Monday, May 27, 2013

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Source: http://www.today.com/id/7358550/ns/today-entertainment/

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GOP dilemma: draw new voters without irking base

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Republican Party, having lost the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections, confronts a dilemma that's easier to describe than to solve: How can it broaden its appeal to up-for-grabs voters without alienating its conservative base?

There's no consensus yet on how to do it. With the next election three years away, Republicans are tiptoeing around policy changes even as they size up potential candidates who range from tea party heroes to pragmatic governors in Republican- and Democratic-leaning states.

There's a partial road map, but it's more than two decades old, and the other party drafted it. Democrats, sick of losing elections and being tagged as out-of-touch liberals, moved their party toward the center and rallied behind Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton in 1992.

Strategists in both parties say Clinton's achievement, however impressive, may look modest compared to what a Republican leader must do to construct a new winning formula, given the nation's changing demographics.

"Our challenge was to get voters back," said Al From, a chief architect of Clinton's political rise. "Their challenge is harder: get voters to come into a new coalition."

That will be complicated, From said, because the Republicans' conservative base "is more demanding and more important" than the Democrats' liberal base.

An array of Republican campaign veterans agree. They say the party's loyal base of conservative activists ? including evangelical Christians, anti-tax crusaders and anti-abortion advocates ? is too big, ideological and vital to be treated with anything but great care and respect. Republicans will go nowhere if they lose a hard-core conservative every time they pick up a new unaligned voter with a more moderate message.

While they circle that conundrum, Republican leaders hope for a charismatic nominee in the mold of Clinton or Ronald Reagan. They yearn for someone who can appeal to less ideological voters without prompting conservatives to feel their principles are losing primacy.

Several veteran strategists say Republicans should focus less on modifying their ideas than on improving their campaign mechanics and finding nominees with broader personal appeal than Mitt Romney, John McCain and Bob Dole.

"The foundation of the party as a conservative party hasn't been the principal liability, but the principal asset," said GOP campaign strategist Terry Holt.

"Among every voter group there are people who share our values," Holt said. The key to winning, he said, is to perform better at "micro-targeting" and other techniques designed to find and motivate potential voters.

In that area, he said, "the other party is about half a light year ahead of us."

Arizona-based Republican consultant Eddie Mahe said finding a charismatic candidate is more important than tweaking policies. Given Americans' low opinion of politics, he said, "to sell the party as a party is nonsensical."

Instead, Mahe said, Republicans must pick a nominee who appeals "to the non-voters, disinterested voters, the uninformed ? whatever you want to call them ? who are attracted to a personality, someone they feel good about."

The Republican who comes closest to that description, he said, is Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, a tea party favorite. But Mahe said he doubts she could win a general election.

Dan Schnur, a former aide to President George W. Bush who teaches political science at the University of Southern California, said: "Parties don't remake parties. Leaders remake parties."

Schnur agrees that Clinton was a gifted politician, but he also had some help and luck, which Republicans will need, too.

Clinton has acknowledged that Gary Hart began tugging the Democratic Party from its liberal and outdated moorings in 1984 and 1988, even if he eventually fell short of the nominations. And a 1992 candidacy by New York governor and liberal hero Mario Cuomo might have doomed Clinton's lean-to-the-center strategy.

Republicans "need a Gary Hart before they get a Bill Clinton," Schnur said. And they may have trouble narrowing the ideological field in the 2016 primary and beyond, which could force the eventual nominee to embrace hard-right principles that excite GOP activists but turn off independent voters.

A 97-page post-mortem, commissioned by the Republican Party after Romney's loss last fall, said the GOP "is increasingly marginalizing itself, and unless changes are made, it will be increasingly difficult for Republicans to win another presidential election in the near future."

The report emphasized messaging and outreach more than possible changes to policies and proposals. "The party should be proud of its conservative principles," the report said, but it also must be more "welcoming and inclusive" to young voters, minorities and women.

From ? who founded the Democratic Leadership Council, a key proponent of Clinton's 1992 agenda ? says Republicans are on the wrong track. They must be more open to adjusting their policies, he said, if they want to win presidential elections.

In the early 1990s, From said, "people didn't trust Democrats on the economy, national security, crime, welfare." By pushing welfare reductions, community policing and other new ideas, he said, "we tried to systematically eliminate the obstacles. Republicans have got to do the same thing."

Clinton's 1992 team believed "if you get the argument right, people will vote for us," From said. "Republicans don't have the argument right."

Clinton campaign aide Paul Begala said parties that win presidential elections are "always more mainstream and more unified. Right now, the Republicans are neither."

