Anecdote Of The Week: Do You Love Your J-O-B?

"I enjoy telling the true story of Ron Kaufman, a friend who loved nothing more than to play frisbee and see those plastic disks glide through the air. But he was thirty-five years old, and his parents suggested he grow up and find a real job. In addition to tossing frisbees, Ron had a larger vision of promoting world peace. One day it occurred to him to combine his passions. He contacted the representatives of the Wham-O Company and asked if they would sponsor him to fly to the then Soviet Union and provide him with five hundred frisbees imprinted with the words 'World Peace' in English and in Russian. They agreed, and Ron became a frisbee goodwill ambassador, teaching people throughout Russia to play the game and talk about peace. Ultimately Ron formed a company that led goodwill frisbee tours to Russia, where he also met his wife. Doing what he loves, serving other people, Ron thrived, along with his business. The moral is simple: If you can't find a career that satisfies you, invent your own.

Those who view money as an incidental benefit of work they enjoy for its own sake seem to be the most satisfied with their lives. Ask yourself this: 'If I had enough money to live on for the rest of my life, what would I do with my time?' When you have the answer, find work in that area if you can. If you became wealthy and would nevertheless spend some of your time doing just what you now do for a living, you are fortunate indeed." -From, "Everyday Enlightenment" By: Dan Millman

Today's Fly Or Die Commerce Report: Junk Bonds

According to Investopedia, a junk bond is, "A bond rated 'BB' or lower because of its high default risk. [It is] also known as a 'high-yield bond' or 'speculative bond.' These are usually purchased for speculative purposes.

Junk bonds typically offer interest rates three to four percentage points higher than safer government issues."

Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law

Black's Law Dictionary states the following about the term "Court of Nisi Prius":

"Though this term is frequently used as a general designation of any court exercising general, original jurisdiction in civil cases (being used interchangeably with "trial-court"), it belonged as a legal title only to a court which formerly existed in the city and county of Philadelphia, and which was presided over by one of the judges of the supreme court of Pennsylvania. The court was abolished by the constitution of 1874."

Quote Of The Day

"Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune." -Jim Rohn

Video Of The Week

Be Healthy!

After watching this, I have to change up some things...I don't know how I'm going to get more sleep though :)

Still Waiting...

Yesterday, Sean Bell's parents and fiance met with a group of Federal Prosecutors, which included the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney and the Chief of the Civil Rights Division, to discuss if civil rights violations will be filed against the three NYPD officers who gunned down a defenseless Sean Bell on the eve of his wedding.

No concrete resolutions emerged from the meeting. The feds have yet to proclaim whether they will in fact file charges against Officers Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora, and Marc Cooper. Reportedly, the investigation is still pending. According to the NY Daily News, "The feds offered no timetable on the completion of a probe of the shooting."

Will this family get justice?

Today's Fly Or Die Commerce Report: Savings Bonds

Answers.com defines a U.S. savings bond as: "A U.S. government savings bond that offers a fixed rate of interest over a fixed period of time. Many people find these bonds attractive because they are not subject to state or local income taxes. These bonds cannot be easily transferred and are non-negotiable."

Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law

Here are a couple of interesting cases involving eminent domain (when the government seizes private property for public use):

"When the World Trade Center in New York City was being planned in the 1960s, the public authority developing the project sought to condemn several hundred pieces of land owned by merchants and others. Was the construction of two giant office towers public use? Yes, the court ruled, because the public authority's desire to bring together businesses relating to international trade and to redevelop the harbor area where the project would be located was for the benefit of the public.

The World Trade Center was developed by a public entity. What if the government seeks to take land and turn it over to a private enterprise? In the 1970s and 1980s General Motors proposed to build a new auto assembly plant in Detroit. The announcement was welcomed by local and state officials as signaling a commitment to rebuilding the industrial infrastructure of the Detroit area. But the site for the plant was a working class neighborhood known as Poletown. To acquire the site, the redevelopment authority would have to condemn 1,400 homes, 150 businesses, and 16 churches, evicting 4,200 people and destroying the neighborhood in the process. Once the property was taken, it would be turned over to GM. Is it a valid public use to condemn property and then give it to a private owner? The Michigan court held that it is. The purpose in taking the land was not to alleviate the economic distress in Detroit by providing jobs for the workers at the new GM plant. Even though the only way to accomplish this was to give the land to a private owner, it was within the authority of the government to determine that it was in the public interest to do so." -From, "Law 101" By: Jay M. Feinman

[SIDEBAR: Bait and switch, much?]

