WHAT IS POLITICAL AND CORPORATE PIMPING. BY A.W. KHABIR

WHAT IS POLITICAL AND CORPORATE PIMPING

Before I define what is political and corporate pimp, let’s first define what is a pimp.

A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who lives off their earnings. Pimping is illegal in most countries. The majority of pimps are men. A woman who runs a brothel is known as a madam. The pimp-prostitute relationship can be abusive, with the pimp using techniques such as psychological intimidation, manipulation and physical force to control the prostitutes he sends out to work.

Pimps are known under the law as procurers.

Pimping is sometimes operated like a business. The pimp may have a bottom girl who serves as office manager, keeping the pimp apprised of law-enforcement activity and collecting money from the prostitutes.  Pimps recognize a hierarchy among themselves. The least respected, or newer pimps, are the “popcorn pimps” and “wannabes”. A pimp who uses violence and intimidation to control his prostitutes is called a “jonas pimp”, while those pimps that use psychological trickery to deceive younger prostitutes into becoming hooked into the system are called “finesse pimps”. An important part of the business is obtaining and maintaining a selection of prostitutes. Losing one’s prostitute to another pimp is known as getting “peeled”. Informing a pimp that one of his prostitutes has switched pimps is a professional courtesy, and any attempt to respond to this courtesy with violence will quickly get the violent pimp labeled a “Gorilla” or “Godzilla”. Prostitutes who move between pimps often are labeled as a “choosey Susie”. In addition, a prostitute may “bounce” from pimp to pimp without paying the “pimp moving” tax.

The pimp business has an internal structure – built around violence – for dealing with rule breakers. For example, pimps have been known to employ a “pimp stick,” which is two coat hangers wrapped together, in order to subdue unruly prostitutes. A variation is a “pimp cane”, a cane used for similar purposes.  Another punishment for unruly prostitutes is to “trunk” them, where the pimp locks the prostitute in the trunk of a car. Although prostitutes are supposedly free to move between pimps, this movement sometimes leads to violence. For example, a prostitute could be punished for merely looking at another pimp; this is considered “reckless eyeballing”. Violent force is also used on customers, for example if the customer attempts to evade payment or becomes unruly with a prostitute.

So now what is political and corporate pimp?

What is the current US corporate media-induced frenzy, regarding the so-called “Obama phenomenon,” really all about and why, at this juncture in history, has it become increasingly so important for corporate America’s global military/industrial apparatus to have a male face of color as the figure head at its helm?

The actual function of the US corporate media and its allies is to control, falsely depict, and shape opinion. It does not exist to inform honestly the masses of people in order that they/we might truly be an informed people making informed decisions in our own best interest. Grasping this reality is essential to understanding how and why the US corporate media acts in the fashion it does.

The perpetual objective of the US corporate media and its minions world wide is constantly to distort, disinform and thereby disempower and control.

Thus, anyone who dares expose the actual avaricious interests of the corporate media and its masters, in favor of the masses of people, such as does former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, is vilified, marginalized and/or ignored by said media. Cynthia McKinney is a time tested champion of the people who has demonstrated time and time again that she is no pawn of corporate America’s military/industrial complex.

Like the late and beloved former US Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, Cynthia McKinney is “unbought and unbossed.” She does not have to make a case to the American people about her ethnicity or Blackness, as the essence of who and what she is, is amply demonstrated by her many years of active commitment to the struggle for political, economic and social justice for all people: Black, Brown, Red, Yellow, and White.

Cynthia McKinney has left the morally and politically bankrupt Democratic Party in favor of building and supporting a real grass roots coalition across this nation that is committed to attaining real power for and to the people. Nevertheless, don’t plan to ascertain much about her US Presidential campaign or the concomitant “Power To The People” coalition from the US corporate media, for this is not in their interest. You will, however, learn about Cynthia McKinney’s campaign and the “Power To The People” coalition over time, as the incessant whispers of every day people grow into the roars of active political coalition building. This is all about real empowerment: exposing, stopping, and ultimately systemically reversing the insidious gains made by the de facto war profiteers and their blood-soaked and greedy corporate partners. This is not about raising false “hopes” or “dreams.” This is about people collectively and actively struggling to take control from the corporate maggots of the military/industrial complex who profit from the deprivation and misery of the vast majority of people in this nation and on this planet.

It does not take a rocket scientist to understand, immediately and intuitively, that the very same (and in many respects worse) US corporate media that overwhelmingly vilified both Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X right up to the time of their assassinations, continues today to be no friend of the majority of the people, be they Black, Brown, Red, Yellow, or even White.

To the contrary, the US corporate media promotes the interests of the corporate power elite by promoting those who represent those interests.

A reader wrote concerning Barack Obama: “With Obama the system is employing a bait and switch tactic. On the surface the guy looks like he represents all that is new and hopeful, but he is a product of the corporate culture and that is where his heart and interests lie.” In my opinion, this reader’s observation is correct.

When observing the cynical strategy of Barack Obama’s US Presidential campaign, particularly as it relates to Black America, and ultimately to America as a whole.  Malcolm X once said, “A man who tosses worms in the river isn’t necessarily a friend of the fish. All the fish who take him for a friend, who think the worm’s got no hook in it, usually end up in the frying pan.”

Be clear about this: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was brutally murdered on April 4, 1968, in the context of his active and outspoken support for the massively exploited sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, and his crystal clear and adamant opposition to the US war in Vietnam. Dr. King was fundamentally despised by corporate American media and the US military/industrial complex. To portray this otherwise is simply not the truth, and it is accurate that those who do not know their history assuredly are bound to repeat it. We can ill afford to be hoodwinked by the US corporate media and its allies.

Yet, when researching who US Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign advisors are, it is clear that they come from corporate America and the military industrial complex and who today remain, more than ever, the de facto enemies of economically exploited and oppressed Black, Brown, Red, Yellow, and White peoples.

We must ask ourselves: are we about to be the “fish” who “end up in the frying pan” of corporate America’s military/industrial fish fry?

Whereas Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. abhorred the US war in Vietnam and elsewhere in the world, Barack Obama, cloaking himself in the guise of being a “peace” candidate, has repeatedly stated his support for “unilateral” US military actions in other nations. He has indicated that he opposes how the US is waging the war in Iraq, not the US waging of this bloody, illegal, and amoral war itself. It should be reiterated that Obama has clearly stated that he would wage this war “better,” more effectively. This is not the position of a candidate of PEACE. It is the position of a candidate promoting a PIECE of war.

US corporate media clips and sound bites of Barack Obama, shamelessly and hypocritically mimicking and invoking as his own, the legacy of the murdered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other Black American women and men freedom fighters as if he embodies the struggle for justice and equality of Black, Brown, Red and other disenfranchised people in America, is patently utterly obscene.

• The blood and collective memory of millions of Black women, men, and baby slaves in America € Of Denmark Vesey & Nat Turner 
• Of many tens of thousands of America’s Black lynching victims 
• Of the — four little Black girl — victims of the heinous 1963, church bombing by white racists in Birmingham, Alabama € Of the brutal murders of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Emmett Till, and so many untold others of Black America.

This ongoing struggle is by no means embodied by Barack Obama.

Simultaneously, the hollowness and unadulterated cynicism of Obama’s false claim that “America is one nation, one people” is not only inaccurate, it is deliberate distortion of the reality of social, economic, and political inequality in this nation.

Such rhetoric represents how Barack Obama seeks to “bamboozle” and negate Black America, other people of color and indeed all of America. It is a terrible charade supported and propagated by a significant segment of the corporate media and a back handed slap in the face to Black America.

Moreover, this is also becoming obvious to a growing number of white Americans. There is absolutely no way that Barack Obama and his corporate and military advisors could not know that it is the hopes and dreams of all Americans, and most especially those of us who are Black, Brown, and Red, who are cynically being played upon [i.e. pimped] by this Obama rhetoric.

Neither Americans nor the peoples of the rest of the world deserve any more of this.

Bear in mind that Barack Obama is perhaps, more than anything, a Trojan horse candidate for corporate America, its media, and concomitant military industrial complex.

Thus, a significant portion of the US corporate media is currently about the business of attempting to pimp us all, regardless of our color, on behalf of Barack Obama — sort of like an equal opportunity exploitation on behalf of the US corporate power elite.

