Over at Salon, Glenn Greenwald has written a great article over the state of the election process in America entitled Progressives and the Ron Paul fallacies. He brilliantly makes many important points concerning how shallow the American elections have become, the role of the media in perpetuating this nonsense and how there has been an effort to marginalize Ron Paul’s candidacy despite the great value it adds to the debate on how America should be handling several important issues such as foreign policy, race relations, the economy, out-of-control government spending, etc. His opening shot:
…America’s election season degrades mainstream political discourse even beyond its usual lowly state. The worst attributes of our political culture — obsession with trivialities, the dominance of horserace “reporting”, and mindless partisan loyalties — become more pronounced than ever. Meanwhile, the actually consequential acts of the U.S. Government and the permanent power factions that control it — covert endless wars, consolidation of unchecked power, the rapid growth of the Surveillance State and the secrecy regime, massive inequalities in the legal system, continuous transfers of wealth from the disappearing middle class to large corporate conglomerates — drone on with even less attention paid than usual.
He further says:
Then there’s the inability and/or refusal to recognize that a political discussion might exist independent of the Red v. Blue Cage Match. Thus, any critique of the President’s exercise of vast power (an adversarial check on which our political system depends) immediately prompts bafflement….
He then makes these brilliant observations:
Whatever else one wants to say, it is indisputably true that Ron Paul is the only political figure with any sort of a national platform — certainly the only major presidential candidate in either party — who advocates policy views on issues that liberals and progressives have long flamboyantly claimed are both compelling and crucial. The converse is equally true: the candidate supported by liberals and progressives and for whom most will vote — Barack Obama — advocates views on these issues (indeed, has taken action on these issues) that liberals and progressives have long claimed to find repellent, even evil.
After listing several videos of Ron Paul discussing some critical issues, he then says:
Can anyone deny that (a) those views desperately need to be heard and (b) they are not advocated or even supported by the Democratic Party and President Obama? There are, as I indicated, all sorts of legitimate reasons for progressives to oppose Ron Paul’s candidacy on the whole. But if your only posture in the 2012 election is to demand lockstep marching behind Barack Obama and unqualified scorn for every other single candidate, then you are contributing to the continuation of these policies that liberalism has long claimed to detest, and bolstering the exclusion of these questions from mainstream debate.
Read the full article HERE.
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One of the main misconceptions about glass is that it is
rather dull with practically no privacy. With all the new advances in technology- that is simply just not the case anymore.
Over the years, glass manufacturers have come
up with various types of glass like double glazed windows and patterned glass.
You can use glass doors for your bathroom, patio and
other places at your house to give your home an ultramodern or elegant look and feel.
So you do not have to worry about the glass being dull or plain. Purchasing glass that has etched designs of
nature like flowers and trees or any other
categories based on your personal taste is possible nowadays.
So finding the right kind of glass to blend with other furnishings in a particular room is
indeed possible. There is no shortage of choices in terms of
glass design.
Another benefit of glass is in terms of insulation. Glass
is not a good conductor of heat. During our
hot summer season, with all the advances in energy efficiency with glass, glass will
not absorb heat, making the room hotter. During a winter or autumn period, glass will
not cause much heat loss.
So you and your family might enjoy a more cooling effect during summer and
a warmer effect during winter or autumn. You also save money in terms of
utility bills. Since there is less heat loss, you
can turn down the heating system to a lower temperature,
which results in less energy consumption. During summer, there would not be any necessity to lower the temperature.
Another benefit of using glass doors and windows is that it just makes your home brighter and more cheerful
feeling. With our famous sunny days, there might be no necessity to switch on lights to light
up a particular place since there is sufficient natural light.
There are many types of tiles available nowadays. The method of tile cleaning will
depend more on the tile type. However there are couple of things to
be followed to add the sheen and glow of the tiles.
Do the regular floor cleaning
Clean the spills as soon as they occur
It is very crucial to clean dirt and water too
as soon as they are split to prevent the stains.
Place a doormat which helps in reduction of mud or dirt entering through footsteps.
There are basically following tile floors where in one will use the tile and
grout cleaning process, types of tiles are as follow –
Ceramic
Porcelain
Stone
Porcelain Tile cleaning
Porcelain tiles maintenance is not difficult if the surface is cleaned regularly.
The surface can be vacuum cleaned every day or just sweep it.
The wet mopping is required once in a week. Use of mild floor cleaners will do for the
mopping. One can make it at home by mixing vinegar and water.
Ceramic Tile Cleaning
The rule is followed here as well; remove the dirt as soon as possible.
Vacuum clean the tiles every day or a simple broom can be used.
Plain water or the special ceramic tile cleaners can be used for the wet mopping.