Begala said liberal activists made only modest complaints about Clinton's shift toward the political center because they were sick of losing elections with nominees such as George McGovern, Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis.

He said Republicans might need one more presidential loss to create a similar level of frustration, which can open the way to pragmatism and moderation. Nominating a tea party-leaning "true believer" such as Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas could do the trick, Begala said.

Holt, who has advised numerous GOP campaigns, said Republicans have already learned the lesson. "The most effective remedy for any party is an overdose of defeat," he said. "We've suffered that."

The Republicans' challenge is spelled out in exit polls from President Barack Obama's win over Romney. Nearly two-thirds of Republican voters labeled themselves as conservatives. But fewer than half of all Democratic voters called themselves liberals.

That indicates Democrats are working with a less ideological, more flexible base, giving a nominee leeway to embrace issues that might attract non-aligned voters in the general election.

Republicans, on the other hand, depend on a more ideological base. That's one reason party leaders ? for now, anyway ? talk less of modifying party policies and more of changing mechanics, technology and messaging.

"The brand has suffered," Holt said, "but the values have been very consistent."

___

Associated Press polling director Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

Follow Charles Babington on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cbabington.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gop-dilemma-draw-voters-without-irking-071512481.html

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Gen Journey: Family Tree at FamilySearch

I've been doing what I do best - procrastinating! ?I have been meaning to write a post on FamilySearch's new Family Tree. ?It may sound a little strange, but I have often wondered what is going to happen with all the research I have undertaken over the last 20 years. ?OK, maybe research is too lofty a word to use to describe some of the activities I have done, but, none the less, it was research to me.

Really, have you ever thought of what might happen to your research? ?I do not have family members that find family tree research even remotely interesting. ?My guess is that all of those piles of papers that I worked so hard to collect will probably be in the trash before my body is cold. ?Perhaps the photos will be kept, but how many times have you gone into an antique store or flea market and found family photos and documents for sale?

To hedge my bet, I posted my family tree at Rootsweb and at Ancestry. ?Rootsweb has proven its ability to survive, but I'm not so sure just how long it will be viable. ?Ancestry has the ability to post all kinds of supporting reference material to my tree. ?My question though, is how long will this information be available after my account goes delinquent? ?I could see the delete button erasing any trace of my years and years of hard work. ?Poof! ?Here today, gone tomorrow.

Enter our friends at FamilySearch. ?I think I may now have at least a chance to provide a depository for my research. ?I created my free account and started a family tree. ?

My tree project is serving two purposes. ?I am using this exercise to re-enter my information from scratch. ?It really has been an eye-opener for me. ?All the information I am adding must have a verifiable source attached to it. ?The convenience of linking sources directly from the FamilySearch database with a few simple mouse clicks makes this process easy. ?The eye-opener part is in reviewing the records I am attaching.

I am retracing research I did, in some cases, twenty years ago. ?My skills as a genealogist have improved over the years and things I missed, or connections I could have made, are far more apparent. ?Additionally, I am in no hurry to build my tree. ?I have been slowly combing the records and building solid family groups. ?I have also started using the 'discussion' tab in my family tree to record stories and add personal knowledge for the individuals on my tree.

The second purpose this project is serving is in the area of photographs. ?FamilySearch is allowing each individual account to upload as many as 5,000 photographs. ?I have become the repository of my family's photos and have been worried what will happen to them when I am gone. ?Now I can attach these photos to the family members in my tree. ?The original photographs may eventually be scattered to the winds, but I can rest easy that at least digital copies will be attached to a biographical record of my family.

Has anyone else thought of ways to secure your 'genealogical legacy'? ? ? ?

Source: http://genjourney.blogspot.com/2013/05/family-tree-at-familysearch.html

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Easy Ways To Run A Successful Affiliate Program | Global ...

A strategy that businesses use for growth is affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing strategies benefit companies by allowing them to bring in more potential customers, which results in more profit for the business. For those who have never used affiliate marketing, there are some things to know before applying it to your business. The following article will provide you with information about affiliate marketing.

Don?t get lazy about taking advantage of new programs and trends. Check and see the latest updates of your affiliate programs. There are new ads and tools constantly being added, to increase usability and visual appeals. Even small changes like keeping your site trendy, can have a large effect on your readers.

Investing in a personal organizer is a great tip to use if you want to be a successful affiliate marketer. Even if you?re only using the organization features on your cell phone, you should make a note of your tasks, your schedules, your meetings, and other important information you will need to know about at any given moment.

To increase the success of your affiliate marketing, search for a company with a high ratio of visitors to sales. If the company lacks a decent conversion rate, the effort that you expend directing people to their site will be squandered. Search for companies with a ratio of at least one percent.