Of course, Barack Obama is by no means the only candidate being backed by this corporate power elite, but he is, at this juncture, the darling of the US corporate media; this should give us all pause for thought.

Obama revels in stating that he is the offspring of a “Kenyan” father and a white American mother, as if that somehow, in and of itself, is significant or is a qualification for the US Presidency. It is not. Nor does it have any relevancy whatsoever with respect to the important policy questions that he has not seriously answered.

• Why does he support using “unilateral” US military actions in other nations?
• Why are his top advisors from the power elite of corporate America and the US military?
• Why did he not oppose the de facto racist, anti-Black and Brown, so-called Gang Abatement Act — S456 — in the US Senate?
• Why does he deny the existence of a “Black America,” while simultaneously attempting to garner its votes?
• Since he highlights that he is of a “Kenyan” father and a white American mother and he was raised essentially by whites, why is he any better qualified than a politically conscious and time-tested Black American of Black American parentage raised inside Black America to understand and relate to the pressing concerns of Black Americans or, indeed, all Americans?
• What does he intend to do about the infamous past and ongoing US Government COINTELPRO [Counter Intelligence Program] and COINTELPRO-type activities to frame, discredit, imprison and often murder those US citizens deemed as political enemies inside America, itself?
• Does he support reparations to Black Americans, the descendants of slaves in America?
• Does he actually believe that poor and disenfranchised people throughout America are being “coddled,” as he has indicated he believes about the people of Iraq?
• Other than rhetoric, what qualifications and specific actions make him substantially different from his Democratic Party competitors and better suited for the office of President of the United States?
• Who specifically are the corporate donors to his campaign and how does this influence him?
• Is his demonstrative loyalty to the people of the United States or actually to the corporate elite?

These represent only some of the serious questions that the US corporate media has not pressed Barack Obama to address. Moreover, as the son of a “Kenyan” father who ultimately left America and returned to his native Kenya, Barack Obama should certainly be poignantly cognizant of the fact that the true and courageous foot soldiers and every day people of the Kenyan movement for national independence from British colonialism and Western imperialism were, in fact, sold out by bourgeois nationalists who were masquerading as being of and for the masses of the Kenyan people.

This, coupled with the still-ticking time bombs of ethnic tensions — which were deliberately manipulated and exacerbated by past and ongoing Western imperialism — continue, in one hideous form or another, to afflict, horribly, Kenya as a country and the entire African continent as a whole.

Like some before him in his father’s native Kenya, Barack Obama in America has demonstrated that he is very solidly in the camp of the bourgeoisie of 21st century Western imperialism. Thus, the recipe for disaster in the Barack Obama scenario of America is ever so clear, notwithstanding America’s enormous proclivity for national and international subterfuge, trampling upon the sovereignty of selected nations, and resorting to military adventurism at the drop of a hat. This is further exacerbated by candidate Barack Obama’s repeatedly stated willingness to utilize “unilateral” US military force in other nations [i.e. military adventurism], that would, no doubt, delight the corporate and military elite but continue to utilize vast amounts of people in America and on this planet as nothing more than expendable cannon fodder.

The most effective way to substantially reduce terrorism and other bloody conflicts is by refraining from spreading it by our own actions, not by any “unilateral” or “get off my planet by sun down” approach to terrorism or other disputes between nations.

Perhaps Black, Brown, and Red peoples in America, due to our collective histories on this continent dealing with genocide, slavery, and territorial thievery, know the accuracy of this assertion better than most. Unfortunately, Barack Obama apparently does not.

Bluntly stated, Black America, in conjunction with other people of color, and indeed with all politically conscious persons of goodwill, must make a viable pact with each other no longer to accept the superficial rhetoric of any candidate, whether it be Barack Obama or anyone else. The “proof of the pudding is in its taste,” not in its outward appearance. Far too much is at stake. Far, far too much.

Much needed and real systemic “change” will not be brought about by the Democrat or Republican Parties or by any of their representatives. To expect such a thing would be like expecting the fox to tell us truthfully who ate the chickens. We must take our destinies into our own hands. It is time to be creative in this struggle and stop “going for the ghost.” It is, as Malcolm X said repeatedly, time to stop being “bamboozled.”

It is the year 2010, and time that we realize that cosmetic change is no change at all.

Systemic change demands that we reject the superficial in favor of doing what is real. That is what this people’s struggle is all about.

 

ATTORNEYS & LAW FIRMS YOU MUST BE ON THE FIRMS, YOU MUST BE ON THE 1st PAGE OF GOOGLE AND YAHOO SEARCH ENGINES. BY A.W. KHABIR (LOBBYIST)

My name is A.W. Khabir (google me)

Attorneys and law firms, for the areas of law that you practice in your city, state or on the federal level, YOU MUST BE ON THE 1^ST PAGE OF GOOGLE AND YAHOO.

WHY?

If a consumer or business is looking for, lets say, personal injury lawyers in New York and your firm is not on the 1 page of google or yahoo.  The keyword searcher of  your service might go to the 2^nd page of google or yahoo. But this is as far as most keyword searches will go.

Let’s say one of your law firm’s practice area is corporate securities or corporate law.  Again if your law firm is not on the 1st page of google or yahoo. The searcher of your service might go to the 2^nd page of google or yahoo. But this is as far as most keyword searches will go.

I find that 99% of the time most attorneys and law firms for their keyword practice areas  can’t be found on the 1^st or second page of google or yahoo.

Additionally I also find that 99% of the attorneys and law firms, I keyword search for the areas of practice don’t even have a video for the law firm.

Without an engaging video, a law firm is literally giving away business to their competitors. Videos are not only just highly effective at marketing your product/service to website visitors, but videos also provide unique opportunities to out rank the competition in the search results of major search engines.

As a lobbyist with an online business (google my name, A.W. Khabir),  I can tell you that finding the right company is vitally important and also important is obtaining the first page placement along with a written money back guarantee for promised work.

I GUARANTEE 1^ST PAGE PLACEMENTS AND I PUT THE GUARANTEE IN WRITING.

The guarantee is for 1^st page placement on google, yahoo and bing (formerly MSN).   

DUE DILIGENCE

Perhaps you aren’t aware of exactly what Organic “natural” SEO is.

In a nutshell Organic SEO is nothing but the top listings that show up when you/customers/prospects do a search and these listings are displayed at the top of the search results. This is done by optimizing websites so that they gain better search engine rankings for relevant keywords. Organic SEO is less costly and will remain more effective without additional work or expense. Organic SEO also doesn’t face risk of penalization by search engines.

Perhaps your company has used a black hat SEO company. A black hat SEO company uses unethical tactics/practices/online marketing to trick search engines into giving the black hat SEO company/it’s clients higher rankings than they deserve. Search engines from upon this and there are some pretty severe repercussions for black hat tactics. And when search engines discover such tactics by any website the will block your website from searches thus rendering a company’s website useless.

We on the other hand are a White Hat Organic SEO company. White Hat SEO refers to the usage of SEO strategies, techniques & tactics that focus on building your audience as opposed to search engines. White Hat SEO companies, like ours completely follow the search engine rules and policies. Just as an example, a website that is SEO optimized, yet focuses on relevancy and organic ranking is considered to be optimized using White Hat SEO practices. Some additional examples of White Hat SEO techniques include using keywords, keyword analysis, back linking, link building (to improve the popularity of your website), writing content (blogs), video billboards, video landing pages just to name a few. White Hat SEO is more frequently used by company’s such as ours, who intend to make a long-term investment on their clients website.

Again, I provide guaranteed 1^st page placement for your website on google, yahoo and bing (formerly MSN). We can also create a video for your company along with the promotion and marketing of the video as well as any other Organic SEO service you might need.

Again google my name (A.W. Khabir) and do email me at: lobbyistsofficesofgrw@yahoo.com.

Regards,

A.W. Khabir

LOBBYISTSOFFICESOFGRW@YAHOO.COM

See you on the first page!!!

