What Are Third Party Logistics Providers?

Third Party Logistics Providers are firms that ensure customers of outsource by providing services along with their advanced knowledge in logistics and management. Third party logistics providers or firms that deals with logistics and management makes it easy for businesses to focus on their main goals without having to worry about transportation of goods or end line of productivity as well as distribution. Like said, third party logistics providers will monitor and be in charge of warehouses, transportation of goods, and operation so that businesses won't have to worry about these factors. These firms would also have to consider market trends to meet customer's demands and needs; it also has to make plans and adaptations for specific businesses in order to strike for profit. Most importantly, these firms have to be closely aware of delivery service requirements for products and services. Most third party logistics providers add up other services dealing greatly with productivity, operation, transportation, and other services dealing with integrating parts of the supply chain which then makes it a lot easier and effortless for businesses to focus and to leave these factors to these firms that are advanced and ensured.

Services

Like said above, third party logistics providers provide services dealing with transportation, operation, and mainly anything that involves logistic management. Third party logistics providers are well educated and are experienced with logistic management which ensures customers and businesses their safety and is something that will minimize stress and will enhance quality in other areas of business. Other services include:

1. Transportation

2. Warehousing

3. Cross-docking

4. Specific packaging

5. Security system

6. Advices and plans

7. Managerial tips and suggestions

Types of 3PL Providers

There are different categories of 3PL providers which have different jobs and responsibilities to enhance quality and to monitor as well as cover all areas of logistics management. There are freight forwarders, courier companies, as well as other companies that offer services dealing with transportation and deliveries. The four main categories and functions of third party logistics providers include:

1. A standard 3PL provider: these providers perform standard and basic tasks such as pick packing, warehousing, and distribution of products.

2. Service developer: these providers will offer customers advanced value-added services such as tracking and tracing, cross-docking, specific packing, and providing a unique security system.

3. The customer adapter: Those providers in this position will have to monitor and take charge of all logistic activities. Most of the time, these people are requested by the customers but they are not included normally in some cases.

4. The customer developer: This position is the highest among other positions with respect to its activities and processes. People in this position will have to emerge themselves and be fully responsible of almost all logistic services of a specific business. Also, they have to look deeply in small details and make sure everything will be done by the time it has to be done.

Non Asset-Based Logistics Providers

Nowadays, technology has now become the number one impact on businesses and way things are usually done. Logistics management is one of the main areas of business that has been greatly affected by technology and the associated. Non asset-based logistics providers provide services that still deals with logistics management; however, they do not have to perform on-hands services such as employing trucks, owning physical freights, warehousing, or employing storage trailers. In short, non asset-based logistics providers provide verbal and visual concepts and services like financial planning, scheduling, transportation fee plan, and other services. Non asset-based logistics providers are experts that set up teams to cope up with customer needs and wants since they are well-experienced and know technological tools as well as their uses well. These providers would also learn to negotiate and present publicly to customers their abilities, name types of methods that can be used, and pinpoint benefits the customers would have when using their service. Though, many 3PL providers today offer transportation services like shipping and flyer service offerings. These transportation services are called "On-demand transportation" which has become a great impact to businesses and has offered numbers of solutions to supply chain needs. Modes of transportation include:

1. FTL, Full Truck Load

2. Hotshot

3. Next Flight Out

4. International Expedited

Possible Reasons of Choosing Third Party Logistic Providers

1. Businesses can focus mainly on other areas of business such as advertising, productivity, and finance

2. Transportation of goods and its distribution plans are supposed to be elastic and changeable since it has to adapt to new trend and market changes therefore, third party logistics providers are needed to confirm decisions on distribution and to set up plans that businesses might not be able to

3. Third party logistics providers can decrease and minimize the overall business expenses

4. Business owners and entrepreneurs will not have to waste their time worrying about distribution, instead, they focus on productivity and product introduction to the market

Pros and Cons of Third Party Logistics Providers

Pros:

1. 3PLs monitors and provides security for customers and minimize risks that deal with transportation and the distribution processes; some firms monitor places where goods are distributed to make sure all goods are safe and completely distributed with no errors

2. Third party logistics providers care much about their customers and project out their efforts through extra services that can enhance productivity and increase business management quality

3. These firms even monitor routes and ways of transportation as well as use technology to communicate within the system not to waste time and to make transportation faster

Cons:

1. Financial risks and losses- a provider has to learn about a specific business beforehand in order to startup plans

2. Charging minimum prices and costs but add additional fees later- causes customer turnover

3. Some firms may not have insurances for products and transportation systems

Summary

These firms have a wide variety of methods to deal with different customers and businesses which then needs time to adapt and to determine as well as pinpoint markets. In summary, the firms provide a safer, faster, and a cheaper way of distribution compared to a business dealing with all areas alone.

