December 2020 - Page 3 of 3 - Notary Blog - Signing Tips, Marketing Tips, General Notary Advice - 123notary.com
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December 10, 2020

A Notary replies to my Covid Shut Down blog entry

Filed under: General Stories — admin @ 12:29 pm

The Notary wrote:
While you are praying, I would suggest praying for a cure and also that we are better prepared for the next virus, because there will always be a new one. It’s the nature of the beast.

My commentary
I am afraid that there are two cures.

1. The cure from God is called your immune system. It was given to us by birth and is programmed to get stronger when it receives obstacles. The expression — if it don’t kill you it will make you stronger applies to immunity. By having garlic, shitake, citrus juices, sunlight, happy times, and exercise you keep your immunity at full blast, but I don’t see anyone in the government concerned about our immunity through natural means. They want only artificial solutions which is foolish, and so do the people.

2. The vaccine has aluminum, is new, and the long term side effects are unknown and won’t be known until after millions have taken it. I feel a vaccine is not natural, not from God, and an insult to God. I feel it is dangerous to take the vaccine. Those who took the flu vaccine in 2017 were 36% more likely to die of Covid as the vaccine creates imbalances in your immune system because it is once again — not natural and doesn’t belong in your body.

We need to live in balance with nature. Humans are designed to die eventually, so you can’t cheat death forever. I suggest living naturally, but perhaps avoiding crowded places. These days there are no crowded bars or gathings to avoid since they are shut down, but assuming that liberty and freedom become American values for the first time in 200 years, you might have a choice.

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December 9, 2020

Best posts on the forum

Filed under: Social Media — admin @ 9:30 am

Our forum is a little bit quiet, so let me post what is going on. Let us know if you need help registering. I am sometimes able to modify passwords, so let me know if you need help with your forum registration which is DIFFERENT from your listing login credentials.

eSignatures, eNotarizations, RON, vs. iClose
http://www.123notary.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7737

Thanks for keeping it real 123notary
http://www.123notary.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7727

Which eNotary platform do you recommend or use?
http://www.123notary.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7723

LSS or Notary2Pro, which is better?
http://www.123notary.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7718

A list of types of signings. Did I forget any that are worth listing?
http://www.123notary.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7716

How long will business be booming?
http://www.123notary.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7712

Carmen taught me more than any of my classes
http://www.123notary.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7696

She became a RON but didn’t like it
http://www.123notary.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7699

Do you feel safe going to someone’s house in a pandemic?
http://www.123notary.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7689

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December 6, 2020

Notaries and absentee ballots and why this is essential

Filed under: General Stories — admin @ 8:24 am

When I first heard of the debate about having a Notary requirement for an absentee ballot, it seemed sensible to me. The main point of having Notaries is to verify a person’s identity to authenticate the credibility of a signed document, or in this case, a ballot.

Many complained that it was “racist” to require Notaries, or would be a huge hassle. Seeing a Notary in their office takes a few minutes, is fast, and not expensive. The several dollars required to see a Notary does not exclude anyone other than perhaps homeless people.

The essential and critical point of this article is that the states who did require Notaries for mail-in ballots did not show evidence of having rampant fraud involving mail-in ballots. The states that did not require Notaries that were swing states often had big lawsuits involving Rudy Giuliani.

On the other hand, history has proven that you can get rid of checks and balances for proving the integrity of an election, commit rampant fraud, deny the evidence or the scope of the evidence, and survive any court case. You can cheat, and get away with it — at least for now. I’m sure there will be some sort of consequences for cheating, but time will tell how the consequences will manifest itself.

I believe that absentee ballots should not exist at all. I believe that those who have medical issues could vote with a mobile poll that comes to them. Identification and signatures must always be verified, and thumbprints should be taken. There should be databases to make sure that someone is voting in one state only and voting once only and that dead people don’t vote. Elections must have integrity, it is not rocket science to enforce this integrity, and Notaries contributed to the part of the election in 2020 that was integrous in particular states.

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December 5, 2020

NNA’s Facebook page has been off the hook since November

Filed under: Social Media — admin @ 8:41 am

For a long time, perhaps years, Facebook pages for Notaries have been dead other than the private discussion forums which seem to be where the buzz is these days. But, I was just on NNA’s Facebook and they are having questions for the visitors to answer and getting a lot of interaction. The interaction is not just on one or two posts, but on many. So, this is a good sign that the industry is finally turning around!

