Top of My Head

Not Invented Here

2010-07-19T07:30:00.001-05:00

I just finished reading the entire archive for the webcomic, Not Invented Here. The comic is the standard at work comic, but with very unstandard humor and inventiveness. The two main characters are Owen and Desmond. Owen is your typical clueless project manager and Desmond is a developer. They are supported by a cast of characters including a robot (Marketroid) as the head of marketing. If you ever wondered about software development, this comic is a much funnier way of describing the process. If you're in software development, you will see your co-workers in every frame.

Question for Arizonia

2010-07-16T16:35:00.001-05:00

Governor Brewer and Senator John McCain keep claiming that AZ has the second highest kidnapping rate in the world. Governor Brewer has even claimed that headless bodies have been found out there in the desert wilds. (A story for which she has no proof, I might add.)

Here's my question -- pay attention -- it's a good one: Why would any American consider, even for a moment, taking a vacation to Arizona when the Governor of the state and one of its respected Senators has basically announced that the state is full of lawless illegal immigrants and, because of them, people are not safe? Where would you like to spend your vacation money: some place safe, like, say Maine or in the wild, wild west of Arizona where you'll be lucky to come home outside of a body bag?

Why would you advertise your home state that way?

Hey, I had no plans to visit Arizona this year nor next year, so it really doesn't matter to me. However; I'm sure a lot of people do have or are making plans to go there. Based on what I know about Arizona, the state takes in a lot of tourism dollars, so why would you want to discourage tourism? Especially, when you offer no proof of your claims?

It seems pretty hokey to me. Is this just so Brewer and McCain can win their respective elections come November?

Or, have they been sitting too long in the Arizona sun and they are suffering from heat stroke?

Just asking.

American Family Association

2010-07-16T10:11:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure just how this happened, but I have been placed on the so-called American Family Association email list. This morning, I received one of their hate-filled emails denouncing the funding for the high-risk insurance group in the state of Pennsylvania. Not does the AFA want to stop the funding because they claim women can obtain abortions with the insurance, they want to roll back what they refer to as Obamacare.

Well, I was going to remove myself from their mailing list and then I thought - wait, let's see the email they want me to send to my representatives in Washington. So, I went to the email and thought - I can change the text. Let's change the text and have the AFA send out the email that I would support.

So, I was thinking, if I can do it -- then everyone can do it.

I encourage all of my readers to go to the AFA website and sign up for their emails. When you get asked to send an email, send one - on their dime and using their resources, but change the text to match how you feel.

Is it ethical, no probably not. But, sometimes, as I posted yesterday - I'm just a little shit.

Have a great American Day!

What happened to Andy Taylor?

2010-07-16T06:52:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday, Cheryl and I watched a bunch of the old "Andy Griffith Show" episodes on TV Land. They were all from the first season. Andy doles out advice to young and old. Andy puts two young lovers on the path to martial bliss by stopping the feud between their fathers. Andy teaches Opie about character and how when you give your word, you need to stand by it.
And, just watching these old black and white shows made me wonder just what happened to Andy Taylor? Why don't we see sitcoms on TV where the parents teach their children right from wrong? Why don't we see sitcoms where the fathers are more than cartoonish men who fail at life, love and fatherhood?
I realize that society never was like Mayberry. I realize that many children are being raised in fatherless homes and 50% of marriages end in divorce. I do pay attention to what goes on in the world.
But, don't our children, who spend more time watching TV than playing catch, deserve to see stand up guys on TV as fathers?
Where else is a fatherless boy going to find a good role model? (Yes, Dad, I know there's still the Boy Scouts.)
Where is a child with a bad father going to learn what a father should be?
When I was a kid, we had to be home at six to eat dinner. It wasn't until I reached my teens that I discovered that not all families gathered around the dinner table and ate their evening meal together. It was a shock to my system.
I realize that life has changed since 1960 - the year the Andy Griffith Show premiered. I know that women no longer wear dresses and stay at home. I get that, but did we have to sacrifice the stand up sitcom dads, like Andy Taylor, to have progress?
Someone please bring back Andy Taylor next fall. That's a show I would watch.

Furthia High

2010-07-15T20:03:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to say thanks to Furthia High - our new sponsor. There's one spot left.

The Out4Immigration Blog

2010-07-15T13:19:00.000-05:00

On July 13th, I wrote a blog regarding H.R. 1024 - Uniting American Families Act of 2009 and I encouraged all of my readers to make a difference and write their Congressional Representatives. On July 14th, I noticed that I have a comment from one of the members at The Out4Immigration Blog. They are a grassroots organization trying to make a difference in the lives of gays and lesbians who are affected by the ridiculous laws that do not allow a gay partner to sponsor their immigrant spouse. They're calling for people to sign their petition. Please take the time to not only check out their website, but to sign the petition.

Disappointing Paul Ryan Response

2010-07-15T12:14:00.002-05:00

See the picture? That's an untouched copy of an actual email I've received from Paul Ryan's office. (If you click on the image, you can see a larger size.) And, I'm disappointed. I don't know if it is a change in staff or what has happened, but his response used to be better than this. I'm used to receiving a letter from him that at least names the legislation I've written about. I contacted him 3 times in the last week. Once regarding H.R. 1024 - Uniting American Families Act of 2009, once on a recent vote on extending unemployment (I forget the #) and once on gay marriage. This is the response I get? This is highly unusual for Paul Ryan to not give a detailed response.

I do realize that I'm not his most important constituent, but I am surprised that his answer didn't at least name the legislation.

I'm very disappointed right now. I truly am.

Do you think he or a member of his staff has read my blog and realized I won't be voting for him come November? But, if they did read my blog, you'd think they'd realize I'd blog about his answer.

I believe

2010-07-15T10:03:00.004-05:00

I am a centralist lesbian who is liberal in social views and fiscally conservative.

I believe that if you work hard, you can achieve the American Dream.

I believe that we were lied to at the start of the War In Iraq and I believe that now we're in a huge mess over there that will end up causing more terrorism in the world.

I believe that the huge tax cuts for the rich and corporations, that started until Ronald Reagan in the 1980's, proved to be ultimately bad for our economy. I believe that we need to make our borders tighter and work on keeping out both illegal immigrants and legal ones. In this economic crisis, we can't afford foreign workers to take the few jobs available for American workers.

I believe that without the unions, we would all be working six days a week, without healthcare and without vacations.

I believe that large companies only care about their bottom line and not the people that work for them. I believe that without high tariffs and high taxes on companies that close American plants to move them overseas, we will remain in this recession and it will only get worse, not better.

I believe that people who only watch Fox News are missing half the story.

I believe that people who only watch MSNBC are missing half the story.

I believe that we could be a better nation if we all just spent more time watching what happens in Washington and our state legislatures and less time watching the train wreck that is Lindsey Lohan's life and stop paying attention to Sarah Palin.

Speaking of Sarah Palin, I believe she is a "big deal" because the media tells us that she is. She sells papers, so the couple of million followers she has, appears to be greater. Fox News having no one else pretty puts her on and the rest of the media goes wild. I believe her fifteen minutes of fame are up and her base will let her down in November when the tea party Republicans run against mostly centralist democrats.

I believe that the majority of the country are centralists and if they vote in an election, the polarizing ends will lose. I, also, believe that a lot of people in this nation don't know what a centralist is.

I believe that if we don't educate our children in technology and science at a young age, we will remain 4th for technology and probably fall farther still. We need to educate our people or we will lose this country and no one will have to fire a shot.

I believe that the First Amendment still is and always will be the most important Amendment. I don't believe that the Second Amendment really means it is okay for the average person to wear a side arm. I don't believe that it makes us any safer.

Speaking of Amendments, I believe that if you asked anyone on the street to name the ten that makes up the Bill of Rights, most people probably couldn't name more than five. (I could only name 9 a few days ago.)

I believe that the NRA is one of the worse organizations in this nation. I was a member back in the 80's, so I should know. Any organization that supports armor piercing bullets really only cares about their own agenda and not what is best for the nation.

I believe that if we keep listening to the fringe wingnuts on the right and left, we will fight ourselves into oblivion.

I believe that people who believe the world will end in 2012 need to be pitied. We've had a lot of end times and they haven't happened yet.

I believe that gay people should have the right to marry whomever they want and the country will not collapse.

I believe that people should have the right to make their own decisions about end of life decisions. I don't believe anyone has the right to tell them what the decision should be. I believe that when I'm old, in pain and become incontinent, that I will want to be put down. I believe that it is too bad doctors can't just give you a shot, like we do with animals.

I believe that God loves me, but He doesn't give a rat's ass about who is president and, He certainly doesn't give a damn about this country.

Speaking of God, I believe that one nation under God was only added to the pledge in the 1950's to combat the godless communists. I believe that it doesn't matter to most Americans that it is there or not. I believe that if you don't want to say it, you shouldn't have to say it. I, also, love to tell right-wing Christians that it should be removed, just to watch those veins pop out of their neck and their faces to turn red. I believe that I can be a little shit every once in a while.

I believe that we waste a lot of money on our nation's drug war. I believe we should legalize pot and, possibly, legalize cocaine. I believe that would cause the drug lords south of the border to financially collapse. I believe it would cause Americans who weren't good for much anyone to do themselves in (the coke users). I believe we could tax the hell out of these drugs and pay for healthcare.

Speaking of taxes, I believe that President Obama should allow the tax cuts for the rich to expire next year. I'm not that rich, so they won't affect me and they won't affect most Americans.

I believe that we have a lot of problems in this country and they won't be solved overnight. We have a long way to go and we need to work together.

But, despite our differences and our problems, I believe that we still live in the greatest country on earth.

And, I believe I'd like to hear what you believe. That's what the comments section is for.

Living the Straight Life

2010-07-15T06:10:00.000-05:00

This week, I read a quick post somewhere that mentioned how gays are always shoving their lifestyles down straights' throats. And, I thought about it for a little while and it dawned on me that the writer must not realize how "straight" the world is.
When I mention that I'm married, to someone I've just met, they usually ask me about my husband. Most people do a double take when I mention that I have a wife.
Recently, when I filled out an online form for work, I entered Cheryl as my spouse. The system filled in her sex as male. HR had to fix it. A computer system assumed that I was straight.
We get phone calls asking for one of us that the other will take, when I say Mrs. _______ isn't here, I'm asked if the caller could speak to Mr. ______. From insurance forms to phone calls and even those dreaded taxes, as a gay person, I'm constantly reminded that the world is geared for straight people.
This isn't a complaint, I get it. There's more straights than gays. It's like being left handed. I read somewhere that 10% of the population is left handed. The world is geared for right handed people.
But, no one tells someone who is left handed that they are shoving their lifestyle down a right handed person's throat.
Gays are 10% of the population, why is it when we want to be treated as full members of American society, we're shoving our lifestyle down society's throat?
I don't have an answer. I just don't. I just live in a straight world. It's getting better, but we could improve it.

Iowa Tea Party Billboard

2010-07-14T09:31:00.000-05:00

The North Iowa Tea Party put up a billboard in Mason City, Iowa last week. The billboard compares President Obama to Hitler and Lenin.
At the bottom of the billboard, the statement is: "Radical Leaders Prey on the Fearful & Naive."
I find that humorous. Isn't that what the Tea Party group that put out the billboard is trying to do - prey on the fearful and naive? Isn't that what the entire right wing has been doing for the last ten years in this country?

That said, the best part of the billboard is the fact that even members of the Tea Party... find it to be wrong: "That's just a waste of money, time, resources and it's not going to further our cause," said Shelby Blakely, a leaders of the Tea Party Patriots, a national group. "It's not going to help our cause. It's going to make people think that the tea party is full of a bunch of right-wing fringe people, and that's not true."
At least it wasn't MY money they wasted.

A Train Wreck Waiting to Happen

2010-07-14T09:28:00.001-05:00

Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston have not only patched up their differences, but they've become engaged. Now, while I normally wouldn't say anything about someone else's relationship, I am truly worried about this young couple. They had a child out of wedlock in front of the entire nation - that can't be easy. According to the article, they've been engaged for two weeks and they haven't even told their parents. I could see not telling Sarah Palin, she hasn't been home much, but they haven't told his parents? That doesn't bode well for a good start to a relationship.

And, then the cynic in me pipes up and wonders, are they being pressured by Sarah to get married? She's ramping up for a run at the Presidency - no matter what she says - and having an unmarried mom for a daughter doesn't do much to shore up her base.

While I hope Bristol isn't being pressured into marriage either by her own parents or even Levi, I hope she knows what she's doing. Marriage is a 50-50 crap shoot in excellent circumstances and with the huge spotlight that is following her, the chances for failure go much higher.

I hope they've both thought long and hard about this. They're both minor celebrities due to no fault of their own and marriage is a tough road. Being a divorced single mom isn't any better than being a never married single mom.

Cut spending, cut taxes - solve unemployment and debt problem - Really?

2010-07-14T06:53:00.002-05:00

Republicans want to convince America that cutting taxes (especially those taxes that affect the rich) and stopping spending will put an end to our growing national debt and deficit problems.
Well, the numbers just don't add up.
Placing less money into the government coffers is not going to make the debt go away. We have to cut spending and leave our taxes the way they are. The money we save from spending cuts needs to go to pay off our huge government debt. Putting less money into the coffers isn't going to solve anything. It will most likely put us in worse shape, not better.
Republicans love to tell the public that tax cuts help the economy. It simply is not true. The 2010 tax rates are the lowest they've been since 2000. I believe they are the lowest since 1960, but I couldn't find the data to back that up, so we'll just go with 2000.
A married couple earning a net income of $45,000 paid 28% of their income in taxes in 2000. In 2010, they will pay 15% - a difference of 13%. A single person earning $45,000 in 2000 paid 28% in income taxes. In 2010, they pay 25% - a savings of just 3%.
Not that any politician would put their political life on the line to say to their constituents, we need to stop cutting taxes, but it is the truth. We need to stop.
In case you're wondering, I'm in the 25% bracket. I pay 10% more in taxes than a married couple for the same amount of money. Between Cheryl and I, we will pay 40% of our 2010 income in federal taxes and you don't hear us complaining about it.
Enough with the phony cut taxes talk. I want to hear that what we stop spending will be used to pay off our debts.
Who's with me?

This Week at Top Of My Head...

2010-07-13T17:22:00.000-05:00

Here's what I'm reading and playing this week at Top Of My Head...