People might overlook productivity and logistics management, however, they never knew how important these services and managerial plans are to all types of businesses. Partnerships, corporations, small businesses, and other various kinds would all need a high quality logistics plan in order to meet goals and be successful. Visit us: Third Party Logistics, we know, we care, we promise.

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Jingoism Rules At Tory Party Conference

Another Tory party conference draws to a close and perhaps a good time to reflect on the beast which is Conservatism. As the economy falters, delegates, cabinet ministers and party leader alike have all resorted back to type, which is gratifying because at least it is honest. There is nothing more sickening than a Tory trying to convince us that he is in favour of big society when what he really wants is a country with strong defences to protect the privileged few who will benefit from the stream of elitist measures we can expect to see in the future. They are a paranoid lot on the whole, the Tories, and think the whole world is against them. They want to reduce the influence of Europe on their affairs, as if that was a bad thing, they have vetoed plans for a European military headquarters, they plan to raise the barriers against an influx of more mad foreigners, and are reopening embassies abroad to keep tabs on the big bad world. No budget is too big when it comes to stiffening our defences against the Frog and the Dago!

What a sorry display of retrogressive colonialism. Hague even suggested we revitalize that great institution, the Commonwealth. Why don't they bring back slavery while they're about it? They are still singing to the tune of Rule Britannia, when the fact is that unless Britain learns to get on with its neighbours in a far less patronizing way, it will become even more sidelined in the power games of the future than it is now. Will the USA, assuming it recovers its authority, really prefer to negotiate with an isolated UK rather than a unified Eurozone? Will the growing influence of Russia and China give a hoot about the Commonwealth? The sort of jingoism we heard this week from the Tories only gets up people's noses and turns the UK into a joke abroad.

And where do their partners in government fit in to all this? It seems any pretence of kowtowing to the Liberal Democrats has finally been abandoned. How will the Libdems feel about ditching the Human Rights Act, for example, as proposed by Theresa May? The cracks that were starting to show before will surely widen to threaten the entire edifice in the wake of this conference. All this shows what a mistake it was for such two unsuitable partners to get into bed together in the first place. This torn coalition is weakening further the recovery which was already beginning under Labour. With growth barely happening at all (revised down to 0.1% in the second quarter) they had better start focusing on the important issues of jobs and housing before bothering about diplomatic havens abroad for their pals.

Milton Johanides is a retired businessman, church elder, writer and artist. He has been featured on BBC TVs Songs of Praise, owned numerous art galleries and once ran an award winning picture framing business in Scotland. The views expressed in these articles are his own.
email: miltonjohanides@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.x-ibit-it.com/
http://www.helium.com/users/510112/show_articles

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Rick Perry on Illegal Immigration - The Tea Party Might Not Like Him When They Hear About This

Many conservatives are not happy with Rick Perry on illegal immigration policies. While Texans have known for years that Governor Perry is soft on illegal immigration, the rest of the country is learning where he stands now. Moderates and conservatives strongly support Perry in the recent polls, but conservatives may hold off on supporting him if they know how he really votes on immigration issues.

Here is what you need to know about Rick Perry on illegal immigration issues.

Texas Dream Act
This is one of the most controversial aspects of his agenda. The Texas Dream Act makes it possible for children of illegal immigrants to get in-state tuition rates for college when they graduate from high school. This legislation was passed in 2001 by Rick Perry, and he actively campaigned for the legislation and eagerly signed it when it became law. This is troubling for Tea Party supporters.

Perry has already been questioned about this bill in a recent interview in New Hampshire Leader Union. He does not regret his stance on this issue, and he says he would still support this bill if it came up for a vote again today. While you have to admire Perry's unwavering support of an issue that may backfire on him, this is still troubling for many conservatives in the party.

Illegal immigrants are also eligible for minority benefits that many white students are not eligible for. Out of state students who want to attend Texas schools have to pay higher tuition rates than illegal immigrants who don't pay taxes. Something doesn't seem right about this.

