House Approves Changes to Amazon Deal, 90-14
he South Carolina House of Representatives passed a plan to bring an expected 2,000 jobs from Amazon to the Palmetto State. The plan will now head to Gov. Nikki Haley's desk, though she has said that she would not sign the bill, but also would not veto it. The bill would have to sit for five days unsigned before it became law.

The company is required to invest $125 million in the Palmetto State and create full-time jobs with health benefits.
According to lawmakers, the deal gives Amazon the five-year exemption it wanted that would not require it to collect sales tax from online shoppers in South Carolina.  

"Seriously, it was a grass-roots effort. It's not about Randy Halfacre. I was just a cheerleader," Halfacre said, "How could we in South Carolina turn down over 2,000 jobs? How could we turn down a payroll of close to $75 million annually that will basically be spent on Main Street to save Main Street." Though Lexington County has the lowest unemployment rate in the Palmetto State, Halfacre said the new venture would employ 4,500 people of the Midlands.

Feds Shut Down East Coast Bus Service After Fatal Crash

Federal regulators have shut down East Coast bus service SkyExpress after a crash in Virginia that killed four people and sent more than 50 others to hospitals.
The U.S. Department of Transportation said it is prohibiting North Carolina-based SkyExpress from operating interstate transportation. The service employs routes to South Carolina.
Transportation officials said in a statement Tuesday the bus company violated multiple federal safety regulations.


Black History

Amazon packing after House vote

Online retailer cancels contracts, job postings for Cayce site

Amazon all but told South Carolina goodbye Wednesday after the online retailer lost a legislative showdown on a sales tax collection exemption it wants to open a distribution center that would bring 1,249 jobs to the Midlands.
Company officials immediately halted plans to equip and staff the one million-square-foot building under construction at I-77 and 12th Street near Cayce.
“As a result of today’s unfortunate House vote, we’ve canceled $52 million in procurement contracts and removed all South Carolina fulfillment center job postings from our (Web) site,” said Paul Misener, Amazon vice president for global public policy.

How they voted

YES

M. Allison, R-Spartanburg, T. Atwater, R-Lexington, N. Ballentine, R-Richland, B. Bannister, R-Greenville, J. Battle, D-Marion, K. Bingham, R-Lexington, J. Brady, R-Richland, L. Branham, D-Florence, N. Brannon, R-Spartanburg, C. Brantley, D-Jasper, H. Brown, D-Fairfield, M. Butler Garrick, D-Richland, W. Clyburn, D-Aiken, G. Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, J. Cole, R-Spartanburg, D. Cooper, R-Anderson, J. Daning, R-Berkeley, P. Forrester, R-Spartanburg, M. Frye, R-Lexington, M. Gambrell, R-Anderson, R. Harrell, R-Charleston, J. Harrison, R-Richland, C. Hart, D-Richland, J. Hayes, D-Dillon, C. Huggins, R-Lexington, P. Knight, D-Dorchester, D. Loftis, R-Greenville, D. Mack, D-Charleston, W. McLeod, D-Newberry, H. Mitchell, D-Spartanburg, V. Moss, R-Cherokee, J. Neal, D-Richland, D. Neilson, D-Darlington, H. Ott, D-Calhoun, A. Patrick, R-Beaufort, R. Quinn, R-Lexington, J. Rutherford, D-Richland, R. Sabb, D-Williamsburg, B. Sellers, D-Bamberg, B. Skelton, R-Pickens, J. Smith, D-Richland, F. Sottile, R-Charleston, K. Spires, R-Lexington, L. Stavrinakis, D-Charleston, T. Stringer, R-Greenville, E. Tallon, R-Spartanburg, M. Toole, R-Lexington