Battlefield: Bad Company

2010-07-13T09:49:00.000-05:00

I purchased Battlefield: Bad Companyover the weekend. I got a fantastic deal, since I traded in some games to gamestop. But, now, I'm stuck, so I'm looking for help.

I'm on mission 3 right after you take out the communication towers and go AWOL. I can't seem to get pass the tanks. Anyone have any ideas?

I do know this much, it's a good thing I never served this country in war time. If this game is any indication, I don't think I would've been good at it!

H.R.1024 - Uniting American Families Act of 2009

2010-07-13T06:52:00.000-05:00

H.R. 1024 - Uniting American Families Act of 2009 - is languishing in the House. The poor bill is just sitting there in the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law.

We need to work together, fellow citizens, to get it out.

Here's the deal: There are literally thousands of American citizens who are separated from their life partners because they can't sponsor them to become American citizens or even to receive their green cards. Does that even make sense? A company can obtain a green card for someone to have a "highly skilled" job that takes the job away from a U.S. citizen, but life long partners cannot keep their families together. It is a disgrace that we allow this to happen.

So, here's what I want you to do. I want you to send a letter to Congressperson and ask them to address this situation. There's an organization who is working on grassroot efforts called Change. They have a letter posted on the site that you can use if you don't know what to write.

Let's all join together and make a difference!

Use the AFA to support gay rights!

2010-07-12T14:24:00.000-05:00

The AFA (Amercian Family Association) is at it again. Their hatred for gays and lesbians is beyond belief. They're calling for their followers to send emails via a form they provide. So, I used their form to send the following email and I encourage all of my readers to do the same:

Dear Mr. Bell and NBC:

Your decision to recognize homosexual "weddings" as akin to that between one man and one woman is an absolute brilliant idea and one that is very much appreciated!

Please count me as one who will always consider watching NBC's "Today" show and I applaud your attempt to engineer the social acceptance of political correctness.

Click here to go to their site and bring up the form. Don't forget to change the actual letter. I stuck pretty close to the AFA's original text so the changes would be hard to notice.

Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 DS

2010-07-12T06:29:00.012-05:00

When I read that a release of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 DS was on the horizon, I pre-ordered a copy. I don't pre-order very often. I was thrilled. I loved Lego: Battles DS and Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga. A Lego Harry Potter is going to ROCK, right?
WRONG!
Since the game represents four of Harry's years at Hogwarts, I'll give you my top four reasons for not liking this game.

The controls don't always work. You think you're aiming at an enemy and you shoot a wall. I'm pretty proficient in using the stylus on the DS, but it is really difficult to control Harry and the other characters.
There's only one character on screen at a time. When you're controlling Harry, you only see Harry. I liked the two character set up of Lego Star Wars and LEGO Batman DS
. If a character is conversing with you, I'd like to see who is speaking.
The game difficulty. The game goes from ridiculously easy to ridiculously hard. You can be stuck in one spot for what seems like a long time, but the next six puzzles will be a breeze to solve. There's no consistency.
Finally, did I mention controls? I did, well, I'm mentioning them again. Your main control is the stylus. The other buttons do not do much. There's a lot those buttons in the DS can do. They were utilized for the other Lego games, so I'm not sure why they were neglected here.

I've read reviews for the XBoxand PS3 versions of the game, I would recommend buying one of them rather than the DS version. Total disappointment.

The Queen of No

2010-07-10T08:15:00.000-05:00

There's a lot of talk that the Republican Party is the party of No. They have no ideas, no solutions and they vote no on everything. And, now, if Nevada doesn't vote for Harry Reid, they will send the Queen of No, Sharron Angle, to Congress. According to a Huffington Post entry from July 9th, "Democratic assemblywoman Sheila Leslie recently told the New York Times. "She [Angle] took great pride in voting 'no' for everything."
Is this really who Nevada wants to send to a National office?
Why is it that the only message I hear from the Republicans is "Stop spending! Obama's a socialist! Lower taxes!" ? They don't explain how they plan on stopping the spending. The Obama's a socialist remark is plain ignorant. They don't explain how they plan on lowering taxes.
The truth is that they have no plan in place for when they "take over". The truth is, they can't lower taxes. The truth is they have no idea where to cut spending - except, of course, when it will affect real people who can't find jobs.
Right now, in any state, we don't need a party of no. We need a party of yes. I urge Nevada to not send the Queen of No to Washington.

As American As An Apple iPhone?

2010-07-09T07:54:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I wonder just how my brain manages to function with the eclectic thoughts and interests I have rummaging around in there. On the day that my Vanity Fair magazine arrived (yesterday) so did my PlayStation Magazine. And, then, I was left with a decision: which one do I read first? The one that holds the last interview with Dennis Hopper or the one that has a huge article on LittleBigPlanet 2?

Ah, were every question in life as meaningless as deciding on a magazine. But, then, life would be boring.

Anyway, being the intellectual I am, I opened Vanity Fair first and flipped through the pages. I read The 60 minutes/Vanity Fair poll which asked 960 adults the following question:

If we wanted to update the expression "as American as...," which of the following would be the best replacement for "apple pie"?

The choices were Apple iPod, NASCAR, Triple bacan cheeseburgers, S.U.V. and Going to rehab. 23% of the people polled said the Apple iPod and 23% said NASCAR. I find this funny. NASCAR is truly American. It's stockcar races are direct decendants of the races held by moonshiners for very small purses. It's first drivers were moonshiners - not that the corporate image of NASCAR wants to remember their "bad boy" days, which makes it more American, as re-writing history seems to be the favorite pasttime of the right wing, but I digress.

However; the Apple iPod couldn't be further from the American as. They're not made here and as I mentioned yesterday, Apple only employs 25,000 Americans in this country. That's not very American.

But, then, not many companies or corporations truly care about America and Americans. It's all about profits. And, I guess that's the way of the country now.

Perhaps, Vanity Fair missed the mark. The updated phrase should be as American as layoffs and corporate profits.

An Economic Truth

2010-07-08T06:26:00.002-05:00

For months, I've been telling my friends that the bad economy cannot be fixed by the government alone, nor is it the government's sole fault that we're in this mess. Yes, the deregulation that started under Ronald Reagan and continued through Bush I and Clinton before it imploded on Bush II has to take a lot of the blame. The tax cuts on big business have hurt the economy, as well, even as we hear the battle cries from the far right to cut them some more.

However; the bigger slice of the blame game needs to be laid at the feet of the companies themselves. Our government is in their pockets and have made it easier for the companies to only look out for themselves in the last thirty years, but We the People have elected them. As long as companies don't hire American workers to work in American plants and as long as the American government doesn't place a high tariffs on non-American made goods coming into this country, we will continue to have high unemployment.

For example, according to this week's Bloomberg Businessweek (pg.50), Apple employs 25,000 Americans. Sounds impressive, doesn't it? That is until you learn that Apple's products are made by Hon Hai Precision Industry in China. Hon Hai Precision (AKA Foxconn) employs 250,000 employees to build Apple products. Do the math - for every 10 Chinese employee, Apple has 1 lone American employee.

Yes, but Julie, that's because our unions are demanding such hire wages, I hear you say.

Uh, no. Unions aren't as powerful as they once were - for one thing - and for another, you don't believe that a worker on the factory floor deserves a fair wage for his or her work? I could get into all that anti-union rhetoric, but I'll save it up for a later article. In a nutshell, anyone who lays our economic problems at the feet of unions is someone who has never read a business magazine, gone to college or is making millions as a talking head.

The need and greed for high profits is what's causing the massive overseas drive of American jobs. And, because there is no moral hazard - such as taxes or tariffs - companies will continue to drain our population of jobs.

And, it is not just the big companies.

I know of a company with less than 1000 employees - right here in southeast Wisconsin - that has a temporary need for one employee. Rather than hire an American, they've contracted a company in India and now an American employee is training an Indian employee over the phone to do this job. And, it isn't a call center job. And, there isn't a union employee in sight.

Really, Julie?

Yes, really.

In conclusion, this economy has just been brewing for the last ten years, we've been shedding jobs for a very long time. Relaxing the regulations on the financial markets has caused the economy to implode and relaxing tariffs and taxes on corporations - especially those that have been cutting American jobs - has finally killed the American dream. And, no, the government can't fix all of it and the people who can - CEOs of corporations - don't want to fix it. They don't care. They're too busy laughing all the way to the bank.

What I'm Reading, Playing and Listening to...

2010-07-07T07:43:00.001-05:00

I used to post links to the books that I am reading. I've gotten out of that habit, so I decided to start it up again.

What I'm Reading...

What I'm playing...

What I'm Listening to...

Base8

2010-07-06T07:28:00.001-05:00

Do you ever wonder just who is behind an anti-gay measure? Who provides the money for the ads? Who is at the top of the anti-gay food chain? The website Base8 provides this information.

According to the FAQ, Base8 "is an ever-growing, ever-evolving, human-edited, searchable database of donors to political campaigns and related causes, both for and against equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people."
I wanted to pass this great resource site on to my readers.
Have a great day!

How will you celebrate the Fourth of July?

2010-07-02T11:23:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, we will celebrate the 234th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. I ask all of my readers to remember the sacrifices that our service men and women have made and are making to keep our country safe and strong.
We live in the greatest country on earth and we often take that for granted. I remember when I was a kid, we had this large book that had an images of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights in it. I remember sitting in the living room reading it over and over again. I found it all so fascinating and I still do.
I've decided that this year, I'm going (try) to read the Declaration of Independence to Danny and Alex. We'll see just how long they sit still and listen. They're five, so I'm not expecting much. I just want to instill in them a love of country that Cheryl and I have. I think it is important.
So, in a nutshell, that's how I'll be celebrating this great National holiday.
How will you celebrate the Fourth of July?

For your reading pleasure, the Declaration of Independence.

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Don't forget to thank a Vet for their service!

Blog on Indian Coins

2010-07-02T10:07:00.000-05:00

Are you into rare coins? Are you a serious collector? Do you especially go nuts over rare Indian coins?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then let me recommend a website for you.

numismatology@abhas

It is a nice looking site with a lot of information. If you're into coin collecting, I highly recommend it.

Get a Backbone

2010-07-02T06:22:00.002-05:00

I have been an out lesbian for over twenty years. I have marched, attended rallies, written blogs and lived my life with the idea that I can’t expect to get my Constitutional rights while hiding in a closet. I’m out to my family, friends and co-workers. Being out hasn’t always been all wine and roses, either. I’ve been harassed, fired and insulted because I am a lesbian. My life now is pretty well set, but there are still those on the fringes of my life who would rather I go away or, at least, pretend I’m not gay to make things easier on them.

But, I’m not going to live a lie just to make life a little easier or make someone else happy. I don’t think that anyone should. If you’re against gay marriage, then I think you should put signs in your yard and participate openly in the political process. I know your beliefs are wrong and misguided, but if you believe it, then you shouldn’t hide it. Be proud of your narrow straightness!

Yell it from the mountain tops! Man up!

Apparently, one of the groups that helped scare the state of California into voting for Proposition 8 – the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) – doesn’t agree with me. They think that their supporters and donors should have a right to privacy. They shouldn’t have to provide their donor lists to state election officials.

“But, Julie, why would they feel this way? What could they possibly have to hide?” I hear you asking.

Glad you brought it up – I have an answer.

They’re scared. They’re scared that their donors might be harassed for their beliefs. They filed a lawsuit which went right up to the US Supreme Court – Doe v. Reed – to protect the privacy of their followers.

(I went to their site to see what they wrote about the case, but I couldn’t find one word about it. I searched the case name, looked through their archives – nothing. I thought that was odd and I only mention it to see if any of you, my gentle readers, can find anything.)

“So, Julie, what happened with the suit?” I hear you ask.

Well, I’ll tell you – they lost and they lost big: 8-1. Surprised? No? Well, I am – a little.
Anthony Scalia, a man with whom I usually disagree, wrote:

"There are laws against threats and intimidation; and harsh criticism, short of unlawful action, is a price our people have traditionally been willing to pay for self governance. Requiring people to stand up in public for their political acts fosters civic courage, without which democracy is doomed. For my part, I do not look forward to a society which…campaigns anonymously…and even exercises the direct democracy of initiative and referendum hidden from public scrutiny and protected from the accountability of criticism. This does not resemble the Home of the Brave."

In other words, get a backbone.

I never mind when someone disagrees with me, but when someone places an anonymous comment knocking me (someone once called me lazy, fat and white trash) it really gets me. It’s not the comment that bothers me. I’ve been called worse before and I’m sure in the future, I’ll be called worse again. It’s the anonymous part. They’ll sit behind the Anonymous title and spout things about me that aren’t true and they don’t even have enough guts to stand up and say, “My name is Robert Smith and I think you’re a bitch.”

And, for me, it’s the same for the anti-gay crowd. If you want to say, “I don’t think you and Cheryl should be allowed to get married,” that’s fine. You have a First Amendment right to say it and believe it, but if you don’t have the guts to stand up and say, “My name is Robert Smith and I don’t think you and Cheryl should be allowed to get married” then I think you should keep your mouth shut. I have a lot more respect for someone who speaks their mind in public. I think if you give money to any organization that runs ads in support of one candidate or another; you should have to have your name on a list given over to state or federal election officials.

If you believe in a cause – any cause – enough to give money to it, you should believe in it enough to stand up and be counted or stand up and defend it. You shouldn’t coward in a corner.

To add to Justice Scalia’s comments, America is no place for cowards. We are the Home of the Brave and not the Home of the Chickens.

One final thought, I know on this blog, you have to have a Blogger or Google Account to not post Anonymous, but nothing says you can’t put your name in your post.

If you can’t say it to my face, you shouldn’t say it behind my back.

Man up, NOM!

White, Unemployed Trailer Trash Blogger

2010-07-01T19:18:00.001-05:00

I was looking at some of my old posts and their comments and I saw quite a few that called me trailer trash, white trash and told me to get off my “lazy fat ass and walk down to the unemployment office and get a job.” These are comments that are nearly four years old.

I had to chuckle a little. In the nearly four years since I wrote those blog posts, my salary has been raised 28%. During most of those posts, I was working toward my bachelor’s degree, which I now have. I have changed jobs twice since then, each time receiving a significant pay raise – 18% the first time and 11% the second.