Border Fence
The governor has been clear on his position regarding the border fence being built. He opposes building the fence to stop illegal immigrants from entering the country. For people who live outside Texas, this is a pretty tough position to understand. If you support immigration through the traditional process, then you should support building a fence keeping people out of the United States. If you are concerned about national security issues, you should want the fence!

Perry has repeatedly stated that he is tough on border security, but it is hard to defend his position when he doesn't want the border fence.

E-Verify System
The E-Verify system is a system where federal contractors are required to check all US workers to make sure they are verified to work in the United States. Perry has been opposed to the E-Verify system because he doesn't feel it would make that much difference in companies hiring illegal workers for their workforce.

Trans-Texas Corridor
The governor is in favor of the Trans-Texas Corridor. This is the proposed super highway that would connect Mexico, the United States, and Canada with one super highway running through Texas. This would promote illegal immigration for sure as it would be easier for illegals to cross the border.

I may not like Rick Perry on illegal immigration issues, but I believe that most Tea Party voters will still vote for Perry if he wins the nomination for the GOP. They realize that he is probably the only chance we have to get Obama out of office after 2012.

Rick Perry on illegal immigration is ticking off the Tea Party here! Learn more about Ron Paul here!

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Tea Party, A Third Party

Tea Party, A New and Separate Party

The Tea Party has hooked up with the Republican Party. Its views are so different that a new and separate party deserves consideration. Perhaps, it does not feel it can stand alone. When republican candidates have different views from this group, it runs a candidate against the republican candidate and often wins. This seems to me to justify a separate party. Otherwise, it is not a party at all but a collection of individuals who have their own agenda. Of course, should the Tea Party establish its own separate identity, the RNC would be weakened. Or, would it? Without the Tea Party, the Republican Party would become one of conservatives to moderates, picking up many independents. That could hurt the Democratic Party, especially with independents.

The projection at the federal level is that about 25% of congressmen office holders would be won in 4-8 years by this new group. It would split the Republicans and Democrats so that, initially, the democratic office holders would garner approximately 40%, the republican office holders 35% and the new group 25%. It is estimated that this new group would come from southern states (TX, LA, MS, AL, GA, SO, NC, TN, AR, OK, KY, WV, VA). The DNC would rule the northeast and CA or the Pacific states. The RNC would control the mountain states and some of the midwestern states. Obviously, many of the states bordering these areas would be in contention. Long term, the projection is that the parties would even themselves out with each of them having about a third of the elected office holders.

If this new group does not evolve, it is projected that the RNC as we know it will become subservient to the Tea Party. It could actually take it over and become republican in name only but in really "The Tea Party." Under this concept, what was otherwise moderate republican members (the Romney's, the McCain's, the Powell's) would have to start acting like Tea Party people or they could join the DNC or just become retired. At any rate, this does nothing to help the RNC. Therefore, I estimate that it will move to push the Tea Party out of the Republican Party to form its own, thus, saving the RNC from ruin. Under a three party alignment, the Tea Party would become ultra conservative, the RNC would become conservative to moderate and the DNC would become the liberal party.

Mr. William C. Harrison served in the U.S. Military Service for 20 years achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. His career after the military evolved as follows:
? Founder and served as Chairman and CEO of Filaments Etcetera, Inc.
? Founder and served as Chairman, CEO and President of WCH EnviroTech administer Corporation
? Founder and served as Chairman of the Planning for Urban Revitalization of America, Inc. (A non-profit organization)
? Currently serving as Owner and Manager of H-Holdings, an umbrella organization administering several online websites including My Camping Mall, USA Campsite, and Video Toy Guy. He has published several articles relating to these websites and some unrelated to these.

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CNN Tea Party Debate Reflections

The CNN Tea Party Debate was the first of its kind. It definitely had its own flair and the audience was made up of a lot of Tea Party voters. What stood out in the debate?

My first reaction happened right at the beginning. No it wasn't during opening statements (that happened later), it was when they sung the National Anthem to begin the event. It appeared like a pretty lame political statement from the Tea Party. I am not against the National Anthem being sung at events by any means, I have just never seen it sung before a Presidential debate! Not a big deal really, but if you are going to do it at least make the most of it! I saw Romney, Huntsman, and Santorum singing along while everyone else stood there. Plus one for each of them.

