A Primer on the Equal Pay Act

Gender discrimination has taken many forms and includes wage rates which have been addressed separately from discrimination under Title VII. Under federal and state law the practice is unlawful. The pay rate must be the same for both genders with some exceptions.

The Federal Equal Pay Act specifically states that no employer having employees subject to any provisions of 29 USC § 206(d) shall discriminate, within any establishment in which such employees are employed, between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees in such establishment at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex in such establishment for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions, except where such payment is made pursuant to (i) a seniority system; (ii) a merit system; (iii) a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or (iv) a differential based on any other factor other than sex: Provided, That an employer who is paying a wage rate differential in violation of this subsection shall not, in order to comply with the provisions of this subsection, reduce the wage rate of any employee.

Meaning that unless there is some sort of seniority system, or pay is based on merit, or pay is based on the quantity or quality of the production, or pay is based on something other than the person's gender, the pay rate has to be the same for both genders. By other the courts have interpreted to mean that the basis for paying a different rate for men and women is a legitimate neutral factor adopted for reasons other than paying men and women different rates.

The equal pay act also prohibits labor organizations, their agents, representing employees of an employer from discriminating an employee in violation of the equal pay act. If there is discrimination then the wages owed are treated as if the employer had failed to pay minimum wage or overtime pay. Which subjects the employer to liability for wages due, penalties, and attorney fees and costs.

Unlike a sexual discrimination case, in these types of cases the employee is not required to prove intent on the part of the employer. If men and women do the same job and have substantially the same amount of skill and experience, then the pay rate must be the same. Employers are allowed to pay different rates for different shifts, if women happen to dominate one shift and men the other, then it is permissible, as long as the night shift is the higher paid shift and it is clearly not the intent of the employer to discriminate.

Employers are not permitted to require greater contributions to pension plans from women, even though women are the gender with the higher life expectancy. The going market rate is not an excuse and not permitted as means to pay men more than women.

The California Equal Pay Act is substantially the same as the federal act and covers all employers, regardless of size. A claimant is required to file suit within two years or if the act was willful within three years. The claimant is entitled to back pay, an equal amount in liquidated damages, interest, costs, and attorney fees. The courts have rejected comparable worth claims under the Equal Pay Act where the employee seeks equal pay for dissimilar jobs on the theory of comparable worth for the respective jobs.

Some organizations have resisted paying men and women equally on the grounds that men have families to support, this argument has been rejected by the courts and the courts don't look favorably to such defenses to gender based pay discrimination.

Getting a Permit For Your Garage Sale

Just like any business venture, contrary to what many think, you must have a permit to conduct business via a garage sale in most cities and states. You do not want to be shut down after all your hard work organizing and pricing your items. A little preparedness will save you a lot of trouble down the road in case you would encounter problems.

If you live in a subdivision you may also want to check that hosting a garage sale is even allowed. Not only will you be required to get state and/or local approval, but getting approval from your home owner's association would be required as well. If you do not live in a subdivision, be sure to get a permit from your state and local governments. Be sure to check on other requirements that your subdivision, state or town may have. Visiting their website or calling should give you the answer you need to continue. Many towns and states have the application on their website for you to download.

Having a garage sale will require that you adhere to the rules and regulations set forth by your governing body. Many are very particular about certain aspects of the sale, such as posting signs and when the sale can be conducted. Many states and townships will not allow you sell new items. Be sure to ask all these questions before you apply for the permit. Be sure to check with your home owner's association about their particular rules. Many will not allow them at all, or will only allow a group garage sale at certain times of the year. If this is the case, maybe you could be the one to coordinate it. These many rules have been put into place to protect owners and city residents from the often noisy garage sales. You do not want neighbors complaining to your city board, keeping you from getting a license the next time.

Be sure to let them know when you are having the sale and stick to the plan. Be sure to have a backup plan if the weather gets bad. Be aware of your governing bodies rules and regulations regarding this.

If this all seems to be a lot of trouble, you could always pack up and sell your wares at the flea market. Many flea markets will allow you to pull a truck up and sell away. Many people have been successful doing this. They are more lenient on the types of items you can sell, such as new items, and you get the added benefit of having lots of traffic. It usually costs about the same as an ad in your local paper to set up. Checking your local government for the requirements on a business license would be a good idea. It should be relatively easy to get the required license. You will not need to get your subdivisions permission to sell in this manner. You may find it much more appealing to sell from a flea market as opposed to having one in your yard or garage. Local governments and home owner's associations are becoming increasingly picky when it comes to having garage sales. Some people have made it a full time profession and have essentially set up a flea market type deal in their yard, many places frown on this.