I have someone really good managing our Facebook page. We have many members, but the Buzz has declined although it is picking up a little.

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December 4, 2020

Lassens Natural Food Market – guilty of three counts of discrimination violating Federal law

Filed under: General Stories — admin @ 11:48 pm

On November 23rd, I visited Lassens Natural Food Market on 710 South La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036. I have been visiting that store for about a year to get fresh juice, and other health food items. I started going there because our local Whole Foods used to be a fun market where the music was so good that people would dance in the aisles. But, after Covid-19 came to be, they made that particular Whole Foods as similar as possible to a communist gulag (with lots of lines, plexiglass, bossing people around, and misery) and spent a lot of energy nagging their customers about face masks, where to stand, etc. I got so fed up, that I decided to get my juice and supplies somewhere else.

My friend recommended Lassens. They had juice until 8pm and were open Monday through Saturday which is a small problem because I love getting juice on Sundays. Lassens also harassed me on two previous occasions about pulling my face mask above my nose. But, they started out being much nicer. They harassed me once in May and then left me alone until November. I informed Lassens security that I had a heart condition and that it would be too difficult for me to breathe if I wore a face mask above my nose. I pulled it up temporarily the second time but not for long. The fact that I had trouble breathing and had a heart condition was not an acceptable excuse for the staff at Lassens.

But, on my last visit a female guest at Lassens harassed me about pulling my face mask above my nose. I explained I had a heart problem again. She also said that is no excuse and that I had to do it. She followed me to check out where the security guard started harassing me. The lady told me that the fact that I can’t go to any store without suffocating myself is no problem because after all, I could buy online. I am not sure how to get fresh juice online, but the lady didn’t care that I have no place good to deliver groceries and that I refuse to be banned from society without a long and endless fight. So, I told her “f*** you.” The security guard permanently banned me from the store because I said a single bad word to someone who harassed me not once, but was following me around the store to badger me — and when he was also harassing me. I was being ganged up on. So, I paid, picked up my juice and left. After I came home, I was very upset and looked up the law.

FEDERAL DISABILITY ACT
Says it is against Federal law to discriminate against someone with a disability. A heart problem that makes breathing difficult when someone puts something in front of your mouth and nose is a mild sort of disability. But, it is not so mild when you get lightheaded and short of breath which happens fast under this situation. Since their security guard was informed that I had a heart condition and trouble breathing with a mask, they knowingly discriminated against me.

Lassens violated Federal law by discriminating against me and telling me (with a heart disability) to either wear a face mask above my nose or leave (when I showed evidence of having trouble breathing). Their excuse for permanently banning me from the store was due to another reason which was petty. People have small tiffs all the time. Nobody gets banned from society for defending themselves from harassment — except at Lassens. Lassen’s stated reason for banning me seems to be a lie, but the discrimination happened on three occasions where they attempted to force me to suffocate myself — or leave. What a bunch of inhumane asses — and they are in the health food business. They are in business to keep me healthy yet try to force me to suffocate myself. Even Dr. Evil wouldn’t go to that extreme… or would he?

So, now I am corresponding with Attorneys and might start a criminal case against these people. I have never felt persecuted in America before, but now I do. If every store followed our executive mask order perfectly I would be banned from society indefinitely for a fake pandemic. I have already reported them to the ACLU, the Police and one Attorney. We’ll see where this leads. Probably nowhere. Perhaps I should protest outside their store and let them know what felons they are!

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December 3, 2020

Just to let you know about Carmen (who died)

Filed under: General Stories — admin @ 12:29 pm

Once again, Carmen died in late July. She will not be able to answer the phone where she is. But, they can get telepathic communication if you want to send her a shout out. And yes, she comes regularly to me in my dreams.

My last dream Carmen asked me a question, and a “6” made of light appeared before me in my childhood house. I told her “six.” I then looked up the symbolic meaning of six and it means I will find true love soon in a lasting relationship.

I guess up there in heaven, they know the future, the past and the present. But, they don’t have gourmet food up there. On the other hand, I love gardens and mansions and there are plenty of those in heaven. But, for those of us who end up in purgatory which is the vast majority, I think they only have condos. Not sure… I’ll have to ask.