A great affiliate marketing tip is to make sure you choose a niche that fits you. Do not choose a niche on a whim. Do some research, and discover the best niche that will suit you and your interests. You have a much better shot at being successful if you pick a niche that you love than if you pick one that you do not.

If you plan on being successful with affiliate marketing, you must select a niche that will generate revenue. When participating in affiliate marketing, you are aiming to make money. Otherwise, you can just create a personal blog about your interests. Therefore, you need to do research to ensure that the niche you pick will be profitable for you.

Lifetime commissions, in affiliate marketing, are now quite rare. Looking for these programs is still worthwhile, however, because the potential payoff is so good. Affiliate programs pay commission to webmasters when products are sold. Usually, the commission is given only if a buyer buys withing a time period after they click on the link. For this reason, it is worth your while to seek out these opportunities.

Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular and effective ways to get results from your online business. These programs generally bring in more traffic compared to other types of marketing programs. The usability of a website and the commission are the most important parts of choosing a affiliate.

Run promotions on your website for prizes on a regular basis. Doing so will build up return visitors to your site. Make sure that your promotions are related in some way to the products you are selling and be sure to promote your product along with your contest.

If you?re affiliate marketing on your blog, respect your readers by only promoting products you believe in. If you don?t do this, you run the risk of alienating the audience you?ve worked so hard to build. Respecting your readers also means they?re more likely to take your suggestions for products to buy seriously, which means more revenue for you.

They may not always seem easy to follow, but sticking with some of the things discussed throughout this article will have a positive impact on your affiliate career. You and the parent company will enjoy increased revenue and you can continue to do what you love, without worrying about losing money through pyramid schemes or sneaky scams.

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Source: http://zaykar.com/articles-on/easy-ways-to-run-a-successful-affiliate-program

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Sunday, May 26, 2013

"Sound Bulbs" Are Vintage Speakers That Screw Right into Light Sockets

Dominic Wilcox has a knack for the absurd. He?s designed gold-plated luxury skipping stones, anti-theft bike stickers, and a post-it note tattoo for hand-written notes. His latest design, though, is both absurd and incredibly useful: a conversion system that makes it possible to screw old sound systems into light sockets.

Wilcox calls them Sound Bulbs, and they were built in response to a game aimed at finding new uses for old objects. The challenge was based on the age-old sleepover game, Telephone, with a slight twist: rather than passing along a word, participants passed along objects. The recipient was then responsible for creating a new use for the old object. ?The object I was given was a ceiling lamp,? Wilcox explains on his blog. ?I started to think about ceiling lights and the question of ?why do we only plug light bulbs into lamp sockets???

Indeed! Wilcox set about collecting nine volt transformers, bayonets, and Edison screw lightbulb connectors (the silvery bit at the end of each bulb). With a bit of tinkering, he was able to create a working conversion between a handful of old electronics and an average light socket. Technically, he explains, he didn?t need to use old systems?they just looked cooler than a Bose hanging from the ceiling:

I could have chose a minimal table lamp and a modern day music player, but decided to go in the opposite direction. There are not many opportunities in life to combine 1880 golden statues with 1980 ghetto blasters so I took it.

The mapping of one set of functions onto another resulted in some interesting chances to explore how the intersection of two design typologies: for example, the on/off string on the lamp became a way to start and stop the music a boom box. We've seen "audio bulbs" before, but this a fascinating example of how a simple DIY hack can retrofit ubiquitous infrastructure with new functions. [Dominic Wilcox]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/sound-bulbs-are-vintage-speakers-that-screw-right-int-509694730

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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Calif. man who said he fled zombies pleads guilty

(AP) ? A Tennessee man who stole a big-rig truck in California, caused several accidents and told investigators he was fleeing zombies when he did it has pleaded guilty to several felonies.

U-T San Diego (http://bit.ly/17Yg8VO ) reports Jerimiah Hartline pleaded guilty Monday to assault with a deadly weapon, hit-and-run causing death or injury, and vehicle theft. He could get five years in prison.

The California Highway Patrol says Hartline stowed away in the truck in Tennessee and stole it when the driver got out at roadside scales near Temecula, Calif.

The CHP says after Hartline caused several crashes, the big-rig overturned on Interstate 15 and spilled its load of strawberries.

Seven people were injured.

CHP investigators say Hartline told them he had to speed and swerve because he was fleeing from the walking dead.

___

Information from: U-T San Diego, http://www.utsandiego.com

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-05-13-Zombie%20Truck%20Theft/id-5ec81496dcd4488b8074346a4ee6ba47

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