Multiple Judgment Creditors

After a judgment is finalized, plaintiffs become judgment creditors. In my job, I see the complications of multiple plaintiffs on judgments. Of course, there are at least two advantages to having multiple plaintiffs:

1) To insure that all judgment creditors get the same chance to recover up to the amount owed them for the judgment. An advantage and disadvantage is that all judgment creditors (or their lawyer) need to agree with, and sign, any documents that might lead to recovering money on the judgment. Generally, no judgment creditors get paid, unless there is a plan to pay all creditors.

2) Suing someone (and later trying to recover the judgment against them) is often expensive. When multiple creditors retain the same attorney, on the same case number, and the same judgment debtor; often the individual plaintiffs save a lot of money, sharing the court and legal expenses.

This article is my opinion, and not legal advice. I am a judgment solution expert, and am not a lawyer. If you ever need any legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer. Some judgments specify what is owed to each plaintiff, for example plaintiff one is owed $80K, and plaintiff two is owed $40K. If the judgment does not specify certain amounts owed to each plaintiff, then it is presumed there is an equal percentage ownership of the judgment by all plaintiffs.

Complications can arise when one or more judgment creditors cannot be found, or do not agree with whatever judgment recovery action the other plaintiff judgment creditor(s) want to attempt. As far as I know, when there is more than one plaintiff on a judgment, all the plaintiffs need to sign judgment-related documents, and sometimes get their signatures notarized. For example, if a judgment recovery attempt is arranged with a collection lawyer or collection agency; or the judgment is assigned to a judgment enforcer, all must sign documents, and all signatures may need to be notarized.

What can you do when one or more of your fellow judgment creditors do not agree with your plan to attempt to sell (always at a sharp discount) or recover the judgment? This might be an impossible situation. You will need to attempt to reason with them, negotiate with them, or bribe them for their cooperation.

What can you do when a judgment creditor was your relative who died, and you are the executor of their estate? Then you can sign documents as their executor, for example (Executor's name), Executor for (dead person's name). It is a good idea to keep copies of their death certificate handy, because one may be required.

What can you do when you cannot locate one or more of the other judgment creditors named in the judgment, and you want an attorney to attempt to recover the judgment? If an attorney is retained and they succeed in recovering some money (to be shared among all plaintiffs); the attorney can retain the non-client's funds, and then attempt to locate the other creditors. Usually, the lawyer cannot be paid, or take their attorney's contingency fee, out of the non-client's share of any recovered funds.

In most states, there is an "unclaimed funds" system set up with the secretary of state. If the other judgment creditors cannot be located, your lawyer may be able to submit the non-client's funds to the secretary of state's unclaimed funds system; and then later attempt to locate the non-client judgment creditors, to let them know the good news.

How To Convert Every Single Visitor To Your Website Into Subscribers

As a website owner, you have to create compelling reasons for your visitors to return. If someone visits your website and simply leaves, there's a big chance that he or she will never come back again, especially if your website is not appealing enough to them. In the end, every one of us have the same behaviour when it comes to browsing the internet. Most of the time we find ourselves easily forgetting where we where 10 web pages ago.

The bottom line here is simply if your website is not capturing your visitor's attention so much as to keep them coming back, they may never return again. Just think of the amount of money your business will lose if 1,000 visitors visit your website, leave and never come back again. What would be the outcome if you were able to convert just a fraction of these visitors into your paid customers?

A lot of internet marketing gurus tell you that unique content will keep your visitors coming back again and again, but sometimes unique content is not the only solution; there's more to it than that. Converting these visitors into subscribers is the real, long-term solution.

By capturing your visitor's information via a simple opt-in form before they leave your website is the best way to convert them into subscribers to your mailing list. You can then follow-up with them via emails, whereby you can get them to take a look at what you have to offer or even recommend other products or services to them.

How do you convert your visitor into your subscriber?

One way to convert your visitor into your subscriber and build your mailing list is by giving away free reports. Everyone loves free stuff, so by giving away free reports you will have a way of collecting information from your visitors. It is practically impossible to convert a reader into a ready buyer, especially the first time around, so by having him or her on your mailing list, you can then follow-up with them on future offers and have a chance at converting them into your paid customers.

Also, by giving away free reports that are filled with links to your products or services, you will be building credibility with your readers and may even convert them into ready buyers through the free report itself. You can also encourage them to give away your report for free as a means of propagating your name, status and links within your report without any hard work on your part, thus giving you more and more exposure. As time passes, you may even get more and more subscribers just because people were willing to give away your free report.