THE 50 WEALTHIEST MEMBERS OF CONGRESS. BY A.W. KHABIR

The 50 Wealthiest Members of Congress  Lawmakers submit financial disclosure forms, which are extraordinarily unreliable sources of information. The disclosure rules allow Members to report assets in broad categories, so there is no way to tell the difference between a $20 million investment and a $5 million investment. The top category on the Members’ forms is “over $50 million,” so it is impossible to accurately account for anything worth more than that — like a professional sports team, for example. There is also a gaping loophole for assets owned by the Members’ spouse or dependent children; anything worth more than $1 million in value can be reported as “over $1 million.” There is no way to tell whether that is $1.2 million or $1.2 billion. The rules also don’t require reporting things of value that are not used to produce income — most notably any primary residence or other home that is not used for rentals. That loophole removes from most Members’ portfolios hundreds of thousands of dollars and in come cases millions of dollars worth of assets. Airplanes, fancy cars, antiques or other valuable items are not reported. In filing a detailed disclosure form on behalf of Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), his accountants added this editorial note, which sums up the problem: The form is meant to comply with Senate disclosure rules but “is not intended to be a complete presentation of Senator Corker’s financial position.” Beyond all of these flaws, there remains the fact that many, many financial disclosure forms filed by Members of Congress are simply inaccurate. A check mark placed in the wrong box can inflate or deflate a Member’s apparent net worth by millions of dollars, and misunderstandings of the rules have led Members to understate some assets, overstate others and claim additional assets they no longer own. Below is a ranking of the 50 wealthiest Members of Congress based on the minimum net worth reported on their financial disclosure forms. These numbers were acheived by totaling the assets listed on financial disclosure forms filed in 2008 (covering calendar year 2007) using the lowest number in the ranges in which Members are required to report. An asset from $500,000 to $1 million is counted as being worth $500,000, unless the Member has provided a brokerage statement or other documentation that offers more specific detail. Liabilities, which are also reported in ranges, are calculated based on the minimum value, and are subtracted from total minimum assets to establish total net worth. Assets that are not included on the forms but have values that have been established are not included for the purposes of assembling this ranking, because the Members are not required to report these numbers. This ranking is based only on what is reported on the annual disclosure forms. 1. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) $230.98 million The Massachusetts Senator claims the mantel of richest Member in the 110th Congress. Kerry’s actual holdings, however — including those of wife Teresa Heinz Kerry, widow to ketchup heir Sen. John Heinz (R-Pa.) — are likely much greater. In an April 2008 article, Forbes.com estimated Heinz Kerry’s net worth at $1 billion. Kerry’s disclosure forms list the value of more than 180 assets — including Heinz family trusts and investment funds — only as “over $1 million,” rather than the more specific ranges including $1 million to $5 million. Senators are allowed to list assets in the “over $1 million” category only if the items are held independently by a spouse or dependent child. 2. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) $225.96 million The wealthy Californian, who remains heavily invested in Harman International Industries, has seen her wealth increase nearly $10 million since filing her 2006 report. Harman’s report lists three accounts, including one held solely by her husband, totaling a combined minimum of $125 million in stock and options in the company. Harman’s spouse founded the company, which manufactures electronics under the brand names AKG Acoustics, Harman Kardon, Infinity and JBL, among others. In addition, Harman, who has no outstanding debts, lists a trust fund worth $1.8 million and an additional $2 million in multiple hedge fund accounts. 3. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) $160.62 million The Golden State lawmaker added $2 million to his bottom line in 2007, increasing his fortune by a little more than 1 percent. Issa, founder of the Vista, Calif.-based Directed Electronics, which manufactures car alarms, claims an investment worth at least $50 million in DEI and $25 million to $50 million in Greene Properties Inc. Both corporations own and operate office and industrial properties in California. His portfolio also comprises numerous investment funds, including a dozen valued at a minimum of $5 million each. 4. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) $80.40 million A descendant of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, the West Virginian’s vast assets remained stable in 2007, as his net worth increased by a little more than 1 percent. Rockefeller’s fortunes are stored primarily in three blind trusts with JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wachovia Corp. and United National Bank, valued at more than $50 million, $25 million to $50 million, and $5 million to $25 million, respectively. Another family trust is listed at simply “over $1 million.” The Senator lists at least $5.5 million in debt on two loans, down from $6.5 million in 2006, when he listed an additional $1 million loan from United National Bank in Charleston, W.Va. 5. Rep. Robin Hayes (R-N.C.) $78.96 million The Tar Heel State lawmaker’s wealth more than doubled since 2006, when he identified about $36 million in assets. According to Hayes’ office, the increase, including more than $36 million in new trust funds, is the result of an inheritance. Hayes’ mother passed away in 2007. Among the holdings in Hayes’ numerous trust funds are a mix of stocks and bonds, as well as properties including land in Lake County, Minn., and Sheldon, S.C., valued at least $5 million and $1 million, respectively. The funds include at least $1 million in stock in corporations such as Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Merck, Pfizer, General Electric and Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris USA. The North Carolinian also lists a commercial loan of at least $1 million to finance his private airplane. 6. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) $65.49 million Buchanan, the owner of several car dealerships, watched his wealth dip slightly in the past year, dropping $1.74 million, or more than 2 percent below his 2006 total. While the Florida lawmaker’s empire — comprising several automobile dealerships, an aircraft charter business, real estate holdings and investment accounts — amounts to $102.34 million, it carries with it nearly $37 million in debt. Included in that figure are new purchases in 2007: a King Air 350 aircraft and a Learjet, both listed as debts valued at $5 million to $25 million from SunTrust Leasing of Baltimore. He also lists an Embraer Legacy from the same creditor for $5 million to $25 million. 7. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) $55.33 million Lautenberg, who made millions from the payroll processing company he created five decades ago, reported that his total minimum assets jumped about 24 percent, from $45 million in 2006, but that number is still not very revealing. Lautenberg’s two biggest assets are two blind trusts that he set up for himself, each worth $5 million to $25 million. Together they count for $10 million of his assets for this list, though they could be worth five times that amount. The major increase over last year appears to be in his wife’s assets. She has several family trusts in her name, mostly holding real estate, and between 2006 and 2007 she received additional assets from her mother, Lautenberg’s office said. So in 2006, Lautenberg reported that through an entity called LCBS Corp. his wife held “over $1 million” of Mira Loma Associates, a company holding residential real estate in Riverside, Calif. In 2007, Mira Loma was listed twice at “over $1 million” — once as part of LCBS and once as a separate asset in Bonnie Englebardt Lautenberg’s name. Several of her family trusts also purchased real estate and other assets worth more than $5 million in 2007. 8. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) $52.34 million Together with her husband, financier Richard Blum, Feinstein claims a diversified portfolio that grew by $1.8 million, or an increase of just under 4 percent, since 2006. The Californian lists assets with her husband that include ownership of all or part of numerous limited partnerships. Among those, the Blum Family Partners, owned entirely by Blum, claims “over $1 million” in stock in RAE Systems, a manufacturer of chemical and radiation detection equipment. The fund also includes “over $1 million” in a real estate investment trust. In addition, Feinstein lists a $5 million to $25 million investment in Carlton Hotel Properties in San Francisco and owns condos in both Tahoe City, Calif., and on Kauai in Hawaii, both valued at $1 million to $5 million. Feinstein also lists at least $2 million in debt to Bank of America for two loans made to Blum Capital Partners. 9. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) $47.62 million Much of Kennedy’s wealth stems from family trusts, and the Massachusetts Senator reported almost no change in 2007, with an increase of less than 1 percent. Kennedy lists one family trust valued from $25 million to $50 million, as well as four trusts worth at least $5 million each and a blind trust totaling at least $1 million. The Bay State lawmaker also owns a rental property in Hyannisport, Mass., valued at at least $1 million and lists a plot of undeveloped land in Lafayette, La., owned by his wife, worth from $500,000 to $1 million. Kennedy lists $1 million in mortgage debt from Northern Trust Co. for his Hyannisport property. 10. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) $28.65 million If you take financial disclosure forms seriously (never a good idea), you might be led to believe that Smith’s net worth tripled last year. His 2006 financial disclosure form disclosed net assets of about $8.5 million. But Smith’s worth is largely derived from Smith Food Sales, a purveyor of frozen vegetables. In 2006 he listed that asset as being worth $5 million to $25 million. In 2007, the value has jumped to the next category, $25 million to $50 million, so even if the value of the asset rose from just under to just more than $25 million, the effect on the disclosure form is to add $20 million to Smith’s minimum net worth. Since Smith doesn’t have to report the assets of the corporation, his actual net worth may be far above what is reported on the Congressional form 11. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) $23.93 million The Lone Star State lawmaker saw his wealth increase by more than $6 million in 2007, largely thanks to his wife’s investment in a San Antonio real estate partnership. According to his disclosures, Maychild Ltd. increased in value to at least $5 million, adding $4 million to his minimum net worth under Roll Call’s evaluation method. In 2006, McCaul listed the real estate partnership, which owns a mix of commercial and residential properties, in the $1 million to $5 million range. Together with his wife and family, McCaul also invests at least $12.1 million in Clear Channel Communications, the company founded by his father-in-law, Lowry Mays. The McCauls also list nearly $1 million invested in Live Nation, a Clear Channel spinoff. The Texan lists no debts. 12. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) $22.41 million The New Jersey lawmaker’s riches shrank almost imperceptibly in 2007, decreasing slightly more than 1 percent. Frelinghuysen’s assets comprise more than $15 million from several family trusts invested primarily in stocks. He lists an investment of at least $1 million in Procter & Gamble Co., and one family trust lists an additional $5 million to $25 million invested in the same company. Frelinghuysen’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson decreased in minimal value by half in 2007, dropping to $500,000 from $1 million last year. The lawmaker’s investments also include 18 acres in Frelinghuysen Township, N.J., valued at a minimum of $250,000, and a stake in 236 acres in Stockbridge, Mass., worth at least $100,000. 13. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) $19.64 million McCain’s true value is impossible to estimate because most of the major assets are listed in the name of his wife or children, thereby requiring far less detailed disclosure. Other news outlets have suggested that Cindy McCain’s net worth may exceed $100 million, but there is no documentation to prove that figure. McCain’s disclosure form lists 12 items with values of “over $1 million” that are owned by his wife and children. In 2007, the family liquidated a trust set up by Cindy McCain’s late mother that had a reported value in 2006 of more than $2.5 million. The proceeds were then distributed to three other trusts, which show a minimum value of $1.4 million. Cindy McCain also liquidated a blind trust in 2007, selling millions of dollars worth of stock, and the reported value of the stock she owns through Hensley & Co. — her family’s beer distributorship — dropped more than $4 million in value last year. The only assets McCain claims as his own are a checking account with a balance of $15,000 to $50,000, a money market fund worth less than $15,000 and several book deals. 14. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) $19.42 million McCaskill watched her net worth grow in 2007, increasing more than 24 percent over her estimated $15.66 million total in 2006. Among McCaskill’s major assets: approximately 270 limited partnerships in affordable housing real estate and a handful of “enterprise trust investment funds” held by her husband that showed a combined increase of approximately $2.7 million in value from last year. Her spouse purchased a Kansas City, Mo., housing bond listed in the “over $1 million” category. The Senator’s husband also identified a loan of at least $1 million, the only liability listed by the couple, from Enterprise Bank. 15. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) $19.19 million In 2006, Corker sold off several commercial properties, thereby eliminating more than $20 million in mortgages that had counted as liabilities against his assets. With those liabilities out of the way, Corker’s minimum net worth jumps from about $1.5 million on his 2006 report to more than $19 million on his 2007 report. One of the liabilities remaining is attributed to Corker’s “dependent child”: a loan from the Senator valued at more than $1 million, payable at 5.05 percent interest. In 2007, according to an explanatory note attached to his disclosure form, Corker also divested himself of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of publicly traded stock in order to avoid any appearance of conflicts of interest. He consolidated his investments in several funds that are widely diversified and therefore do not have to report their underlying holdings. When one of the funds could not meet the Ethics Committee’s requirements for an “exempt” fund, Corker withdrew from the investment. 16. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) $19.01 million The New York lawmaker saw her estimated net worth increase more than 44 percent over the past year, up from $13.18 million. The jump results from growth in her portion of a real estate development company, which moved up from the $1 million minimum category to the $5 million minimum category, effectively adding $4 million to Maloney’s bottom line. Maloney listed a value of at least $5 million for Bosher Family, a partner of the real estate development company HPB Enterprises. She also lists a separate $1 million entry for HPB Enterprises in Hertford, N.C. The Democrat also owns a “rental property and residence” in New York valued at $5 million to $25 million, a rental property in New Canaan, Conn., ($1 million to $5 million) and a Washington, D.C., house ($1 million to $5 million). Maloney also has about $2 million in mortgage debts and real estate loans on those properties and an Arlington, Va., condo. 17. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) $18.71 million The Californian’s net worth rose nearly 16 percent in 2007, adding $2.5 million to her personal wealth. Among her assets, Pelosi lists a Norden, Calif., town house valued at $1 million to $5 million and a real estate investment in Napa, Calif., worth at least $500,000. In addition, her husband owns a commercial property in San Francisco valued at $5 million to $25 million. In 2006, the property was listed as worth $1 million to $5 million, so that property alone added $4 million to Pelosi’s net worth last year. The couple also owns a vineyard in St. Helena, Calif., valued at $5 million to $25 million. The Speaker’s husband also increased tenfold his holdings in Apple Computer Inc. stock to at least $5 million, up from a minimum of $500,000 in 2006. Pelosi and her husband also owe mortgage debt on several of their properties, including the vineyard, totaling at least $8.75 million. Other debts listed by Pelosi include lines of credit totaling at least $3.5 million. 18. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) $17.77 million The largest asset on Lowey’s disclosure form is an account in her husband’s name with the investment firm Ingalls & Snyder listed with a value of $5 million to $25 million. In 2006, Lowey listed the same asset with a value of $1 million to $5 million. Her husband has several other investment accounts worth a minimum of $1 million each, as well as at least $1 million in a profit- sharing plan from his law firm, Lowey Dannenberg Bemporad & Selinger (which has since been renamed). The couple also list joint investment accounts at Glickenhaus & Co. and Fidelity worth from $1 million to $5 million each. 19. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) $16.45 million The North Carolinian and her husband, former Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.), saw a modest rise in their wealth, increasing a little more than 2 percent since 2006. The Doles’ assets include the only liability listed by the couple multiple checking and money market accounts worth at least $1.12 million, including one account held by Bob Dole valued at “over $1 million.” The former Senator also claims a stake in five investment funds, worth a combined minimum of nearly $5 million. He also lists multiple promissory notes from the Robert J. Dole Irrevocable Trust, including two worth “over $1 million.” Elizabeth Dole also lists about 119 acres of land in Johnson City, Kan., valued at $1 million to $5 million. 20. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) $15.05 million Snowe’s net worth is largely tied to her husband’s position as chairman of the board of Education Management Corp., a Pittsburgh-based education company. Snowe lists her husband’s stock in Education Management as an asset worth $5 million to $25 million. In last year’s disclosure form, that asset was valued at $1 million to $5 million. He also holds stock options worth $1 million to $5 million. The couple jointly holds mutual funds shares worth more than $2 million. 21. Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.) $14.63 million The Wisconsin lawmaker claimed a nearly 7 percent increase in his holdings over the past year, increasing his wealth by more than $900,000. Petri’s major investments include stock in both U.S. Bank and Walgreens Co., each valued at $5 million to $25 million. He also claims at least $1 million in stock for both Berkshire Hathaway and British insurance exchange Lloyds of London. The latter has doubled in minimum value since 2006, when Petri listed the asset as worth at least $500,000. Petri’s only debt is a loan issued by Merrill Lynch, valued at $1 million to $5 million. 22. Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.) $14.49 million Having disposed of several debts, Miller’s net worth has rocketed more than 39 percent, or about $4 million, in his most recent report. The Californian no longer lists debts of at least $1 million each for the Fontana Library Co. and the Upland, Calif.-based Church Haven Co., which he listed last year. Miller’s assets include an account with Pomona Bank and Trust 1st Federal worth $5 million to $25 million and 382 acres in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., valued at at least $5 million. He also added a new investment worth $1 million to $5 million in PFF Bancorp, the parent company of Rancho Cucamonga-based PFF Bank and Trust. 23. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) $12.43 million The Tennessee Senator’s largest asset is his stock in Processed Foods Corp., a Knoxville-based company where Alexander served on the board prior to his election to the Senate in 2002. He holds $5 million to $25 million worth of the company’s stock, and his wife holds “over $1 million” as well. The family’s other major assets are land and real estate, in particular a patch in Nantucket, Mass., that is worth $1 million to $5 million for Alexander and “over $1 million” for his wife. He incurred several new debts in 2007, taking out four loans totaling at least $560,000. 24. Rep. John Campbell (R-Calif.) $11.39 million Kids. You pour your heart into them, and they grow up, leave and take all your money. Or something like that. Campbell’s financial disclosure form for 2007 notes that one of his children reached the age of majority, so Campbell is no longer required to report the assets that were previously counted as belonging to the “dependent child.” That and the fact that one of the rental properties Campbell owns was misreported the year before (it was listed as being worth at least $1 million, but should have been listed at $500,000 to $1 million) leaves the California Congressman showing a drop of more than $2 million in the assets that he declared last year. However, he still owns more than $6 million worth of California real estate, among his other holdings. 25. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) $11.34 million Sensenbrenner, who submits one of the lengthiest financial disclosures each year by providing his regular report along with a detailed accounting of his net worth, saw his tally drop by about 3 percent from the previous year. Much of the Wisconsin lawmaker’s losses come from a downtick in his $6.7 million of investments in stocks and bonds, comprising $1.3 million in Merck & Co. Inc. and significant investments in Exxon Mobil Corp., General Electric Co., Pfizer Inc. and Abbot Laboratories Inc. He also owns an Alexandria, Va., home valued at $1.5 million and a $1 million interest in a Waukesha County, Wis., home. Sensenbrenner has also listed $7,800 in travelers checks for the past two years. 26. Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) $11.20 million Rehberg increased his net worth by 5 percent in 2007 as the value of his wife’s Billings, Mont., farm increased by $500,000. The Montanan’s office said Rehberg’s spouse reincorporated the property in preparation to sell it, revising the property value to at least $1 million. The Rehbergs did not ultimately sell the parcel. Rehberg’s assets also include at least $10 million in ranching and livestock operations and $1 million in Rehberg Ranch Marketing Inc. He also lists $1.3 million in loan debt for development, construction and agriculture. 27. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) $10.50 million According to Harkin’s financial disclosure forms, his minimum net worth has essentially doubled since 2006 because of his wife’s purchase of about $5 million worth of stock in 2007. Harkin’s office wouldn’t comment on where the money for the purchases came from, but the disclosure form indicates that his wife, Ruth, bought and sold “over $1 million” worth of stock in United Technologies Corp., where she used to be a vice president. Harkin’s forms have previously stated that his wife’s compensation from UTC included a “contractual right to receive stock in the future,” so it is possible that she took stock that was owed to her and converted it to other securities. The assets that are listed as belonging to the Senator alone or through joint ownership have a minimum value of less than $100,000. The Harkins list no liabilities. 28. Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Texas) $10.49 million In 2007, Marchant exchanged several ranch properties for a partnership interest in Bonita Lands and Cattle, a group that holds 3,500 acres, plus cows and equipment. Bonita became the largest asset on his disclosure form for 2007, valued at $5 million to $25 million. Marchant’s other major assets are rolled into a family partnership called Marken Interests Ltd. The partnership holds 73 acres in Ft. Worth, Texas, which Marchant values at $1 million to $5 million, plus mineral rights and a wide array of stocks. Marchant also lists more than $3 million in liabilities, but several of those items are mortgages that appear to have been paid off or assumed by Bonita, which would suggest that his net worth has already risen over the total reported on his latest financial disclosure form. 29. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) $10.39 million In 2006, in preparation for her White House bid, Clinton closed a blind trust worth $5 million to $25 million, reported its stock holdings and then sold them off because of different disclosure requirements for presidential candidates. In 2007, her primary assets were two Citibank deposit accounts, each worth $5 million to $25 million, one of which is new. While the disclosure form she prepared for the presidential race indicated a minimum net worth of about $17 million and her current disclosure only tallies about $10 million, the wide ranges reported for the family’s cash accounts could easily accommodate millions more in assets than she gets credit for in this tally. Beyond the two giant bank accounts, the family’s biggest asset appears to be Bill Clinton, who earned more than $10 million giving speeches in 2007. 30. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) $8.64 million The Alabaman’s fortunes diminished nearly 6.5 percent in 2007, a drop of about $600,000. Shelby owns 48 shares in Tuscaloosa Title, a title abstract and insurance company, with a value of $1 million to $5 million, and his wife owns two shares worth $50,000 to $100,000. The couple transferred a 49 percent stake in a Tuscaloosa, Ala., apartment building, listed at $500,000 to $1 million, to the Shelby Family Trust in late 2007. Shelby’s assets also include a D.C. town house and a Tuscaloosa home, both valued in the “over $1 million” category, as well as a Tuscaloosa office building listed at $500,000 to $1 million. The Senator lists $1 million in mortgage debt on the apartment building, as well as a personal note issued by Regions Bank for $250,000 to $500,000. 31. Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) $8.40 million After the sale of his oil services company in 2003, several other companies Pearce founded have continued to grow. Last year, LFT, which takes its name from Lea Fishing Tools, the company Pearce sold, rose from $500,000 to $1 million to $1 million to $5 million, and Pearce also bought investment land in New Mexico. Roll Call reported in April that Pearce apparently sold his company for about $12 million, but because the assets are held in a corporate account, he does not have to list the total amount among his assets or income. 32. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) $8.38 million Since Members of Congress are required to report only properties that are producing income, it is not uncommon to see assets hop on or off Members’ disclosure forms from year to year when they start or stop renting them. Doggett appears to be a case in point: An Austin, Texas, property that was not reported in 2006 appears on his 2007 form with a value of $100,000 to $250,000, producing $5,000 to $15,000 in income. There is no reported transaction, which suggests that Doggett already owned it but began renting the “garage apt” last year. His other holdings, which showed a solid increase over the prior year, include investments of at least $500,000 in several Vanguard investment funds, as well as Whole Foods Market Inc. 33. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) $8.20 million The Georgia Senator paid off a small home mortgage while adding a new Massachusetts Avenue condo to his real estate portfolio. Isakson reports a stable fortune, increasing his net worth less than 2 percent over his 2006 values. His only debt is a $15,000 to $50,000 equity loan from Wachovia Bank. Isakson also reported the purchase of a condo for $250,000 to $500,000. The lawmaker’s assets include a mix of real estate and stocks, including Synovus, a financial services company. Isakson lists an investment of $1 million to $5 million in the company. Among his real estate holdings are 12 acres in Rabun City, Ga., valued at $1 million to $5 million. 34. Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) $7.93 million Bennett’s fortune remained the same from 2006, with at least $5 million of his assets tied to Watermark Corp., a company that owns lodging properties in Salt Lake City. While Bennett, who once owned all of Watermark Corp, now claims only a one-third stake, he acknowledges in his disclosure form that he maintains full rights to the company’s assets because he remains a guarantor on mortgages for company properties. Those mortgage debts, for two Anniversary Inns located in Salt Lake City, are valued at minimums of $1 million and $5 million, respectively. Bennett lists the net value of those properties at $1 million to $5 million each. 35. Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) $7.81 million It was a good financial year for the one-time NFL quarterback, who added a more than 20 percent increase, about $1.3 million, to his net worth. Shuler’s investment in River Crest Development, a Del Rio, Tenn.-based real estate development firm, jumped to a minimum value of $1 million, doubling from its $500,000 minimum rating last year. The North Carolinian also added to his portfolio the River at Shining Rock, a Haywood County, N.C.-based real estate development company, valued at $1 million to $5 million. His real estate holdings also include the Cove at Blackberry Ridge, valued at a minimum of $5 million, and a stake in a Knoxville, Tenn., shopping center valued at a minimum of $1 million. Shuler carries $1 million in mortgage debt on rental property, as well as an additional $500,000 in business loans and a $50,000 consumer line of credit from United Community Bank in Lenoir City, Tenn. 36. Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.) $7.50 million Spratt’s minimum net worth soared in 2007 as the value of an 800-acre swath of pasture land in Fort Mill, S.C., moved into the $5 million to $25 million range. The increase over its previous minimum $1 million listing swells the Democrat’s fortunes by $4 million, the largest factor in his 141 percent increase. Spratt’s other assets include investments in Bank of America Corp. valued at $500,000 to $1 million and York Bancshares at $1 million to $5 million. His real estate holdings include a D.C. rental unit and properties in South Carolina, with a combined value of at least $850,000. Spratt carries $480,000 in debt, a combination of mortgage debt, credit cards and promissory notes. 37. Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) $7.37 million Foster, who won the special election to replace former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R), has almost all of his assets tied up in the theater lighting company he founded with his brother in 1975, Electronic Theatre Controls. Foster reports holding $5 million to $25 million in a promissory note “for payments over time arising from sale of interest” in the company, but also a $1 million to $5 million ownership interest in the company “that owns the factory building used by ETC Inc.” He also has more than $1 million in savings, checking and money market accounts. Foster reports no liabilities. 38. Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Wis.) $7.31 million The Wisconsin lawmaker, who operated Kagen Allergy Clinics before his election to the House, maintains a portfolio composed largely of bonds, as well as a money market account valued at $1 million to $5 million. He lists no debts. 39. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) $7.21 million Upton’s fortunes increased by approximately $460,000 in 2007, adding nearly 7 percent to his net worth. Together with his wife, the Michigan lawmaker owns $1 million to $5 million in Whirlpool, the Benton Harbor, Mich.-based appliance company co-founded by his grandfather. The couple also lists $5 million to $25 million in family trusts and an additional $1 million in an investment account. Upton lists no debts. 40. Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.) $7.03 million Dreier’s wealth remains relatively unchanged at just over $7 million, decreasing less than 1 percent from his estimated 2006 net worth. The California Republican’s primary asset, valued at $5 million to $25 million, is an interest in Tiffany Manor Apartments, a complex in Kansas City, Mo. He also has $500,000 to $1 million invested in the Oklahoma Publishing Co., which produces both the Oklahoman newspaper and its Web site, NewsOK.com. Dreier, who lists no debts, also has investments worth at least $250,000 in both Viacom and Gaylord Entertainment, which owns resorts in Nashville, Orlando, Dallas and D.C., as well as the Grand Ole Opry. 41. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) $7.02 million Nelson holds an unusual investment portfolio that is made up almost entirely of certificates of deposit, municipal bonds and treasury notes. As such, his net reportable worth did not grow much over the past year, but his report also doesn’t indicate significant investment losses. Nelson does report “residential acreages held for resale” in Nebraska, with a value of $500,000 to $1 million; a year ago, that property was valued at $1 million to $5 million. He also holds stock worth $500,000 to $1 million in a Nebraska metal building manufacturing company. 42. Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) $6.99 million The Georgia lawmaker’s net worth increased nearly 15 percent, or about $1 million, in the past year. Much of that growth is the result of an increase in the value of a Minnesota Life annuities fund that Price lists in the $1 million to $5 million category. In 2006, he listed the annuities at a base value of $500,000. Price also lists partial ownership for at least $600,000 worth of real estate in Roswell, Ga., including medical buildings and a condo development. Together with his wife, he also lists a vacant lot in St. Simons, Ga., valued at $1 million. The Republican and his spouse also have multiple retirement and investment accounts valued at at least $4 million. 43. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) $6.20 million Bingaman is something of a media mogul, having much of his worth invested in partnerships that hold stock in broadcast, print media and digital communications, among other things. Bingaman’s net worth appears to have dropped by almost 20 percent from 2006 to 2007, as his wife sold off $2 million worth of stock from a Goldman Sachs investment account. The couple also put up nearly $400,000 in “capital calls” for various investments. 44. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) $5.88 million DeLauro remains financially steady, reporting an identical figure for her net worth two years in a row. The Connecticut Democrat’s wealth comes primarily from the stake her husband, pollster Stan Greenberg, holds in Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, valued at $5 million to $25 million. DeLauro’s only debt is a loan from Chase Auto in Phoenix, listed at $15,000 to $50,000. 45. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) $5.86 million The retiring Senator has assets scattered across a handful of brokerage accounts, none of which by itself is worth more than $1 million. Last year he added two real estate investments — Under the Missouri Sky Properties and Golden Dome partners — worth nearly $300,000. Warner reports no liabilities. 46. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) $5.77 million Speier, a newcomer to Congress, owns four California properties with a combined value of at least $3 million, which propels her onto this list. She is also boosted by her husband’s assets, including more than $1 million worth of stock in a California investment firm. Her disclosure form lists no liabilities. 47. Rep. John Linder (R-Ga.) $5.67 million In August 2007, Linder sold his holdings in Grayling Industries, a Georgia manufacturer of plastic packaging, for $5 million to $25 million, netting a capital gain of more than $5 million. His financial disclosure form shows two new Schwab money market accounts, one in his name and one in his wife’s, both listed as having a value of $1 million to $5 million. The couple also have two other IRA funds listed in the same category. Linder’s wife also owns three companies holding Mississippi timber land worth at least $700,000. 48. Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) $5.50 million A developer before he came to Congress, Neugebauer remains active in land and real estate dealings. According to his disclosure forms, in 2007 he sold properties valued at a minimum of $180,000 and bought properties worth at least $317,000, and he holds a passel of other properties, including a D.C. town house. He also bought $1 million to $5 million in U.S. treasury bills last year. 49. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) $5.49 million Though he is among the wealthiest Members of Congress, Kohl’s financial disclosure fails to do him justice under Roll Call’s methodology. The owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, Kohl values the NBA team at more than $50 million, the highest category available on the forms. But according to Forbes, the team’s estimated value in 2007 was $264 million. Using that figure would put Kohl’s net worth at about $219 million, but his liabilities cancel out most of his assets. The Wisconsin lawmaker’s debts are also tied to the basketball team, including three promissory notes from the NBA credit facility combined to value at least $55 million. Kohl also lists a promissory note to himself from the Bucks for more than $50 million. The Senator also lists a blind trust valued at more than $50 million. 50. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) $5.02 million Emanuel’s blind trust appears to have lost a few hundred thousand dollars in value over the past year, resulting in a disclosure report that inaccurately indicates he lost almost half his personal wealth. In 2006, he listed the blind trust at $5 million to $25 million; last year it was listed as from $1 million to $5 million. In a separate filing with the ethics committee, Emanuel reported that as of June 30, the value of the trust was $4.1 million. If that number were reported on his disclosure form, it would raise his minimum wealth to about $8 million.