There’s a 2010 Withholding Calculator on the IRS website where you can post your financial information (salary, 401k, etc.) and it will tell you just what your tax obligation will be for 2010. Mine will be $9,000. That’s just federal taxes. It doesn’t include the amounts I’ve paid for Social Security, Medicare or anything else.

It made me wonder about the Anonymous posters who called me white trash, trailer trash and said I was unemployed. Do you think they’re paying that much in Federal taxes? I wonder if they pay taxes, like me, or if they’re in the 47% of Americans who don’t pay taxes at all. It made me wonder just who is the white trash? Me – hardworking, taxpaying American or them, those who have time to write long posts denouncing me publicly?

What do you think?

Believe Al Gore's Accuser or not?

2010-07-01T14:50:00.001-05:00

Right off the bad, I want to say that in 99% of sexual accusations, I'm on the woman's side. I will admit that there are those few who make an accusation that is false or misleading just to seek revenge or receive money.
I think Al Gore's accuser just might be in the last category. After refusing to speak with police in 2006 - when the alleged incident took place - she went back to police in 2009. That by itself is not suspect. Many women, feeling ashamed or scared, have a hard time speaking with police after a sexual assault. That Gore's alleged victim did the same thing is not enough not to believe her.
What is enough is the last line in this article: "However, she reportedly sold her story to the National Enquirer magazine for 1 million dollars."
I'm not saying that means she's lying, but it does lead me to question her motives for coming forward again.
I wonder if she's telling the truth or not.

The Three States that Matter... In other words, the Hell with the rest of you...

2010-07-01T06:05:00.000-05:00

Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Three states with a grand total of 8,893,673 Americans (2000 census) are the ones who get to see our candidates for President first and the most.

Why is that?

If a good candidate does well in one of these states, most likely, he will go on to be either the Democratic or Republican candidate for President.

Does that seem fair? Does it seem right?

A candidate that is seen as dissing one of these three states will be punished there.

What is up with that?

Why are we letting less than 9 million of our fellow citizens determine the most important job in this country?

I don't understand the purpose of a candidate throwing his or her hat into the political ring by kissing up to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Anyone else feel this way?

God Bless

Funding a War, by cutting Social Security...

2010-06-30T07:33:00.000-05:00

Representative John Bohner - R-Ohio, House Minority Leader - announced yesterday a plan to cut Social Security and raise the retirement age to 70. Now, this is not a new idea, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. discussed a similar plan last month. For the record, I would support this with a few provisions.
However; there's a problem with Rep. Bohner's plan: He wants to use the money to pay for the war in Afghanistan. (I've been trying to find an exact quote, but I can't.)
Social Security money should NEVER be used for anything in the regular budget. And, that's the problem. Social Security used to have enough money to last a very long time without making many changes. However; our government - Republicans & Democrats - have been dipping into the Social Security program to pay for other programs and to help lower the deficit. The time to touch Social Security for anything other than what it is intended to be is over. If we're going to save it, then let's save it right. Leave the money saved by spending cuts and raising the retirement age to 70 in Social Security. Otherwise, we'll just have bigger problems later on.
What do you think?
God Bless

Can we talk?

2010-06-30T06:23:00.001-05:00

As Joan Rivers used to say, Can we talk because all I'm hearing is the shouting. I'm serious. We have a failure to communicate in this country. And, we're in serious, serious trouble.

Our National debt in over 13 trillion dollars. That's a lot of money we owe. That's over $42,000 per U.S. citizen, according to the U.S. Debt Clock. We really need to do something about this debt. We need to have a serious discussion about it and we need to lower it before the people to whom we owe the money come looking for it.

Our National deficit to date is roughly 1.4 trillion dollars. There are only two ways to cut our deficit: Cut our spending or raise taxes.

It is simple math, people. The last Presidential Candidate who said quite honestly, "We're going to have to raise taxes." didn't become President. That was Walter Mondale.

That leaves cut spending. What should the government cut? What programs?

We're fighting two wars which have added billions to our debt, so we can't cut military spending - at least not for our troops.

We have 24 million people unemployed in this country, so cutting unemployment benefits isn't a wise thing to do.

I'm not sure just what spending we should cut, but as Americans, we need to have this serious discussion. We not only need to cut our spending, but we need to pay pay down our debt.

I'd like to hear some discussion -- real discussion, not this ballyhoo and crap that's been going on for the past sixteen years.

So, the topic is National Debt and how we're going to reduce it - Discuss.

God Bless

H.R. 5175 - Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act

2010-06-29T06:15:00.000-05:00

Time and time again, I have said that Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh really and truly do not care about our nation. And, time and time again, they prove it - as Rush has by being against the bill H.R. 5175 - Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections.

I cannot understand how Limbaugh could come out against this bill, which passed the House 219 to 209 with 8 not voting.
Our Supreme Court lost its collective mind not long ago and declared that Corporations had the same rights as individuals. This meant that the Campaign reform laws that were passed were essentially knocked down. How could anyone think for one moment that a Corporation should have the same rights as an individual in this country?
Here's the deal: Lawmakers should have to tell us under whose bed their boots are. We should have the right to know to whom they are grateful when they are propelled to public office. Maybe, this is isn't what our founding fathers had in mind, but they couldn't possibly conceive that we would one day be a country of over 300 million people. They couldn't possibly conceive that a candidate for president would have to get his or her (they certainly couldn't have conceived a woman president) message out to everyone and it would take a ridiculous amount of money to do so.
And, from where does that money come?
You, me, corporations, lobbyist groups, etc. etc.
Don't we have a right to know? I believe we do.
Apparently, Rush Limbaugh doesn't think so, neither does Paul Ryan - he was one of the 3 nay votes from Wisconsin - and neither does our other 2 Republican Representatives from Wisconsin.
You should think about that when you go to the polls this coming November. Think about who wants you to know what's happening and who doesn't.
God Bless America - she needs it!

2010-06-28T10:43:00.000-05:00

I just sent the following email to my state Senator and my state Representative. If you live in WI, I suggest you read it, steal it and send it to your Wisconsin State Representatives. Let's get this changed. I took out the Senator's name before posting it here. Make sure you fill in your Representative's name and information. Also, if you don't know who they are, go to this site, enter your address and your Representatives will appear. http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx

Feel free to make any changes to the below text. Also, if you don't live in WI, investigate your state's laws.

Dear Senator/Representative,

I hope this email finds you quite well.

Recently, it has come to my attention that Wisconsin's laws regarding pepper spray leave much to be desired. Currently, our state law requires the following:

1. Have a total weight on not less than 15 grams nor more than 60 grams (According to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

2. Cannot contain UV dye

I propose that we change both of these requirements. Allow me to explain.

Why are we determining how little a canister may hold? Wouldn't it be best for the consumer to be allowed to carry a canister much smaller than the 15 grams required by law? Most carriers of pepper spray are women and if they could carry a canister on a key chain, it would most likely do them much more good than to carry the canister on a belt or have it be buried in the bottom of their purse.

Regarding point 2, if a person defending themselves sprays someone with pepper spray that contains a non-toxic UV dye, doesn't this make it easier for police to catch the suspect? They can simply shine a black light on the offender and identify him or her.

I would hope, Senator/Representative, that you or your staff will research this matter and, perhaps, work to change the law as it is now in effect.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you regarding this matter.

Sincerely,

Pot, Sarah Palin and Me

2010-06-26T07:44:00.000-05:00

In my wildest dreams, I never thought this day would come. Today, while reading the latest Newsweek magazine, I learned the Sarah Palin and I actually agree on something. Before I tell you just what it is, I want you to ponder that for a moment. If Sarah and I can agree on something, then it must be something that should be done. If two polar opposites are on the same side, something good should come out of it.
I know, you're wondering, what the heck could it possibly be?
Pot. We agree on pot.
On page 20 of the Newsweek dated June 28 & July 5, Sarah Palin is quoted as saying, "If somebody's gonna smoke a joint n their house and not do anybody any harm, then perhaps there are other things our cops should be looking at."
It is unfortunate that I don't know when she said or what the context of the statement was or know what else she said. I wish I did. But, what I do know is she's right - mark that on your calendars, I said Sarah Palin is right (but only on this particular instance).
We spend billions of dollars patrolling our borders, not only for illegal immigrants, but for pot smugglers (and, yes, other drugs). Perhaps, we could put that money to better use. Perhaps - and I don't know if Sarah agrees with this - we should end the legal status of marijuana. (In the interest of full disclosure, I have tried pot on two occasions and have never been a regular user of any illegal drug. I barely drink.)
Even though we still would spend money to defend our borders, if we legalized marijuana, we could do three things that would be good for the economy:

Tax it. I believe that California has all ready earn $80 million in taxes for their new prescription marijuana. One article has estimated 1.2 billion dollars if they completely legalize it. Over the full nation with federal and state taxes, we could make a mint!
Regulate it. Only safe marijuana would be on the market.
Put people to work in our fields. Instead of subsidizing farmers to not grow food, we could have each one put in a pot field and let them earn some cold, hard cash.

I don't know why more states on jumping on California's bandwagon.

God Bless

Skywalker's Last Ride

2010-06-21T19:13:00.001-05:00

Today, we took our beautiful 13 year old American Eskimo Dog, Skywalker, for one last ride. Sky, as we called him, has been going steadily downhill for a year and became worst this past weekend. We knew it was time.

Both Cheryl and I were able to spend most of his last day with him. We hugged him, laid on the floor next to him and showed him a lot of love and affection. When it was time to go to the vet, I lead him outside. The sun shone brightly, as Sky walked out onto the patio. He stood there for a moment and looked around with his silly grin on his face. He sniffed the air and then followed me to the car. It looked like he was pausing to take one last look around. It was like he knew he wouldn't be coming home again.

After I loaded him into the backseat, Cheryl and I got into the car. Cheryl cried the whole way to the vet. Her heart was, and still is, breaking. Sky settled down in the backseat and kept his head up. I took County V to the vet. I wanted his last car ride to be filled with pretty countryside views and not the views of the highway.

At the vet, I filled out the paperwork and paid the bill, before the three of us were lead down the hall to a room. Sky just followed like a little trooper, without us having to even hold his leash. Even to the end, he was an excellent little dog. We were left alone to say goodbye for quite a while. Sky laid on the floor next to Cheryl. When it was time, they didn't put him on the table -- he hated those tables. I sat on the floor in front of him, so his last sight was me. He had been my dog for so long, I didn't want him seeing anything else. They gave him the two shots and he was gone. His little eyes half closed. His head lying between his paws. He looked so sweet. Cheryl and I were sobbing uncontrollably. It was the hardest thing I've ever done.

Good night, sweet Skywalker. I know I'll never have a dog as good as you.

God Bless

Sound Bites

2010-06-08T07:49:00.000-05:00

Ronald Reagan, God rest his soul, left this country a lot of things; old movies, his cowboy image, the beginning of deregulation and sound bites. No, Reagan didn't invent them, but he knew how to use them better than anyone that came before him in our history. Who can forget the 1980 election when Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan were neck and neck heading for the November 4th election day? And, then, they had one last debate. Carter, armed with facts, finished answering a question about healthcare in his Georgian drawl. The moderator said, "Governor?" to Reagan and our country changed forever. Reagan's response, "There you go again."

Four words, that's all Reagan said and the politics in the nation, the debates on things that mattered were no longer the same.

I'm sure Reagan couldn't have known that thirty years later his "There you go again" would have set a very scary precedence. We no longer get facts in our debates. Candidates come up with catch phrases to win (and sometimes lose) elections and influence us. From Reagan's "Morning in America" to Bush I's "thousand points of light" to Clinton's "It's the economy, stupid" and beyond, we've become a nation of sound bites. We, as a people, don't really know what's going on anymore. We pay attention to the sound bites and to the commentators that have risen up in this 24 hour news nation like dandelions on my front lawn. We follow the loudest voices, like Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, to the edge of nothingness like lemmings.

But, what has this cost us? What price have we paid?

We've lost some civility. We've lost a lot of common sense. People were surprised to find out that a lot of believers in the Tea Party are well-off, well educated people. I wasn't. I have met enough well educated people who believe the most ridiculous things, like the trickle down theory actually works, to know that education doesn't necessarily equate smarts and common sense.

Further, no one bothers to check the facts anymore. They just believe the commentator that best represents them. If they agree with Bill O'Reily 85% of the time, then whatever O'Reily says becomes Gospel to them. The same goes for a follower of Rachael Maddow or Keith whatever his last name is.

I could go on forever about this. I'll probably write about this again. Our country is in real trouble because of our inability to get to the facts and make wise decisions. Today is Super Tuesday. Before you go out and vote, try to get to the facts to make a wise decision. Don't vote for someone because of a soundbite.

God Bless

Political America

2010-06-03T07:08:00.000-05:00

America is not a true democracy. We are democracy, mixed with republic with a bit of socialism and a pinch of libertarian. The sad thing about this is that a great deal of Americans don't even understand this - even the ones with college degrees.

Sad, isn't it?

Now, the big thing is that Obama is a socialist and we're going to become this giant socialist nation and all of our rights will be taken away. Sad thing is, we've had socialism in our society for well over 60 years and, in some cases, since almost the beginning.

Being the libertarian that I am, I say, let's get rid of all of the socialistic programs. This is the only way to make our federal government smaller: (these are MY ideas and not necessarily the ideas of the libertarian party)

Socialistic Programs to Cancel
Social Security	Bank Regulations
Farm Subsidies	School lunch programs
Public Schools	Head start
Corporate Welfare	Welfare
Medicaid	Medicare
VA Benefits	Labor Laws

I would support a tea party candidate. I wholeheartedly support libertarianism. My problem with them is that they want to be libertarians with a huge amount of right-wing Christianity mixed in. The whole idea of libertarianism is NO government interference and individual liberties. The problem with the tea party is they want NO government interference and only those individual liberties THEY support. They aren't what they seem to be. Most of them are just Republicans in sheep's clothing.

Let's change our government mix into a libertarian one. To find out just where you fall on the political spectrum, take this quiz.

You might be surprised.

God Bless

Memorial Day - Shake a Vet's hand, tell them thank you

2010-05-31T06:00:00.001-05:00

Today is the day that we honor the men and women who gave the absolute sacrifice for their country. Without these men and women, our country would be very different than it is today. We wouldn't be free, the majority of us wouldn't speak English and we wouldn't be the amazing country we are today.