In today's world gold mine is found in customers; and customers can be found everywhere. Anyone who have the money to spend and is readily spending it is your potential customer.

Here are a few good reasons why you should build a paid customers list:

They are ready to pay, They have the money to pay, If they like your product or service for the first time, they'll likely return! Unlike publishing a regular newsletter, your customer un-subscription rate can be significantly lower!

To sum up, you want to build the best mailing list you can ever have by converting as many visitors into subscribers as possible, then converting them into paid customers in order to gain the maximum revenue from your list.

Build and Maintain Websites For Profit

Even with limited knowledge and experience, you can build and maintain websites for profit. Here are just some ways you can do so.

1. Develop Websites for Local Businesses

Approach local business persons and sell them on the necessity and financial benefits of having a professional website. Local advertising may get you started as well, but expect to get a large portion of your business from referrals.

Charge your clients for the initial design and setup of the website. Work with them to develop a theme for their site based on their unique advantages over the competition. Keep the site simple to start with so that the cost of producing it is not prohibitive to the business and you can complete it profitably in a short time.

In this business, you can also make money on the maintenance and ongoing support of the website. Charge recurring monthly fees for such services needed as web hosting, updates and improvements to the site`s content, search engine optimization and submission, increasing traffic, traffic analysis, mailing list production and maintenance, and much more.

You don`t have to be a master Internet programmer to provide needed, additional services. There are many free and low cost sources of scripts and other resources available to you on the Internet. Offer your clients (and charge extra for) flash introductions, animated graphics, syndicated content, traffic counters, submission forms, chat rooms, pop-up windows, autoresponders, and more.

2. Sell Websites on the Internet

Build web stores, search engines, shopping portals, and other websites and sell them on the Internet.

Some develop sites from templates sold by others. Others build websites from scratch. These websites have been sold on the Internet as turnkey businesses through eBay and other websites.

Another option is to take existing free services and resell them. For example, you could take advantage of free web stores available to you on the Internet. Register a suitable domain name, obtain free or low cost web space, and host that free store at your domain on your web space. Promote your website and increase traffic. Finally, sell your website to the highest bidder on eBay. Be sure that either your Reserve Price or Opening Bid is high enough to make it profitable to you. You will need to transfer the domain name to the buyer.

3. Become an Internet Marketer

Build your own unique website based on a niche theme that has a sufficient market. Then tie in your content with appropriate affiliate programs and your own as well as other peoples` products and services.

To increase commissions and sales, you will need to regularly maintain your site by updating content, increasing targeted traffic, adding appropriate products and services, et cetera.

These, then, are just a few ways that you can profit financially from building and maintaining websites.

For further information and resources about making money from building and maintaining websites, please visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/webmstrbus.html

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Exposing Your Expertise

Writing and leveraging articles is my most successful strategy for promoting my Website and my speaking and consulting services. Visitors to your site from targeted articles tend to be higher quality leads than those from search engines, and potential buyers like to see that you're published in many credible outlets.

Here are my recommendations to implement this strategy:

1. Write the article This may sound self-evident, but a couple of pointers:

Keep it short, and make the language simple, especially if you're targeting online outlets. People don't read word for word on the Web - rather, they'll scan the screen. Complex sentences and dense copy will lose readers fast.

Develop a template that can be easily customized for different target markets. My "Top Seven Ways to Tune Up your Website" has been parlayed into versions for over a dozen different industries. The essential points remain the same, and customizing simply involves adding specific examples.

2. Put it on your Website One of the key goals of your Website should be to showcase your expertise. Content (combined with testimonials and success stories) is the best way to achieve this.

When adding articles to your site:

Include a clear reprint policy. This should state whether you allow articles to be reprinted, and if so, under what terms (including your byline, copyright, notification of use, etc.)

If you have a large number of articles, provide an index page that divides them into appropriate subject groupings, and gives a two-line description of each.

Create a byline with an enticing hook to get people to visit your Website. Mine refers to my popular free tipsheet "Beyond the Search Engines", which lists 23 alternative ways to promote your site. This is far more powerful than a bland statement such as "Philippa Gamse is an internationally recognized..."

3. Research and offer it to appropriate venues It's critical to be very clear about your target audience, and how to reach them. Who are the economic buyers and decision makers that you'd like to be in front of, and what do they read? Do those sites or publications accept outside articles, and if so, what are their policies around doing so?

4. Follow up links and references It's extremely important to measure the success of these efforts, both in terms of the traffic to your site, and its quality.

