Third child

The Author of this post is Solomon Dejesus
When we had our third child, we decided that my wife would cut back to part-time status at work. This decreased our income, so I decided that we needed to make some financial adjustments in our household. We began to live on a cash budget, which meant getting out a certain amount of cash each week to use on groceries and restaurants. I also decided to shop for energy online and found out that we could get fixed-rate energy for our home. My wife said she wanted to contribute to the decreased budget by clipping coupons each week from the paper and using them on groceries. Honestly, I have been doing most of the grocery shopping since our baby was born, so it will really be me using the coupons. We also stopped eating out so much. This was something that was not hard to cut out of our spending because it is nearly impossible to eat out in public with three children. It’s a lot calmer and less stressful to eat at home. Hopefully with these budget cuts, my wife will eventually be able to stay home full time.

The store

Guest post written by my buddy Royce Heath
My apartment sits just above a coffee shop and bakery, and it’s just the best thing. I wake up every morning to the scent of fresh baked pastries and the soft sounds that come through my ceiling are really soothing, in my opinion. At first I was afraid all the foot traffic down there would really get on my nerves but I’ve actually found that I like having people around. It makes me feel safer, especially at night. The coffee house used to have a wireless connection that I could tap into but they’ve since scrapped it, which is okay because I got Clearinternet anyway. My dog likes to go down there and sit at their outside tables and they even have homemade dog treats and a water bowl just outside the door! I can’t really complain, the owners Jim and Stacy are actually my landlords and they’re great at that, too. All in all, I think I’ve got a pretty sweet gig living up here above the store!

You Have to Watch Eastbound & Down

Guest post written by my buddy Orville Lynn

Ever since Eastbound & Down premiered on HBO, I haven't missed an episode; this is because it has a sports theme, which I love without a doubt. Although football is my favorite sport of all time, watching baseball to pass the time is always a plus. I still remember the first time I watched Bull Durham; that's basically what hooked me on sports movies and sports-related television shows.

Every week, I tune into Eastbound & Down on my satellite TV, which would be the only way to watch it since this premium channel is broadcast in high definition.
Danny McBride plays the role of Kenny Powers, which he does very well because he really looks like a baseball pitcher. In the show, he has had some good and b! ad moments in the major leagues, but he is finally forced to leave the majors and become a substitute Phys-Ed teacher at his hometown middle school.

If you love sports and comedy as much as I do, then there's no reason not to tune into HBO and get hooked like I did after I got Directv because of thier DirecTV new customer rates.

Congress buys more time for budget dispute

WASHINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress on Thursday bought itself more time to work out a much-delayed budget deal as the costs of the stalemate were increasingly felt across the globe.
By a vote of 87 to 13, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed a sixth stopgap bill to keep the government running through April 8, more than six months after the fiscal year began.

Bahrain Says Will Release Political Prisoners

MANAMA—In a bid to appease opposition demonstrators, Bahrain's king on Tuesday agreed to free some political prisoners, even as the protesters prepared for another big demonstration in the capital later in the day.

Full details of the number and the identities of prisoners to be pardoned by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa weren't immediately clear. But the main opposition bloc al-Wefaq said the decree included 25 Shiite activists, who were on trial for allegedly plotting against the state.
"No official statement has been made yet but we have been promised that the political prisoners will be included in the pardon. We will, of course, review our position after the prisoners are released, but this is a positive step," said Abdul Jalil Khalil, an al-Wefaq lawmaker.
At a government news conference on Tuesday, spokeswoman Maysoon Sabkar said it is "unclear" how many prisoners would be freed, but stressed that Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa was committed to ensuring "the participation of all political groups so that everyone can get round the table."

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Terrorism sponsor no more? Obama hints at taking Sudan from the list.

Washington(CSM)The United States on Monday held out the prospect of reducing its dwindling list of state sponsors of terrorism by yet another country, with both President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton saying Sudan could soon be removed from the list.

Talk of Sudan’s possible removal from the sponsor-of-terror list came in the context of the release Monday of official results of a January referendum in South Sudan showing that the predominantly Christian half of the country had voted to secede.

The US said Monday it will recognize an independent southern Sudan – and added that recognition of an independent south by Khartoum would pave the way for a review of Sudan’s 16-year-old terror sponsor designation.