But, I wonder about those men and women who have survive. I wonder, do we do enough for them? Do we show our gratitude often enough? Do we give them our thanks?

So, here's what I purpose for anyone reading this article - starting today - every time you see a vet, tell him or her, thanks.

It doesn't matter where you are when you do so. If you see a soldier, Marine or sailor in uniform, shake their hand, look them in the eye and thank them for their service. If you see someone in a hat that says veteran on it, do the same thing. These men and women put their lives on the line for us. They serve their country with honor and for very little pay and benefits. Their families live with the separation of war and service and they're rarely thanked.

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a vet.

God Bless our vets and God Bless America.

Protect Drug Addicts?

2010-05-28T17:00:00.000-05:00

There's a Milwaukee Journal Times editorial calling for a better law to protect people from abusing prescription drugs and, quite frankly, I don't think we need the law at all. When will we stop allowing the government to protect us from ourselves. If you want to ruin your life or even die by taking prescription drugs, oh, well. If you're that stupid, we didn't need you in the gene pool anyway.

If this was a matter of the government making sure a company didn't put a drug on the market that was known to kill one out of every 10 users, then I'd be for it. But, frankly, I don't need the government to protect me from me. If I want to run around town, convincing doctors that I need that prescription drug, so be it.

If I have a brain cell left, then I know there are plenty of programs that will put me on the straight and narrow path from drug addiction. Is it easy - no, it isn't. But, that which does not kill us, makes us stronger.

I've been on pain medication and I realize that the soothing effects are quite addicting. I do have an addictive personality, if I didn't, I would've quit smoking for good years ago. But, despite my stupidity for still being a smoker, I do have enough good sense to know that when I crave the drug for the effect and not the pain in my leg, it was time to stop taking the drug. Three days after my knee surgery, I was done with the vicodin.

Enough is enough. It is time we expected everyone to take care of themselves and if they can't, and they die, that's just a sad fact of life. It may be a little harsh, but only the strong survive and if you're not strong enough, well, they you're out of the gene pool.

Social Security, Medicare and the Tea Party

2010-05-27T06:00:00.018-05:00

I've been reading that the Tea Party wants smaller government. And, Republicans want to privatize Social Security. And, the country wants less government interference in their health care. Add to this a soaring debt that most Americans want paid down, plus Corporations want to pay less in taxes (even though they're the lowest since the 1950's), as do most Americans (even though they're the lowest since the 1950's).

Well, I've got a plan. You ready for it...

Let's get rid of Social Security and Medicare. Just like that, let's stop both programs in their tracks. Now, I know what you're thinking, we can't do that -- we have thousands of retirees depending on their Social Security checks and their Medicare! Well, I have a plan.

I say that starting January 1, 2011, no one in this country pays anymore Social Security and Medicare taxes. Period. Those people who are 65 and over on 1/1/2011, get to use up the rest of the money in the pot. Once the last of them die, those of us who aren't on either program would get an amount of any remainder, based on how much we paid in and how old we are. I think if you're 64 on 1/1/2011, you should get back at least as much as you put in. I don't think there would be any left, but we should plan just in case.

Then, all of us, would get to keep the approx. 8% we put into Social Security every year. It would be up to us to figure out how to invest it. And, our employers who pay another 8% would get to keep that money to use however they wish. If they choose to put it in our 401ks, well, that would be a bonus and I say no tax on that money for the employee and employer. If they choose to keep it in the company coffers, well, Corporations work hard for their money and they should get to keep it, but tax it as profit.

If you invest wisely between now and the time you retire, you should have a nice little nest egg. I mean, you know better how to take care of your money than the government, right? You're on time with your bills, you pay your mortgage. You made a good deal when you purchased your new car, so you must know what you're doing, right?

But, I don't believe in Government safety nets. I've really had it with bailouts so, if you don't invest wisely, well, that's just too damn bad. You're on your own. Oh, and we should enact a mandatory retirement age of 65. We can't have people hanging on to their jobs in order to make ends meet. We need the next generation to get out there, work and save for their retirement.

So, who's with me? Anyone? Let's write our Congressmen and Senators and let them know - No More Social Security and Medicare. Let's start standing on our own two feet! Come on, America! Let's get together and push this through!

God Bless!

Twisted Headlines

2010-05-26T07:48:00.000-05:00

Yesterday on facebook, a co-worker of mine posted the following: "Obama skipping Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. 'He'll be on vacation in Chicago'" You would think a comment like that couldn't possibly start any trouble, could you?

Well, it went on and on. There are actual news articles and blogs calling Obama out for sending Joe Biden in his place. As it turns out, President Obama will be at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery. It's not like, in the words of my co-worker, he's spending the day at a waterpark.

You're probably wondering why I am posting about a post from facebook and here's why. It bugged the heck out of me. I couldn't find much in the way of Presidents attending the Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington. But, I did find out that Obama isn't the first President to miss it. When I pointed out that Bush II had missed to be in Normandy, France. A person stated, "And it always goes back to Bush II for some reason....very interesting. The hatred for him knows no bounds" And, proceeded to post Bush's Normandy comments.

Here's what bugs me: Yes, I thought President George W. Bush was a bad President and, yes, I voted for Obama and I will be voting for Obama in 2012. But, I don't pull out something Bush had done and necessarily mean it was a bad thing. And, can't people say anything about Bush and not be accused of hating him?

In fact, I don't even care that Bush went to Normandy, I was merely pointing out that this Presidential tradition had been broken before. In fact, later in the day, I learned that Reagan missed in 1983 to attend an economic summit and Bush I missed to speak at an American Legion and then play golf.

So, I was thinking, Are we really that bad in this country that we infer or project how we think a person feels because we label them? Some people think I'm a radical liberal -- far from the truth -- but does that mean that no matter what I say, they hear a radical liberal response?

Does that mean that we have stopped paying attention to each other? I realize our pundits have completely lost their minds and stopped listening, but have the rest of us? And, if we have, isn't that the saddest thing ever? How can we solve our country's problems if we when hear an idea, we only agree if they're a Conservative Republican or a Liberal Democrat? Why are we so polarized when, except when driving a car, the middle of the road is usually the best place to be?

God Bless

Arizona's Immigration Law Part II

2010-05-04T07:29:00.002-05:00

It isn't often that I change my mind about something. It happens even less often that I make a turn around in such a short period of time.

I just found some new information that in fact the AZ immigration law doesn't give police officers the right to stop someone because they think he's an illegal immigrant. They have to have pulled the person over for some other reason, like a traffic violation.

To me, that makes all the difference.

I see no harm in asking to see id -- police do that all the time.

God Bless

The new AZ law

2010-04-26T17:22:00.002-05:00

Quick note: Kiss your freedom goodbye in AZ. The police have the right to stop and question you if they have a "reasonable suspicion" that you are an illegal immigrant. How do you NOT look like an illegal immigrant? Okay, I'm a very white woman, but I can pass for Italian or Russian or Irish. I'm not saying a police officer would do this, but he or she could stop me because they suspect I might be an illegal immigrant from Ireland or one from Russia.

Granted, I probably won't be stopped in AZ, but it could happen. Walk down the street and speak with an accent and police officer could decide to check your citizenship papers. And, what if you've forgotten your driver's license that day? You better hope someone is at home to get it for you and bring it down to the police station.

I realize we have an illegal immigrant issue in this nation, but removing freedoms is not the answer. I don't think this law will stand up in court, but it might.

The law gives every police officer in the state of AZ the right to stop anyone at any time. All he or she has to say is: "I thought they might be illegal."

God Bless America

Rep. Jeffrey Wood

2010-04-16T09:39:00.003-05:00

Rep. Jeffrey Wood needs to be removed from the Wisconsin Legislature. End of discussion. A three-time loser in the drunk driving race does not deserve to be a state representative. End of discussion. For our state Democrats to hold a early morning vote while Rep. Nass is attending his mother's funeral is not only wrong, but unethical and immoral. For Rep. Colon to suggest Nass miss his mother's funeral to attend this ridiculous vote is heartbreaking.

I can't condone nor defend the behavior of the Democrats involved in this mess. Do they not realize that they represent me and others like me? We do not need the Republicans to overtake our state legislature again. Look what happened the last time. Behavior such as this does nothing to help the overall cause.

Jerks!

God Bless Representative Nass and my thoughts and prayers are with him and his loved ones during this very difficult time.

See story here.

Net Neutrality and the Right Wing

2010-04-05T17:14:00.001-05:00

The rest of my interview with Steve Hofstetter will be posted soon. Before the end of the day -- I promise -- I'm still transcribing it.

BUT, I just received a message from Media Matters regarding the Right Wing and Net Neutrality. Apparently, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh suffer from Obama Derangement Syndrome. They both have a serious case of it, because they are convinced that Net Neutrality is a BAD thing and that is simply not true.

The big communications companies don't want Net Neutrality. They want to charge me more in order to have their customers come visit my blog and they want to charge consumers more for reading my blog. And, my blog is just a sample. Beck and Limbaugh will be heard because they have big contracts and a lot of money backing them. People like me will not be heard, because I can't afford to pay Comcast, AT&T and Verizon more money to obtain readers. I'm not that dedicated as a blogger to charge for content and I happen to believe that free speech means it should be FREE.

This is one of those few issues where the Christian Coalition and the ACLU actually AGREE. They both know that if someone decides to put up roadblocks to sites, democracy will be in trouble.

Maybe, you don't agree with one blog I've ever posted. Maybe, you hate my guts, as I know at least two people out there do. Maybe, you think I should die a horrible and terrifying death -- and, maybe, you're right. Maybe, I'm the awful person YOU think I am, but the First Amendment guarantees me the right to free speech. I pay for the hosting of this website. I pay for my Internet access. I shouldn't have to pay YOUR Internet provider to have my blog come up in search engines or have people visit.

YOU shouldn't have to pay to have YOUR blog read, either.

That is what Net Neutrality defends against.

Don't listen to Glenn and Rush on this issue -- Contact the FCC and let them know YOU support Net Neutrality. Read up on it on your own.

You can start here: http://free.convio.net/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=437

God Bless America!

Interview with Steve Hofstetter - Part I

2010-04-04T14:08:00.004-05:00

Steve Hofstetter, in case you don't know, is a comedian from New York. He's been a professional comic since graduating college eight years ago. His comedy is both funny and thought provoking, which is a fine line to walk. He does an excellent job of it. If you haven't heard of Steve, then you should take this opportunity to download his album for free – yes, I said for free.

I had the opportunity to interview Steve about his giving away his album, “The Dark Side of the Room”. Instead of a self-promoting, fast interview that I was expecting, the experience turned out to be more of a conversation between two people who have just met (one of which is recording it). Truth be told, this has made for a long transcript. I don't want to sell Steve short by picking and choosing what I post here and what I don't, because he struck me as a funny comedian when I listened to his album, he truly struck me as a very intelligent young man during this interview.

However; this is a blog and my interview with him ran for forty minutes. So, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to post my interview with him in two separate posts. One today and one tomorrow. I'm just splitting the interview in half.

Without further delay, here is Part I of my interview with Steve Hofstetter.

I called Steve and caught him at home in New York. He didn't have an appearance Saturday night, so he was free. He does have an appearance scheduled for the Bob & Tom Show on 4/5/2010.

After the initial hi, I want to interview you, I jumped right into the really tough question: Is this a new album or an old album? (I'm sure I'm in line for the Pulitzer.)

Steve: No, this is my most recent one with material. I released one since then but that one was 100% ad lib. This is the one with the material from my act.

Me: What made you decide to release this one and let everyone download it for free?

Steve: You know it started as a pay as you want album. And, it was a huge success. A lot of people still paid the $9.99 they used to on iTunes. Some people paid more and some people paid less. But, I am preparing for a new album. I figured you know what, I'm going to let a million people have this one. Because if they like this one, they'll probably get the next one.

– This is where I gushed embarrassingly and admitted that I would be buying the next album.

Me: I really enjoyed listening to it and so, I've got to ask, Did you really make your mom buy the Penthouse?

Steve: Well, I didn't force her to, but I didn't send her a copy. She told me that she went to three or four different newsstands. And, I was like that's even better, because that means she had to ask for it that many times. That means she had to be like, “Can I have a Penthouse?”. Because even if the guy gives her a weird look, what is she going to say? “My son's in it.” That just makes it worse.

Me: I don't think my mom would do that. She'd be like have the publisher send me a copy or I'm not reading it.

Steve: You know what, my mom is great and super supportive of my career. As private as she is that her love for me trumps that so she'll go out and buy a copy of Penthouse because her son is in it.

Me: That's really nice. So, were you a comedian as a kid? Were you the class clown?

Steve: Not even close. I was a little bit of a troublemaker when I wouldn't get in trouble for it. I definitely liked to stir the pot to prevent myself from being bored. I wasn't entertaining at a young age. I started during improv when I was 13. When I was in class, I was trying to fit in and not be beat up.

Me: Is this what you always wanted to do?

Steve: No, not even close. I wanted to be a journalist. I was on my way to doing that and I became disenchanted with it. There are bad things about every profession. But, journalism today is not what it should be or could be.

Me: So, you talking about about the days of Edward Morrow...

Steve: There's always been some form of infotainment that's part of journalism going back to Hearst. There's always been polemics, but there was money in truth. It seems to be now that people don't care about truth as long as there entertained. That's gone away.

There was actually a phenomenal point on the Daily Show the other day... when they were talking about CNN's ratings and how they lost 50% of their viewers in the last year and the idea that there is so much room for them right now with MSNBC to the left and FOX to the right. There's a lot of room for a news organization to become the news organization that holds the others accountable. It's amazing that instead of doing that they try to play the same stupid games that everyone else is playing.

Me: Because that's what going to make money instead of what America really needs.

Steve: It's not about just what America needs because it is a business, I understand that, they have to make money. I can't say it's the journalists' fault by themselves because the consumers are clearly driving the demand for garbage. But, I really do believe that people rise to the level that they are presented. And, it's amazing how many people who are the presenters decide to go for the easy buck instead of the right thing to do on the long term investment.
Me: Wow, this is an entirely different conversation than I thought I would be having. You're a very intelligent young man.

Steve: I would hope you would get that from my comedy.

Me: I did get that. I thought that, I was really thinking about …

(I should note that Steve has a section on his album regarding marijuana and legalization. This next section refers to that.)

