born August 4, 1961 is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. He served three terms representing the 13th District in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004.

Following an unsuccessful bid against the Democratic incumbent for a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2000, Obama ran for the United States Senate in 2004. Several events brought him to national attention during the campaign, including his victory in the March 2004 Illinois Democratic primary for the Senate election and his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He won election to the U.S. Senate in Illinois in November 2004. His presidential campaign began in February 2007, and after a close campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries against Hillary Rodham Clinton, he won his party’s nomination. In the 2008 presidential election, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain, and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009. In October 2009, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

As president, Obama signed economic stimulus legislation in the form of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. Other domestic policy initiatives include the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 and the Budget Control Act of 2011. In foreign policy, he ended the war in Iraq, increased troop levels in Afghanistan, signed the New START arms control treaty with Russia, ordered US involvement in the 2011 Libya military intervention, and ordered the military operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. In April 2011, Obama declared his intention to seek re-election in the 2012 presidential election.

references:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

Repubs & Dems AGREE

www.seanambush.com

202.438.1800

Cupid’s arrow strikes gold on Valentine’s Day

From sellers of flowers to purveyors of chocolates to restaurateurs, Cupid’s arrow strikes gold for many small businesses on Valentine’s Day.

In the United States, consumers are expected to drop $17.6-billion on Valentine’s Day gifts and activities this year, according to the National Retail Federation, as quoted in this story. According to a survey the NRF carried out, they’ll spend $126.03 apiece, which is up 8.5 per cent over last year and a record for the 10 year the survey has been conducted.

Canadians are no Valentine’s Day spending slouches either. According to this CTV News story, Canadians will drop an average of $126 apiece.

And according to this Valentine’s Day By the Numbers, compiled by Statistics Canada, Canadians spent $1.6-billion on lingerie and other intimate items and $3-billion on jewellery and watches in 2010. They spent $5.8-billion on wine in 2009-2010 and $1.5-billion on chocolate in 2009. 3 That doesn’t taken into account the 12 million roses they purchased in 2010.

ABC News reports that florists are seeing an unprecedented demand for roses this Valentine’s Day. One reason that might be happening: With Valentine’s Day falling mid-week this year, many men are caught by surprise, suggests this story. While on a weekend, they might peruse stores for “cheaper chocolates or stuffed animals,” at mid-week, they go for quick and easy flower deliveries, and are willing to pay a premium.

Anxious to find a unique gift? Huffington Post offers a slide show of items made by “some of America’s most creative entrepreneurs.”

Small Business Trends offers a nice roundup of stories across the Net today about Valentine’s Day — even why it’s turned into big business in China and Iran.

But here’s some food for thought for those in the selling business: This MSNBC story poses the question of whether businesses risk alienating consumers by inflating prices on Valentine’s Day. And one business coach reminds small businesses to share the love with customers all year round.

U.S. small business confidence makes insignificant gain: NFIB

U.S. small business confidence made the slightest of gains in January, but is still sitting at recession levels, according to the latest index of small business optimism from the National Federation of Independent Business.

The index gained 0.1 points to reach a level of 93.9 in January. That was the highest reading since December, 2007, when the recession began, but, even though the index made gains five months in a row, it’s still below where it was a year ago, according to the NFIB.

“Nothing happened last month that would significantly improve the small-business outlook,” said NFIB chief economist William Dunkelberg in a statement. “The index remains below its level a year ago of 94.1, which means that no progress was made in 2011.”

EVENTS AND KEY DATES

Social media smarts

Join our very own Sean Stanleigh as he moderates a panel of socia media experts who will talk about how small businesses can leverage social media platforms and online tools to grow their businesses. The event, called “Accelerating Small Business Growth in our Economic Times,” presented by Bank of Montreal and part of Social Media Week Toronto, takes place in Toronto on Thurs, Feb. 16. For more information, click here.

B.C. small business awards

The ninth annual Small Business BC Successful You Awards night will take place on Feb. 28 in Vancouver. The province-wide contest recognizes and celebrates important contributions of B.C. entrepreneurs. For more details, click here.