The only thing that stood out to me during opening statements was when Perry used his line stating he would make Washington, DC as inconsequential in your life as possible. From a limited government zealot, that line is great. In reality, I am not so sure how great it is. How can Washington really be inconsequential? Washington writes the laws, collects our taxes, and protects the country. I am not sure I actually want them to be inconsequential in my life. What I want instead is a bigger voice!

Right out the gate questions were raised to Perry about his stance on social security. He seemed to back down and now says he wants to fix social security. No discussion on how he would do it and Romney hounded him on it. Perry didn't really bite.

At this point I started to notice the differences in the two frontrunner's body language. A side hobby of mine has been to learn about body language. This includes how it conveys information and how it can impact people's decision making on political candidates. When it comes to body language, Perry and Romney could not be more different! Romney was always looking at the person who was speaking on stage and seemed not only interested, but engaged in what was being said, even if it was something negative about him. In contrast, Perry would stare blankly at the audience and often avoid looking at anyone who would challenge his stances on issues. At one point, I even caught Perry staring into the rafters during a response by Romney!

To many, a candidate's body language does not matter, but history has shown that poor body language and even tone of voice can affect political outcomes. President Nixon is often cited as losing his bid against President Kennedy because he looked ill and nervous during the first televised national debate. President H.W. Bush may have lost his reelection bid to President Clinton after looking at his watch during a response by Clinton during one of their debates. Margaret Thatcher went through training to lower her voice because advisers thought she sounded too shrill. These things do matter. You just don't realize they do, which is why I find the whole topic fascinating.

Back to the debate, there was a lot of talk about privatization of social security accounts for younger people. That's a program I wish Bush would have gotten passed during his second term. I would definitely back it again! There was also a lot of talk about reforming the tax code, but many people don't have solid plans on how to do it except Romney, Huntsman, and Cain.

Another thing I noticed is that the crowd at this debate is definitely a Tea Party crowd. The applause lines have the sometimes unfortunate way of showing some of the Tea Party's true colors. There was a huge applause when Bachmann was asked if Bernake should be tried for treason as Perry had suggested in the past. Not for her answer, but for the idea that he should be tried for treason. In another question that stirred attention all over the media on the left, a couple of people yelled yes to answer a question posed to Paul on whether society should let a person without health insurance die because he cannot afford the care to keep him alive.

Towards the end of the debate, the questions on immigration and border control were brought up. Perry was hit hard on his stance to allow instate tuition for illegals, which also garnered several boos from the audience. Perry stood firm on his position and said it was a state's rights issue. Romney also clarified his position that he wants a fence on the border whereas Perry says a fence on the entire border isn't feasible.

Overall the debate was very feisty! So who won? I must say based on crowd response, it appeared that Rick Perry one-upped Mitt Romney this time around. Body language told a completely different story as Mitt Romney stood out as the most presidential. Of course, Perry is the new Tea Party candidate, so his win was to be expected. The question was could Bachmann come out and regain some of the support she has been losing to Perry. After watching the debate, I would have to say it appears the answer to that question is no. I would also say that it appears that everyone else 'lost' the debate. After round two, it's looking more and more like a two person race for the nomination.

David W Gray invites you to join The Political Zealot's community at http://thepoliticalzealot.com/ where we bring politics from an independent's point of view to light. Our goal at The Political Zealot is to show other like minded independents what they can do to impact the political world by bringing their ideas to the forefront of the political discussion. Come join the community and post your comments at http://thepoliticalzealot.com/

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GOP: The Anti-Science Party?

Since Perry has quickly become one of the three top tier candidates running for the GOP, his comments carry some weight. Last week he raised doubts in the theory of evolution, saying the theory has "got some gaps in it". In addition to his doubts, he stated that, "In Texas, we teach creationism and evolution because I feel you're smart enough to figure out which one is right."

When I the story the first time I thought wow, I can't believe he just said that. First, let me say that I have no problem with people believing whatever they want to believe in. I am a huge supporter of people having the right to their own respective religions. Where I start to have issues is when public officials start to force their beliefs onto others using their power to pass laws, make appointments to committees that can change the rules, etc. This is precisely why I have a big problem with Governor Perry.

Second, Perry states that in Texas they teach creationism and evolution. This is false. Not only is it false, it is against the law. In 1987, the supreme court ruled that a requiring that 'creation science' be taught in Louisiana public schools, along with evolution, was unconstitutional. Perry is not stupid. He knew his statement was false. He said it for political gain, since many constituents in the GOP would like to have creationism taught in public schools.

