A Visit From the Bear Can Make You Sad!

One of my online brokers sent me some information about "Undoing a Roth IRA conversion." This information comes in handy for the poor "saps" who converted their Individual IRA Accounts to Roth Accounts. If they have their money in mostly stocks and mutual funds, they probably feel like Mr. Robin held them up on the way to town. Here is what my broker "Zions Direct" 1-800-524-8875 sent me.

Undoing a Roth IRA conversion may save money
September 7, 2011 // by Dave Carpenter // Leave a comment

The stock market’s summer nosedive was extra painful for those who recently converted their Individual Retirement Accounts to Roths.

Not only did their retirement savings shrink when the Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 16 percent in three weeks. Suddenly, they faced the prospect of paying thousands of dollars more in taxes than otherwise necessary. That’s because the tax cost of changing an account is fixed at the time it’s formally converted by your brokerage or investment firm.

Roth IRAs provide tax-free growth and have surged in popularity because of both their long-term tax and savings advantages and the relaxing of rules in 2010 that barred those with incomes above $100,000 from converting.

But the market drop left many of those who joined the rush to convert to them regretting their decisions because they still must pay taxes on the higher amounts that sat in their accounts last year. Investors flooded financial advisers with calls and emails about getting out of their Roths in early August, before stocks turned higher.

They still have more than a month to undo them. Unlike with a bad stock purchase, a do-over is possible with Roth conversions until deep into the following tax year.

This year, those who want to ditch the Roths they established in 2010 because of adverse tax consequences or any other reason have until Oct. 17 to undo or “recharacterize” them. Those who do so will avoid paying the tax bill for the conversion or, if they already paid, get their money refunded.

“It’s a way to save a lot of money during a down market for those who have seen their account values depreciate significantly,” says Ryan Himmel, a New York CPA who heads BIDaWIZ Inc., an online marketplace for tax and financial advice. “You’re leaving money on the table if you’re not considering this.”

Reversing a Roth also can push large tax obligations into the future, when you may have more cash to absorb them. That was the case for the Segals of suburban Cleveland. They converted a chunk of their retirement savings to a Roth in March on the advice of their financial planner. Then they reversed course weeks later when they realized just how hefty the tax bill would be and that it would push them into a higher tax bracket.

Barb, a retired medical educator, and Allen, a physician, both 60, said they needed the cash instead for current expenses such as paying down the mortgage. “We know there are benefits to paying taxes up front rather than later,” Barb Segal says. “But at a time when we are really trying to save and invest as much as possible for our retirement, the immediate tax consequences were too great for us.”

With this year’s deadline just weeks away, here are some basics about Roths and how to undo them:

Q: Why are Roths considered beneficial over the long run?

A: After you pay taxes on the conversion from a traditional IRA, your retirement dollars in a Roth grow and can be taken out tax-free.

Anyone who expects to be in a higher tax bracket at retirement also would benefit by paying the taxes now. And with tax rates widely expected to rise in the future, many retirees may end up in higher brackets than they are currently.

Roths offer greater flexibility in retirement, too. Unlike with traditional IRAs, you are not required to withdraw a required minimum amount every year once you turn 70½. You can let the money keep accumulating tax-free.

Q: What exactly is a Roth recharacterization?

A: It’s the process of undoing all or part of the conversion from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.

Q: What’s an example of when you would want to do it?

A: Let’s say you converted a $100,000 IRA to a Roth last year and the value has dropped to $80,000. You will still be paying taxes on the $100,000. You don’t get your money back for any money-losing investments, but you effectively save thousands of dollars in taxes.

Q: How do you know if it’s the right move?

A: If your holdings have already lost substantial value, the decision to recharacterize is a no-brainer, says Ed Slott, a Rockville Centre, N.Y., accountant who specializes in retirement issues. “Why pay tax on value that no longer exists?” he says.

Otherwise, focus on the net savings you’d achieve. The more the Roth’s value declines, the greater the tax benefit.

Factor in the cost of getting professional help, such as paying an accountant to amend your tax return as needed, says Richard Jackson, principal at advisory firm Schlindwein Associates in Dallas. “You would like to not have to recharacterize,” he says.

Q: How often do people undo their conversions?