Check the "referring URL" section in your traffic reports, and follow links to you from any site that you don't recognize. Often, site owners won't inform you when they've used your material. So you want to ensure that you have been properly attributed. But also, thank the site owner. I recently sent a note to a university professor who had added some of my articles to his course reading list. His response? "I really like your ideas, and by the way, we're looking for a speaker for our upcoming conference..."

The Proof of the Pudding... Does all this work? Absolutely. One of my articles was recently highlighted as the "Cool Site of the Week" in Tekguide.net - an online technology and computer directory. But the page that it linked to was not mine, but PowerHomeBiz.com - another site that had featured this article. So I now have sites quoting sites that quote me... and that gets major brownie points in Google - the only remaining credible free search engine.

I was also recently hired to consult for a site in the auto industry after the owner had read my article in eDealershipnews.com. He said "I liked the article, I can see how you think, and I'd like some of that thinking for me". No further selling required!

Is Sandra Bullock Promiscuous?

Sandra has the long face which indicates she is assertive, belligerent, inventive, resourceful, and a leader. She feels fear. Works best independently, and has to learn self-confidence.

Forehead is domed and high. She is creative in her thinking, with intelligence. She had a good childhood and is close to her parents.

Her eyebrows curved, long low and elegant. She is informal with a quick mind and will live a long life. She likes her world to be peaceful and calm. She is a systematic thinker, with a delicate metabolism.

The large brown eyes are emotional and charismatic. The upper lid shows she has a strong need for bonding and intimacy. The lower lid shows she has a strong sexual appetite. Her eyes are pointed on the inside indicating an uneven fortune around mid life. The peacock shaped eyes show her emotions, charm, and jealousy. They are set far apart denoting she is tolerant.

The turned up high nose shows she likes to help, be of service, accepting, gullible. Her work needs to be emotionally satisfying. The closed nostrils shows she takes risks and is independent. She is conservative in her spending. The nose dimple indicates she had difficulty finding her niche in life.

The large mouth shows she is confident and an extrovert. The full lips indicate she is expressive, generous and sensuous. She has a great capacity for love. The lower lip is thicker showing she is a good speaker and persuasive. The mouth doesn't close completely, which is a sign of promiscuity. She has a straight lip line, which shows she is reliable and trustworthy.

The large ears are set back on her head showing she needs to work on her self-confidence. She is receptive and willing to listen.

The left side of the face (personal) appears guarded. The left eye looks stark, almost glazed. The right side (professional) appears more relaxed. The right eye is more open and receptive.

What Evolution Is

The Theory of Evolution began with Charles Darwin and his book, Origin of Species. Interestingly, he did not conclude that evolution began billions of years ago in a chance combination of just the right chemicals. He simply observed that many species were similar enough that they appeared to come from a common ancestor. Despite its "evolution" into what it is today, it has become the default scientific explanation of the origin of life.

To understand evolution, one must understand the difference between the origin of life and the tiny changes that we do see happen and are clearly happening. The origin of life is thought to have taken place billions of years ago when the earth was rather young and was bathed in water and a plethora of simple molecules that included carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, chlorine, etc. In other words, the ingredients of life. It is believed that with the aid of energy from the sun, these chemicals combined in various combinations and every once in a while, or maybe just once, the one in a million chance (so to speak) would cause a combination that could be classified as primitive life giving molecules. Eventually these combined to make more complex molecules until they formed into what would be considered a very simple cell of come sort.

Now of course it is thought that even basic molecules were very uncommon, and the more complex they became the lesser and lesser chance they had of forming, but that the one in a billion billion billion billion, etc. ended up as a cell. Of course this took place over millions of years, it is not supposed to have happened in a short time. However, for some random reason, a tiny fraction, or perhaps even just one of these few primitive cells, through pure chance, happened to have the ability to divide, which it began doing. Soon there were lots of these cells and as they filled the ocean, natural selection began to take effect and most of them died off, but every once in a while, one would have a mutation that allowed it to adapt a little better and therefore reproduce.

It is this natural selection that we see every day. We know for example that wolves were the original ancestors of dogs. This is an example of evolution, just evolution that humans forced. Every once in a while, a wolf was a little tamer than normal and then bred to produce offspring that were also tame. Over many generations, they became what we call dogs today. There are also clear similarities between animals in different places because their environments demanded slightly different survival properties.

These distinctions are important because no one is positing that species can't change over time, but many deny that life could have come from a pool of non-living molecules purely by chance. So when you say that you don't buy into evolution, you don't usually mean that minor attributes of species cannot change over time, you mean that you don't think life originated with a pool of slime. Not understanding the difference can make it seem that you do not know what is evolution.