Third, it was an absolute relief to finally hear a public official of high regard call intelligent design by its true name creationism. Since the supreme court has already ruled against creationism, the movement to get 'creation science' into public schools had to regroup in the late 1980s. They did so by inventing intelligent design, or as I call it creationism 2.0. The movement has been very careful to try to separate the link between creationism and intelligent design in order to attempt to be successful in getting it into public schools. So far the ploy hasn't been very successful but Perry blew years of the careful separation out of the water with his statement last week.

What Jon Huntsman said is correct. "The minute that the Republican Party becomes the party - the anti-science party, we have a huge problem. We lose a whole lot of people who would otherwise allow us to win the election in 2012." Being an independent myself, I can confirm what he said. I will not vote for anyone that wants to use their power to force their religion onto other people. In particular, if you support teaching 'creation science' in public school science classes to counter evolution as a theory, then you will not get my vote. I believe there are a lot of people like me that feel the same way. Are you one of them?

Note: I put 'creation science' in parenthesis because it is a misnomer. Creationism or intelligent design, creationism 2.0, is not and cannot be considered science because it is non-falsifiable and untestable using the scientific method.

David W Gray invites you to join The Political Zealot's community at http://thepoliticalzealot.com/. Our goal is to show other like minded independents what they can do to impact the political world by bringing their ideas to the forefront of the political discussion. Come join the community and post your comments at http://thepoliticalzealot.com/

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Tea party complicated GOP Senate math - The Associated Press

Tea party complicated GOP Senate math(AP) – 3 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tea party-backed candidates proved both a help and a hindrance to Republicans in the midterm elections, injecting enthusiasm into campaigns around the country but losing Senate seats held by Democrats in Delaware, Colorado and Nevada that the GOP once had big hopes of capturing.

Republican leaders and strategists are muttering that the same tea party activists who elevated speaker-to-be John Boehner and Republicans to power in the House simultaneously hobbled the GOP's outside shot of taking control of the Senate. Tea partiers largely spurned establishment candidates in the GOP primaries and helped nominate Christine O'Donnell in Delaware, Sharron Angle in Nevada and Ken Buck in Colorado.

All three lost on Tuesday.

"You let the voters decide," the nominees, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele said Friday. "It's a risk. Voting is a risk."

Republicans won Senate races in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. That put them within three seats of a 50-50 split in the upper chamber. Vice President Joe Biden would have broken the tie and allowed Democrats to retain their majority.

If they could have managed an even split, however, Republicans would have pushed hard to switch some lawmakers, with the likely target Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent who votes with the Democrats but strongly supported Republican John McCain's 2008 presidential bid. Others considered Democratic Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota a possibility.

All those what-ifs fell apart, though, in three states.

In Delaware, tea party activists rallied behind Christine O'Donnell over nine-term moderate Republican Rep. Mike Castle. Party leaders tried to crush O'Donnell; the state party chairman said she could not be elected dogcatcher, much less a senator.

Their efforts proved unsuccessful, voters picked O'Donnell and Republican officials in Washington largely abandoned the race, leaving O'Donnell with no campaign infrastructure or organization. Her campaign struggled with revelations about financial troubles and old TV footage in which she spoke out against masturbation and talked about dabbling in witchcraft as a teenager.

On Friday, she blamed Washington Republicans for her loss to Democrat Chris Coons.

"In just the six weeks that we had, if we didn't have that network, that machine, mechanism to plug into like other candidates did, we had to spend the time rebuilding that, establishing the grass-roots network to get out the vote," she told NBC's "Today" show. "And also defending the accusations that even my own party was putting out. So it was too heavy of a lift for one entity."

In Nevada, voters nominated Angle as the Republican challenger to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who had to overcome low approval ratings and the state's high unemployment. They rejected state lawmaker Sue Lowden, who was considered a more polished candidate and was a state party chairwoman — too much of an establishment credential for voters looking for something new.

Angle was dogged by missteps. She told a group of Hispanic students they looked Asian, drew ridicule for avoiding reporters and suggested a "militant terrorist situation" has allowed Islamic religious law to take hold in some American cities.

"My thoughts are these, first of all, Dearborn, Michigan, and Frankford, Texas, are on American soil, and under constitutional law. Not Sharia law. And I don't know how that happened in the United States," she said. "It seems to me there is something fundamentally wrong with allowing a foreign system of law to even take hold in any municipality or government situation in our United States."

