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In June 2009, the latest recession ended. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

In the preceding nine recessions since World War 2, recoveries were in a range of fairly robust to very robust. Presently we have the weakest recovery since then, so weak, that calling it a recovery at all, does not seem justified.

So many negative records have been broken, since 2009, a person doesn't know where to start in discussing which of these has been most harmful to most Americans, especially to the middle class. Here are just some of those numbers.

-The unemployment rate has been above 8% for 43 successive months

-An additional 360,000 people left the workforce in the report of August 2012

-The number who left the workforce is four times greater than new jobs created

-The labor participation rate dropped to 63.5%--the lowest in 30 years

-There are 1.3 million less people working than were working in December 2008.

-Teen unemployment is 24.6%, still near the March-highest ever-record-25.0%

-Jobs lost have been greater than jobs gained since President Obama took office

-U.S. debt has increased more in the last 44 months than it did in our first 213 years

This is just a tiny sample of the dozens of heart breaking facts that have taken family income back to 1995 levels.

What Do Government Agencies Project For the Future

The August 2012 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report projects sluggish growth through 2012, becoming even more sluggish in the first half of 2013, expecting the growth rate to drop to a very anemic 1 3/4 %. In order to create enough jobs, to stay up with the million plus, new workers entering the workforce each year, a growth rate somewhere around 2.5% is needed.

Other CBO Data

-Policy changes being considered could take the unemployment rate above 9% in 2014.

-The national debt has increased from $10.6 trillion in 2009 to $16 trillion plus in 2012

-Under present policies the national debt will be $22 trillion in 2022.

The private sector thrives when sufficient investment capital is available for new business start-ups, it suffers when excessive capital is taken by government. Federal spending has gone from 21% to 25% since 2009, removing hundreds of billions from private sector investment.

President Obama recently stated that "the private sector is doing fine." He has said he needs four more years to fix things.

Do you agree with the president that the private sector is doing fine? Does his first four years in office along with the projections above, give you confidence that giving him four more years will make your future secure and prosperous?

Young voters, you have been handed a massive debt. Consider all of the above when you vote.

Mick McNesby is a former tax adviser, consultant and negotiator. He was a frequent guest on political talk shows in Atlantic City, N.J., discussing the benefits of the lower cost of government. To read the excerpt for his ebook--NEW VOTERS: 10 Political Eye-Openers Crucial To Your Future in 60 Pages--due out in mid to late October, 2012, visit: http://mickmcnesby.com/.

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Planning a party is a complicated process. It requires organizational skills, time, experience and a great deal of energy. Thankfully help is at hand with the arrival of online party planning tools, designed specifically to help your party go smoothly from start to finish.

Why plan a party online?

Planning your party on line is the perfect solution to your event planning needs. Gone are the days when guest lists were compiled by hand, invitations written and sent by snail mail and RSVPs tracked on a spread sheet. Now you can plan a party online using a service such as this one and let its revolutionary new software manage the whole process for you.

Online party planning enables you to create your guest list direct from your email contact list and customize your invitation from a huge range of traditional and contemporary designs to suit every occasion. The system will track your RSVPs in real time, giving you an at-a-glance picture of who is coming and who has yet to respond to your invite. A whole range of interactive task lists mean that you won't forget to make that important call to your DJ or transfer the deposit to your caterers too.

What type of party can I plan online?

Whether you are organizing a birthday, christening, wedding or other celebratory event, online party planning offers the perfect solution. Not only does it help with all the organizational factors, many sites also offer links to gift registries to help guests quickly and easily choose gifts that their recipients are guaranteed to love.

Social events, reunions and club nights are also perfect for planning online. There is no limit to the number of guests you can invite when you use an online party planning tool, it works just as well for a handful of close friends as it does for an event destined to be enjoyed by thousands.

Choose between a closed invitation list, or opening your event to an even wider audience by enabling your invitees to send your invitation on to their own friends and contacts.

How does it work?

If you are looking to plan a party online most sites will give easy-to-follow instructions to get you started. They will explain how to upload your contacts from your email address book and will lead you through on a step-by-step basis preparing your invitations.

Once they are ready for sending, a simple click of the mouse replaces a trip to the post office and all the associated costs traditional mail incurs. There is no need to manage your guest list as the software does it all for you, updating itself automatically with each and every response you receive.

Simple or complex task lists are available for you to customize to your own event needs, providing valuable information and guidelines to ensure that nothing gets missed.

Use a reputable provider to plan a party on line and discover for yourself just how easy it really is.