Ten Great Steps To Avoid Identity Theft And Fraud

Preventing Identity Theft and Fraudulence

When Keeley Hawes read the first scripts for ITV drama series, Identity, some of the plots were strangely familiar. The show centres on a police squad investigating identity theft and fraud - and Keeley already knew the way the victims of this fast-growing crime feel.

"I have been a victim myself, so the stories weren't so much of a shock," says the actress, who is most widely known for Spooks and Ashes to Ashes. "It was simply someone who worked in my house, came and took my credit cards and spent £7,000."

And she's far from the only sufferer. This past year, Experian's Victims of Fraud service saw a 20 per-cent rise in the sheer numbers of people impersonated by criminals to max out their credit, clear accounts or borrow money in their names - or all three. Meanwhile, CIFAS, the UK's fraud prevention service, reported a 22.86 per cent rise in victims of identity theft and fraud in the first quarter of 2010, with almost 27,000 people affected.

These Ten simple steps will prevent The Theft of your Identity:

Keep valuable items and documents, for example credit cards, cheque book, passport and bank statements, safe when you're not using them - preferably under lock and key.

Shred sensitive documents before throwing them out, especially bank and card statements or anything giving account data. Get into the habit of deleting your name and address from routine post too - this way, you won't let anything slip through and will also be preventing identity theft.

Don't give your ID away to cold callers or unsolicited e-mailers - you don't know what they might do with information that is personal.

Check all financial statements carefully, looking for unfamiliar transactions that could indicate ID fraud.

The Home Office recommends checking your credit report regularly. It lists your credit accounts, repayment history and any new applications - if you spot anything suspicious, you can stop trouble before it escalates. It's free to see your Experian credit report with a 30-day trial of CreditExpert.

Always use the privacy settings on social networks and be careful how much you tell your online friends. Anything you might use as a PIN or password, such as an anniversary, family birthday or nickname, must not be public. And remember to update your firewall and virus protection software.

Redirect your post when you move house - intercepting post is an easy way to steal your identity. Report any missing mail immediately to prevent theft of your Identity, in case it has been taken or sent on to another address.

Never share your PINs or passwords and don't write them down in a form that anyone else might see and understand. Don't use the same security details for several accounts, either - it's like giving a crook the key to your finances.

Followup if you're unexpectedly refused credit - a criminal could possibly have ruined your credit rating by running up debts in your name.

Tell the police and any organisation that might be affected if potentially hypersensitive items are stolen - for example, tell your bank if your cheque book has gone missing and contact your card company if your credit card disappears.

Conclusion to Identity Theft and Fraud

In case the ten simple steps are to much for you to do at once then start by following a few steps and then slow increase until you have covered all the steps that you can. Identity theft is no joke and ought to be taken seriously as identity theft can ruin your life until you have proven that it has happened an that you are the victim.

Considering A Life Insurance Policy

If you are considering getting an insurance policy, you should find the best insurance firm with affordable insurance rates. After this, you should get a proper quote that is best suited for your family. This is because the quote will decide how comfortable your family will be, the period after you are gone.

It is important to know the types of insurance that cover your life. They are two main types.

1. Term Life Insurance

This is the type of insurance offers a cover to a person for a specified period until he or she dies. It is also termed as the temporary insurance. This is usually determined by the terms of the insurance. For instance a term can cover the period up to when children have grown up or until when they finish college, or even until your retirement. Once you pay for the policy, you will not have to pay for other things. When the term ends, the policy or contract expires. According to this policy, if you do not claim against the policy during the term, when it ends, you do not get any benefits.

2. Whole Life insurance

This is a permanent insurance that does not expire as long as you continue paying the required premiums. It is also termed as the permanent insurance. It is similar to term life insurance and has an additional investment package. Part of the premiums go to the insurance while the other goes into an account as investment. This account is normally an account that bears interest.

With the above information you should be able to choose your suitable policy. Term life insurance is recommended for the older adults and a family that is young but has huge financial obligations. This is because it has very low premiums that enable you to buy it hence avoid loss of income. In this type of insurance, you have to open your own investment fund to generate income better and sufficiently.

Whole life is normally purchased when people want to fulfill the purposes of estates and tax. You should however, look for a financial advisor to recommend you on life insurance. They will give you the insight needed on the right company to deal with, a company that has affordable life insurance rates, a policy that is suitable for you, a place where you could get best deals in quotes and other services.

