Saturday, November 29, 2008

One life to live


My heart goes out to those affected by the terror attacks in Mumbai, India. Terrorism of any sort is a sheer display of pure cowardice by extremists trying to further their claims, without regard to the rights of innocent people. Control at gun point is certainly not the quality of a leader, but that of a coward, who is fully aware of it; so they must hide behind a religion or some other agenda that would help give them a little bit of legitimacy in the eyes of like minded extremists. I believe they fully realize the damage caused to their religion, stirring suspicion and hatred of one neighbor against the other. Yet, they continue to sling mud at their own, just so that the moderate becomes agitated as the world looks to them with suspicion and hatred, thus creating a negative feedback loop that turns the moderate into extremists. As Deepak Chopra mentioned in the CNN interview, this is not an India's problem, America's problem or Europe's problem; it is our problem, plain and simple.

The best message we can send to terrorists is that we, the people of all faiths, stand united against the fear mongers; that we condemn their actions regardless of our differences. Not doing so only an encourages the terrorists in their attempt to further divide us. Despite our differences, we all have to work on making peace with one another. Religion divides us because for one reason or another, we tend to believe that our way is the only right way; instead, we must learn to respect the beliefs of others. We fail to realize that all our bickering and ideologies of after life is nothing but speculation, until we face the moment of truth; which is the moment of death. So, at least while we are alive on this earth, we should try to be a little nicer to each other. Who knows what and where the lottery ticket we hold in our hand gets us to in the life after, if there is any.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Thanksgiving treat


Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced that they will be halting foreclosures from November 26, 2008 until January 9, 2009. The six week suspension of foreclosures will allow those facing foreclosure to retain their homes while Fannie and Freddie work on unveiling a streamlined loan modification program to be unveiled on the 15th of December. For more details, please read the announcements from their respective web sites mentioned above.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and it is a time for families and friends to come together to share in the fun and festive times. Atlanta has many new in towners and if you happen to be one of them, and wandering what to do for the Thanksgiving in a new city with no friends or relatives, you are just in luck. A group of nice and friendly people are getting together to host a Thanksgiving Weekend International Dinner to meet new friends and make each other feel a little more connected. The Atlanta New In Town Meetup Group hosts meetings with different themes several times a month and is an excellent way to make new friends and adapt to the new city.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Runoff Elections

Gwinnett County General Runoff Election will be held on the 2nd of December, 2008, between the hours of 7:00 am and 7:00 pm. For those that would like to take advantage of early voting, you may do so from the 17th of November to the 26th of November. According to the Gwinnett county web site, Georgia voters no longer need a reason for voting prior to election day.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Sweet Home not so sweet

Just read this amazing story about a woman in Sweet Home, Oregon, who lost $400K to a "Nigerian scam". Going against everyone's advice, she had been adamantly pursuing a get rich quick scheme to get her share of $26.6 million in exchange for helping a long-lost relative. The con artists had her believing FBI Director "Robert Muller" and President Bush were in on the deal as well!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Help to ease foreclosure pain

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac unveiled a plan to help struggling home owners reduce their payments in an attempt to reduce rising foreclosures. Separately, Citigroup plans to expand its Citi Homeownership Assistance Program to help troubled home owners keep their homes. Read my previous article about Foreclosure Prevention for more information about what other help is available.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Congratulations President-Elect Barak Obama and Vice President-Elect Joe Biden!

Let me join in with millions of Americans in congratulating you on becoming the 44th president of the USA. People of diverse backgounds, despite obvious differences in race, color, creed, age groups, and beliefs, came together to vote for you with one voice, for the hope of a better tomorrow. Your victory is an inspiration to all, and living proof that the American Dream is well and alive. There is HOPE for tomorrow!
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

You have given hope to the hopless, and has delivered on the promise of the day that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr spoke of in his famous "I have a dream" speach. Thank you for showing me, and billions of people around the world, that when you stand for what is just and right, it transcends above all petty human differences. Congatulations on your presidency and achieveing the highest accomplishments, coming from the humblest beginings.

Monday, November 3, 2008

The Last Chance


Here is the story of a Real American, who unlike Joe the Plumber, faught the war in Iraq when asked, without question, and kept a blog of his life story. This is the Real American that we should be talking about, not a Joe Blow the Plumber! Continuing on the Bush's footsteps, here is the story of students being escorted from a McCain campaign event to the tune of Minority Report, a 2002 movie about arresting people before a crime is commited.

Tomorrow, Nov 4th, 2008, aka the Election Day, we have a very important choice to make; do we continue along the path of failure by handing the torch to the same Republican party that has brought us so much grief or do we try to correct the ship by voting for change... change that we so desperately need now, as we witness the down fall of this great country.  This is the day to let our voice be heard. Let us vote for the right reasons, not for the promise of virtual dollar bills that are being promised to be stuffed into our pockets. Let us vote for the promise of a better future and for a better America.