SELLING TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT – WHAT IS A GSA SCHEDULE. BY A.W. KHABIR

What Is A GSA Schedule? A GSA schedule is an unfunded, five-year contract listing the prices the federal government has agreed to pay for a vendor’s commercial products and services. The contract may be renewed for three five-year periods resulting in a 20-year contract if all renewals are executed. A GSA schedule contract is an official federal contract but it is not funded and it does not have products or services to deliver immediately. Funding occurs when an order is signed by a federal agency. There are 62 categories of commercial products and services that vendors may apply for a GSA contract under. Known as schedules, these categories cover everything from industrial products, vehicles, computers and office products, to most categories of professional services. Today, GSA schedules are the favored purchasing mechanism for most federal buyers and an ideal sales and closing vehicle for vendors. Large federal contractors can have GSA schedule sales exceeding $ 100 million annually. To be an approved supplier under a GSA schedule, the vendor must go through an arduous application process. Negotiating fair and reasonable prices for the products or services to be delivered is the most important aspect of application process. If a contract is successfully negotiated, the vendor is placed on a list of approved suppliers for that particular schedule. Buyers for federal agencies can order using GSA Advantage, the online marketplace for GSA schedule product/services. A order under a schedule is a request for products and/or services. Approved vendors under a GSA schedule use the prices listed in their GSA contract to price orders received from federal agencies. Competition for an individual GSA order is reduced significantly because the prices contained in a schedule are pre-determined at the time of contract award. However, direct sales efforts are usually required to generate an order. GSA vendors should not expect sales under the contract without focused, agency-based sales efforts. Generally, federal buyers submit requests to three vendors on a schedule and select the winning vendor based on best value considerations. An approved order stands as a contract between the purchasing agency and schedule vendor, not between the vendor and GSA. However, it must conform to all the terms and conditions of the vendor’s GSA schedule contract. Price increases based on commercial cost increases or economic indices can be negotiated under GSA schedule contracts. Vendors may offer discounts for an individual agency order without affecting the prices listed in the contract. Congress has granted state and local agencies the authority to purchase directly from the Information Technology GSA schedule (IT70). State and local purchasing authority may be extended to other GSA schedules in the future. Administrative costs for providing products or services under schedules are significantly lower than the costs of dealing with individual contracts. The use of the GSA schedule system as a quick, efficient buying mechanism is steadily increasing.