Quote Of The Day

"Most people search high and wide for the keys to success. If they only knew, the key to their dreams lies within." -George Washington Carver

Definitions Better Than Webster's: Part 17

ATONEMENT:
According to The Final Call website, "During Minister Farrakhan’s Address at The Million Man March, he outlined Eight Principle Steps in the Atonement Process. Simply stated, they are as follows:
1. Point out the wrong.
2. Acknowledge the wrong.
3. Confess the Fault.
4. Repent.
5. Atone.
6. Forgive.
7. Reconcile and Restore.
8. Perfect Union with God.

When these Eight Principle Steps are put into practice, it will bring about a Healing on our Planet and open up the Way to a Culture of World Peace based on genuine love and Forgiveness."

Four New Planets Discovered

Scientists have allegedly discovered four new planets that are outside of our solar system, trillions of miles away. According to The Dallas Morning News, "None of the four giant gaseous planets are remotely habitable, or like Earth. But they raise the possibility of others more hospitable."

CNN states that, "According to the the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia, there have been 322 planets found outside our solar system. The latest findings bring that total to 326."

The Dallas Morning News also reveals that despite the photographic evidence of the recent discovery (See Picture Above), some scientists are skeptical that the formations are in fact planets. "Alan Boss, an exoplanet expert at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, and Harvard exoplanet hunter Lisa Kaltenegger both said more study is needed to confirm these photos are proven planets and not just brown dwarf stars."

[SIDEBAR: See what I mean about this supposed "recession." [CLICK HERE for my recession theory- if you haven't read it already]. Would a country in deep financial debt have the budget to be noising around in outer space?]

The March On Washington: Take One

"As the months passed and war became imminent, Blacks were forced to decide between patriotism amd expressing their continued anger by refusing to fight. Oddly enough, war offerred them one new oppoirtunity: employment. Still, Blacks looking tothe federalgovernment for sustenance found little. Despite valiant efforts by New York senator Robert Wagner, there was still no law prohibiting lynching. Anti-lynching bills invariably made it out of the House, only to be stmied in the Senate by powerful southerners. Fearing a southern blacklash, Roosevelt did not put the weight of his office behind the legislation. The president also disappointed many by refusing to sign legislation creating the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC).

A. Philip Randolph devised a plan to focus Washington's attention on the plight of American Blacks. Billed as the Negro-March-on-Washington, it showed the union leader at his greatest. Randolph and others, including [Adam Clayton] Powell, imagined that the march would finally prove to Washington that while the Black vote might be in contention, Black dignity and pride were not: Blacks would fight, but first they would demand equality when seeking employment. There were those who thought the Negro-March-on-Washington was ill-timed and dangerous; while Randolph took his cue from support he received around the country, from crowds that greeted him from Georgia to Michigan, Washington insiders were aghast at the idea. Mayor La Guardia, dispatched by the administration to plead with Randolph, warned that Blacks would be killed marching through the capital. Both Roosevelt and La Guardia were pushed into positions contradicting their liberal beliefs. Randolph persisted in his resoluteness, and in the end Roosevelt gave in, creating the FEPC and enabling Randolph to cancel the planned march." -From: "King Of The Cats: The Life and Times of Adam Clayton Powell Jr." By: Wil Haygood

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words Pic Of The Week

Today's Fly Or Die Commerce Report: Municipal Bonds

According to CNN's Money Report, "Municipal bonds, or 'munis,' are one of America's favorite tax shelters. They are issued by state and local governments and agencies, usually in denominations of $5,000 and up, and mature in one to 30 or 40 years. Interest is exempt from federal taxes and, if you live in the state issuing the bond, state and possibly local taxes as well. (Note that there are exceptions). The capital gain you may make if you sell a bond for more than it cost you to buy it is just as taxable as any other gain; the tax-exemption applies only to your bond's interest."

Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law

According to the U.S. Government's archives website, "The Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978, 44 U.S.C. ß2201-2207, governs the official records of Presidents and Vice Presidents created or received after January 20, 1981. The PRA changed the legal ownership of the official records of the President from private to public, and established a new statutory structure under which Presidents must manage their records.