A: Fidelity Investments, the biggest provider of IRAs, says it typically reverses less than 15 percent of its Roth conversions. But there’s still the potential for many people to do so by the Oct. 17 deadline. Fidelity alone completed about 220,000 Roth conversions last year, more than a fourfold increase over 2009.

Q: What are the down sides?

A: Anyone who converted an IRA to a Roth in 2010 was given the one-time perk of being able to put off paying taxes for a year and pay half each in 2011 and 2012. Losing that tax-deferral deal is probably the biggest negative to recharacterizing, says Tim Steffen, director of financial planning for Milwaukee-based advisory firm Robert W. Baird & Co. By spreading out the tax obligation over time, it made absorbing a big expense more manageable.

Q: So how do you go about making the change?

A: Contact your Roth IRA custodian and ask to recharacterize your account back to a traditional IRA. If you have already paid the conversion taxes, file an amended return to get your money back.

Q: Can you convert back to a Roth later if you recharacterize?

A: Yes. You can reconvert after 30 days.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Do you know that you are being watched?

My daughter hires and fires people for her company and for other companies that pay for her services. Recently, she came to me with a story about a person that she wanted to hire for a client giving the applicant $150 per hour to program cell phones. She did a back grown check on the individual. She found out that the person had a DUI that made him ineligible for the job. She had to resend the offer of employment meaning that she could not be paid a bonus for finding a good qualified applicant.

Every day technologies are being used to monitor the people of the world with unprecedented scrutiny -- from driving habits to workplace surveillance. Shoppers and diners are observed and analyzed; Internet searches are monitored and used as evidence in court. It is big business that collects most of the data about us.

But increasingly, it's the government that's using it. According to the Washington Post, " The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work." The Post's investigation is based on government documents and contracts, job descriptions, property records, corporate and social networking, Web sites, additional records, and hundreds of interviews with intelligence, military and corporate officials and former officials.

The secret agencies and agency contractors have files on average US citizens gotten from public and government records. They have records on "Right of Center "members and associates of the "Tea Party" as well as members of the "Left of Center" groups. They take your ID from "eye scans" without your knowledge. They gather other information on US Citizens without violating the US Constitution.

"Big Brother Big Business," aired on CNBC and takes a look at the companies behind the powerful business of personal information and the people whose lives are affected by it, including: a woman who lost her job due to mistaken identity; a man whose cell phone records were stolen by his former employer; a woman whose personal information was stolen from a company she had never heard of; a man who discovered his rental car company was tracking his every move.

The documentary below also looks at how the FBI, the Border Patrol, police departments and schools are using biometric technologies to establish identity as well as an inside peeks at an AOL division that works solely to satisfy the requests of law enforcement for information about AOL's members. This is becoming an Orwellian Nightmare. http:nomoretyranny.org

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6061213358499552766

CNBC "Big Brother, Big Business" Recorded Nov 1, 2006

I saw this on CNBC. This was done in 2006. Technology has grown considerably and can do much more now than it could in 2006.

CNBC said, “I think it's important that people look at the technology and start to sense the fact that information is being collected. I don't think that a good news report leads to immediate conclusions. I'll let you be the judge of that. But! I will say that this is news in 2007, and everyone knows that sensations sell. So, should we be worried? What price are you paying for being well connected digitally in the post-information age? Who do you trust?”

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/articles/a-hidden-world-growing-beyond-control/

A hidden world, growing beyond control

The Corruption Perceptions Index 2010

We are going to take a moment to talk about the CPI. No, I do not mean the Consumer Price Index. I mean the Corruption Perceptions Index. The 2010 CPI measures the degree to which public sector corruption is perceived to exist in 178 countries around the world. It scores countries on a scale from 10 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt). The 2010 results are drawn from 13 surveys and assessments published between January 2009 and September 2010.

The major thing that I learned growing up is that every one has interest and their interest is number one on their agenda. As a result, I learned not to trust anyone to look after my interest.

There is no such thing as a "free press" because the press relies on the government and business to stay in business. Therefore, they must report events and give opinions that will not upset the status quo. They get the news and report the news from Business and Government Leaders. That is why you find out about the mess at City Hall, the State Capital, and Washington after it cannot be hidden any longer. Then it is usually to late to do anything about it before it affects you.