EDITOR’S PICKS FROM REPORT ON SMALL BUSINESS

Red-hot dating apps to spice up your love life

Sick of spending Friday nights alone? Eager to get back in the saddle, but turned off by traditional dating sites, like eHarmony, Plenty of Fish and Match.com? Check out our lineup of cutting-edge mobile apps, which use real-time, GPS and push notifications, can help you meet new people, and maybe even score a date for Valentine’s Day

FROM THE ROSB ARCHIVES

Couples share the love in business

In case you missed it last Valentine’s Day, three couples who took the entrepreneurial leap of faith by going into business together shared what they learned from the experience.

Valentine’s Day Business

(ABC 6 News) — Valentine’s Day is considered one of the biggest gift-giving holidays of the year.

In fact, the National Retail Federation says as Americans we’re expected to shell out more than $17 billion on Valentine’s Day stuff this year.

That’s no surprise to local retailers. For many shops, it’s the busiest day of the year.

“Probably 20 times busier than a typical day,” Flowers by Jerry owner Kevin Patton says.

At Flowers by Jerry, it’s not the hundreds of red balloons, candy, or teddy bears that makes it the craziest day of the year, it’s the flowers.

“We had to rent eight delivery vehicles. I probably have about 15 drivers out today,” Patton explains.

That’s what it takes to deliver 600 bouquets. Throw in a few hundred walk ins and last minute orders, and you can see why they need all the help they can get.

“Roses are the number one. The mixed arrangements are number two,” Patton says.

But if flowers aren’t your thing, there’s always chocolate.

“These are long stemmed strawberries. They were picked last night in California and flown in this morning,” White Wolf Creek owner David Christenson says.

It’s just one of many sweet treats you can find at White Wolf Creek, but their specialty is the annual wild game dinner for two.

“Alligator crepes which has alligator, crab and shrimp in it. Then we’ll be doing also a duck crepe this evening. It has a wild rice and duck in a raspberry sauce,” Christenson explains.

Other menu items include wild boar and rainbow trout.

It’s a unique way to show that special someone just how much you care.

“Last year we had a line out the door,” Christenson says.

But White Wolf Creek wasn’t the only shop with a line out its door.

“Today has been extremely busy,” Diane Schaap of Chocolaterie Sam says.

Chocolaterie Sam had a line out the door all morning. Countless shoppers rushed to get that last minute gift.

“Men will run in. They say, “I need a box, put a bow on it. Make it pretty.”  Then they’re out of here,” Schaap says.

After everyone bought their flowers and chocolates, the last minute shopping moved to restaurants.

Many feature special meals and decorations to celebrate the holiday.

Florist

Florists do brisk business thanks to Valentine’s Day

Florists did roaring business of an estimated Rs.10 crore in Delhi and neighbouring cities on Tuesday with the demand for flowers, particularly roses and carnations, soaring on Valentine’s Day that symbolises affection, love and romance.

It also goes without saying that the day left a deep hole in the pockets of buyers as the price of a single rose was as high as Rs.100 at some places.

“Valentine’s Day (February 14) is a golden day for florists,” All-India Cut Flower and Growers’ Association president Brij Mohan Khanagwal told PTI.

Flowers worth over Rs.10 crore were sold in a single day on Tuesday in Delhi and cities of Lucknow, Jaipur, Jammu and Patiala, he said.

Sher Singh Saini, a wholesaler at Ghazipur, the biggest wholesale flower market in the national Capital, said sales were nearly two times higher on Tuesday as compared to any other day. In fact, this year sales have been picking up for the past one week, he added.

Ferns ‘n’ Petals, with 113 outlets across the country, said sales are almost 10 times more in its outlets today as compared to a normal day. The maximum sales were in Delhi where it has 34 outlets, said an F ‘n’ P official, Tarana. Roses, especially red ones, and carnations registered high sales, she added.

Khanagwal said Delhi receives roses mainly from Bangalore and Pune, while carnations are brought from Himachal Pradesh and Dehra Dun in addition to Bangalore and Pune.

Orchids sourced from Thailand and Bangkok are also in great demand, Saini said.