Stone Tile Cleaning
One need to be careful while cleaning the tiles made of
stones as they are natural minerals. Never use harsh
floor cleaners. Sweep or vacuum clean. After using any floor cleaner use a dry mop to soak any type of liquid residue.
Grout Cleaning
Along with the tile cleaning it is very important to
regularly clean the grout, i.e. the lines between the tiles.
Hence tile and grout cleaning goes simultaneously.
Grout is porous in nature and attracts dirt, grease etc.
The surface looks shabby if the grout is
unclean. It can also be a cause of mildew or mould in the damp areas like bathrooms.
It is best to have a seal (colour or clear) on the grout which will not only protect the surface but
also acts as an anti-fungal agent.
Many a times it gets difficult to maintain the floor due to
hectic working schedules. Hence we come in picture
and provide the tile and grout cleaning services to our
clients at a very affordable price. Moreover the price depends on the type of the tiles, number of tiles and size of the tiles to
be cleaned.
Following steps are followed for the tile and grout cleaning after you contact us-
Pre inspection of the tiles and floor.
Shifting of the furniture, if any, from that
space.
Dry Sweeping of the surface
Application of the suitable cleaning solution.
Cleaning the surface with a soft pad.
High pressure cleaning
Mopping and drying the surface.
We have our experts who carry special tools to do the tile and grout
cleaning; the grout sealing is also done if ordered.
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Has your garage door begun to act up and you are worried that
a mere garage door repair job is not going to be enough?
Well, the good news is, you do not have to completely
replace your garage door openers. All you have to do is
to perform a few garage door repairs that are going to take care of your problem.
You can perform a few repairs without the help of any professional.
However, some repairs are more complicated and should not be attempted by the nonprofessional.
If you do so, you might end up injuring yourself. Plus, you
might also cause more damage to the garage gate than repair!
Why do you need the repair?
First, you should note what problems you are facing with your
garage gate. Is the door simply not responding?
Or is it closing and opening partially? Do you find that
the garage opener is running, but not opening?
You will find that the repair work for each of these cases is different.
What work does garage gate repair involve?
Light repair works usually involve cleaning, lubricating and tightening the
tracks, springs and the loose parts of the system.
You should first check if the power supply to the opener is intact.
Sometimes, if the power is not reaching the opener for some reason, your garage door will
be stuck, and you will be left wondering what went wrong!
What kind of garage opener do you have?
When you are planning to perform some garage door repair, you should
first find out what kind of opener you are using. If it is a standard extension garage gate, you can easily
carry out the repair works, once you are able to find out what is going wrong with the machine.
However, if your garage door is making use of a torsion spring,
you will have to call in a professional to help you with the repair works.
The torsion spring door is under tremendous pressure,
and thus, one wrong move may even turn out to be fatal for you.
Other garage door repair works
If you are looking for a temporary fix for your garage gate,
you can disconnect the opener from the door, by pulling on the red
string that you can see on the side of the door. This way
you can operate the door manually. However, be careful, because if the problem
lies in the spring of the door, it might fall
suddenly on you.
Check all the loose hardware to make sure that nothing is out of place.
Also check the springs and see if they are hooked
on to the right place. If, while carrying out the garage door repair
you face any difficulty due to the tension in the springs,
try to adjust them by hooking them to the next notch.
This will make it easier for you to work.
Finally, never forget that the best way to keep your garage door in good condition is by regularly carrying out maintenance work on your door.
This will ensure that you do not have to spend buckets
on repair and replacement works.
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Your automobile isn’t just a vehicle for taking you from point A to
point B; it is a major part of your life. When you bought your first car you promised it by name to take good care of
it and love it forever, but things happen and life goes on. Maybe there is a new car in your life, or maybe you still have
the old jalopy you first fell in love with, and you want to take
better care of it. You already give your car the best oil and fuel to take care
of the engine in top condition, but what do you do to keep the auto body in good upkeep?
When people think of a car body, they think it completely cosmetic, and
so a lot will ignore it other than a wash and maybe a wax if they
feel flashy. Auto body shops do much more for a car than cosmetic
treatment. Other than the usual paintjob you can get from an auto body shop,
they also do repair work on scuffs, scratches, dings, dents,
and even replacing bumpers and mirrors. Fixing your bumpers and mirrors at an auto body shop makes sense; you need those to drive safely so they are not considered vanity, but
what about scuffs, dings, and dents? Depending
on the position of the dents, they can actually reduce highway gas mileage, and a car that’s owner looks like they don’t care about it, then others won’t care
about it like if they hit it in a parking lot with their car door,
since what is one more scuff?
A good auto body shop will make sure that the repairs done to the body of your vehicle will make it look like it did when it came from the factory.
Don’t settle for an auto body shop that will try
and force unneeded treatments on you so they can make more money, and they can even go as far
to try and scare you into using them, citing car insurance requirements and the like.