The same is true for financial experts that you may hire to look after your money. They must look after their interest first or they will not stay in business. As a result, they will place you in investments that will serve their interest and charge you for it instead of looking after your interest first. By the time you find out that we are in a financial bear market, you lost a large part of your IRA, Pension, or Savings. When you want to do something about your situation, the world's markets are already in a "free fall" and you cannot get your broker on the phone. If you have an online account, in such time as a public panic, you can't get into your online brokerage account.

Because of my mistrust in the system is why I have done well in financial markets while many of the people that I have worked with on the job over the years have lost a major part of their savings.

If people can't trust the markets, no one is going to want to invest their money with them. If we do not have investment in new plants, equipment, and businesses, we will not have economic growth. If we do not have economic growth, we will not have jobs. So it is important that we have open markets around the world, trust in the system, and a high CPI.

http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2010/results

The Corruption Perceptions Index

With governments committing huge sums to tackle the world's most pressing problems, from the instability of financial markets to climate change and poverty, corruption remains an obstacle to achieving much needed progress. The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index shows that nearly three quarters of the 178 countries in the index score below five, on a scale from 10 (highly clean) to 0 (highly corrupt). These results indicate a serious corruption problem throughout the world. To address these challenges, governments need to integrate anti-corruption measures in all spheres, from their responses to the financial crisis and climate change to commitments by the international community to eradicate poverty.

If you want to restore trust in financial markets, then the world must have transparency and accountability in financial markets. If you are an American Nationalist, you might say that the United States has its faults but it is the most trusted nation in the world. But if you go by the International Corruption Perceptions Index, the United States is ranked number 4 in the Americas. Canada, Barbados, and Chile are the top three. The United States is ranked number 22 in the world.

This is why people not only in this country but throughout the world are pulling money out of America’s Markets. This is why the stock market has been in trouble since the turn of the century.

Most people don't know the definition of corruption. Corruption is;
"Wrongdoing on the part of an authority or powerful party through means that are illegitimate, immoral, or incompatible with ethical standards. Corruption often results from patronage and is associated with bribery. " Here is the reason why I have no faith in solving this problem. The first question we have to ask ourselves is, "Whose ethical standards should we follow?" Just by asking this question, our troubles start here because everyone has there own idea of what ethical standards to follow.

“back-to-school” Shopping for the Frugal Parents

Heather Larson of Bankrate.com wrote an article, “6 tips for frugal back-to-school savings.” She said, “Parents will spend more than $600 to get one child ready for school this year, according to the National Retail Federation's annual survey.”

Laura Rowley, finance columnist at Yahoo, says some parents can do it for half that by sticking to a back-to-school savings strategy and being proactive with sales and wardrobe recycling.
Bankrate.com asked professionals from around the country to weigh in on how best to achieve back-to-school savings this buying season. This is what they said.

1. First before you buy, take inventory

Choose a day before you begin to shop and go through your kid's clothes to see what you can salvage from last year, says Nina Restieri, founder of momAgenda.com and an organizational expert in Greenwich, Conn.

First, prepare an inventory sheet by dividing a sheet of paper into four columns with the child's name, the article of clothing, the quantity you have and how many you need to buy.

Then, remove everything from your child's (children’s) closet and drawers; have them try on each piece of clothing and whatever fits goes on your inventory sheet.

Restieri suggests having trash bags handy for items that need to be discarded and for clothing you can donate to charity (other relatives) or sell in a yard sell (online sites). That way, you're cleaning out closets while creating some real back-to-school savings.

"With school supplies, lunch boxes and backpacks, I suggest starting fresh each year," says Restieri. "For us, the backpacks and lunch boxes in our house barely last one school year."
And remember, school supplies usually change each year according to the grade and teacher preferences.

2. Set a school budget and stick to it

Consider which items are non-negotiable like the class list of required supplies, says Kim Danger, frugal author and creator of mommysavers.com. Clothing, shoes, lunch boxes and backpacks allow for greater flexibility.

Past spending is a good starting point to this year's back-to-school savings. Look at last year's credit card statements and check registers to get an idea of what you spent on back-to-school shopping last season. I think that is a clue to you keeping records of spending for next year’s budget.

"By seeing what you spent in the past, you can challenge yourself to find better bargains this year," says Danger. "The exact budget will vary from family to family. You just need to spend within your means."

A good way to make sure you stay within your budget is to use the envelope system and put the cash you've allotted for each child into separate envelopes. Danger says cash easy to understand. Even younger kids get it that once the cash is gone, no more money can be spent.