Traders said a single rose is sold for Rs.10 in wholesale while carnation costs between Rs.10 and 15 apiece. The retail prices ranged from Rs.50 to 100 apiece, they said.

Delhi is Asia’s largest flower market. India’s flower production stands at around 1,000 tonnes per annum and most of the flower trade occur in the Delhi region.

There are a total of about 500 flower sellers in Delhi, said Khanagwal, who owns a flower outlet in Connaught Place. – PTI

references:

http://kaaltv.com/article/stories/S2496958.shtml?cat=10226

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article2895608.ece

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-tools/small-business-briefing/why-small-businesses-love-valentines-day/article2337724/

(November 24, 1920 – December 26, 2009) was a prominent black American political and business leader. A civil-rights activist and lawyer, he was also a Freedom Rider and the legal representative for Malcolm X. He was the highest-ranking African-American elected official in New York City when he was Manhattan boroughpresident from 1966 to 1977, the longest tenure at that position. He later became an entrepreneur whose included investments included the New York Amsterdam News and the Apollo Theater in Harlem.^[1]

references:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Sutton

Thurgood Marshall, 1908–93, U.S.  lawyer and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1967–91), b. Baltimore.  He received his law degree from Howard Univ. in 1933. In 1936 he joined the  legal staff of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.  As its chief counsel (1938–61), he argued more than 30 cases before the U.S.  Supreme Court, successfully challenging racial segregation, most notably in  higher education. His presentation of the argument against the “separate but  equal” doctrine achieved its greatest impact with the landmark decision handed  down in Brown v. Board of Education of  Topeka (1954). His appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 1961 was  opposed by some Southern senators and was not confirmed until 1962. President  Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him to the Supreme Court two years later; he was the  first black to sit on the high court, where he consistently supported the  position taken by those challenging discrimination based on race or sex, opposed  the death penalty, and supported the rights of criminal defendants. His support  for affirmative action led to his strong dissent in Regents  of the University of California v. Bakke (1978). As appointments by  Presidents Nixon and Reagan changed the outlook of the Court, Marshall found  himself increasingly in the minority; in retirement he was outspoken in his  criticism of the court.

Read more: Thurgood Marshall — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0831961.html#ixzz1mH0Vv3l6

How to soften the pain @ the pump?  Make more MONEY!!!

Candidate	Mitt Romney	Newt Gingrich
Party	Republican	Republican
Home state	Massachusetts	Georgia
Delegate count	104*[1]	34*[1]
States carried	3	1
Popular vote	1,086,093	822,829
Percentage	40.6%	30.8%
Candidate	Ron Paul	Rick Santorum
Party	Republican	Republican
Home state	Texas	Pennsylvania
Delegate count	20*[1]	48*[1]
States carried	0	4
Popular vote	284,187	381,381
Percentage	10.6%	14.3%

Results of the 2012 Republican Party primaries and caucuses Orange denotes a state won by Mitt Romney. Purple denotes a state won by Newt Gingrich. Green denotes a state won by Rick Santorum. Grey denotes a state that has not yet started/completed voting. Note that not all states are “winner-take-all”.
*Delegate counts are pledged delegates or those who have committed to support a candidate. This necessarily omits delegates who are not yet supporting a candidate.