Chose a reputable, honest auto body shop, that will treat you fairly, and never push you
to add any unnecessary repairs that you don’t need and don’t want;
we believe you as a consumer have the fundamental right to spend
your money where you want.
If your car or vehicle is in bad appearance, it can affect the integrity
and safety of the car, not just how good it looks. When you realize you need to go to
an auto body shop to fix your car’s body, don’t go with just any store, and choose a reputable
repair shop that has a reputation for fair and honest dealings.
LinkedIn has a great feature that connects with your existing
email accounts and allows you to invite anyone you have interacted with to your network.
This means that you might reach people you interacted with once or
twice, or people that you haven’t spoken with in a while.
This is a powerful tool, but are you using it effectively in your marketing?
LinkedIn as a Data Collector
Look at all the ways you can collect data from people.
The easiest metric to track for most is their email addresses,
so ask people and promote their use. Create mailers or offer contests via email registration. Remember,
each email you collect is another potential LinkedIn profile
waiting to be connected to. Also, you might convince someone to join LinkedIn when they receive an invite from you, which means more customers to interact with.
Easy Ways to Connect on LinkedIn
So, what are some easy ways to connect with users and
get them to want to network with you? Many companies have started suing LinkedIn as a corporate blog to promote
brand awareness. These blogs might not even have anything to
do with the products being sold, but they might tie in with corporate culture or offer up some helpful
knowledge or technique. This is called generating substance, and if you want people to see a value in your postings, you need to provide that substance, otherwise they simply won’t care.
The nice thing about this is you don’t have to be a
multi-faceted business guru to provide content. Maybe you promote an interesting
link of the day, or maybe you repost a news story
about something company-related (please give credit if you do
this.). It could even be a humorous blurb or story, or even a business-appropriate joke to keep your network’s attention.
The only constant is that the postings stay constant.
If you start it, then maintain it to help build that brand awareness.
Remember, people won’t actively look for you if they don’t know you exist.
One great way that some companies have started building a loyalty
network is through promoting their employees. Some companies will offer a spotlight on their
employees, showing off the projects they have done or discussing their high points.
This not only helps to ensure your employees feel valued, but it
also helps to paint your company as more human, which is something you want when trying to get people to connect with you.
Pitfalls and Things to Avoid With LinkedIn
Most of what has been discussed here has been the positives of
using LinkedIn for your promotions, but there are some pitfalls you may want to avoid.
Again, not all marketing works for all niches and some can be turned off
more easily than others.
For starters, when advertising with a graphic, consider the
context that your audience will view it in. LinkedIn is business to business networking.
Is your picture one that would be considered safe for a business networking platform?
Yes, attractive, nearly-naked people tend to get clicks, but are those the kind
of ads people at major corporations are going to be
more than likely be turned off due to lack of professionalism?
Consider your content in your pictures before
posting and make sure your graphics are a good match to your audience and marketing message.
Second, watch your language. While on the surface, this could be taken as do not swear, on a deeper
level, you have to consider what a company will filter
for and what they will allow. Some words tend to trigger web filters
pretty easily, so be careful about your verbiage. Also, look at the message your words send.
Are you trying to be edgy, dynamic, endearing? Do your words properly convey the message you want
people to see? Sometimes people get so wrapped up in sending out
a strong message that they fail to consider if it is the right one.
Third, don’t verbally tie yourself to a region or company if you can help it.
While you may want to highlight a company on a landing page or maybe you are geared towards a certain region of the world, you don’t want to
inadvertently exclude potential customers because they think your ads don’t immediately apply to them.
Remember, you can focus your ads in terms of companies and locations ahead of time,
so listing out that info in the actual ad might prove redundant.
Fourth, don’t slack on your content. It can be easy
to start with a big push, but the number one
thing that kills an audience’s interest is inconsistency.
Don’t slouch on your posts. Make sure you dedicate a
certain period of time each day to providing some form of content.
If you can’t or think you might have problems with this, hire someone to do it for you or spend a day or two generating multiple posts so that you can just plug and play.
However you do it, just be sure to keep doing it. You are setting an expectation of service
as accompany when you post, and to do so inconsistently will send a bad
message abour what your company considers professional.
Fifth, be careful on rebranding. Some smaller companies take the philosophy of experimentation a bit
too far and keep trying to reinvent themselves every month or quarter, but the truth of it is that many companies form bonds over the long term with
clients, and just because you announce a name change or a new logo, that doesn’t mean that your clientele is paying attention. To build your brand, you need consistency, so stick to a logo or name and
try to avoid being so edgy that you can’t make up your
mind about your name. Remember, you’re a business, not a rock
star.
LinkedIn Final Thoughts
LinkedIn is a wonderful tool for reaching people in the business world.
my blog: lead generation for network marketing