In any case, it is nice to know that my future was unveiled by none other than Carmen who is in the brighter world, still communicating with me. Too bad she can’t do emails from up there. She says she does a lot of resting. I am mildly clarevoyant by the way, but nowhere near as good as my psychic.

I miss Carmen. It is partly that she did a lot of work for me, but partly that she and I talked a lot and she was one of my five nearest and dearest. But, she stays in touch psychically, so it is not over, at least not completely over.

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December 2, 2020

Everything you need to know about writing a great notes section

Originally posted Feb 1, 2016.

Most Notaries underestimate how critical it is to have an amazing notes section on your listing on 123notary.com. They just write how they are background screened and have E&O insurance. They stop there. Yes, this is important information and it can be a deal breaker if you don’t have the right background screening from the right agency, etc. However, the Notaries who get lots of work from 123notary tend to have 123notary certifications, reviews from satisfied clients and a very thorough notes section. So, what is the secret? The secret is to be specific, unique and well organized in what you write about yourself.

(1) Selling Features
The top of your notes section should stress selling features. What can you say about yourself that others might not be able to say that would make someone want to hire you. “I’m reliable.” Everyone claims to be reliable, and then they show up late making a mockery out of their claim. Try something that you can put your finger on. But, I really am reliable? Yes, but your notes section can’t prove it — so skip it. Instead, let’s think about what types of loans you know how to sign. Don’t just say, “all types.” List them one by one. Do you have some unusual qualifications? Were you Notary of the year? Do you do jail or hospital signings? Are you fluent in Uzbekistani hill dialects? These are things that help you stand out. Were you a CEO of a Mortgage company? That helps too. If you have Escrow, Title, Underwriting, Processing, Settlement, or general Mortgage experience, that is a huge plus on your notes section. Make sure to indicate that high in your notes. Remember — the first 200 characters of your notes show up on the search results for your area, so digress to impress! (actually don’t digress, but use that space to squeeze in as many selling features as possible)

(2) Specialties
One of the most valuable pieces of information you can include in your notes are your specialties. Instead of bragging about how you are error-free or dependable (which nobody wants to read,) instead list the types of loans you know how to sign, types of major documents or procedures you are familiar with. Do you go to airports, offices, or jails? Do you do Weddings or Apostilles? People are very impressed when you have highly specialized skills, so mention them.

(3) # of loans signed
Most Notaries up date the # of loans signed once in four years. When I mention that their profile says they signed 200 loans, they say, “Oh, that was five years ago. I must have forgotten to login — I’ll go in there.” You need to “go in there” and update your info every few months or you will have information that is collecting cyber-dust.

(4) What is hot and what is not?
Radiuses are hot. If you have a wide radius, tell the world. 100 mile radius shows you are serious (or crazy.) Last minute signings are a good thing to mention. Do you accept faxes or are willing to do fax backs? That narrows it down. Are you background screened? Is it by NNA or Sterling or someone else — if you’re screened by the wrong agency, you don’t get the job! Do you know how to do eSignings? That will make you stand out!

(5) Professional memberships and certifications
Are you NNA Certified, Notary2Pro certified, 123notary certified, or trained by some other agency. It is impressive especially if you have four or five certifications. Mention these as well as your memberships. But, please don’t say you are an NNA member in good standing. The only way to be in bad standing with any agency is by not paying your bills or perhaps being convicted of a felony.

(6) What is unique about your service?
Is there something unique about the way you do your work? Or do you have a catchy unique phrase about yourself? It is very hard for most people to think of anything unique about themselves. But, if you really put some thought into it over an extended period of time you might come up with something good. We have two blog articles below with some of the best unique information we’ve ever seen.

(7) Avoid vagueness
Did you work for 10 years in the legal industry? What does this mean? Were you the company president or did you mop the floor for an Attorney. State your job title or what you did very clearly. If you were a legal secretary of Paralegal, that is good to know. Not a selling feature. Additionally, try to be specific about your claims. Rather than saying how good you are with people, give a concrete example of how you are good with people, or what experience you have that proves you are good with people.

Also read:
General (vague) vs. specific information in your notes section
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4602

(8) Avoid restating information
Many Notaries restate their company name, their company mission, phone and email in your notes. Your notes is to give additional information about your service, and not to restate what the reader already knows. Remember, those top 200 characters go in the search results, and if you say, “We are here to serve” nobody will click on you.