NO

P. Agnew, D-Abbeville, T. Alexander, D-Florence, K. Allen, D-Greenville, C. Anderson, D-Georgetown, M. Anthony, D-Spartanburg, L. Barfield, R-Horry, E. Bedingfield, R-Greenville, E. Bikas, R-Pickens, D. Bowen, R-Anderson, W. Bowers, D-Hampton, R. Brown, D-Charleston, W. Chumley, R-Spartanburg, A. Clemmons, R-Horry, T. Corbin, R-Greenville, K. Crawford, R-Florence, W. Crosby, R-Charleston, F. Delleney, R-Chester, C. Dillard, D-Greenville, T. Edge, R-Horry, S. Erickson, R-Beaufort, L. Funderburk, D-Kershaw, W. Gilliard, D-Charleston, J. Govan, D-Orangeburg, D. Hamilton, R-Greenville, N. Hardwick, R-Horry, G. Hearn, R-Horry, P. Henderson, R-Greenville, D. Hiott, R-Pickens, W. Hixon, R-Aiken, J. Horne, R-Dorchester, L. Hosey, D-Barnwell, L. Howard, D-Richland, J. Jefferson, D-Berkeley, K. Johnson, D-Clarendon, J. King, D-York, H. Limehouse, R-Charleston, D. Long, R-Lancaster, P. Lowe, R-Florence, J. Lucas, R-Darlington, P. McCoy, R-Charleston, J. McEachern, D-Richland, D. Moss, R-Cherokee, E. Munnerlyn, D-Marlboro, C. Murphy, R-Dorchester, W. Nanney, R-Greenville, J. Neal, D-Lancaster, R. Norman, R-York, P. Owens, R-Pickens, S. Parker, R-Spartanburg, J. Parks, D-Greenwood, L. Pinson, R-Greenwood, M. Pitts, R-Laurens, T. Pope, R-York, K. Ryan, R-Georgetown, W. Sandifer, R-Oconee, J. Simrill, R-York, G. Smith, R-Sumter, G. Smith, R-Greenville, J. Smith, R-Aiken, B. Taylor, R-Aiken, A. Thayer, R-Anderson, D. Tribble, R-Laurens, T. Vick, D-Chesterfield, T. Viers, R-Horry, J. Weeks, D-Sumter, J. Whipper, D-Charleston, W. White, R-Anderson, W. Whitmire, R-Oconee, R. Williams, D-Darlington, M. Willis, R-Greenville, T. Young, R-Aiken

NOT VOTING

J. Bales, D-Richland, G. Brown, D-Lee, W. Herbkersman, R-Beaufort, K. Hodges, D-Colleton, J. Merrill, R-Berkeley, C. Umphlett, R-Berkeley

Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2011/04/28/1795776/amazon-packing-after-house-vote.html#ixzz1Kq9IPD8m

Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2011/04/28/1795776/amazon-packing-after-house-vote.html#ixzz1Kq8RN1FR

Warning to the Black Family!

Positive-Minded People Will Become the Victors in the 21st Century!

Negative-Thinking People Will Never Be Happy with Positive-Thinking People!
by Miriam G. Aw


The article below Entrepreneurs Choosing To Go It Alone was interesting because it's been my observational experience that such a claim is on-point . . . to a certain degree. 

However, I do believe that sooner than later in Year 2011, there will be an influx of individuals, who, too, will connect-the-dots, realizing that it will behoove them to seek an alternative method of generating income because we can no longer rely on selfish greedy manipulative American businesses in the 21st Century!


Plainly put, the 20th Century of greed, deceitfulness, corruption, and blatant disregard for public consumers is no longer the 'norm' when it comes to our well-being in a country run by wealthy non-caring elitist men and women who pimp up with their idea of what's good, and not good, with an agenda whose methodology is to "Divide and Conquer" by any means necessary, to protect their wealth!

What I believe the article fails to mention is that in order for EVERYONE to get a piece of the pie, per se, negative contributing attitudes of jealousy, envy, selfishness, manipulation, greediness, and other negative personality qualities that are often associated with business, and non-business ventures must be eliminated for the sake of creating cohesiveness among the masses.

In other words, negative attitudes of "I don't want her to make money off of me," or "I don't want him to make money off of me," and I know for a fact that these ignorant backward sentiments exist!

Some may say that this is a 'cultural' thing.  Others might say that these fools are victims of not being taught the value of 'ownership.'  

Again, it's been my experience that when you are a bit more INSIGHTFUL than the next person, or at best, MORE knowledgeable by APPLYING the knowledge that you're fortunate to use, then you become a target for these backward ignorant sore-popping-thinking motherfuckers.  

Oh well.

Fortunately, however, it's a breath of fresh air to know that there are individuals, who DO know the importance of "Valuing oneself," in this world by using what God has bestowed unto them to use as a tool to achieve what they are destined to do in his, or her, life!
 
Entrepreneurs Choosing to Go it Alone

Broken down by race, Latinos experienced the highest activity increase between 2009 and last year, to 0.56% from 0.46%. It's the highest rate in the past 15 years, the study found.
Asian entrepreneurial activity rate was also high, rising to 0.37% from 0.31%.
On the other hand, African-Americans and non-Latino whites experienced declines in entrepreneurial activity rates, the study found.
Immigrants starting businesses had a particularly strong increase, to 0.62% from 0.51% in 2009, a rate that declined slightly for native-born people.
Entrepreneurial activity increased slightly for men and decreased slightly for women. For men, the entrepreneurial activity rate increased from 0.43% in 2009 to 0.44% last year. The female entrepreneurship rate decreased from 0.25% to 0.24%.

My hopes for every positive-minded person living in America is to grab hold onto a viable conceptual [home base] business that will allow them the freedom to explore, and exhaust ALL avenues of achieving financial and spiritual stability in a world that is obviously crumbling before our eyes with antiquated notions that average men and women across all racial and class lines do not exercise the common sense that the Good Lord bestowed unto them to use.

My name is Miriam, and I just wanted to make-it-plain!

Peace.