Some of my clients and how they rank on google/yahoo search engines. By A.W. Khabir

www.bugsorus1.com

ant extermination downey – #1 on Google, #1 on Yahoo, #1 on Bing

downey bee removal – #1 on Google, #3 on Yahoo

downey exterminator – #4 on Google

downey termite companies – #1 on Google, #4 on Yahoo

downey termite control – #4 on Google, #6 on Yahoo

downey termite treatment – #4 on Google, #4 on Yahoo

exterminators downey – #2 on Google

lakewood ant extermination – #1 on Google

lakewood exterminator – #3 on Google, #5 on Yahoo

lakewood termite companies – #3 on Google, #4 on Yahoo

lakewood termite exterminators – #2 on Google, #7 on Yahoo, #10 on Bing

long beach mice control – #1 on Google, #9 on Yahoo

los angeles pest fumigation #3 on Google

bee removal lakewood – #1 on Google, #3 on Yahoo

exterminators downey – #1 on Google, #8 on Yahoo

termite exterminator Lakewood – #1 on Google, #2 on Yahoo

www.donmarcompany.com

furnace repair Alexandria va – #3 on Google, #1 on Yahoo, #2 on Bing

heating repair Alexandria va – #1 on Google, #1 on Yahoo, #1 on Bing
heating and cooling Arlington va – #4 on Google, #1 on Yahoo, #1 on Bing

alexandria hvac repair – #4 on Google, #6 on Yahoo, #2 on Bing

furnace supply leesburg va – #1 on Google, #3 on Yahoo, #1 on Bing

heating repair Fairfax va – #2 on Google, #1 on Yahoo, #5 on Bing

hvac Fairfax va – #9 on Google, #1 on Yahoo, #10 on Bing

www.haltpestcontrol.com

Beaverton exterminators – #1 on Google, #1 on Yahoo, #2 on Bing

Vancouver exterminator – #9 on Google, #5 on Yahoo, #2 on Bing

Portland exterminator – #9 on Google, #7 on Yahoo, #1 on Bing

Bed bug exterminators Oregon – #1 on Google, #3 on Yahoo, #1 on Bing

Beaverton pest control – #1 on Google, #1 on Yahoo, #2 on Bing

Household bugs Beaverton – #1 on Google, #1 on Yahoo, #3 on Bing

www.specialtysigns.com

custom sign company new york – #2 on Google, #1 on Yahoo, #2 on Bing

new york plexiglass signs – #1 on Google, #1 on Yahoo

new york sing fabrication – #4 on Google, #7 on Yahoo

nyc sign fabrication company – #1 on Google, #2 on Yahoo

nyc signage production – #1 on Google, #1 on Yahoo, #3 on Bing

plexiglass signs nyc – #3 on Google, #1 on Yahoo

sign fabrication companies ny – #1 on Google, #1 on Yahoo

Feel free to email me at: lobbyistsofficesofgrw@yahoo.com 

Benefiting from long tail keywords (White Hat Search Engine Optimization). By A.W. Khabir

Benefiting from long tail keywords.

You may be wondering why anybody would want to target hundreds of keywords which bring only small traffic. Well the answer is simple. There is less competition so you can rank on the first page of Google for long tail keywords faster than ranking for short tail keywords.

Yes, they don’t bring a lot of traffic separately but if you target lots of long tail keywords you can get more targeted high conversion traffic. Not everybody is capable of high rankings for highly competitive keywords quickly, but a lot of medium sized businesses can rank for long tail keywords at the beginning and during the SEO process.

Another benefit of long tail keywords is that the visitors convert amazingly well to sales and ad clicks. The visitors searching for long tail keywords know exactly what they want, be it ‘Small Business Web Design’ or ‘Half Price Armani Suits’, they know exactly what they want and hopefully you can provide it to them.

To understand what long tail traffic is we will analyze real world data from real websites.

This data comes from a search engine optimized website (there is only one targeted keyword in this SEO campaign).

Aside from SEO work which deals primarily with link campaign and site-wide onsite optimization (internal links and original content), the website owner frequently adds content on a weekly basis, and has been doing this for a year through their blog.

This content is original and aimed at the users.

There are no SEO guidelines in writing this content, and the website adds this for the purpose of frequently updating the site. We will attempt to analyze the value of traffic coming from the optimized term (one term only targeted on one page) versus the long tail traffic (naturally coming from the frequently-added content written by the website owner).

Below are the interesting results:

Interesting, isn’t it?

The optimized (competitive) term contributes only 17% of the website traffic, while the long tail terms coming from the un-optimized content written by the website owner are responsible for the remaining 83% of the website traffic!

Conclusion

Whether you can achieve high rankings for competitive keywords or not, long tail keywords could be highly beneficial for you. If you have a website selling ‘Armani Suits’ but can’t pull any search engine traffic, rather than targeting the keyword ‘Armani’ or ‘Armani Suits’ try targeting more specific keywords such as ‘Armani Mens Suits’. Hopefully you will see an increase in conversions and sales.

Feel free to email me at: lobbyistsofficesofgrw@yahoo.com

Ways to use your video and why it is a must for your website. By A.W. Khabir

Having a video within your website will increase your web presence if properly marketed making you look better than your competitors when people check you out online.

Remember, image tips the balance in close competitive situations.

As a pass-along from one person to another within the prospect organization, the video enables you to get past the gatekeepers and have your story told – the way you want it told – to key decision makers that are otherwise unknown or blocked to you.

There are other uses for your video story. For example, link it to a signature line in all your emails. Embed it into your website to make your site more robust and then properly distribute it through: YouTube, Daily Motion, Google Video, Yahoo Video and many more.

 Example: In Google type the phrase: Explanation of Organic SEO (Results 1 – 10 of about 1,400,000 for Explanation of Organic)- this shows this phrase popularity on Google

You will find on the Web Wise Media Video in several top 10 natural positions.

Example: In Yahoo type the phrase: Explanation of Organic SEO (Results 1 – 10 of about 492,000 for Explanation of Organic)- this shows this phrase popularity on Google

You will find on the Web Wise Media Video in several top 10 natural positions.

 Use the video in your online ads:

Online video ads are growing in popularity because they are effective in driving sales.

According to a study by the Online Publishers Association, 52% of people who watched an online video ad took action after viewing the ad, such as visiting the advertiser’s website (31%) or searching online for more information on the product (22%). A full 12% went on to make a purchase giving video ads one of the highest conversion rates in the industry.

Online video is a powerful tool in today’s marketing arsenal. With 2010 fast approaching, make sure your company has a clear video strategy in place that works alongside your online, social, paid media, PR, and other marketing strategies. Your customers want video, so give it to them!

Zappos announced last week it sells anywhere from 6% to 30% more merchandise when the item is accompanies by a product description video. http://www.businessinsider.com/zappos-sells-6-30-more-merchandise-when-accompanied-by-video-demos-2009-12

Video marketing is poised for a huge year in 2010. The reason is clear, video simply engages people in a way that static text and images cannot.

There are dozens of studies that show the power of video to boost customer interaction, drive sales, encourage viral sharing, and build brand awareness.

According to MarketingSherpa, 95% of the companies that have used online video marketing are happy with the results and expect to use it again in the future.