I heard the same thing you heard growing up that marijuana is a gateway drug and I was like, cool. And, the funny thing is that I've never really smoked pot. I mean, I've tried it, and I would stand in line to vote to legalize it, because this is ridiculous.

Steve: You know, I've never even tried it. And, it's funny, because of that bit and the widespread attention that bit in particular has gotten – I did it on Ferguson. I've kind of almost became a champion for the cause, reluctantly. And, it is something should be legalized. The amount of resources that we're wasting to keep a pot dealer in jail while a rapist goes free. The amount of money were losing in our economy. What the illegal nature of pot does for the cartels. If pot were legal, the murderous, murderous cartels would be out of business. Our economy would bounce back, practically overnight. It's just amazing to see. We're so used to accepting what's all ready part of our laws. Forgetting that they change constantly. I remember fifteen years ago, you couldn't find a casino outside of Vegas or Atlantic City. Then, ten years ago, you couldn't find a casino outside of Vegas, Atlantic City or Indian land and now, you can't go ten yards without seeing a casino. And, that's a pretty quick transition when you consider how long it takes to build one of them.

Me: You're right, I drive past a casino everyday on my way to work.

Steve: And, it used to be that we were saying, “Oh, these are wrong and they'll hurt our children and how dare we.” And, then someone went, wait, we can make money off of this and suddenly, the view changed. Imagine what we can do if we legalized pot and have dealers pay a tax that goes to education.

Me: Well, they'd never had to hold another bake sale.

Steve: Exactly, well, I guess you could combine the brownies. It would be a much different bake sale.

Me: I read somewhere and I don't remember where, that California has 80 million dollars in taxes off of the fact that they have legalized marijuana.

Steve: Yeah and that's just for medicinal purposes. I think the vote is coming up (to legalize it). Federal law trumps state law. That'll be an interesting exercise in states' rights. It floors me that we're able to pick and choose what we're offended by and this is the root of my comedy. We're offended by drugs whereas we drink while we're offended by drugs. You can't show a nipple on screen because that's dirty, but at the same time on everyday prime time hospital shows, they show people just mutilated. And, that's not even talking about what's on the news. The fact that the news can show a dead body, but at one in the morning, you can't say the word shit. It amazes me. That's kind of what I try to do with my comedy. The root of the phrase Comedy without apology. That's the name of my new tour. That to me is what we need. We need to stop apologizing and start having a conversation instead.

Me: So, what do you think about all these stars like Tiger Woods and Sandra Bullock's husband, now. All these guys are acting like pigs and then they apologize and that's supposed to make it all better. Do you think they owe us an apology? Do you think they should say I did this, oh, well, get over it?

And, you can read Steve's answer in the second half of our interview tomorrow!

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2010-04-03T21:44:00.001-05:00

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Steve Hofstetter

2010-04-03T20:15:00.003-05:00

I just got off the phone with Steve Hofstetter. He is a very funny comedian and I was interviewing him. I'm writing up the interview now, which was really more like a conversation with a friend. Steve is giving away one million copies of his album, "The Dark Side of the Room." I've listened to it and it is very funny. I suggest that all my readers download the album and come back tomorrow to read the interview!

God Bless!

Julie

Dairyland Race Track in Kenosha...

2009-11-30T12:15:00.000-06:00

The Dairyland Race Track in Kenosha, Wisconsin will be closing on December 31, 2009. 900 Greyhounds need to be adopted or they will be euthanized. Please help me get the word out; there is only 4 weeks to get this task done. Contact Joanne Kehoe Operations Director P: 312.559.0887 Or Dairyland Race Track Adoption Center direct at (262) 612-8256.

Wouldn't it be nice this holiday season to give a beautiful dog a new loving home?

God Bless

The Country

2009-11-01T19:50:00.002-06:00

Every time I hear someone say that Obama is going to turn this nation into a socialist country or that government interference is always bad, I get angry. Because the person who is saying it is usually someone who doesn't know what socialist means. Further, they usually only get involved with politics when they think something they have is being affected. A friend said that if it isn't going to save him any money, then he doesn't pay any attention.

This kind of individual selfishness is why our nation is in the mess it is in. We have lessened the government regulations over the past twenty-nine and look where we are right now. Our banks have grabbed all that they can until they are practically falling apart under bad debt and poor business decisions. 40 million plus Americans don't have healthcare. We're in a very deep Recession (I think we're in a depression). Companies pollute our air and water. Other companies are hemorrhaging employees, even though they might be turning a profit -- it isn't high enough to keep people working. But, let's all fear our government.

I suggest you read this article. It'll make you think.

http://blogcritics.org/politics/article/ayn-rand-lives/

God Bless

The Laceyville Monkeys, Say the Right Words

2009-10-16T07:08:00.001-05:00

“Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” That's the old saying that my father taught me way back in the last century when I was a little girl. For the most part, my father was right. Words never hurt me physically, but whenever a harsh word was sent my way, pain would resonate longer. Words may never break your back, but they can break your spirit. This is the lesson I believe Harriett Ruderman wants children to learn in her book, The Laceyville Monkeys, Say the Right Words.

The Laceyville Monkeys are a trio of amazing monkeys that can sing, perform gymnastics and dance. However; if you don't say the right words, the monkeys will not perform for any audience. With charming illustrations by Beverly Luria, Ruderman has created not only a world that will delight children, but passes on the very valuable lesson of choosing the right words. The rhyming tale is certain to delight children and parents alike.

Miss Hepzibath Mott arrives in Laceyville with her three monkeys; Eva – the ballerina, Sheva – the singer, and Keva – the gymnast. To begin their delightful performance, Miss Hepzibath Mott says the right (and kind) words. She wishes to enter the trio in the big talent contest, but Granny Scott has other plans. On the day of the contest, she sneaks the monkeys out of the house and enters them into the contest. However; Granny Scott has never learned the lesson of using the right words and the monkeys refuse to perform. Without giving too much away, you can be rest assured that your children will be enthralled with the wonderful ending.

The book's colorful pictures and rhyming words will teach the lesson of kindness that will stay with your children long after the back cover is closed. In this day and age of harshness, perhaps a few adults could read the tale and learn the lesson as well.

The Hole In The Sky

2009-10-09T07:00:00.002-05:00

The Hole in the Sky has on its cover an amazing piece of artwork. Created by Katherine Navarette, it is worthy enough to be framed and hung on the wall. When you open that beautiful cover, the front piece contains a map of Murantenland drawn by Joan Swan. The book includes two ribbons for marking your place, perfect for reading along with your child. The included ribbons will stop a reader from turning down the corners to mark their place – a personal pet peeve. When you read the copyright page, you learn that the book is made from mixed sources – well managed forests and recycled paper.

The presentation of the book from its beautiful cover to the map to the book mark ribbons would be a disappointment if the author, Barbara A. Mahler, had not written a story to warrant such an amazing presentation.

The Hole in the Sky is about 13-year old Kaela Neuleaf. She lives with her father, who is a rather sad man after the death of her mother. Kaela is your average teen. She has struggles in school, wondering where she belongs and she dreams of something magical happening to her. Kaela is not alone in her awkwardness; she has her cousin, Shawn, who wears glasses and gets picked on – a lot.

The magical appears to Kaela and Shawn in the form of Netri. Netri is from Murantenland and he helps them go through the hole in the sky. Kaela, it has been determined, is the red haired girl mentioned in the prophecy that will end it all.

The Hole in the Sky was written for 8 to 12 year olds. However, any parent would enjoy reading the book right along with his or her child. There are many themes of love and loss throughout the book that lend themselves to wonderful, thought-filled discussions with your child. The book made me wish I had a young daughter and we could read it together.

A bit slow in the beginning, the story soon picks up speed and carries the reader through an impressive ride through a beautiful new world. When the young reader comes to the end, she will have learned lessons about love and healing. The best part is that the story weaves the lessons in a manner that is not preachy. The Hole in the Sky is the first book in a trilogy. After closing the back cover, I was wishing the second book was available and I believe you will wish the same.

Happy Reading!

Blogcritic Writer of the Day

2009-10-06T07:46:00.004-05:00

I woke up this morning in a very pensive mood. I have a lot to do at work, I have a lot of books taking up space in both my living room and my purse that I have to finish reading and I'm locked out of the audiobooks section of the library, because once again, I couldn't return my library books on time. To top it all off, McAfee says I'm not protected because the virus software can't get past 4% when scanning. When am I going to find the time to fix that?

I download my email and glance at it, convinced that only bad news can arrive. I have a comment on my article for Blogcritics, The Ladies of Friday Night article. In case you don't know, for this TV season, I'm recapping Ghost Whisperer and Medium. Well, since I am full of myself, I decide to read the comment and the writer mentions that I am the Blogcritics writer of the day! I am blown away! Little old me! Woo Hoo! On top of that, my article is mentioned! Way to go Me!

I know I should be a way more humbled person, but sometimes it is nice to see your hard work rewarded. And, after the week I had at my paying job last week, I could use a little reward this week.

God Bless

This Week's Books

2009-10-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

The first thing you'll notice about this week's this week's books is that it is being published on Monday. I think Monday's will be a better day for the feature. Next, you'll notice that I've added a DVD and a video game to the list. Finally, you should notice that I haven't reviewed any of the books on this site as of yet. I'm still working on the reading all of them and their reviews. This week I'm posting my review of The Hole in the Sky. As usual, the review will appear on Blogcritics first and then here.

Happy Reading, Watching and Playing!

This Week's Books

2009-09-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

I love to read and this week I'm reading quite a bit. I'm carrying over some books from last week and I'm adding some new ones.

God Bless

Infertility Mix-up

2009-09-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

On September 26, 2009 Carolyn Savage gave birth to a healthy baby boy after receiving infertility treatments. For most families that is where the story would end, except Savage gave birth to a baby boy who genetically was someone else's baby. According to news reports, she has given the baby to his genetic parents.

A few years ago, I went through the entire nine yards of infertility treatments. I started with a lousy clinic in Illinois and moved on to a good clinic in Wisconsin. I wanted a child so much that for three long years, it was my only focus. Cheryl and I made decisions based on the idea that we would have a child to love in our lives. I had artificial insemination - six of those - and on three occasions, I had in vitro fertilization. None of these nine procedures produced a child.

We had to make the decision, do we keep going with the treatments or do we stop? We were over $17,000 in debt and our marriage was on the brink of failure due to the stress this placed on us. Add in that the doctors weren't sure if my body could even handle another go around, we had to stop. I was devastated. My heart was broken in places I didn't even know it could break. I mourn the loss of those last two embroyos. The doctors had thought they were our best chance for a child. Had I been able to carry them, they would've been two years old come November. My heart aches every Mother's Day.

I bring this up because when I read the story of Carolyn Savage my very first thought was I could never give up a child I had carried to term. Nothing short of armed guards could've pried that baby from me. And, yet, there she is, passing a child she has grown to love over to another woman. I admire Savage's commitment to giving the child to his biological, DNA-related parents. I am nearly positive that had the clinic we used called and said we've given you the wrong embroyo, I would've hung up the phone, changed my name and moved out of state. You truly have to have a great faith in a higher power to be able to give up a child to his or her rightful parents. I am willing to bet not many childless women would be willing to do the same.

I realize that Carolyn Savage has other children, but giving up a child is not an easy decision. She had an opportunity to terminate the pregnancy and she didn't. To carry a child that you know isn't yours and you can't keep is a very unselfish act.

My heart goes out to these two families. I hope that little boy grows up with the opportunity to know his birth mother. She is someone worth knowing.

God Bless

The Last Founding Father

2009-09-27T10:06:00.003-05:00

I am a history buff, but admittedly, I haven't been all that interested in the history of our founding fathers. My lack of knowledge and interest in the first days of this great country have changed with the reading of The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness. In the first five pages, I learned more about our fifth President, James Monroe, than I had learned in twelve years of schooling. Mr. Unger presents President Monroe in a way that makes him more real and accessible than high school textbooks.

I read with absolute amazement at how difficult it was for our, then, little country to gain its footing. We didn't pay our soldiers with any real currency, and we didn't reward them for their service. I didn't know that the first constitution of the the “Confederation Congress” had been thrown out, and it is our nation's second Constitution that we have all come to know and love. The political infighting that happened at the beginning of our nation's history rivals the infighting of today.

Mr. Unger has presented James Madison in the most human of ways from his pining for his wife and young daughter to his liquidating “the national debt of $67 million.” Monroe served his country well. He fought in the Revolutionary War, served as our minister to both France and Britain, and he served two terms as President. He was elected to his second by running nearly unopposed and receiving 231 of 235 electoral votes.

The Last Founding Father takes you on Monroe's journey through our nation's history and growth. With quotes from the most well known players in our nation's history (Washington, Jefferson and Adams) and some lesser known, Monroe's story fills out our history. Mr. Unger has completed a well written biography of a most deserving subject.

New Feature -- What I'm Reading this week

2009-09-22T07:30:00.004-05:00

I will be re-launching SixBooks.net soon, but I was viewing the site and realized that it needs a complete overhaul. That is going to take a lot of man hours to get it right.

Until then, I'm starting a new feature here - What I'm Reading this Week. For most of the books listed, I will be posting reviews on Blogcritics.org and then it will post here. Some books I might just be reading for fun. Below, is this week's list of books.

Happy Reading and God Bless!

Quick Thoughts on the Packers

2009-09-21T07:15:00.004-05:00

Went to the Packer game yesterday and even though they lost, I totally enjoyed myself. Honest truth -- the Bengals should NOT have won that game. They had 13 penalties against them when I lost count and turned the ball over twice that resulted in scores for the Packers. But, the Bengals made the plays when they needed to make something happen - 3 and over 30 and they get the first down. Kudos to the Bengals for coming into Lambeau Field and overcoming their penalties. Honestly, can't those guys on the Bengals offensive line count?

The Packers played like high schoolers. So, here are my notes to the Pack...

If you keep your defense on the field for most of the game, you will lose the game. Plain and simple. Those guys cannot carry you.
Aaron Rodgers is a good quarterback. He needs time to hone his talent. Let's not bench him right off the back. This is actually geared to the fans.
Offensive line -- if you don't protect your quarterback, he CAN'T THROW THE BALL.
You don't use two timeouts near the end of a game you're losing, so you go under the two minute warning with NO timeouts.
In the first half, the Pack was in field goal range. They punted. They should've kicked the field goal. The game wouldn't have come down quite to the wire and would've had a different outcome.
This week -- and do this just for me -- practice running. The Pack had no running game. I swear it was like Rodgers rushed for more yards than anyone else.
After your quarterback runs and gets the first down -- don't drop the football on the next carry. You lost your momentum and that was that.