How to Enjoy the Benefits of Auto Insurance Coverage

Auto insurance is an agreement between an individual and an insurance agent. Upon signature and payment, the agent provides a specific amount of financial coverage to the individual should they be involved in an accident. Although some people cringe at the thought of this payment month after month, the benefits of car insurance should make you more than happy to protect yourself with the small amount.

Coverage is Mandatory

State auto insurance is required in 48 of the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. There are minimum amounts of coverage mandatory to be carried at all times, with these amounts varying by state. Failure to carry this coverage can result in suspension of driving privileges, increased auto insurance costs and huge fines. In some states the misdemeanor offense is punishable by time in jail.

Minimum insurance amounts cover financial loss related to injuries, property damage and medical payments that result after an accident. Most minimum state auto insurance policies cover these losses only for the other party involved in an accident that you are at fault for, though additional policies can be purchased to provide yourself protection. Uninsured motorists is one of the most recommended (and required in some states) policies, and collision, comprehensive and others are available.

Protecting after an Accident

Benefits of auto insurance begin from day one. Not only does the coverage protect you should you be involved in an accident with another car, it can also protect you from accidents involving other objects. Your policy will look something like this: 25/50/15. This means you will have $25,000 in Bodily injury protection for one person injured, with a cap of $50,000 for all parties involved; and $15,000 in property damage protection. This means that, once your deductible amount sets in, the insurance company will pay up to these amounts for accidents. That is money that you are responsible for and would otherwise be forced to pay out of pocket. An auto insurance policy protects you from financial disaster!

Having state auto insurance not only keeps you out of legal trouble, it ensures that you aren't spending the rest of your life paying for an accident. In addition, auto insurance gives you the confidence to get behind the wheel of your car with peace of mind no matter where you are heading.

The benefits of your auto insurance can be increased with the right company. Many offer discounts that can chop off 30% or more of your costs of insurance premiums. These discounts include safe driver discounts, multi-policy discounts, safe-driver discounts and many others. Ask your agent for these discounts; they may not always offer them to you.

The way you Pay your Policy could Equal more Discounts

Policies can be paid each month, every six months or annually. Your price can be affected by the number of payments that you make, with discount provided when you pay more at once. Before you purchase a policy, comparing is always a step you must take. Comparing is fast and easy to do on the web, instantly giving you the best prices for your coverage. Because auto insurance costs are based upon many factors, the amount you pay will vary from the next person's payment.

As you can see there are far more benefits to state auto insurance than you may have realized to begin with. A few bucks per month and all of these great benefits, and so many more, could all be yours day after day, week after week and month after month. Do not moan the next time you need to choose a policy; instead be grateful you were given the opportunity to protect yourself!

Pausing to Catch My Breath - Book Review

Debra Warren has appropriately titled her book of poetry 'Pausing to Catch My Breath'. The pages depict this mother and grandmother as someone who I would personally love to sit across from at a kitchen table with a huge pot of tea and talk for hours.

Her style implements simple vocabulary with an honest appeal, yet her work is astoundingly moving. This is the kind of poetry that I like to read at a slow pace in order to allow the statements to really sink in. 'I think' is a good example of what I mean. 'Today' challenges readers to see beyond the mundane, by considering what others are experiencing that very moment. 'Its Never Too Late' was a moving piece about many kinds of incarceration. I related with 'Trapped', especially where she wrote, "I am trapped inside a body that betrays". 'Pausing to Catch My Breath' is a particularly beautifully written piece. I hope to retain in memory my favorite line of this poem, "Hearing the music, I dance to my yesterdays". Debra also displays an appealing sense of humor in her work. I loved the imagery of viewing cruel and stupid people as "human speed bumps" along the road of life.

'Pausing to Catch My Breath' most certainly displays Debra's ability to use uncomplicated prose to create deep emotion, intellectual thought and crisp images.

To find out more about this book simply visit the publisher's site, Publish America Inc at http://www.publishamerica.com Readers may order Debra Warren's book (ISBN#:14137767478) through any library, retail bookseller or online bookstore.

How To Get Right With God - At No Cost!

There has to be a catch! It's just too phoney to be true; everyone pays for big deals and you can't get bigger than this one. If that is how you think, this article may help you with a summary of the biblical teaching on justification by faith. I am convinced the subject is bang up-to-date, fresh and relevant. Here are some reasons that I hope shed some light on the issue for you.

1. ARE YOU ACCEPTED?

Most people have a social need to be accepted by their family and friends, peer group or employer, but does this also relate to God? Is a meaningful relationship with God the exotic claim of a few devout souls, or do we all ultimately need to be accepted by God? That's a pretty big question. The good news of biblical Christianity shares a clear solution, which is what I want to share with you.