Dearborn has a thriving Muslim community. It was not immediately clear why Angle singled out Frankford, a former town that was annexed into Dallas around 1975.

Unlike in Delaware, national Republicans and their allies stood with Angle and waged a bruising campaign that came up short against Reid.

In Colorado, Republicans nominated tea party favorite Ken Buck over Lt. Gov. Jane Norton. Republicans hoped Norton would have an easy race against Sen. Michael Bennet, appointed to the seat Ken Salazar vacated when he stepped down to become President Barack Obama's interior secretary.

"Did they help Ken Buck win the nomination? You bet," said Colorado Republican Party chairman Dick Wadhams. "Were they responsible for his defeat? Absolutely not."

Bennet, a former school superintendent, had never been elected statewide and Democrats braced for a tough campaign against Norton, a former Reagan and George H.W. Bush administration official.

Buck, a district attorney, proved an easier opponent. Although he had tea party backing, he also had expressed views that Democrats seized on to peel away enough voters, mostly women who disagreed with his comments on rape and abortion.

While Wadhams said he "can only deal with the reality of what happened," he also noted voters gave Republicans two new House members — the first time since 1964 that Colorado ousted two Democratic incumbents in the same year — and picked up the state House. They also gave Bennet a narrow 15,000-vote victory out of almost 1.7 million ballots cast.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Tea Party brews mixed results - Boston Globe

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — After running for months against the Washington ruling establishment, a host of Tea Party-backed candidates won election yesterday and promptly faced the challenge of transitioning from a boisterous political campaign to finding common ground in Congress to deal with a massive debt they vowed to control.

The string of Tea Party victories began here in Kentucky, where Republican Rand Paul handily defeated his Democratic opponent, Jack Conway. That was followed by other Tea Party successes, including the election of Marco Rubio of Florida, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin to the US Senate.

But the movement also faced some setbacks.

In Nevada, the most powerful sitting US senator, majority leader Harry Reid, successfully defended his seat against the Tea Party-fueled candidacy of former state legislator Sharron Angle.

Democrat Christopher Coons beat Republican Christine O’Donnell in Delaware, and Democrat Joe Manchin topped Republican John Raese in West Virginia.

Tea Party backers, however, held on to hope in Colorado and Alaska.

Paul, speaking to supporters last night, vowed to carry his message of fiscal restraint to Washington. “We are in the midst of a debt crisis, and the American people want to know why we have to balance our budget and they don’t,’’ he said.

Starting today, the Tea Party movement must find a way to work with the Republican Party establishment, which at first battled against the uprising and eventually embraced it after the upstart candidates began defeating GOP favorites in the primaries. Now a new battle could take place in Congress, where the Tea Party-backed members will caucus with entrenched GOP leaders.

“That’s when the fun’s really going to start,’’ said David Damore, a University of Nevada at Las Vegas political-science professor. The GOP will expect Tea Party candidates elected to Congress to support Republican leaders, such as GOP House leader John Boehner of Ohio and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

“The million dollar question: How do [Republicans] harness this without creating this fissure in their party?’’ said Damore.

Many Tea Party activists are skeptical of both parties. They criticize former president George W. Bush for deficit spending as easily as they do President Obama and express intolerance for traditional legislative compromise and dealmaking.

Tea Party candidates have been mocked at times, such as after Paul stumbled through an interview on MSNBC and appeared to say he was against the Civil Rights Act, a view he soon backed away from.

Tea Party organizers are not worried about how their candidates will fit in when they get to Washington.

“We hope they don’t fit in,’’ said Tim Denton, 53, an organizer of the Bowling Green Tea Party. “The whole problem is people [in Congress] going with the flow and not listening to us.’’

What remains to be seen is whether the Tea Party movement will retain momentum beyond the 2010 midterm elections and will play a role in choosing the Republican presidential candidate in 2012.

In Bowling Green yesterday, Tea Party organizers and supporters anticipated the election of Paul, whose strong antispending and libertarian views have made him a hero of the movement.

“I feel like we’re about to have Christmas morning,’’ said Mary Jo Leake, an organizer of the Southern Kentucky Bowling Green Tea Party, hours before the votes were counted.

“It’s like the deliverance,’’ added her husband, Wesley, another Tea Party organizer. “We’ll have a better, stronger country because of the efforts of a lot of grass-roots people. They’ve been called radicals, called every name in the book, but they’re all just regular people, like us.’’