Danger suggests using this opportunity to teach older kids how to budget by giving them a set clothing allowance so they can benefit from their own back-to-school savings.

3. Make a list of your children’s needs

Rowley recommends using your clothing inventory as a start to back-to-school savings by creating a shopping list from it of what you need to buy.

"For clothing, focus on five to seven well-made, easy-care basic items and change the look by mixing in a few less expensive pieces," she says.

A wardrobe for a girl might include two pairs of jeans, a pair of khakis or black pants, two shirts, a sweater, and a skirt or a dress in a basic color. Mix in low-cost, colorful T-shirts, tank tops to wear under the shirts, scarves, tights, and belts, Rowley says.

"Kids usually don't outgrow the accessories," she says. "Also, look for summer pieces -- maybe a short-sleeved dress that can stretch into next season by adding leggings and a sweater."

Use your list as a checklist while shopping. You don't want to wander into a department store without a back-to-school saving strategy and watch your child fall in love with a $60 T-shirt, Rowley says.

4. Communism or Buy in quantities may be the answer

"Buying in bulk can be a fantastic money move and a time-saving godsend," says Kristen Hagopian, author of "Brilliant Frugal Living."

Certain school supplies get burned through at a ridiculous rate over the course of the school year, says Hagopian. Depending on your child's age and class description, he will use lots of pens, pencils, paper, notebooks, printer paper, computer disks, markers and paints. While the additional outlay of cash now might not seem like back-to-school savings, you'll have cheaper supplies on hand for several months if you buy in quantity.

"No more rushed dashes to the store for another pack of paper. You'll save money on gas and you'll save the hassle," says Hagopian.

Buying in quantities at your local warehouse store and sharing the bounty plus the cost with friends also helps the budget. Pasta, meat, ready-made foods, desserts and produce can be found in large quantities at Costco and Sam's Club, and can easily be distributed to a group of friends who can share the cost of school lunches, Hagopian says.

5. Tap the Web

Use comparison-shopping engines to find the best bargains online, suggests Michael Rowland, Internet marketing manager at Solid Cactus, a company in Shavertown, Pa., that helps small businesses sell online.

"Online retailers are going to be aggressive in their efforts to win your business. So one of the best ways a savvy shopper can capitalize on the best deals is to use (comparison-shopping engines)," says Rowland.

Each engine is different -- from the products they show to how they sort the products. Some are better for apparel while others have the best buy in electronics. Rowland says to get the best use of a shopping site, be specific in your search.

"Make your buying decision based on price, rating and shipping costs," says Rowland. "Always look for free shipping."

Rowland suggests starting with these sites: Pricegrabber.com, Shopping.com, Nextag.com, Google.com and Amazon.com.

If you follow the brands you use and the stores you regularly shop on Facebook and Twitter, you'll also attain back-to-school savings. Sign up for mailing lists for these brands and stores, and you'll often get instant savings of coupons, Rowland says.

6. Host a clothing swap or belong to a co-op

Another way to achieve back-to-school savings is by holding a party to exchange kids' clothing. Decide who to invite based on the ages, sizes and gender of their children, says Leah Ingram, author of "Suddenly Frugal" and the blog suddenlyfrugal.com.

If you have six friends who have children who are similar in age, you can hold a small party. But, you may want to expand it to 12 or 15 guests.

Ingram recommends leaving the children at home. That way, saving on back-to-school items can be a fun, social time for adults. "Even if 60 percent of what you take home doesn't fit, you're still getting the clothes for free," says Ingram.

Remind your guests that the clothing needs to be clean, stain-free and with no rips or tears. Ask yourself, "Is this something I'd buy at a resale store." Ingram suggests you set a minimum number of items that each guest must bring with them, like 10.

"It's like currency. You bring in 10 pieces of clothing and you should be able to leave with 10 different items," Ingram says.

Ways to Save Money on All Your Bills

Many people make money by working on the job, just to loose it by not doing some simple things around the house. You can increase your yearly Net Household Income by as much as 25%.

Many people do not understand that there are two ways of making money.
1. Work and get a pay check.
2. Once you have the money, manage its use.

Here are 10 ways of managing your money.

1. Paint your roof white

A 1999 study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Heat Island Group found that in sunny climates, buildings with white roofs required up to 40 percent less energy for cooling than those with black roofs. At current utility rates, that means you could save $120 or more per year in cooling costs. That is $120 that you would not have at the end of the year.