God Bless

Cheryl @ game!

2009-09-20T13:38:00.001-05:00

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Packer Game

2009-09-20T00:06:00.000-05:00

I am attending today's Packer game. It will be my first Packer game. So, I thought I might try an experiment. I'm going to Twitter the game. So, watch my blog - or if you are a friend on Facebook - you can see my posts there.
Wish me luck and God Bless

Door County - Day Two

2009-09-16T07:46:00.003-05:00

Day Two in Door County was wonderful. The weather was unusually warm for early fall. The sky was filled with sunshine. One boy couldn't wait to get up and go and the other boy didn't want to leave the swimming pool behind. It was quite a day.

We started by having breakfast in the lobby. Danny wanted cereal and Alex wanted waffles. Well, the lobby was quite crowded, so Danny got his cereal way before Alex was able to get a waffle. They were actually so well behaved that I received a beaming compliment from a woman who informed me that I was doing a terrific job of raising my two boys. I didn't bother mentioning that I'm their grandmother. Cheryl joined us for breakfast and by that time, Danny wanted a waffle, too. The couple at the next table graciously gave up their place in the waffle line to allow me to go next. I didn't get their names, but they said that they had five boys of their own, so they understood.

Once breakfast was over, it was off to the Door County Maritime Museum and the Door County Fireboat Cruise. For some reason, Danny didn't want to take a ride in the fireboat, but Alex was just thrilled.

On our way to the museum, I was pulled over for speeding. The one thing you have to watch in Door County is your speed. The whole of Sturgeon Bay is 25 MPH. Pretty hard to maintain when you're going down a steep hill. I saw the nice policeman make a u-turn and turn on his lights, so I quickly pulled over. Cheryl said, "Why are we stopping here?" Then Danny said, "Yeah, Nana, why are we stopping here?" To which I answered, "Because the police are pulling us over."

I put the car in park, rolled down the driver's window and turned off the engine. Then, I looked in my rearview mirror and saw Danny had his hands up above his head. "Danny, what are you doing?"

"Nana, the cops are coming! The cops are coming!" Danny yelled at me. Cheryl and I exchanged some laughter and I told him to put his hands down, just as the nice officer appeared in my window.

Now, it has been a very long time since I've been pulled over. Not to brag, but I haven't had a speeding ticket in over seven years. I do make it a habit to drive carefully. But the last time I was pulled over, I don't remember the officer introducing himself and asking me how my day was going. I can't remember this Door County officer's name, but he has to be the nicest policeman I've ever met. And that's not just because he let me off with a warning. I've been pulled over and given a warning before, but this guy was just extremely nice. I imagine that is how an officer has to be in a tourist town.

After that little incident, we pulled away, and Danny still didn't want to go to see the fireboat. (I should've left him with the officer.) Before we went in, I called my dad to tell him about the incident and I mentioned that we were seeing the fireboat. Well, Danny wanted to talk to Grandpa Totsch, who told him about the fireboat he'd ridden in Texas, and an amazing thing happened: Danny suddenly wanted to ride the fireboat. Imagine that.

We purchased our tickets - $20.00 each for Cheryl and me, the boys rode free. The cruise took an hour and a half was and just terrific. There's narration to tell you what you're seeing, and I loved every minute of it.

We started the cruise sitting in chairs, but that didn't last long. Alex was first to start running everywhere and checking out everything as the boat cruised around Sturgeon Bay.

An interesting item on the tour was passing the Arthur M. Anderson. In the picture, it is the ship on the right. The Arthur M. Anderson was the last ship to have contact with the SS Edmund Fitzgerald on that fateful night in 1975. For those of you who don't know, the Fitzgerald sent a signal that they were holding their own and then sunk in a horrible storm on Lake Superiour. All 29 hands were lost. Not only was the Anderson the last ship with contact, she searched for the Fitzgerald, as well.

Another item of note, the the lighthouse seen in this picture. According to legend, it is haunted.

It is now being used as a relaxation area for the US Coast Guard. There are reports that the wife of one of the men who worked in the lighthouse now haunts it.

I think the best part of the whole cruise was toward the end. For a while, they bring out one of the fire hoses and let the kids on board shoot water off the side. Well, as you can imagine, the boys were more than a little thrilled to play with the fire hose. There were three other children on board and they each took a turn, but Danny and Alex seemed even more interested because they waited out other children and went right back for more. The man aboard was more than happy to let them do so.

If you're traveling to Door County, with or without children, I highly recommend the FireBoat cruise. I think it was the most fun we had the whole trip.

After the cruise, we toured the Maritime Museum. That was interesting. They have a lot of interactive exhibits and a few hands on ones. Danny enjoyed being able to guide a ship, using a computer mouse. I think he thought that was the best part. Alex had fun asking me what kind of ship each of the models represented. I'd say the name and the type and he would repeat it back to me.

All of that brings me to lunch. When we had been at the Pudgy Seagull the day before, our waitress recommended that we head to PC Junction for lunch the next day. She had overheard Alex say he liked trains and she didn't steer us wrong.

If you're going to the PC Junction for lunch, keep this in mind — to sit by the train, there's going to be a wait. This is not a place where you just pluck yourself down for a quick lunch. There's a playground for the kids. In fact, the whole place is designed with kids — even us big ones — in mind.

The train comes through and serves your drinks, lunch and even bubbles. The boys loved it. I loved the huge selection of sodas. I'm not a beer drinker, so having more to choose for soda than Pepsi or Coke makes me pretty happy. The meals were good and the serving of food on the back of a toy train is amazingly efficent. After lunch, the boys enjoyed a little romping in the playground.

Then, we traveled back to Paul David's Jewelry to pick up all of our rings. There's something wonderful about a cleaned and buffed ring, makes them look brand new.

We walked through a couple of shops and then the boys reached their limit. It was time to head back to Jack - my Chevy Cobalt. We went back to the hotel for some swimming.

Door County - Part One

2009-09-15T08:01:00.002-05:00

Ah, Door County. To say that I love our annual trip to Door County is an understatement. It is one of the few places in the state where I don't have to use my allergy medicine. Although, I did bring back a very bad cold this year.

Unlike previous years, we didn't go up after Labor Day and stay an entire week. We went up on Saturday and came back on Labor Day. Also, unlike most reviews, I'm not going to pick one spot and review it, I'm going to mention the various places we visited and give you my opinion on them.

On Saturday, we picked up our grandsons – Danny and Alex – up in Green Bay and drove up to Door County. We checked in at the Comfort Hotel in Sturgeon Bay. Frankly, I think $125.00 a night is a bit pricey. However; the staff there are very nice, which makes up for the high price. I'm known to be on the cheap side and knowing that I have had the same room (or a similar one) for forty dollars less just bugs me to no end. On the other hand, the $125.00 price tag is right in line with all other area hotels. The Comfort Inn is pet and kid friendly, has a small swimming pool, free wireless Internet and a nicely done Continental breakfast that includes Waffles. The boys love waffles.

When we checked into the Comfort Inn, Danny was still sleeping in the backseat of the car. Cute, isn't he? Alex accompanied me into the lobby, where Bobby checked us in and set the ground rule that no one can go swimming unless they have eaten lunch first. I thought that was a nice touch and really helped me convince Alex that we have to eat first. Kim had packed the boys clothes in their school backpacks, which made unloading the car very easy. Each boy was thrilled to carry his own luggage into the hotel. Alex even took his backpack down to the lobby to show Bobby.

Once the car was unloaded, it was time for lunch. We headed down to downtown Sturgeon Bay. We gave the boys the choice of eating in the Inn at Cedar Crossing or across the street at the Pudgy Seagull. The Seagull won hands down. What boy doesn't want to eat at a place called the Pudgy Seagull?

The Seagull is very family friendly and not very expensive. Lunch for the four of us came to just over twenty dollars. Not a bad price to pay in a tourist town. Cheryl and I had the egg salad on wheat toast (you get your choice of bread), Danny had a cheeseburger and Alex had a chocolate chip pancake with a side order of cole slaw. What can I say, the kid has a cast iron stomach. The egg salad was nicely done, it wasn't salty and it had an almost sweet taste to it. Also, it wasn't so crammed onto the bread that it dropped everywhere and it wasn't so mayonnaise layered I was wondering where the eggs were.

Next was a stop at Paul David's Jewelry store in Fish Creek. We purchased a very beautiful diamond ring from Paul around five years ago and every year Cheryl and I stop to have him inspect the ring and clean it. Taking good care of your jewelry is very important. Unfortunately, while we were there, we received bad news. When my grandmother died, my only inheritance was her wedding band and engagement ring. I had taken them to a different jewelry store and had them inspected, had them separated, had new shanks put on and had all the diamonds re-tipped. Since then, I have lost two of the small diamonds, one in the wedding band and one in the engagement ring. Turns out, according to Paul, they didn't re-tip my rings properly. They charged an outrageous sum of money and only placed one tip on each diamond.

So, Paul now has my grandmother's wedding band and he's going to properly tip the rings. I'm just kicking myself for not taking those rings to him in the first place!

The boys were restless – they wanted to go swimming – so we didn't stop to look at any of the other shops in Fish Creek. However; the boys did allow us one stop on the way back to the hotel: Wood Orchard Market. This is a great little shop with fresh fudge, homemade pies (cherry and apple) and a slew of other items. We picked up a cherry pie, cherry salsa, cherry cider and two six packs: one of (yes, you guessed it) cherry soda and one of root beer. We would've picked up more, but the boys were restless.

Wood Orchard Market sells an apple called SweeTango. Oh, it is the perfect combination of tangy and sweet. I wish we had picked up a bunch of them. We meant to stop again, but we forgot. Next year, I'm bringing home a basket full!

One of the nice amenities to Wood Orchard is the fact that they have both a slide and a little race track – complete with pedal cars. The boys loved the pedal cars. This is a terrific way to keep rambunctious kids happy, while the other parent (or in our case, grandparent) shops.

The rest of the evening was spent in the hotel and, of course, in the hotel swimming pool. Both boys aren't afraid of the water. They love to stand on the side of the pool and jump into our arms. Alex, who was scared of the water last year, kept wanting to be dunked and I was more than happy to oblige.

This was just one day in Door County and, as much as I'd like to tell you about day two and three, I think I'll combine them into my next article.

God Bless

Book Review - Just Desserts by Carl Reiner

2009-09-14T07:00:00.002-05:00

Before I start this review, I should take a moment to say that I love Carl Reiner. I grew up watching re-runs of the Dick Van Dyke Show. I loved his Alan Brady. I can see an episode and tell you, this one, Mr. Reiner wrote. This is the man who turned George Burns into God and Steve Martin into a Jerk. The man is a comedic genius and I am his biggest fan.

Being his biggest fan, I jumped at the chance to review his new book Just Desserts. Then, the book came and in the PR document that accompanies the book, I see this line: "Noland appeared as a successful novelist in Reiner's NNNN: A Novel, in 2006." Oh, no. Now what do I do? I didn't like NNNN: A Novel. In fact, even though I was listening to the MP3 version read by the author, I stilldidn't like it. It was the first and only thing Mr. Reiner ever did that I didn't like.

What's a reviewer to do? What's Carl Reiner's biggest fan to do?

Give Nat Noland - the lead character in NNNN: A Novel - a second chance.

I have to tell you, I'm glad I did.

The entire premise of Just Desserts is what happens if you email God and He emails you back? What if you offered Him suggestions and He took them and put them to good use? What happens is that you and God work together to create a brand new world in a thought provoking and funny manner. Or, is it?

Mr. Reiner has written a book that will provoke thought, a self-discussion of faith and the sound of laughter from any reader. The book, actually, the novellelah, is a very quick and delightful read. You might even find it a little pithy.

If you found NNNN: A Novel to be a good book or if you like a little humor with your religion, I suggest that you read Just Desserts. You'll be glad you did.

God Bless and Happy reading.

Republicans on the side lines

2009-09-06T14:44:00.004-05:00

A vote is a vote is a vote. According to the law we all get a vote. What makes us Democrats or republicans is the person who agrees with our beliefs at the time and voices what we are wanting to say as a nation. That then determines which candidate wins the election. Yes it come in waves, but we as a people create the waves in which they come. How do we tell the difference between a lie and a truth, pure research and not just what the runners want us to hear. So, if the republicans are upset because the democrats are in the house now, the wave of the people put them there. Don't be upset, but get in there and mix it up. Vote put you there let your voice be heard and let the vote keep you there to continue the fight.

just thinking

2009-09-06T14:22:00.003-05:00

I went back to school at the age of 45. Not saying that is exciting to everyone. But, what was exciting to me is that I was in school with all three of my children which were also in college. So this whole household was in college together. How cool is that? So when either of us needed help with anything none of us were at a lost to help each other. Anyway, just thinking(out loud).

Life Support for Republicans

2009-09-04T07:44:00.001-05:00

There has been a lot of commentary regarding the death of the Republican Party since President Obama's election. Personally, I think this is just the ebb and flow of politics. Republicans get to be in power for a while and then the Democrats do and then back to the Republicans. Except, this time, I don't think many of us will be flowing back to the Republicans any time soon.

I should note that I used to be a Republican. I know a lot of people will find it hard to believe, but I was a Reagan supporter, however; by the time Reagan left office in 1989, I was a Democrat. One of the reasons for the switch was the AIDS epidemic. Reagan completely ignored AIDS almost until the end of his presidency when he finally uttered the word in a speech in 1987. By that time, the whole country had all ready uttered the word. That was it, when Bush the first ran for President, I voted for Dukakis.

Now the ebb and tide have flowed and the Democrats have full power in all three branches of government and the Republicans are digging themselves a deeper grave. Instead of reaching out and saying, "What can we do to help?" the Republicans are moving farther to the right, allowing lie spreaders such as Betsy McCaughey and Sarah Palin to speak for them and bowing down to that windbag, Russ Limbaugh, whenever he speaks. It is almost as if they don't care about the future of their own political party.

But, I care and so I'm offering a few tips - free of charge - to the Republicans to help them get back on the right track.