(9) Counties served
There are 12 boxes where you can indicate your counties served. If you wish to restate this info in your notes, put it near the bottom as this is not a selling feature. If you want to indicate which parts of which counties you serve, the notes section is the only place to go into such detail. Others choose to mention specific towns or cities served. Please avoid stating which zip codes you go to as that is too nit-picky.

(10) Writing about your mentor
New Notaries always want to bend my ear about how they don’t have experience, but their mentor has signed 10,000 loans and they have been to many signings with their mentor. After hearing ten minutes about their mentor I say, “I’ll hire him — I’m convinced — But, I wouldn’t hire you in a million years because you don’t stand on your two feet!” Don’t talk about your mentor. Talk about what training programs you have passed.

(11) Writing about your Real Estate background
Notaries regularly write, “I am a Realtor and therefor am familiar with the documents.” But, when I quiz them on the documents they fail almost every time. Also, many Notaries will write three paragraphs about their Real Estate business or Process Serving, etc. People are coming to 123notary to find a great Notary, not a Real Estate agent. If you want to quickly mention in the middle of your notes that you are a Realtor, that is fine, but don’t make it the central point of your notes.

(12) Educational background
If you want to write about your degrees or former professional experience, unless it is Mortgage related, it should go in the middle or lower middle part of the notes as it is not critical information in the eyes of the reader.

(13) Equipment
Yes, you can write about your equipment. Sometimes we recommend using bullet points for quick points such as E&O, certifications, and equipment. You can mention what type of printer, scanner, fax, or mobile office you have. Just don’t put this up top. It belongs in the middle or lower middle of your notes.

(14) Closing statements
Some Notaries choose to have a closing statement while others don’t. We like it when Notaries do. You can say, “Thanks for visiting my listing.” Or say something a little more unique.

(15) Don’t jumble everything in one paragraph
A good notes section is divided into several logical sections. We normally like to see an intro with selling features, an about you paragraph, some bullet points, and a closing statement. There are many formats for winning notes section and you can decide what is best for you.

(16) Ask for help
123notary gives free notes makeovers. However, we cannot write the content for you. We can filter and reorganize it though. When we redo people’s notes sections they average an increase of 55% more clicks per day to their listing. So, ask! And get some reviews on your listing while you’re at it!

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Other Great Notes Articles

How to write a notes section if you have no experience
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4173

10 quick changes to your notes that can double your calls
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4499

What goes where in your notes?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=1076

2014 excerpts from great notes sections
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=13613

Unique phrases from people’s notes sections
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14690

Stating the obvious in your notes section
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14146

A Notary included a copy of her testimonial in her notes
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4680

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December 1, 2020

The constitution has been violated by Governors and others

Filed under: General Stories — admin @ 7:28 am

Many of us with public offices such as Notary Public, Police, Judges, and others have sworn an Oath of Office to protect the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. The exact wording of your Oath varies by profession, state, and varies over time. But, the concept is similar. You do not sit and watch while our constitution is being violated — you stand up and do something. But, do what? Use your imagination. Protest, write letters, make phone calls to critical people – make some noise damn it!

The constitution and its amendments are the bedrock and foundation of our society. If people can violate it with reckless abandon for light and transient causes such as diseases that only kill people in nursing homes or due to temporary riots, then the governors can get away with anything — and in 2020 they did.

It is December, 2020 when I am writing this article. State officials are beginning to speak more frequently about the constitution. Rudy Giuliani made several lawsuits involving states concerning the legitimacy of votes which included some constitutional issues. The Texas Secretary of State sued a few states that violated constitutional procedure for making changes in voting rules. And more Sheriffs (in CA & NY for example) and regular people are beginning to stand up more and more and protest how their rights have been taken away from them.

What specific violations can be sourced?

1. Liberty & Masks
Liberty is described as an unalienable right by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the State of California. Liberty is also a right in the Constitution that can only be taken from you by due process. Is forcing a healthy person to wear a mask or socially distance liberty?