An inexpensive white, rubbery (elastomeric) coating will do the job and can be found at most hardware stores in states in the southern half of the U.S. Elastomeric coating is a blend of polymers that is durable, flexible and waterproof, and offers the fringe benefit of helping to increase your roof's life span and water resistance.

All you'll need to apply it is heavy-duty paint rollers on an inexpensive old paint roller frame, with an extension pole attached to save wear and tear on your back.

2. Install an irrigation meter

Do you know that you are charged twice for the water you use every month -- once to pump it into your house and again to pump it out as sewage?

"The assumption is every gallon of water that you run out of your faucet is going to go back down the drain," says Eric Liskey, deputy editor for garden and outdoor living at Better Homes and Gardens magazine.

But if you use water to irrigate your lawn or garden, that water never makes it into the sewer system.

To save money by making sure you're only paying for the sewer capacity you're using, many Utility Companies offer the option to get a separate meter to measure water usage for irrigation, swimming pools, and other outdoor uses, Once installed, the meter will be read every month by your Utility Company and its reading subtracted from your sewage bill.

The meter will cost you several hundred dollars upfront. But since you'll no longer be charged for sewage capacity you're not using, it should pay for itself within a few years, especially if you use a significant amount of water in the yard. See your Utility Company for details.

3. Do a nightly energy sweep

We all have left fans, lights, or appliances on at night while we sleep, but doing so wastes increasingly expensive energy.

To save money, do a nightly sweep through the house to make sure all your electric devices are turned off before you go to bed. It may be a pain, but the savings from simply turning everything off can add up quickly. I do this every night before I go to bed. I also do this if I plan to leave for the day to go to work or go on vacation.

It takes about $9 per year to run just one compact fluorescent light bulb through the night, $21 for a conventional bulb and $35 for a big ceiling fan on high, according to the energy calculators at;

http://michaelbluejay.com/

4. Set your water heater at 120 degrees

Not only does heating your water too hot create the danger of scalding, it can cost you cash.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that a heater set at 140 degrees or higher can waste $36 to $61 annually in standby heat losses to keep water at that temperature, and more than $400 to bring fresh water up to that high temperature. To save even more money, you can turn your electric heater off or turn your gas heater down when you go on vacation to save even more.

5. Use reusable AC and furnace filters

How many times have you put off changing out the filter on your heating, ventilating and air-conditioning system because you didn't want to buy a new filter?

Problem is, waiting a long time to change your filter makes your HVAC system less efficient and costs you more in electricity. Dirt and neglect can even cause your expensive HVAC unit to die an untimely death, said Maria Vargas, spokeswoman for the EPA's Energy Star program. Instead, spend a little more to get a reusable filter than you can simply hose off when it gets clogged up with dust and other particles.

Using a permanent filter, you'll save money in the long run, cut your utility bill and prolong the life of your HVAC unit. If the disposable AC filters that must be changed every three months are around $4 each, you can recoup the $20 to $40 cost of a permanent filter in as little as 15 months.

6. Upgrade your appliances

Many state and local governments and utility companies offer financial incentives for homeowners to upgrade their appliances to newer, more energy-efficient models.

These incentives usually take the form of rebate checks for homeowners who can provide proof of purchase. To save money, find incentives offered in your area by checking the online Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency, or DSIRE. See your Utility Company, the IRS, or your State Tax Office for more details.

For instance, searching within the state of New York, DSIRE shows 47 separate tax incentives, grants, and rebate programs. That includes a state program that offers a rebate of $105 for an energy-efficient refrigerator if you recycle the old one, $75 for a freezer, and $100 for a clothes washer.

AS OF JULY 20, 2011, ALL OF PENNSYLVANIA'S REBATE FUNDS HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED AND THE PROGRAM IS CLOSED.

7. Don't let cash slip through the cracks

When you add up the cumulative effect of all the small leaks in your home, it has the effect of leaving a window open all year long, the EPA's Vargas says.

To save money, you can use inexpensive expanding foam or caulk available at your local hardware store to seal cracks in the following areas where cold or warm air typically escapes.

Those places include:
· Around windows and doorframes.
· Around the top of the basement wall where the cement or block contacts the wooden frame, known as the rim joist.
· Around the holes in walls where pipes enter and exit your home.