Date	Location	Type	Unbound delegates	Bound delegates	Delegate allocation	1st	2nd	3rd
02012-01-03Jan. 3	Iowa	Caucus	28	0	Convention	Rick Santorum	Mitt Romney	Ron Paul
02012-01-10Jan. 10	New Hampshire#	Primary (semi-closed)	0	12	Proportional	Mitt Romney	Ron Paul	Jon Huntsman
02012-01-21Jan. 21	South Carolina#	Primary (open)	0	25	Winner-take-all (AL) Winner-take-all (CD)	Newt Gingrich	Mitt Romney	Rick Santorum
02012-01-31Jan. 31	Florida#	Primary (closed)	0	50	Winner-take-all	Mitt Romney	Newt Gingrich	Rick Santorum
02012-02-04Feb. 4	Nevada	Caucus	0	28	Proportional	Mitt Romney	Newt Gingrich	Ron Paul
02012-02-07Feb. 7	Colorado	Caucus	36	0	Convention	Rick Santorum	Mitt Romney	Newt Gingrich
	Minnesota	Caucus	40	0	N/Aa	Rick Santorum	Ron Paul	Mitt Romney
	Missouri	Primary (nonbinding)b	0	0	N/A	Rick Santorum	Mitt Romney	Ron Paul
02012-02-11Feb. 11	Maine	Caucus	24	0	Convention
02012-02-28Feb. 28	Arizona#	Primary (closed)	0	29	Winner-take-all
	Michigan#	Primary (closed)c	0	30	Proportional (AL) Winner-take-all (CD)
02012-03-03Mar. 3	Washington	Caucus	3	40	Conventiond
02012-03-06Mar. 6	Alaska	Caucus	3	24	Proportional
	Georgia	Primary (open)	0	76	Proportional
	Idaho	Caucus	0	32	Proportional
	Massachusetts	Primary (semi-closed)	3	38	Proportional
	North Dakota	Caucus	28	0	N/A
	Ohio	Primary (semi-closed)	3	63	Proportional (AL)e Winner-take-all (CD)
	Oklahoma	Primary (closed)	3	40	Proportionale
	Tennessee	Primary (open)	3	55	Proportionalf
	Vermont	Primary (open)	0	17	Proportional (AL)e Winner-take-all (CD)
	Virginia	Primary (open)	3	46	Proportional (AL)e Winner-take-all (CD)
02012-03-07Mar. 7Mar. 6–10	Wyoming	Caucus	29	0	N/A
02012-03-10Mar. 10	Kansas	Caucus	0	40	Proportional (AL) Winner-take-all (CD)
	U.S. Virgin Islands	Caucus	9	0	N/Ag
	Guam	Caucus	9	0	N/Ag
02012-03-13Mar. 13	Alabama	Primary (open)	3	47	Proportionale
	American Samoa	Caucus	9	0	N/Aa
	Hawaii	Caucus	3	17	Proportional
	Mississippi	Primary (open)	3	37	Proportional
02012-03-17Mar. 17	Missouri	Caucus	0	52	Conventiond
02012-03-18Mar. 18	Puerto Rico	Primary (open)	3	20	Winner-take-all
02012-03-20Mar. 20	Illinois	Primary (open)	69	0	N/A
02012-03-24Mar. 24	Louisiana	Primary (closed)	21	25	Proportional (AL) Unbound (CD)
02012-04-03Apr. 3	Maryland	Primary (closed)	0	37	Winner-take-all
	Texas	Primary (open)	0	155	Proportional
	Washington, D.C.	Primary (closed)	3	16	Winner-take-all
	Wisconsin	Primary (open)	3	39	Winner-take-all
02012-04-24Apr. 24	Connecticut	Primary (closed)	3	25	Proportional (AL)e Winner-take-all (CD)
	Delaware	Primary (closed)	0	17	Winner-take-all
	New York	Primary (closed)	3	92	Proportionale
	Pennsylvania	Primary (closed)	72	0	N/A
	Rhode Island	Primary (semi-closed)	3	16	Proportional
02012-05-08May 8	Indiana	Primary (open)	19	27	Winner-take-all (CD) Unbound (AL)
	North Carolina	Primary (semi-closed)	0	55	Proportional
	West Virginia	Primary (semi-closed)	3	28	Proportional
02012-05-15May 15	Nebraska	Primary (nonbinding)b	3	32	Conventiond
	Oregon	Primary (closed)	3	25	Proportional
02012-05-22May 22	Arkansas	Primary (open)	3	33	Proportionale
	Kentucky	Primary (closed)	3	42	Proportional
02012-06-05Jun. 5	California	Primary (closed)	3	169	Winner-take-all
	Montana	Primary (nonbinding)b	26	0	N/A
	New Jersey	Primary (semi-closed)	0	50	Winner-take-all
	New Mexico	Primary (closed)	3	20	Proportional
	South Dakota	Primary (closed)	3	25	Proportional
02012-06-26Jun. 26	Utah	Primary (semi-closed)	0	40	Winner-take-all
02012-07-31Jul. 31	Northern Mariana Is.	Caucus	9	0	N/A