Stop spreading lies. Allowing the lies to continue doesn't help your cause. Do you want a party of complainers or do you want a political party that will grow? Hold an honest debate on healthcare. In fact, hold honest debates on everything. Stop holding invitation only talks on healthcare, such as Senators John McCain and Mitch McConnell held in Miami. Must be nice not to see the protestors, but this is no way to fully get the ball rolling on a debate.

Quit the attacks on the intellectuals. Somewhere along the lines, smart people became the enemy. Intellectual became a bad word. The GOP has become the Party of the non-thinkers. In fact, quit attacking everything and start working on ideas. Not everything that comes from the left is wrong, just like not every conservative idea is right. By constantly attacking you never build a consensus and you never stand for anything. And, like the old saying goes, You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.

You don't want the president to fail, so quit bowing down to the man who keeps saying it - Rush Limbaugh. Quit apologizing to him when you say something he doesn't like. He doesn't run the Republican Party and, let's just say he does, kick him out. He isn't helping your cause.

The time for small government isn't now. Yes, there are times when the government needs to take a back seat, but in the worse economic crisis the nation has seen since the great depression, now is not the time to call for smaller government. Nor is it the time to call for deficit reduction. Besides, it is a little hypocritical to call for a deficit reduction under a Democratic President, when you allowed the deficit to rise like a hot air balloon under a Republican President. And, remember, Theodore Roosevelt supported a strong government. (For those who don't know, he was a Republican President.)

I think the idea that the Republican Party is dead and should be laid to rest is a bit extreme, but they could be in for a long Democratic era if they continue the path they are currently on. Gun-toting, Bible banging voters can only carry you so far and then, you have to learn to get along with the rest of us.

God Bless

Health Care Myth - Forced Euthanasia

2009-09-02T07:16:00.001-05:00

Did you ever notice how the sides of any issue can stretch the truth and come out with blatant lies? Then, those lies are put into emails and every small minded person passes them on until they suddenly become "truth". People will actually believe the lies without checking them. Part of this, I think, is just laziness on the part of small minded people. They don't feel like doing the research and the email all ready states what they want to believe anyway, so they send it off. Part of this is stupidity, well, it has an important sounding name or whatever, so it must be true, because you can't send anything that isn't true, right?
It is annoying if these untruths only appeared in email, but because you know who your intellectually light friends and relatives are, you can ignore those emails, it isn't so bad. But, then some of these lie spreaders are just your cousin Todd from Buffalo, some of them are allowed to spread their lies on radio shows and TV shows. And, then it is nearly impossible to stop the spread.
Well, today, I'm going to try to stop one of these lies from going any farther.
Former lieutenant governor of New York Betsy McCaughey is going around claiming that the health care bill - H.R. 3200 (this is the bill that is in the House) - is "a vicious assault on elderly people" that will "cut your life short."¹ Between her and Palin's lie spreading, it is a wonder that the truth ever gets told.
There is a provision in H.R. 3200 for end of life counseling that would be paid for by medicare.

H.R. 3200, page 425: Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), the term ‘advance care planning consultation’ means a consultation between the individual and a practitioner described in paragraph (2) regarding advance care planning, if, subject to paragraph (3), the individual involved has not had such a consultation within the last 5 years. Such consultation shall include the following:

(A) An explanation by the practitioner of advance care planning, including key questions and considerations, important steps, and suggested people to talk to.

(B) An explanation by the practitioner of advance directives, including living wills and durable powers of attorney, and their uses.

(C) An explanation by the practitioner of the role and responsibilities of a health care proxy.

(D) The provision by the practitioner of a list of national and State-specific resources to assist consumers and their families with advance care planning … .

(E) An explanation by the practitioner of the continuum of end-of-life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice, and benefits for such services and supports that are available under this title.

(F)(i) Subject to clause (ii), an explanation of orders regarding life sustaining treatment or similar orders²

I do not read anything in there that states someone is going to put you down because you are no longer deemed worthy to live, as McCaughey and Palin have been claiming.

I can tell you from personal experience that the end of life decision made for a loved one is the most difficult decision ever made. I hope throughout the rest of my life that I never have to make that decision again. It is heartbreaking and one of those moments on which you look back upon and wonder - Did I do the right thing?

Having said that, I feel strongly that every one should have an end of life directive - if your wish is to be kept alive on machines - it should be followed. If your wish is no heroics, that should be followed as well.

The making / writing / drawing up of these directives should not be taken lightly. I support the health care plan to pay for counseling sessions. In fact, I think if you attend one of these sessions, you should bring along your loved ones. Your wishes should be well known in advance.

When you come to the end of your journey in this life and you sent to the afterlife to, hopefully, be in God's presence, you really have the easy part. Those of us left waiting behind to live another day, to carry out your wishes - whatever they may be - have the hard part. It is easier to lie in the bed and be sick, than to stand beside it and watch a loved one suffer.

That is why end of life counseling is so important. You need to make your wishes known, whatever they may be. You need to assist your family to know what kinds of decisions you want made. It is the least thing any one of us can do for our family members. Cheryl and I have had these conversations of what one of us would want many times. I don't want to make the decision for her anymore than she would want to make the decision for me, but the two of us know what the other one wants.

Allow me to go just slightly off course for a moment. I remember when I was a kid that Republicans didn't want any government interference with anything. Individual rights were king and that was all right by me, but now, the right wing has taken it upon themselves to turn their back on these ideals. It is NOT the business of the government to decide if you live or if you die. It is YOUR choice, but the right wing wants you only to make the decision to live. They want to take away your CHOICE. But, they are claiming to be on YOUR side. It would be a joke, if it wasn't so serious.

Let's stop the craziness. Let us only pass on truth to each other. And, let us get the entire nation covered in health care.

God Bless

¹http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/08/13/2009-08-13_former_lt_gov_mccaughey_leads_death_panel_charge_writing_up_talking_points_on_he.html#ixzz0PldQYmhD
² FactCheck.org - Accessed 8/31/2009

Swimming Deer

2009-09-01T07:49:00.003-05:00

My friend Jerri and her husband, Preston, are up in Hayward, WI and she just sent me these pictures of a deer swimming. I don't know what camera they're using, but the picture quality is amazing -- you can see the individual drops of water. I had never seen deer swimming before, so that makes them cool as well. I should note that Jerri and Preston retain their original copyright on these pictures and my posting them here does not give anyone any permission to use them in any other manner, including emailing them.

God Bless

Blogcritics

2009-09-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

I've joined Blogcritics. What does that mean for you, oh gentle reader? Well, it means that from now on a lot of my blog posts will be posted on Blogcritics first. I'll still post my little posts here, but the heavy researched postings will go there first.

I think this'll really affect my readership and spread the word! I'm excited about this new venture and I hope you are too!

Oh and keeping in with my promise -- we need to have Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen resign, be recalled or lose in the next election! We need to give Wisconsin an Attorney General who will stand up for our laws, even if he disagrees with them.

God Bless

Vicki Kennedy

2009-08-31T17:17:00.001-05:00

I don't know a lot about Vicki Kennedy - Ted's widow. I know she has two children. I know that she's a lawyer or was a lawyer before they married. I have heard she has expressed no desire to take over her husband's Senate seat. I saw her wipe away tears when I watched the funeral on TV and I had heard that she had met and greeted mourners outside the Kennedy library when they entered to view her husband's casket.

I can't imagine being this woman. She has been placed in an unimaginable situation - one that for many women is becoming the norm considering we are fighting two wars. I can't imagine losing the love of my life and I certainly can't imagine having to do so on such a public stage. The heartbreak must be enormous.

Then, I went to Time.com and viewed the below video of Mrs. Kennedy greeting the mourners outside the Kennedy library. I found it at once heartwrenching and admirable. You can't hear much, a few sorry for your loss and you can hear Mrs. Kennedy - the last of the Kennedy women to bury a husband quite so publicly - saying thank you. She shakes many hands and my heart just aches for her.

I didn't want you, my gentle readers, to miss any of it, so I'm posting both the embedded version of the video and the link to it.

God Bless

http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,36007005001_1919473,00.html

Top of My Head: Wisconsin Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen doesn't stand up for Wisconsin Laws...

2009-08-31T09:03:00.001-05:00

Wisconsin Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen doesn't stand up for Wisconsin Laws...

We need an Attorney General who will stand up for Wisconsin Laws. Van Hollen isn't the guy we should have. He needs to resign, be recalled or defeated in the next election.

God Bless

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built

2009-08-31T07:39:00.000-05:00

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built: The New No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is the latest book in the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. I love this series and have ever since I read the first book when it came out years ago. This new book is no exception. The conversations between characters, the descriptions of Botswana bring you into the lives of Precious Ramotswe, her husband - Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni - and her assistant, Mma Makutsi. The book is a quick read and will draw you in until you feel like sitting down and having a cup of Red Bush Tea.
God Bless

Wisconsin Attorney General

2009-08-30T20:35:00.003-05:00

I said every day I would address the issue of Van Hollen and today is no exception. He should resign. He apparently doesn't want to defend our state's laws from an attack and he shouldn't be our Attorney General.

Wisconsin Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen doesn't stand up for Wisconsin Laws.

God Bless

WMAQ is going to make me rich!

2009-08-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, WMAQ radio station in Chicago held a contest where if they called you and you said, "WMAQ is going to make me rich!" you would win $1000. A mighty sum in those days and a huge sum to an 11 year old girl. For ages, I would answer the phone, "WMAQ is going to make me rich!" and for a brief moment - lasting until the caller asked for my mom or my dad - I would imagine winning the money.
My mother, on the other hand, would admonish me to no end about the proper way to answer a phone. She was - and still is - an Avon lady and the family phone was her business line. She worried that her Avon customers wouldn't know what to say to an 11 year old proclaiming a radio tagline. I think she sold her customers short. Most of the time I would receive chuckles before the caller would ask for my mom or dad. Strange, now that I think about it, even when I was a teenager, I never received as many phone calls as my parents did.
Once, I answered the phone with "WMAQ is going to make me rich" and I heard a man's voice tell me that he was from WMAQ, but I needed to get my parents. Turns out it was our neighbor, Mr. Wolf, and I wasn't rich, but I've never forgotten that thrill when I actually believed -- and yelled out that I had -- won.
Every once in a while, I'll stop and purchase a lottery ticket and I know that I have a million to one shot at winning the lottery. But for a brief moment of time, I'm back to being that 11 year old girl and WMAQ is going to make me rich. And, I think that's worth a buck.
God Bless

Another Word on Ted Kennedy

2009-08-28T08:58:00.001-05:00

This morning, as I am looking out at the rainy day before me, I paused to read an article about Ted Kennedy and his work for gay rights. He took the stance of equality for gays when it might have been political suicide to do so. Senator Kennedy seemed to know our struggles and our pain.

And, that lead me to remember what he said at Bobby Kennedy's funeral, "a good and decent man who saw wrong and tried to right it; who saw suffering and tried to heal it; who saw war and tried to stop it." And, I think those words, those words that whenever I've heard them again, have brought tears to my eyes, would be best served to describe Ted Kennedy. And, I don't write this to take away anything from Bobby Kennedy's work, but Ted was the survivor who got to put his words into action.

I worry about the health care in this nation now. Because the one man who could work with Republicans is gone. All ready, with Kennedy ill and out of action, the health care debate has dissolved into a yelling match. I wonder, who is going to lead us now?

God Bless us, everyone. We are going to need the Lord's help in all of this.

PS. Think about that, Van Hollen, you're decision NOT to defend Wisconsin state law is a wrong one and for that, I ask that God has mercy on your soul.

Strong Like Bull -- And, I have the Numbers to Prove It

2009-08-27T10:22:00.001-05:00

Around this time of year, my company conducts a health assessment. We fill out a form -- either online or hardcopy -- allow some travelling nurse to prick our finger and the company pays us $20.00. In a few weeks, we all receive a nice health assessment booklet from our insurance company. This is one of the reasons I believe that health insurance costs need to be shared by companies. My company, I'm sure, receives some sort of discount on their premimums by having their employees take the assessment. This is a good thing.

I support taking the test, even though on a yearly basis, since I turned 35 my doctor has been running the very same lap tests on me. Here's why: First, I like saving my company money -- no really. I'm serious. A company that can save money on health care costs can put more money in my pocket -- or at least in theory. Second, I know there's a lot of people in my company who probably don't visit the doctor on a regular basis and don't get regular checkups. This way, they have the numbers. The nurses explain what all of the numbers mean and, hopefully, co-workers with bad numbers can follow up with their doctors and head off serious issues. Finally, I happen to like the little booklet. I do. I keep last year's booklet and the new booklet will have the previous years' results and I can compare just how healthy I'm getting.

So, now for the numbers. If you know me, then you know I'm a big gal. And, being big doesn't bother me, except when someone assumes because I'm big, I'm somehow destroying the earth with my largeness. And, being big and beautiful -- as I am -- doesn't mean I'm not healthy.

My blood pressure was a little high today: 125/75. That's still normal, but my bp had been going down to the low 120's. I should note, that's the blood pressure I had when I was 21 and wearing a size 16.

My total cholesterol was 177 -- not as good as it has been, but still under that bad number of 200.

My HDL is 47 -- I've had it as high as 50, so it's lower than it's been, but still above 40 -- like it needs to be.

My LDL was slightly elevated at 112. I'll have to work on that.

Now, for the drum roll, my Triglycerides is 91 -- WAY BELOW the borderline high level. YES!

My glucose was 106 -- slightly high, but I had forgotten about the test and drank some apple juice before coming into work, so it wasn't a true fasting test.

So, I'm a big gal and I know I have friends and family that worry about my health. But, my heart test proved negative -- negative for issues, I do have one! My numbers are all where they are supposed to be, so it looks like -- if I keep this up -- I'll be around to see my grandchildren's children.

Hmmm, guess my step-children won't be happy. I won't die early enough to leave them any money. LOL!