The Bowling Green Presbyterian Church, where Paul is a member, was bustling with the local Lions Club’s cornbread and bean charity event, an Election Day tradition.

“We need to get some new faces in there,’’ said Garry Comer, a 64-year-old Vietnam veteran. Comer said he supported Paul and the Tea Party in part because of his uncertainty about how health care reform will affect him. He is also worried about spending, and blames both parties for the federal deficit.

“I’m hoping some of these Tea Party people make it in there’’ to Congress, “to help the Republicans see that their way was the wrong way, too.’’

The Tea Party movement grew out of a general frustration with the size and reach of the federal government, particularly with the bailout of Wall Street financial firms under President Bush, and the federal stimulus program and health care reform law under President Obama. The movement scored its first major electoral victory last January, helping Republican Scott Brown of Massachusetts win a special election for the US Senate seat held for nearly 50 years by liberal icon Edward M. Kennedy.

A disparate group of Tea Party organizers created local groups around the country. They backed primary challenges to established Republicans considered to be too moderate. Tea Party-backed candidates defeated Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Bob Bennett of Utah, though Murkowski made a bid to keep her seat as a write-in candidate.

But in challenging the GOP establishment, the Tea Party was also criticized by some GOP activists for knocking out moderate Republicans who might have a better chance to win. In Delaware, Tea Party favorite O’Donnell defeated US Representative Mike Castle in the Republican primary. Polls suggested the centrist Castle probably would have been the stronger candidate against the Democrat, Coons, who beat O’Donnell yesterday.

In Las Vegas, Cheryl Wayne was among those who cast their ballot for Angle. “It’s getting new management in charge of a failing company, new ideas,’’ the 47-year-old said.

An independent, Wayne has lived in Las Vegas for 17 years and raised two children here. “I think people are just angry enough. They know they need to get involved if they want to change things,’’ she said.

Reid spent millions of dollars to paint Angle as too extreme. At Halle Hewetson Elementary School, Norma Flores cast her ballot early yesterday for Reid. “He’s the best friend Latinos have,’’ she said. “And besides, we don’t like [Angle’s] thinking.’’

© Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.

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Election 2010 all about tea party? It's more: It's year of the outsider. - Christian Science Monitor

Coral Gables, Fla.

Rick Scott hardly seems the slick, glad-handing politician that voters are used to. He speaks softly, almost mumbling, as he lays out his plan for taxes and insurance at a recent town-hall meeting at the swanky Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Fla. Mr. Scott, a former health-care chief executive, is new to politics. He is very rich and very conservative – tea party conservative. And he may be the next governor of Florida.

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Most surprising to longtime observers of Florida politics is that Scott seemed to appear out of nowhere. The state has its share of wealthy businessmen, but Scott was not part of that social milieu. "It's almost like he landed from Mars with all this money. Next thing you know, he wins the Republican primary," says Brad Coker, president of Mason Dixon polling, who is based in Jacksonville, Fla.

The 2010 election cycle will be most remembered for the birth and rapid rise of the low-tax, limited-government tea party movement, which has energized frustrated conservatives nationwide heading into the Nov. 2 midterms, mostly to the Republican Party's benefit. But the tea party is actually part of the larger trend of this election: the rise of the outsider.

VIDEO: Voices of the tea party

Wealthy businesspeople, women, minorities, and first-time candidates have all grabbed Republican nominations this cycle to a noteworthy degree. Some were recruited to run by the party, others ran in defiance of the GOP establishment. The net result is the most diverse field of candidates Republicans have ever seen.

"Part of it was a concerted outreach on the part of party leaders to get a diverse range of candidates, which was a very smart thing," says Republican pollster Whit Ayres. "Part of it was the obvious political opportunity that savvy candidates saw in this year."

In addition to Scott in Florida, wealthy Republicans with open checkbooks – most of whom have never run for office before – are competing for the governorships of California and Michigan and for the Senate in California, Connecticut, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. Self-funding by no means guarantees election; first-timers can be prone to rookie mistakes. Lavish spending out of one's personal fortune can also seem off-key at a time of financial hardship for many voters. But wealthy candidates argue that they can't be bought by special interests.

Republican women have also burst onto the scene this cycle. Call it the "Palin effect" – a wave of conservative women inspired by the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee's sudden stardom. A record number of women, 298, filed to run for the House and Senate, and for the first time, the Republicans nearly matched the Democrats in numbers. Still, many lost their primaries, and so an anticipated "Year of the Republican Woman" hasn't quite materialized.