8. Do your meter and utility bill match up?

Utility workers make mistakes just like the rest of us, and when they make mistakes reading your meter, it can be costly. While you'll probably notice a big error on your utility bill, you may not catch more subtle errors.

Make sure you're only getting charged for the electricity you actually used by comparing the meter reading on your utility bill to what you actually see on your meter. If the amount on your meter is lower than the one on your bill, that's a dead giveaway that you're being overcharged.

As soon are your bills come in, you should review your credit card bill to make sure that you are not billed for something that you did not purchase. Many times, charges will show up on your phone that you know nothing about. All it takes to place unwanted charges on your phone is to answer the phone or answer an email on your computer. If you find such charges contact your provider immediately.

9. Buy Energy Star-certified products

You've probably heard of Energy Star, the partnership between the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy that identifies energy-efficient products, especially as it relates to energy-intensive items like water heaters and clothes dryers. But Energy Star labels won't just help you save money on big, expensive appliances, says Vargas.

"Energy Star now offers the label on over 60 different kinds of things, so light bulbs, TVs, clothes washers, refrigerators, furnaces, fans -- all those -- can earn the Energy Star rating," says Vargas.

And while an Energy Star light bulb won't yield as much savings as an Energy Star refrigerator, those savings do add up, she says.

What's more, many of the Energy Star-qualified products don't cost any more than conventional products, says Vargas. If they do, the EPA won't grant the Energy Star label unless its figures show you'll recoup that extra outlay within five years or less on electricity and water costs.

10. Buy a programmable thermostat

Growing up, you probably had a frugal relative who enforced strict limits on how high or low the thermostat could be set. If you don't have one now, a programmable thermostat can play this role for your home automatically. Based on your family's schedule, you can program it to automatically set the target temperature higher in the summer and lower in the winter when your family won't be home.

Prices on the thermostats have come down so much -- you can buy one at a hardware store for as little as $25 -- that installing one is a no-brainer, especially because the EPA estimates the average homeowner can save $180 per year with a properly programmed unit.

Education Brings Economic Power

I was driving down Route 15 just across the river from Harrisburg, Pa. when I was shocked to come over the hill to see my daughter Stephanie featured on a bill board for Central Pennsylvania College. At that time, she just graduated with Honors with a BS Degree in Criminal Justice. She graduated at the top of her class. I stopped and got on my cell phone, called her, and asked her about this bill board. To her surprise, she knew nothing about it.

Today, she has an MBA and is a Resource Manager, reporting to the CEO of Credo Technology Solutions, Inc. One function of her job is to be over the Dept. that handles Contracts and the Human Resource Dept. She looks for people who have good computer skills. She places them in good high paying jobs.

Stephanie Tulloch, MBA

Resource Manager

Credo Technology Solutions, Inc.

Cell: 717-379-7297

www.CredoTechSolutions.com

With the economy going to "Hell in a Hand basket", I know few people tripling their pay and moving up in corporate America. I know fewer Black women who is doing that. But Stephanie is young and has the drive to make such moves. Recently, I visited her house on a Saturday to take her oldest son swimming. She was on the phone, completing a business deal. I had to wait until she was done so that we could leave to go swimming.

She reminds me of me! But she also reminds me of someone else in my family. Someone who lived a long time ago.

This is my mother born in 1923 with the name of Jean Julia Brown. She grew up in the Great Depression and during the Second World War. She married William Jackson Williams II. After the war, women took the position that they were to stay home and have children while the men worked.

My mother is the first daughter of John and Eliza Lucinda Brown. They are my grand parents. Most of my mother's child hood took placed at John and Lucy's house on Third Street in Steelton, Pa. They moved here after getting married at Free Union Baptist Church in Stony Point, Va., near Charlottesville, Va. They were on their way to Pittsburgh, Pa. were John Brown hoped to work in the Steel Mill. Instead, John ran out of money and had to stay in Steelton and work in the Bethlehem Steel Mill. What people did not know at the time, the Great Depression was starting. Dispite that, the Browns were able to move to another state, start a family, and get a job.

My Grandmother Born Eliza Lucinda Blue Dec. 23, 1899 - Died July 9, 1966.
They called her Lucy Brown.

Ex-slave Eliza Thorne and Stephanie's Grandmother 9th removed.