First, a quick reminder, (as if we needed one) of humanity's problems; the wars, diseases, malnutrition, social disorder, violence, family break-up, grief, depression, anxiety, fear, poverty and crippling debt, to mention a few. Then consider, for instance, the immense effort spent on the almost desperate quest to find life elsewhere in the universe, as if there weren't enough problems with the life we already have!

2. ASTRAY

Something has gone wrong - seriously astray - some of it hideously. It is not progressively evolving to a higher order of development and universal peace. Biological evolution and the inevitability of progress simply do not fit the reality we have. Several of my articles appraise evolution and find it wanting as science, when you first find the theory plausible and then interpret data from your findings within a framework that presupposes the validity of the theory! No, that's not science; that's just going round in circles.

The Christian with an open Bible has a penetrating diagnosis from the highest authority - 'the intention of man's heart is evil' (Genesis 8:21), 'there is no one who does not sin' (2 Chronicles 6:36). But what is sin? It is a missing the mark or standard set by God. Thus 'sin is lawlessness' (1 John 3:4), and is marked by motives, thoughts and actions that are prohibited by God. Again, 'None is righteous, no, not one... in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known' (Romans 3:11 and v17). All these verdicts are bleak and uncompromising, but better to face the worst about our condition. The verdict of the human heart with reference to God's moral standard is; 'all have sinned' (Roman 3:23).

3. PENETRATING VERDICT

Are these statements so ruthless and dismissive of all the good that we have done that we must reject them? Not at all - these are some of the clearest, soberest assessments of the root cause of our human darkness that you will find. Rather than resent them, we should be grateful for their faithful honesty and penetrating insight.

This dark moral failure is heightened against the backdrop of the perfect righteousness of God, whose flawless character is supremely revealed in Jesus the Son of God, in whom 'there is no sin' (1John 3:5).

An immense gulf exists between God and our fallen, sinful humanity. We are ruined, and lie under the just sentence of condemnation for having broken the divine law. This is not a trivial breach, so how on earth can we get right with God? This is a most urgent question. Is there a way for God to reverse that sentence and at the same time, remain just and not expose his own integrity to question?

4. CAN A JUST VERDICT BE OVERTURNED?

His love might yearn to rescue sinners from their terrible plight, but does such love conflict with justice? Justice must consistently condemn if God's moral rule of his universe is not to be compromised, but love must forgive and restore. How does God bring this together? This was a costly remedy, because someone must be both willing and qualified to accept the just condemnation due to sinners. God has settled this matter once, at the cross, in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Only Jesus, God's sinless Son, as the last Adam, the representative head of his new people, is able to get guilty sinners right with God. God's word calls this 'justified by faith' (Romans 5:1), and speaks of it in the past tense, 'since we have been' for those who have accepted this rich provision. This is why the gospel is such extraordinary good news, because here God announces that all who turn and seek God's forgiveness are both forgiven and 'justified by his grace as a gift' (Romans 3:24).

5. YES, IF SOMEONE PAYS FOR YOU

This is where we see Christ's spotless, moral righteousness, as precisely the righteousness we need to get us right with God. But how can his righteousness, justly and legally, be made over to us? There is one way; by being united to Christ by faith alone. This is vital, this is when I trust and rely upon the simple reality that Jesus took my place as my representative and substitute. I see how Jesus lived a truly human life of perfect righteousness. Then I see how he went to the cross and died, bearing the penalty for my sins, as both God and Man, accomplishing a great work of salvation. That is love! Now, I gladly embrace what Jesus has done for others as done for me, and I trust him and him alone.

This is the heart of justification: all our unrighteousness is put to Christ's account, as he dies for other's sins, acting on their behalf, and then to crown it all, his perfect righteousness is imputed or reckoned to the account of all who have faith in him. Justification is instantaneous; it is given by God's grace at the moment of regeneration, of new birth, when, by faith alone, we are raised spiritually and united to Christ. In this position, all who have faith are 'in Christ', and all that he accomplished for them by his representative obedience and sacrificial death, is now also theirs.

6. GREAT TRANSACTION

What a great transaction! He receives and willingly endures what he never deserved, the just judgement of our sins, and we, by faith, receive what we never deserved, Christ's righteousness. We must never confuse justification with sanctification. Some want to mix them together and tell us that justification includes infused righteousness. This undermines that justification is a legal acquittal, a standing, a position, received freely as the gift of God. Whereas sanctification is a process by which, the Holy Spirit effects real inner progressive transformation of our lives - he changes our inner condition, but not our position. But it must never be thought that sanctification makes a contribution to justification. That builds a false gospel of getting right with God based on faith plus good works.