Feel free to emaqil me at: lobbyistsofficesofgrw@yahoo.com

Why Video Billboard is good for your website. By A.W. Khabir

Video is a relatively new technology to search engine optimization (SEO) and, within the past few years, has changed from being another form of social media marketing and a link back to another tool which can enhance ranks within the search engines.

The primary difference separating these two uses of video is speech recognition technology, which, in 2008, has been brought to attention by Google.

Prior to the introduction of Google Audio Indexing, companies such as Blinkx and EveryZing had introduced search platforms in 2007 to search through videos based on the audio content of the videos in addition to the keyword content of title tags and descriptions.

Earlier than this, however, video SEO involved placing a video on a hosting website, such as YouTube or Google Video, and linking back to the original video page on their home website and, for search engine purposes, relied solely on metadata.

Most search marketing companies have it ingrained in their minds that media on a site is considered a negative feature because search engine spiders can’t index the content yet.

It is true that when most spiders are crawling through a website’s pages and notice flash or a media file, they will simply skip over them except their title.

These days the search engine mentality changed a lot and very soon Google spiders will start recognizing flash and other media files. According to Bruce Clay, websites with some flash and video will get better recognition and rankings. 

Search marketing firms have to begun recognizing that there is more to an online strategy than getting top rankings and the initial click-thru.

The other part, may be the most important part, of the strategy has to be user experience and conversion. Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to a site owner to have 500 visitors who view several pages per visit while average 3 minutes on the site rather than 2,000 visitors of which 90% exit as soon as they hit the home page?

Call to Action techniques are very important and one of these techniques is Video Billboard Creation where website owners can deliver and show their message in under 60 seconds and make their potential client stay and watch.

These days not a lot of people want to read your content unless it is a Blog.

Did you know?: Video SEO marketing is predicted to be a multi billion-dollar marketing strategy in the search engine marketing industry within the next few years.

Utilizing video SEO for your search engine optimization campaign will allow you to stay ahead of the curve, as search engines like Google implement their universal search technologies.

Feel free to email me at: lobbyistsofficesofgrw@yahoo.com

 

GUARANTEED (IN WRITING) 1ST PAGE PLACEMENT FOR YOUR BUSINESS ON GOOGLE, YAHOO AND BING (FORMERY MSN). BY A.W. KHABIR

Hello World Wide Web,

 My  name is A.W. Khabir (google me)

I visit a lot of companies websites and I review all pages of website information and then I googled various keywords 99% of the time I find that most companies can’t be found on the 1^st or second page of google or yahoo.

Additionally I don’t even find a videos on 99% of these companies websites.

Without an engaging video, a company is literally giving away business to their competitors. Videos are not only just highly effective at marketing your product/service to website visitors, but videos also provide unique opportunities to out rank the competition in the search results of major search engines.

As a online business owner myself (google my name, A.W. Khabir), marketing to businesses and governments,  I can tell you that finding the right company is vitally important and also important is obtaining the first page placement along with a written money back guarantee for promised work.

I GUARANTEE 1^ST PAGE PLACEMENTS AND I PUT THE GUARANTEE IN WRITING.

I guarantee 1^st page placement on google, yahoo and bing (formerly MSN).   

DUE DILIGENCE

Perhaps you aren’t aware of exactly what Organic “natural” SEO is.

In a nutshell Organic SEO is nothing but the top listings that show up when you/customers/prospects do a search and these listings are displayed at the top of the search results. This is done by optimizing websites so that they gain better search engine rankings for relevant keywords.  Organic SEO is less costly and will remain more effective without additional work or expense. Organic SEO also doesn’t face risk of penalization by search engines.

Perhaps your company has used a black hat SEO company. A black hat SEO company uses unethical tactics/practices/online marketing to trick search engines into giving the black hat SEO company/its clients higher rankings than they deserve. Search engines from upon this and there are some pretty severe repercussions for black hat tactics. And when search engines discover such tactics by any website the will block your website from searches thus rendering a company’s website useless.

I am on the other hand a White Hat Organic SEO company. White Hat SEO refers to the usage of SEO strategies, techniques & tactics that focus on building your audience as opposed to search engines. White Hat SEO companies, like ours completely follow the search engine rules and policies. Just as an example, a website that is SEO optimized, yet focuses on relevancy and organic ranking is considered to be optimized using White Hat SEO practices. Some additional examples of White Hat SEO techniques include using keywords, keyword analysis, back linking, link building (to improve the popularity of your website), writing content (blogs), video billboards, video landing pages just to name a few. White Hat SEO is more frequently used by company’s such as ours, who intend to make a long-term investment on their clients website.

Again, I provide guaranteed 1^st page placement for your website on google, yahoo and bing (formerly MSN). I can also create a video for your company along with the promotion and marketing of the video as well as any other Organic SEO service you might need.

Again please email me at:lobbyistsofficesofgrw@yahoo.com

Regards,

A.W. Khabir

See you on the first page!!!

Why must you have a Blog on your website? To boost traffic and SEO results. By A.W. Khabir

A blog can do wonders for your website when viewed by your visitors as well as in the eyes of the search engines.

I and my team @organicseomarketing.com can help you set it up correctly.

If setup correctly by us and our experienced technicians, a blog can bring a large amount of visitors to you who in turn can become customers.

 So after you finish reading this article email me at aw_khabir@yahoo.com or a.w@organicseomarketing.com.

 Google and the other search engines look for new, original and quality content. They like to see your website adding this kind of content on a regular basis. You don’t need to post to your blog every day; a post each week is sufficient.

One blog post can gain a large amount of traffic:

Consider this, if your website has no blog you will have the same number of links to it tomorrow as it does today (unless you have an ongoing SEO campaign running). We however, will post a blog entry on our internal blog and gain backlinks as well as new pages constantly being added to our site. For example, below you will see a few blog entries and what they have achieved:

 Example: Trade off between PPC and SEO Services – (Results 1 of about 106,000 for Trade off between PPC and SEO Services)- shows popularity of this phrase on Google

 If you copy the above title in red and paste it into the Google search box, the www.organicseomarketing.com/blog post comes up at position number one. It will also rank for different variations of that phrase. With the blog correctly set up every post you make not only adds useful content to your website, but also makes that page rank for all kinds of different search terms. Your site will then grow, making it easier for people to find you!

 Example: Locating a Los Angeles Exterminator (Results 2 of about 400,000 for Locating a Los Angeles Exterminator) Shows Popularity of this phrase on Google 

 If you copy the above title and paste it into the Google search box, thewww.springertermite.com/blog post comes up at position number two. It will also rank for variations of that search term.

 Gaining Back links To Your Blog

When you write a blog post, you are adding useful, quality content based on the topics to your blog and in each post you can link to another page on your website. For instance, if you have a range of products or services you should talk about them in your blog and link to them. For example we could talk about my video landing pages. You are now building backlinks helping your search engine rankings. The linking will boost your product page in the search engines.

Make sure when you create a new blog for your business, that you put it on your own website domain whether it will be onsite or offsite Blog. Many people put a blog on a wordpress or blogger site. This is a remote service and means your blog could be removed anytime. You have no control over the site, it’s doesn’t really belong to you. So make sure you have the blog on your business website or under your domain name so that you can host it yourself. For example, if your website address is www.organicseomarketing.com then your blog should be located at www.organicseomarketing.com/blog  or it could be www.NerdsandGeeks.com and still be your blog, but it would just be an OffSite Blog.

Adding a blog to your business website creates a way to get additional traffic. You’ll get direct traffic from your posts, which get indexed by the search engines and drive traffic to your site from searches. And, you will get indirect traffic from your other site’s pages ranking well in the search engines because they have links pointing to them from your blog posts.

Search engines love blogs, and they create more ways to be noticed by them. Every post provides a new chance to create a link or two to other pages and blog posts on your site, thereby boosting those pages rankings.

You are giving the search engines one more entry point into your site. Your site will grow quickly and with every new page your site becomes more visible and more important.

Your website should not remain static. It should grow over time and the fantastic thing about content is that the more you have on your site, the better your chances are of being found in the search engines.

A blog is very easy to use once setup and implemented by professionals so anyone can use them. Even though you may know nothing about websites and programming, you can still add new content to your website and improve your SEO rankings.

Feel free to email me at: lobbyistsofficesofgrw@yahoo.com