Stephanie is much like Eliza Thorne. Eliza was an ex-slave but believed in economic power. She was half Cherokee. In 1864 - 1865, Union troops liberated Culpeper, Va. They freed the slaves. Her master was more likely Russell Brown and during the Civil War Colonel Slaughter's family. Stephanie's family (Porter family) on her mother side still lives at the base of the hill where the Slaughter's had their plantation.

Eliza Thorne had three husbands in her life time. One was her slave husband, James Graves. the second husband was Robert West. The third husband Reuben Walker. Stephanie is a decendent of the Reuben Walker Family because Lucy's father and mother Eliza J. Walker and George W. Blue, married in 1895 at Free Union Baptist Church in Free Union, Va. The Walker's come from Eliza Thorne's third family. Here is why Stephanie is a hard core Baptist.

Virginia slave law allowed slaves to have a business and make money when they were not working for the master. Eliza had a skill. She was a Carpenter. She made furniture. When I was 21 years old, I had the pleasure of seeing some of the bedroom furniture that she made at Joseph Blue's home (brother of Lucy Brown).

Place the link below in your browser.

http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/culpeper_County_During_the_Civil_War

Culpeper County 1860 - 1865

Russell Lewis Brown , born 1835 in Culpeper County, Virginia; died 1863 in Louisiana.

Russell Lewis Brown served in the C.S. Army

After the Civil War, Eliza Thorne bought a Conestoga Wagon, a team of horses and moved her family to Stony Point (Free Union) Va. Here, she bought eleven acres of land. All this just after the Civil War and at the start of the Post Civil War Depression. She was working against social odds. "Free Union" areas in Virginia were places where freed ex-slaves could live protected by the state from falling back into a slave status.

In the 19th and early 20th Centuries, it was legal to kill Native Americans. My Great Grandfather on my father's side of the family was killed coming home from work in Houston Texas around 1910. He was full blooded Cherokee. His crime? He had a job and the KKK did not want his kind in Houston. The KKK ran my father's family out of Texas. So it was foolish to admit that you were an Indian. It was better to say that your ancestry was from Africa than America. Eliza Thorne's education even as an ex-slave made it possible to live a better life than most freed people of her time.

In the 1970s and 1980s, I had the pleasure of walking around part of Eliza Thorne's land before it was finally sold off to developers around 1986.

David is tenth removed from Eliza Thorne

When I brought her oldest son back from swimming, Stephanie's one year old was crawling around the living room. He spotted Stephanie's smart phone on the end table and decided that he had to use it. He pulled himself up so that he could stand up to play with the phone. Stephanie keeps her phone locked so that he cannot just help himself. But surprise, it took him no time to unlock the phone. He proceeded to use it.

David as he showed me that he can operate a Smart Cell Phone

Just as he was about to make a phone call, Stephanie came into the room and snatched the phone from him. David started to cry because he had some serious business to conduct on her phone. So this song is for him. Place the link below in your browser and play.


http://www.myspace.com/louisarmstrong5/music/songs/nobody-knows-212168?ap=1

I am sure Eliza Thorne sung it when things went wrong and David has been wronged by Stephanie.

What is Education to You?

Harrisburg High on Market St. Harrisburg, Pa.

Measured by Pa. State test scores,

School District is last in the commonwealth in education.

Education is personal. It all depends on what you want to get out of it. It can be self directed, "one on one", classroom, or computer base training.

Some people think that a good public or private education will get you into a good college. Some think that a good education is measured by test scores. Yet other people think that a good education will land you a good high paying job. What is a good education to you?

To me, a good education is something that I can use to make money and will allow me to keep money. It is also something that will allow me to defend myself in legal, financial, health, and political matters.

I made my living mainly from programming computers of major corporations as well as county and state government agencies. The income from these jobs allowed me to buy homes and cars, put food on the table and clothes on my back, as well as raise children. But not like many young people today, most of my education came free from my employers by way of company education benefits.

I went to public school in West Mifflin near Pittsburgh, Pa. From 1967 to 1972, I researched what I had to do to make a living in future economic times. Notice I said future not present. People who live for the present are doomed to fail because our economic situation changes about every 2 to 3 years. That is why people who see or hear what jobs are popular this minute, end up spending a lot of money just to be unemployed with a high education debt.