Even the Old Testament foretold that the righteous Branch, the Messiah in the line of David, would be called, 'The Lord is our righteousness' (Jeremiah 33:16). Who provides my perfect righteousness? Christ alone. Through my faith alone in the Lord Jesus I am discharged from a position of guilt before God and freely justified, set right, accepted in Christ, where God declares me in right standing with himself. He also adopts me into his family and gives me the Spirit of his Son, the Spirit of sonship.

This is the heart of the glorious gospel of the grace of God, where the high cost of securing a right standing with God has been borne by the very Son of God. Here is the love of God in action, when on the cross, Jesus paid love's supreme price himself.

If you have always tried to get right with God by good works and being religious, now is the time to abandon that hopeless way and accept God's gracious provision.

Comprehensive Internet List Building 101

List building is the heart and soul of internet marketing. It's a lot harder to get a new customer than to sell to an existing one. You want to be able to contact your leads over and over again to build a relationship. The larger your list the more leverage you have. Starting, growing and maintaining an email list of targeted subscribers is one of the most profitable things you can do to build a successful business online.

When you build a list you are creating an asset that is worth money. You are investing in your future. Invest the majority of your precious marketing dollars and time in converting qualified prospects, not blasting your marketing message to the masses. You want to strive for a quantity of qualified leads. Building an email marketing list is going to be one of the single most important aspects of your online business. The money is in a quality list. Your market must know you, trust you and like you.

Starting, growing, and maintaining an email list of targeted subscribers is one of the most profitable things you can do to build a successful business online. Not every prospect will become a subscriber, and not every subscriber will turn into a loyal customer, but you'll find you're much more successful selling to your list than you are to a group of relative strangers.

When you have your list built you can drive instant traffic at will to sites of choice providing it is in line with what your targeted subscribers want. Any time you want traffic, you have it with just a couple clicks of the mouse without having to pay for it or write boring articles and make endless forum and blog posts.

Invest the majority of your precious marketing dollars and time in converting qualified, target prospects, not blasting your marketing message to the masses. Too many times we waste time on shouting our message to deaf ears. If you take the time to market to people who will actually listen to you that is time well spent.

You want to strive for a Quantity of Qualified leads.

Now it is time to take action and get setting up your own list and begin List Building!

Think credible expert! Always test and track your results. The trick here is to test to find what works best, stop what doesn't work, and improve what works to increase sales. Consistency is the key.

Defend Yourself Against The Cybercrime On Social Networking Sites

The social networking sites have occupied the major hours of the people. These sites keep you well-connected to your family and friends and almost 10 percent of internet time is spent on visiting these sites and blogs. With the increase in the rate of the cyber crime, you need to be aware of the traps that might tamper with your personal and confidential information. Therefore, getting yourself educated about the internet security has become very essential. It allows you to prevents the attacks by the intruders and keep your data safe and secure.

The hackers are highly active holding expertise in breaking into your account and sneaking your secret information. They light also steal your identity and lead to severe dangers. The social networking sites are used worldwide with endless users. So, it becomes easy for them to break into an account that does not possess high security. This article deals with the information regarding numerous ways in which you can participate in your social network without any fear of an attack.

• When you wish to visit your account on a social networking site, always type the address rather than reaching the home page by clicking different unknown links. Clicking different links might be a trick to gain access to your username and password.

• The users are advised to look for a padlock icon while visiting a website. This ensures that the website is encrypted and authenticated.

• The users must take appropriate time in educating themselves about the tricks used by the cyber criminals to breakdown the internet security. The most commonly used method is to spread emails, adware and malware.

• Other things that should be kept in mind include selecting a strong password. The password should be unique and long so that it cannot be guessed easily. Complex passwords can be made using the alphanumeric keys.

• You should try to the knowledge of the security measures provided by the site and the different ways of applying it. Make sure, your personal information is not visible to all. Avoid sharing this information and keep yourself safe.

• You should be conscious while approving the friend requests. Do not just select anyone whom you don't know. You should add only those friends whom you know personally.

Cyber crime has lead to an increased demand of the effective internet security measures. You can also become a victim of the hackers. So, if you are also an active member of a social networking site and spend most of your time on it, you need to be aware of the dangers that might harm you. Applying these simple internet security measures can help you to a great extent in keeping your information safe and secure.