Specifically, the Presidential Records Act:
-Defines and states public ownership of the records; Places the responsibility for the custody and management of incumbent Presidential records with the President.
-Allows the incumbent President to dispose of records that no longer have administrative, historical, informational, or evidentiary value, once he has obtained the views of the Archivist of the United States on the proposed disposal.
-Requires that the President and his staff take all practical steps to file personal records separately from Presidential records.
-Establishes a process for restriction and public access to these records.

Specifically, the PRA allows for public access to Presidential records through the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) beginning five years after the end of the Administration, but allows the President to invoke as many as six specific restrictions to public access for up to twelve years.

The PRA also establishes procedures for Congress, courts, and subsequent Administrations to obtain special access to records that remain closed to the public, following a thirty-day notice period to the former and current Presidents, and requires that Vice-Presidential records are to be treated in the same way as Presidential records."

In 2001, following a precedent set by Ronald Reagan, President George W. Bush issued an executive order that narrowed the above stated parameters of the Presidential Records Act.

Quote Of The Day

"Do not allow yourselves to be deceived: Great minds are skeptical...There is nothing more necessary than truth, and in comparison with it everything else has only secondary value." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Will Federal Charges Be Brought Against The Police Officers Who Were Involved In The Sean Bell Slaying?

According to the New York Daily News, Sean Bell's family will be meeting with federal prosecutors tomorrow.

Reportedly, Sean Bell's parents and fiance will have a sit down with U.S. Attorney office representatives to see if civil rights charges will be filed against the police officers who murdered an unarmed Sean Bell in a hail of 50 bullets.

The police officers were already acquitted of criminal charges in state court. The New York Daily News has also stated that inside sources have said that the Justice Department is unlikely to bring federal charges. If this is so, then tomorrow's meeting will be just a case of the Justice Department going through the motions so they can say that they covered all of their bases.

Today's Fly Or Die Commerce Report: Stocks vs Bonds

According to The U.S. Economy website: "Stocks are a share of the ownership of a company. Initially, they are sold by the original owners of a company to gain additional funds to help the company grow. The owners basically sell control of the company to the stockholders...If the company does well, or even if everyone thinks the company is going to do well, the price of the stock goes up. This is how stockholders make a return on their investment. Conversely, if the company does poorly, then the shares decrease in value, and the stockholders lose their investment. In addition, many companies give a little dividend payment each year to the stockholders, providing extra income."

According to Investor Words, a bond is: "A debt instrument issued for a period of more than one year with the purpose of raising capital by borrowing. Generally, a bond is a promise to repay the principal along with interest on a specified date. Some bonds do not pay interest, but all bonds require a repayment of principal. When an investor buys a bond, he/she becomes a creditor of the issuer. However, the buyer does not gain any kind of ownership rights to the issuer. On the hand, a bond holder has a greater claim on an issuer's income than a shareholder in the case of financial distress."

The Legal Eagles Legal Brief: The Case Of An Inmate's Right To Refuse Medical Treatment

“The 1979 case of Commissioner Of Corrections v. Myers concerns an inmate’s attempt to refuse dialysis, consistent with the well-settled right of capacitated adults to refuse unwanted treatment, even if that refusal hastens the patient’s death. In overruling the prisoner’s refusal of treatment, the court noted that the interests of the state, as represented by the department of corrections, included ‘the preservation of internal order and discipline, and maintenance of institutional security, and the rehabilitation of prisoners.’ These interests, the court held, permitted corrections officials to administer life-saving treatment without consent and over specific objection of the inmate. This case and others have consistently placed the requirements of corrections administration over the rights of inmates to consent to or refuse treatment.” -From, “Prisoners Should Receive Humane End-Of-Life Care” By: Nancy Dubler

Elsie Law's Daily Dose Of The Law

"QUESTION: How do police officers obtain search warrants?

ANSWER: Police officers obtain warrants by providing a judge or magistrate with information that the officers have gathered. Usually, the police provide the information in the form of written statements under oath, called affidavits, which report either their own observations or those of private citizens or police undercover informants. In many areas, a judicial officer is available 24 hours a day to issue warrants. If the magistrate believes that an affidavit establishes 'probable cause' to conduct a search, he or she will issue a warrant. The suspect, who may be connected with the place to be searched, is not present when the warrant issues and therefore cannot contest the issue of probable cause before the magistrate signs the warrant with a pretrial motion." -From, "The Criminal Law Handbook" By: Bergman & Barrett