When I was in high school, I knew that working in the mills around Pittsburgh was not going to put food on the table for long. All people at that time had to do was look at the development of industry in other countries to know that supply of production will go up and demand will not, causing a slow down in production in this country. It will also cause companies to lay off and put mill workers in the street. Only if you can support any business at any time would it be profitable to get into a profession, trade, or some specialty labor to support yourself for a long period of time.

This is something that public and most private schools are not design to teach you. They are design to teach you how to read, write, and do math for the local businesses in your local area. They are not design to teach you to think on your own. Most colleges and universities are not design to teach independent thinking either. So in other words, schools, (public, or private and most colleges) are factories that produce human programmed robot laborers for the local work force.

When I was a small boy (3 to 12 years old) in the 1950s, I would get up early on Saturday morning (6:00 to 7:00) and watch the old documentary shows that the networks used as fillers. I did not know that I was educating myself in economics, production, and human resources. It was teaching me to think independently of the local industrial leaders. To me, it was just another TV show. This is why by 1967, I was able to look at my situation and figure out what I wanted to do and get what I wanted out of education.

My College Years

While many of my child hood friends hung out and wasted time, I taught myself COBOL programming and took computer courses in high school. As their parents talked about how racist it was to push Black children into technical trades, I went out and got trained in a trade while in High school. I worked in the computer industry by day and had my employer pay for my college courses at night.

While working and going for my General Studies Associates Degree at Allegheny Community College, I explored other interest such as Business and Estate law, financial markets, the real estate business, accounting, and many other disciplines. Then I went on to get my BS degree in Management and Computer Science from Robert Morris College.

At that point I was ready to do many jobs for many companies. I had knowledge of just about every financial market and how best to take advantage of them. I could raise and manage my children to know how to take advantage of their educational opportunities to pursue what they want to do. Because of my studies, I am in a position where I am least likely to be taken advantage of by corporations and individuals on the job, at home, and in society.

I had to defend myself in court against companies and individuals over the past 40 years, saving me money or getting back damages. I saved a lot of money in legal fees. I made a lot of money using my credit cards. I made a lot of money in the financial markets and bought three homes.

Education for the Next Generation

I have two children. The youngest has a different idea of education than I do. She always wanted to be a model. That is what she geared her life around and that is what she does. Making money is not a priority for her. She hangs out with the famous people of her time.

The oldest daughter’s idea of education is much different. She makes way more money than I do. Her idea of education is geared around making money, helping people, and obtaining economic power. She can do math that I don't understand. She does things with computers that I never dreamed of doing.

She has an Associate Degree, a BS Degree in Criminal Justice, and an MBA. She thinks independently and is part of the people in the business world that calls the shots.

When she was in her early 20s, some lady stole her pocket book and took her money. She charged that lady with the crime took her to court and prosecuted her by herself. The court was impressed and so was I. She was going in and out of the country without my knowledge or blessing. I found out when she came home one day to tell me that she was getting married to a man that she met in Jamaica.

Today, she has multinational business and family contacts. Her world is more complicated than I never known could be possible.

Education Starts before Birth

I started teaching my children before they were born. I would talk to them while still in my wife’s body. So I should not have been surprised when my children started talking at 2 months old and counting before 2 years old. This is a practice that my oldest daughter followed and I hope that this practice will continue for generations to come.

At age 4 my grandson started practicing to be the fastest person in the world. He is now 6 and my oldest daughter’s oldest son is already known in the US and around the world thru his blog in the Track and Field World. He can run 6 miles and is second seed (USATF SUB-Bantam) in the north east United States. He is 6 in the 1500 meter in USATF Region 2 Outdoor Track and Field in the US.

When he goes to the track to practice, people assume that I am making him do a practice that even college people would have trouble doing. People will question him on the track to see if I am abusing him. Recently, a group of ladies asked him what he was doing and my grandson replied, “I am in training.” They came over to me and told me what he said. My reply, “He is in training. He wants to be a world class athlete and he is educating himself to be just that. I am his transportation and his coach. He decides what he wants to do.”

My second grandson just turned one year old. He wanted to show me something one day. He can’t talk that well but he can work a smart phone. He showed me how it worked from the pictures to the music, to the videos. For a year, he taught himself by watching my oldest daughter use the phone while she breast fed him. I was shocked and surprised but that is what education means to him.