Liberty I would define as the ability to do what you like unless you create extreme danger or discomfort to others. A healthy person not wearing a mask poses no more danger to others than a safe driver on the road poses. Sure there might be an accident, but the risk is a small and reasonable risk. A driver who has a record of driving recklessly would pose a significant risk. And we need to differentiate between reasonable risk and unreasonable risk — but, due to our paranoia of Covid-19, our brains no longer function rationally.

2. The First Amendment: The Right to Assemble
The right to assemble on personal property, business property, and public property such as parks, beaches, hiking trails, etc., has been abridged in many states by the respective Governors. Many were denied their right to run their business or have as many clients as they wanted in their building. Restaurants couldn’t provide inside dining either for months on end which created financial devastation to many.

3. The First Amendment: Religious Rights
Our rights to practice our religions have been violated. In many states the Governors have made it illegal to congregate in a religious building such as a church, mosque, or synagogue. Additionally, there was hypocrisy in enforcement as violent rioters were allowed to congregate in mass and damage businesses. Executive orders must be even handed across the board, so if 100 rioters can assemble to riot, therefore 100 church goers should have the same right. On the other hand, the constitution doesn’t allow any abridgement of our rights. I consider it to be treason for a member of the government to willfully violate our constitutional rights.

4. The Second Amendment: Gun Rights
Several states wanted to abridge gun rights or take guns away from members of the public. The constitution doesn’t state that the government can do such a thing. Members of the public have the right to bear firearms — it doesn’t say which type they can have or can’t have or under what conditions. It just says we can have them.

5. Constitution Main Body: Changing voting rules
Several states decided to change their voting protocol to include mail in ballots which is a contested issue. During previous years the Democrats complained about fraud involving mail-in ballot, and now the Republicans are complaining more. It is hard to verify someone’s identity or whether or not they are living or a state resident with mail-in ballots. Most Republicans claim that was the whole point — to defraud an election and defeat Trump. But, the legislation of the respective states must be the party to decide what voting procedures are and not other parties of the executive or judicial branch who “take over,” at least temporarily.

6. Freedom of Press
Although the government did not abridge our rights to free expression in any way I am aware of, the government was sluggish to crack down on utility companies such as large internet and social media outfits who routinely censor and suppress the commentary particularly of more traditional or conservative voices. If we are to live in a country with freedom and where all voices are heard, you cannot let companies censor those who they allow free commentary unless they are publishers. I also believe that if Twitter and Facebook wish to be publishers, there should be a completely different rulebook for them to play by and they should not allow their members to post freely at all. Social media should be distinguished from publishing and Twitter and Facebook need to decide if they want free press or whether they want to have designated writers. Having both simultaneously on a rocking boat doesn’t seem to work beneficially to the public.

7. A dysfunctional system of checks and balances
Governors of states in 2020 could get away with anything with little if any consequences. The people did not stand up with any force against the government — not even in Michigan where there were mini uprisings and a kidnapping attempt which never amounted to anything. From my limited knowledge of how America works, it seems that the court systems in the various states have the power to shut down a governor’s powers if he or she abuses them. However, only Wisconsin was able to stop their governor from making arbitrary Covid-19 related orders. The other states either did nothing, made a feeble and failed attempt to curtail the governor’s actions, or in the case of California only limited Newsom’s ability to make executive orders that contradicted existing legislation, but did NOT prevent him from shutting indoor dining, or preventing free assembly or freedom of religion.

California’s freedom of religion was decided by a Federal circuit court many months ago who decided that going to church would be suicide, and therefore that the constitution no longer applies and that the constitution has a “pause” button that can be pressed at arbitrary times. When I read the constitution and the various amendments, I erroneously missed the part where the pause button is described. Perhaps I should read more carefully.

Notaries also swore to protect the constitution in their Oath of Office, so it behooves you to do something to defend it. Write a letter, make a phone call, write an article, demonstrate publically — do something.

SUMMARY
The Constitution is a document — a piece of paper. It is the foundation of our society. However, without enforcement, (and we the people are part of the mechanism that can enforce it or pressure others to enforce it) — it remains a meaningless, helpless and worthless piece of paper. If you value America, the country that gave your ancestors life, freedom, liberty, safety, opportunity, and the right to pursue happiness, then get off your rear end and defend this document with your life if necessary otherwise our republic is done — perhaps permanently! We would be done due to the economic catastrophe of unconstitutional shutdowns as well as the government corruption which undermines the character of our nation.

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