Jennifer is a gifted and creative party planner who has many years of experience in managing is planning successful event ranging from glamorous wedding to large cooperate conventions. For more details visit http://www.ejovo.com/ and http://www.ejovo.com/features/partyplanning

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The IAEA stated in the third quarter of 2012 that Iran had significantly increased the number of centrifuges to enrich uranium and that their nuclear power plant was back up and fully operational, which will allow them to enrich uranium even faster. The intelligence services have noted a significant advance in North Korea's ICBM technology, along with a semi-long range successful test of an Iranian missile.

The Kim Jong Un and Amedinejad in August of 2012 signed a "technology agreement" because as they stated they have a "common enemy" which would be the US. So, if North Korea has nuclear weapons which we know they do as they have tested them the prior, that means Iran has all the technology they need, not that they didn't already get that from the Russians or Chinese, but now it is plausible that the North Koreans have given them more, who perhaps got their nuke technology from the Chinese or Pakistanis.

Now then, one should be asking "what if" as all this unfolds. As in "what if" Iran gets a nuclear weapon prior to the November US Elections? Or what if Iran holds off until just after the election not wishing to deal with a Romney Administration, and wanting to have a milder Obama Administration?

Next, will Obama seek a war with Iran just days before the November election to help him secure his victory (tail wagging the dog strategy)?

Are these fair questions to ask? Some might contend that they are not, but I am not concerned with left-leaning political pundits or the Council on Foreign Appeasement which just happens to be wrong in international matters about 60% of the time, some say that's better than average, but I am not interested in a good guess, or average foreign policy. This is the United States of America and when it comes to nuclear proliferation, we need to get this right - the first time. See my point?

Sometimes it's hard to tell which intelligence information is leaked into the media, and what information is legitimate free from misdirection. When a foreign government meets with another foreign government, and claims they've come to a memorandum of understanding or a treaty to share advanced technologies and information on nuclear weapons development, and they take pictures together, I'd say we could consider that pretty good intel.

The question is; is the United States of America going to do anything about it, or is the Obama administration going to continue to vote "present" just like the United Nations and let the future age of nuclear terrorism begin. If so, I seriously wonder why? Shouldn't we also be asking that question. Will this be an excuse to further invade our privacy, to treat every citizen globally as a potential terrorist? Is this how they will use fear to crack down on populations around the world?

What is the endgame here? Why are we not stopping the proliferation of nuclear weapons which may fall into the hands of nuclear terrorists, or proxy terrorist supported by rogue nation states? Why is Obama driving around on a bus campaigning, one which doesn't even have an American flag on it, and totally avoiding all of these important issues going on. Obama should sit his butt in the White House right now, dealing with this, and getting it done. There is no excuse for this anymore.

Lance Winslow is the Founder of the Online Think Tank, a diverse group of achievers, experts, innovators, entrepreneurs, thinkers, futurists, academics, dreamers, leaders, and general all around brilliant minds. Lance Winslow hopes you've enjoyed today's discussion and topic. http://www.worldthinktank.net/ - Have an important subject to discuss, contact Lance Winslow.

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Education secretary Michael Gove was expected to sign off the One in a Million school in Bradford. Photograph: Rex Features

A free school in Bradford has lost its government funding a week before it was due to open its doors.

The One in a Million secondary school, run by a local charity and built on the grounds of Bradford City FC, is the latest free school to collapse after failing to attract enough pupils. Last month the Newham Free Academy in east London was withdrawn from the coalition's free schools programme. In June the Beccles free school in Suffolk had only 37 applications for children starting the new school year.

One in a Million's co-founder Wayne Jacobs said he was shocked by the Department for Education's 11th-hour decision to withdraw funding. He said: "We are completely baffled and stunned at this decision by the DfE and absolutely devastated for the parents, children and staff of the One in a Million free school."

Nearly two-thirds of an initial 50 student places had been filled and the charity said it been assured by the DfE in June that its funding was on track for signoff by the education secretary, Michael Gove, but it was told last Friday that the department had decided to recommend funding should not be approved.

Parents said the school's closure was a "devastating blow". Matthew Band, chief executive of One in a Million, added that he was amazed at the decision, particularly at such a late stage.

"It just doesn't make sense and we don't know of any other free school that has been put in this position with a week to opening and we will watch with interest to see which schools do open in September, their student numbers and capacity, and whether their facilities are permanent or temporary," Band said.

Bradford is in the top 10% of deprived areas in the UK. One in a Million has set its sights on helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds, providing access to education, sport and the arts. Bradford council said all 30 children due to join the free school on 3 September would be found local authority school places.

Free schools that receive government approval are given state funding for the costs of building or converting premises. They are run by faith organisations, parents' groups or charities. They are independent of local authority control.

A DfE spokesperson said: "Setting up a free school is a difficult task and we thank One in a Million for all their hard work. Before any new schools open their doors we have to be sure that all the conditions we set have been met. Making certain that new schools raise standards is one of the reasons why our free schools have been so popular with families across England. We still hope that One in a Million will open in 2013."

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