And not all GOP women have wrapped themselves in former Governor Palin's "mama grizzly" mantle. Both of California's high-profile Republican women candidates – Meg Whitman for governor and Carly Fiorina for Senate – managed to have scheduling conflicts when Palin appeared at a big GOP rally in Orange County on Oct. 16. But there's no doubt that conservative women are emboldened by a new sense of possibility in a party whose right wing has moved beyond the notion that women with children should be at home full time. Hillary Rodham Clinton's strong run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 may also have provided feminist inspiration across the aisle. Tea partyer Christine O'Donnell, the Republican Senate nominee from Delaware, has said more than once that she admires Secretary of State Clinton.

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Mexico Gunmen Kill 13, Wound 15 at Party in Juarez - BusinessWeek

October 23, 2010, 2:08 PM EDT By Thomas Black

(Updates with interior ministry comment in final paragraph.)

Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Gunmen killed at least 13 people and wounded 15 at a house party in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, the city across the border from El Paso, Texas, that is besieged by drug- trafficker violence.

Seven of the dead have been identified, and range in age from 16 to 25, and a 9-year-old was among the wounded, according to an e-mailed statement from the state of Chihuahua, where Juarez is the most populous city. There have been no arrests, the statement said.

The gunmen arrived in two vehicles and began shooting at partygoers in two houses in the neighborhood of Horizontes del Sur, according to a preliminary investigation. Authorities received a call related to the incident on an emergency hotline at 10:54 p.m. local time. Police found 70 shell casings at the scene, the statement said.

Juarez has been one of the hardest-hit Mexican cities in a wave of drug-related killings that have exceeded 28,000 since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 and deployed military troops to quell organized crime.

Calderon ordered Interior Minister Jose Francisco Blake to help the state and local governments to maintain order in Juarez and the federal attorney general to assist in the investigation, according to an statement from the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of domestic security. The federal government “energetically condemns” the attack, the statement said.

--Editors: Joe Sabo, Theo Mullen.

To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Black in Monterrey at tblack@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Goodman at jgoodman19@bloomberg.net.

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Tea Party Express loses momentum in rural Nevada - The Guardian

Only a small number of people turned out for a Tea Party Express rally in Elko, Nevada. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The Tea Party movement has gained the image of an unstoppable wave of anger sweeping everything before it as it seeks to overthrow the Washington establishment. Well in Elko, Nevada, last night it looked a little less than that.

About 150 people turned up in an open field on a very chilly night to welcome the Tea Party Express, the bus tour that is crossing America in the run-up to next month's midterm elections. Most of the participants were in their sixties or above, and the event had more in common with a sedate charity gala than a political revolution.

The low turnout and lack of energy was puzzling as it came just four hours' drive after a rousing start to the bus tour in Reno, addressed by Sarah Palin. I was lost for an explanation. This was after all the same state, the same battle to boot out Harry Reid, the local senator closely associated in Nevada with the big government spending habits of the Obama administration.

Then I talked to Tom Norris, an affable retired truck driver. The answer was pretty simple, he told me. The hunting season had just begun. Hunters and their families were out on the trail of elk (apparently no connection to the town's name) and deer.

"I'd have been gone myself if my ticket had come up," Norris said.

Ticket had come up?

"It's a lottery. Numbers are drawn and if yours comes up you can go hunting. It's a way to control the size of the shoot."

The other possible explanation for the poor turnout was that Elko is hurting slightly less than other parts of Nevada in the economic downturn. The unemployment rate here is less than 9%, compared with more than 14% for the state generally - the highest in the country.

Elko is traditionally a cowboy town, serving mile upon mile of ranches in all directions. But it also has a thriving mining industry, and of one metal in particular - gold.

With the slide of the dollar, gold has become ever stronger, and now stands at more than $1,300 (£827) an ounce. People have been moving in to Elko to work in its underground or surface gold mines.

Gold is also one of the great staples of the Tea Party movement. Glenn Beck speaks about it on his shows with almost reverential respect (but then he does get paid by one of America's largest gold dealers to do so).

Which is paradoxical. Gold is a Tea Party favourite, but here in Elko it has lifted the local spirits, perhaps rendering the populace less receptive to the movement's "knock 'em down" message.

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