey conducted by the University of Maryland's Program on International Public Attitudes, released in December 2006, which showed that only 46 percent of Americans
I was reading my newest issue of Relevant Magazine, and in particular was reading the cover story article, "Laying It Down: Learning to Live with Less in a Culture of Excess."I stumbled across this quote from Shane Claiborne. It's fantastic.When we consider this idea of loving our neighbor as ourselves, and we try to reconcile that with the American dream, we hit a wall. Because right now the average American is consuming the same amount as more than 500 Africans. When you think, “How do I love my neighbor as myself?” it becomes just impossible to do that within the worldview of the American dream.But I think what’s exciting is that Jesus has another dream, and Jesus is offering us another dream. Where it’s not even just this ascetic simplicity—give up everything and be poor—but it’s this idea that God created an economy of enough. God didn’t create a world of scarcity. But we’ve created poverty and need by not living out this command to love our neighbor as ourself
For those of you not familiar with the Sean Bell case, Sean Bell was shot to death after leaving a club the day before his wedding. He was unarmed and the cops were in unmarked cars without uniform....
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The benefits of home based business are becoming clear to many in the U.S. and across the world as more and more people set up to work from home. Statistics collected in 2006 estimate that legitimate home based businesses account for an annual revenue, in the U.S., of more than $100 billion dollars. This is [...]
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