Candidates	Mitt Romney	Newt Gingrich	Rick Santorum	Ron Paul	Jon Huntsman	Rick Perry	Michele Bachmann
Home state	Massachusetts	Georgia	Pennsylvania	Texas	Utah	Texas	Minnesota
Secured delegates[64]	90	31	4	8	2	0	0
Total votes[65]	833,087 (27.8%)	323,209 (10.8%)	1,174,794 (39.2%)	547,497 (18.3%)	26,143 (0.9%)	51,166 (1.7%)	12,571 (0.4%)
States – 1st place	New Hampshire Florida Nevada	South Carolina	Iowa Colorado Minnesota Missouri (primary)	–	–	–	–
States – 2nd place	South Carolina Iowa Missouri (primary) Colorado	Florida Nevada	–	New Hampshire Minnesota	–	–	–
States – 3rd place	Minnesota	Colorado	South Carolina Florida	Iowa Nevada Missouri (primary)	New Hampshire	–	–
Suspension date	–	–	–	–	January 16, 2012	January 19, 2012	January 4, 2012

Republican primaries and caucuses calendar 2012

January 2012 (4) February 2012 (7) March 2012 (23)

April 2012 (9) May 2012 (7) June 2012 (6)

references:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_presidential_primaries,_2012

Brown was born in Virginia in 1800. She married another slave when she was eighteen and together they had four children. In 1835, Brown’s family was broken apart when they were all sold to different slave owners; Clara was sold to a plantation owner in Kentucky. When Brown was 56 years-of-age, she received her freedom and required by law to leave the state worked her way west as a cook and laundress to Denver, Colorado.

Brown settled in the mining town now called Central City, Colorado where she worked as a laundress, cook and mid-wife. With the money she made, she invested in properties and mines in nearby towns. Known as “Aunt Clara” for her emotional and financial support, Brown was a founding member of a Sunday school, made her home available for prayer services and generously supported the community.

At the end of the Civil War, Brown could freely travel and liquidated all of her investments to travel to Kentucky to find her daughter. Although she was unsuccessful, she paid the way for 16 or more relatives and others who were former slaves to move to Colorado. Finally in 1882 she reunited with Eliza Jane and Eliza Jane’s daughter. In 1885, the last year of her life, Clara Brown was voted into the Society of Colorado Pioneers for her role in Colorado’s early history.

references:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Brown

• Clara Brown Biography (1800-1885). Biography Channel. A&E Network. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
• Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, Clara Brown. Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame. 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
• Hill, A. (1915). Colorado pioneers in picture and story. Denver: Brock-Hafner Press.
• Katz, W. (1995) Black Women of the Old West. Chapter 7, Clara Brown of Colorado. New York: Antheum Books for Young Readers, Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-689-319440.
• Reiter, Joan S. (1978). The Old West: The Women. Time-Life Books ISBN 0-8094-1514-3
• Varnell, Jeanne (1999). Women of Consequence: The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame. Boulder: Johnson Press. ISBN 1-55566-214-5.
• Wishart, David J. (2004). “Brown, “Aunt” Clara”. Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-4787-7.

He became a Mexican citizen in 1844 and received a land grant from the Mexican government, 8 Spanish leagues, or 35,500 acres (144 km²) south of the American River, known as Rancho Rio de los Americanos. He served as US Vice Consul to Mexico at the Port of San Francisco beginning in 1845. Leidesdorff was Presdident of the San Francisco school board and also elected as City Treasurer. Shortly before Leidesdorff’s death, vast amounts of gold were officially reported on his Rancho Rio De los Americanos. By the time his estate was auctioned off in 1856, it was worth more than $1,445,000, not including vast quantities of gold mined upon his land.

International Leidesdorff Bicentennial Celebrations will feature the “Golden Legacy of William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr.” On October 22, 2011 on his native isle of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, a special event will highlight the season of celebrations.