“For those who meet all of their obligations, there is a path to greater prosperity and normal relations with the United States, including examining Sudan’s designations as a state sponsor of terrorism,” Mr. Obama said in a statement.

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir on Monday appeared to accept the inevitable and said he wanted to be the first to congratulate the south on its vote to form a new state.

Sudan currently occupies the US terrorism list with three other countries: Cuba, Iran, and Syria. The Bush administration removed two countries from the list – Libya in 2006 and North Korea in 2008 – although the Obama administration has said it was considering returning North Korea to the list after a series of nuclear and missile tests in 2009.

Darfur still an issue

The State Department said Monday that Sudan has demonstrated that it wants normalized relations with the US. Since 2006 the State Department has reported improving “cooperation” from Sudan in the global war on terror, but the regime in Khartoum has also won demerits for the war in its own western province of Darfur, where hundreds of thousands of Sudanese citizens have been killed or displaced.

In his statement, Obama made special mention of Darfur, repeating US insistence that attacks on civilians there must stop.

Secretary Clinton said Sudan could be removed from the state-sponsor list if it meets the requirements of US law – including a finding that it had not sponsored any act of terror in the preceding six months.

“Removal of the state sponsor of terrorism designation will take place if and when Sudan meets all criteria spelled out in US law, including not supporting international terrorism for the preceding six months and providing assurance it will not support such acts in the future,” Clinton said. Khartoum must also fully implement all provisions of a 2005 peace agreement with the south, she added.

President Bashir may want off the US terror list, but he also has an eye on his July 2008 indictment by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Non-governmental organizations focused on Sudan and Darfur were cautiously optimistic about the official referendum results announced Monday, but said sustained international oversight would be crucial in the months leading up to southern Sudan’s independence.

'Sustained US ... attention'

The Genocide Intervention Network / Save Darfur Coalition urged “sustained US and international attention to the interim period before South Sudan's official independence in July,” said Amir Osman, the coalition’s senior director for policy and government relations.

“The United States and other international leaders must sustain aggressive diplomatic efforts to ensure a peace throughout Sudan, north and south," Mr. Osman said. "The south will require support in facing internal tensions and managing the high expectations that come with independence, and the Khartoum regime must be held accountable for its attacks on civilians and its ongoing efforts to block peacekeepers and humanitarian aid workers in the region.”

Khartoum’s Bashir still must prove his good intentions towards the south, but recent events in addition to Washington’s words Monday suggest he may be making headway internationally.

Last month the African Union issued a statement calling on the international community to drop its indictment of Bashir and to establish normal relations with Khartoum. And recent reports from Paris suggest the US and France have been considering a plan to encourage deferral of any action on Bashir’s indictment in exchange for his commitment to peace in the south and in Darfur.

Luther "Uncle Luke" Campbell, formerly of 2 Live Crew is planning to run for Mayor of Miami.

Luther "Uncle Luke" Campbell, formerly of raunchy rap group 2 Live Crew, known for such heartwarming songs as "Me So Horny" and "Face Down, Ass Up," is planning to run for Mayor of Miami. He's looking towards a March 15 vote to recall current mayor Carlos Alvarez, and told the Miami New Times, where he's a sometime columnist, that he's "mad frustrated." "Why aren't we getting it right in Miami-Dade? Why is our governor only serving one set of people? That's what is pushing me to run," he said.

Campbell's platform includes the usual planks of balancing the budget, affordable housing, and not raising taxes, and he's frustrated with the endless construction at Miami International Airport. But what may set him apart from other candidates is his plan to tax exotic dancers:

"Even though all my stripper friends are gonna be mad at me, I think we can stimulate the economy with a tax on strippers. They make all this money and don't pay taxes. I'd take that cash and put it into a fund where it supports youth athletics for girls, like cheerleading or softball," he told the paper.

The fifty-year-old Campbell joins other rappers who've recently pursued political aspirations --- Wyclef Jean attempted to run for president of Haiti last year, and Rhymefest announced his candidacy for Chicago's 20th ward alderman in October. Uncle Luke stated his intention to run a grassroots campaign modeled after President Obama's 2008 presidential bid targeting voters who are registered but apathetic. "It will be just like music marketing," he explained. "Fun. We will be having campaign parties before the election to get people motivated, get them behind something historical." Campaign parties? Unlike the old days, I don't think you'll see many strippers this time.