God Bless

Oh, and keeping with my daily promise -- down with Van Hollen. He shouldn't be Wisconsin's Attorney General and I'm healthy enough to see him voted out of office. :-)

Sadness

2009-08-27T07:08:00.002-05:00

I awoke yesterday morning to the news that Edward Kennedy died of brain cancer. I am not ashamed to say that I sat down on my couch and cried. I felt as if the nation had lost a favorite uncle. I'm pretty sure all those Kennedy kids -- who are now Kennedy adults -- looked up to him, as they lost their own fathers. From his eulogy of his brother, Robert, to his endorsement of President Obama, Senator Kennedy spoke with power, passion and love of country. He seemed to gather us in his arms and let us know that all would be all right, much like a beloved uncle would.
What upset me so much this morning and as the day went on is the sad fact that Teddy Kennedy will never be able to tell America that we'll get through it -- whatever it may be -- again. That our troubles are a mere bump on the road to our grand future.
My heart goes out to the Kennedy family.
Then, when I thought my day could not get much worse, I come home, flip to CNN and find out that Dominick Dunne passed away. I loved his show on Court (not Tru) TV. I loved reading his articles in Vanity Fair. I would daydream of what I would discuss with him, if Mr. Dunne would come to dinner. I meant to write him a fan letter. I had just been thinking about it the other day, as a matter of fact. I will miss his commentary in Vanity Fair and TruTV won't be the same without presence.
My prayers are with his family.
God Bless

Happy Birthday -- Click Here

2009-08-26T07:27:00.003-05:00

Today is Vicy's 40th birthday. I hate her because in the years I've known her, she still looks 33 and I look 41. Vicy doesn't want anything for her birthday except for people to go to this website and click on the Intel Will Donate 25 cents for you button.
I want Vicy to have a nice birthday.
So, click here: http://www.smallthingschallenge.com/. Give Vicy a nice birthday.
Happy Birthday, Vicy -- I hope it is a wonderful one -- and I clicked for you!

Oh, one last thing, down with J.B. Van Hollen. The man should not be our Attorney General if he doesn't want to defend our laws. I said I'd mention him every single day and I meant it.

God Bless

Wisconsin Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen doesn't stand up for Wisconsin Laws...

2009-08-25T07:03:00.004-05:00

But Fair Wisconsin does. (Read their announcement here) Everyday until the next election or someone who knows how to organize a recall against Van Hollen, I'm going to remind Wisconsin voters just how 1) he doesn't defend laws passed by our legistlature and 2) how that costs Wisconsin taxpayers $175.00 per hour to bring in an outside attorney. Apparently, Van Hollen only stands up for those constituents who are as small minded and backward as he is.
Let's all join together and make him a one-term attorney general. Let's send a message to future attorney generals that we want them to uphold our laws. Period.
In case you're wondering if I only want him to support laws I support, I support the Federal Justice Department's stance to support DOMA in court. I believe that's what attorney generals should do -- even if they disagree with the law.
Apparently, Republicans don't think that way. They think that somehow you have some made up right to only do your job as long as you agree with it -- the exception is you shouldn't have to do something unethical or illegal. Silly Republicans, running the government is an intellectual's job.
Defend the law, Van Hollen, or suffer the consequences and lose the next election.

God Bless

Wisconsin Family Council

2009-08-23T07:41:00.004-05:00

The Wisconsin "Family" Council claims to be "Dedicated to strengthening and preserving marriage, family, life and liberty in Wisconsin". But, alas, it is a lie. A great, big lie. What they are for is shoving their backward, inconsiderate, conservative, and un-Christian views down all of our throats. They are not dedicated to preserving liberty in Wisconsin, they are dead set against it. They believe somehow that if someone with different views engages in liberty in Wisconsin, then their rights have somehow been violated.
These people are the enemy of liberty and justice for all not only in Wisconsin, but in America. These are the people who demand fairness for them. These are the people who point to misused Bible verses and claim righteousness, but then turn their backs on their family members. These are the people who hide among us, acting as if they have hearts, but underneath their phony facade is a heartless, cruel person.
But, I have a favor to ask of all Wisconsin residents -- and only Wisconsin residents -- to PLEASE, PLEASE take their survey.
You might wonder why and here's why: Let's show them just what kind of minority they truly are in this state and then maybe they'll move to some other state and leave us the HELL ALONE!
However; I digress. We should take pity upon them for we are good Christian people. We should get down on our knees every night and ask the Lord to show them the way. To beg for the Lord's forgiveness on their behalf to ask Him to have mercy on their hypocritical souls.
They should, also, get down on their knees and beg for God's mercy. That when it is their time to meet their maker, that He takes great pity upon them and allows them everlasting life and does not throw them into the fires of Hell.

God Bless

Don't forget to take their survey -- answer truthfully -- and, please, give them your information, so they know you're a real person. http://wifamilycouncil.org/Survey_09.htm Thanks!

Recall Wisconsin Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen

2009-08-22T21:12:00.004-05:00

Apparently, Wisconsin Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen doesn't understand just what his job is, nor does he understand what his duty to the citizens of Wisconsin is.

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen doesn't want to defend the laws of this great state. He has decided that he isn't going to defend the domestic partnership law. He expects the state to pay for an outside attorney at $175.00 per hour. Isn't that why we pay him?!?

Wisconsin Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen doesn't stand up for Wisconsin Laws.

I want this man gone from office and if we don't recall him, then we have to vote for the other guy. Van Hollen stands for what is wrong with the Republican Party -- they have all completely lost their minds. Defend the law, you self-righteous jerk. If we don't recall you, I promise by all that is right and holy that you won't be our Attorney General after the 2010 election. It's time we take back our country from those who only seek to destroy it with placing their personal views higher than the good of our fellow men and women.

Who's with me?

God Bless

Disappointed in Paul Ryan

2009-08-21T11:15:00.001-05:00

I have to tell you that I am really disappointed in Congressman Paul Ryan. Now, I've never voted for Paul Ryan and since he voted the Republican line 95% of the time, I've spent a lot of time being disappointed in the Congressman from the first district in Wisconsin. But, he is from Janesville -- a very conservative town -- so I expected he probably wouldn't vote the way this constituent things he should. So, I've been disppointed in the way he votes, but not in him. Does that make sense?

Congressman Ryan has always provided answers as to why he's voted one way or another. I have always received a response from him, even if I didn't like it, and I've always received information from his office. Looking for a fact I couldn't find on my own, his office would lead me to the right government website or article or whatever and the fact would be produced on my computer screen.

Usually when I care about an issue, I write Feingold, Kohl and Ryan. I, generally, write them the same letter. And, Ryan answers every single time. Feingold and Kohl, not so much -- which disappoints me, but I give them a little leeway. Feingold and Kohl are responsible to the whole state, Ryan only has our little district.

However; I wrote the three of them my concerns on healthcare and I have received responses from both Feingold and Kohl (Kohl responded first) and NOTHING, NOTHING from Ryan. I can't believe it. Here is the most important issue facing the country and Ryan hasn't sent anything to me. Even when I asked him specific questions regarding his plan.

It is so unusual. I'm really hurt. :-( As silly as it sounds, I thought we had a little relationship going. I miss hearing from him.

God Bless

Quiet

2009-08-21T07:17:00.002-05:00

I was reading one of my news magazines and I came across a small article that states bipartisanship doesn't work, which seems unreasonable to me. It has kept our country going for over 200 years, so I was a little confused. Until I read farther, the Republicans of now are not the Republicans of the past. Well, I could've told you that. Republicans over the last forty plus years have increasingly moved right, while liberals have barely ticked left. The now GOP is so right wing they don't even make left turns.
And, I can see this. It is the reason I have walked away, no make that ran away, from my GOP roots. It's crazy.
I blame Rush Limbaugh.
But, that's just me.
God Bless

Domesticated Bliss

2009-08-18T06:36:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, at around 1:30 PM, Cheryl and I, along with my parents and our good friend, Jerri and Preston, walked into the Racine County Courthouse and registered for domestic partnership. There's a five day waiting period, so next week, we have to go back and file the paperwork with the County Clerk's office. Some of our friends and family members read about this yesterday on our facebook pages. Some of our friends have asked what all this entails and I thought I should post a brief outline of our rights.

Inheritance and Survivor Protections
Family and Medical Leave
Medical, Hospital and Visitation Rights
Prevention of one Partner from testifying against another Partner
Transfer of real estate and car and boat titles are exempt from fees.

There are 43 state rights / protections granted to domestic partnerships, as opposed to the 200 protections offered by marriage.

Just thought I'd fill you in.

God Bless

My Healthcare Plan

2009-08-17T10:45:00.002-05:00

Let me come clean and tell you which plan was written by whom:
Plan A is the House Democratic Bill. Plan B is the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's Bill. Plan C is a plan under discussion by a bipartisan group of six senators on the Finance Committee. Plan D is the House Republican proposal. All of these can be found here: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090813/NEWS/90813006/-1/NEWS04 It is the news site where I found them.
Now, I try to stay positive about all of the plans, but I have to say I'm highly disappointed in Plan D – the House Republican proposal. It pretty much leaves things as they are and that bothers me. I know Republicans don't want a government run plan. I know Republicans think that government interference is a bad thing and I can understand that. But, what I can't understand is how they can just continue to ignore the fact that the system is broken. 47 million American citizens have no health insurance. That is 13% of the population. It is a high enough number to swing an election. On top of that, those 47 million Americans leave the rest of us paying a much higher price. Hospitals, when they provide care and aren't reimbursed, have to make up the money loss somewhere and that means charging more for the care those of us who are insured receive. Which means the insurance companies pay more and the premiums go up and so on and so on. We all suffer.
Now, I'm not saying I'm extremely happy with any one of the four plans, but I think combining them might not be a bad idea.
First, the who is covered: the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee bill aims to cover 97% of Americans, as does the bipartisan, Finance Committee's plan. This is very important. The whole point is to get as many people covered as possible.
Second, the cost: I think the Senate plan at being only $650 million over ten years and covering 97% of the people is a little unrealistic. I think the $1 trillion mark sounds about right. This doesn't mean I think we should spend that much, but that it is a reasonable to believe the healthcare plan will cost that much over ten years.
Third, how's it paid for: Let's face it, a plan with this much coverage is going to cost us some dough. The Republican plan, which didn't even offer a proposed cost, states no new taxes. Boy, that sounds good. The plan implies that by reducing Medicare and Medicaid fraud, the plan would be paid for. Unfortunately, I don't have the numbers for the amount of money lost due to Medicare and Medicaid fraud, but I'm thinking it probably isn't enough to pay for any plan. Now, I would be interested in hearing or reading someone's idea on how it could. I wrote Paul Ryan regarding his plan and I still don't have an answer. (Which I'm very disappointed, he is usually right on the ball.)
I think a combination of all four plans might be the answer to how to pay for this. Raising taxes on singles who earn more than $280,000 a year seems reasonable to me. Most of the people I know don't come anywhere near that figure. Raising taxes on families that earn more than $350,000 isn't a bad idea either. The highest tax bracket in this country is 33%. We jump from 15% to 25%, but after 25%, the jumps are much smaller. Trust me, a single person earning $280,000 a year will be able to afford a two percent tax raise. I'm also for raising the taxes on other items, such as cigarettes or liquor, but I think I'm alone in that regard.
I'm not for cutting Medicare nor am I for cutting Medicaid. No cuts. The elderly have enough problems. No cuts, but rooting out fraud -- that's a good idea.
Further – charging companies a portion of the insurance costs the government pays is a terrific idea. I think that it is only fair. Companies benefit from their workers' hard work. More and more companies are expecting more from their employees – especially salary employees – without offering raises. Being penalize if they allow employees and employees' children to be on a government program is a good thing. Penalizing companies such as, oh, I don't know, Wal-Mart, could help pay a great deal toward the program.
I think the combination of rooting out Medicare and Medicaid fraud, a small tax raise on the wealthy and penalizing large companies for not providing affordable health insurance should be able to pay for the plan. I think not purchasing the F-22 from Lockheed, which has cost us the taxpayers over $351 million in overruns is an example of government waste we could cut and use to help pay for the plan.i
Fourth, the mandates: I know the government mandates a lot of different things and that's not always a good thing, but the only way any healthcare plan will work is if we all have insurance. The healthcare costs of those people who are uninsured are staggering. This is not to say that we all have to have fancy group coverage. The bare minimum should be catastrophe insurance, along with a pre-taxed Health Savings Plan. I know that some people say, well, rich people don't need health insurance, so they shouldn't be forced to carry it, but even a rich person could have their entire wealth wiped out by the cost of cancer treatments.
To support my argument further, let's consider this: everyone of us who has care insurance has coverage that includes uninsured and under-insured motorists. And, why do we do that? So, we can still be protected if someone that doesn't have insurance slams into our car. Hospitals will need the same protection. There are some people out there who can cover $3200 out of pocket expense for a cardio-test, but I'm not one of them. Had I had to pay for the test myself, I'd still be making payments. And, the hospital would still be waiting for their money, which is one of the reasons hospitals have to charge so much. If everyone is covered by health insurance, hospitals wouldn't to write off unpaid bills, thus reducing their overhead. Of course, I'm notoriously cheap and I probably wouldn't get the test. I would be the type of person who would take chances with her healthcare. In interest of full disclosure, in this case, I would be okay without the test. My heart is strong, like bull.
Fifth, how to choose the health insurance plan. I like the exchange idea, but I was just reading an articleii that in Massachusetts the exchange isn't working. That being noted, I think if the Massachusetts plan isn't working, we use it to take what does work and throw away what doesn't. I, also, like the idea that the exchange is state run, with Federal standards. Each state should know what its citizens need and is better prepared to make changes for what doesn't work more quickly than the Feds.
Sixth, for the benefits, I like the Democratic plan, so I just copied it verbatim: “A committee would recommend an "essential benefits package" including preventive services, mental health services, oral heath and vision for children; out-of pocket costs would be capped. The new benefit package would be the basic benefit package offered in the exchange and over time would become the minimum quality standard for employer plans. Insurers wouldn't be able to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions.”iii
Finally, the government run plan, I like the idea of a government run plan to a point that competes with private insurers. I think private insurers deserve a little unfair competition. However; I think it should be limited to cover those who don't qualify for any other plan or subsidy. Let's not create a huge fiasco here. Also, I like the part in the Senate where the plan would “would pay doctors and hospitals based on what private insurers now pay.”iv
Okay, that's it. That's my plan in a nutshell. I think it works better and is better for all of us than the four plans.
This is a pretty long blog post, but I wanted to include as much as I could. I'm posting this as a PDF, as well, so you can print it out and share it. If you like my idea, please feel free to post it on your own blog – as long as you link back to mine. Further, send it to your representative and say you support it. I'm sending it to mine. We need to improve healthcare in this country, but none of those four plans mentioned are going to cut it. If you don't like what I've outlined, I'd love to hear why and I encourage you to come up with your own plan. I, also, encourage you to make sure you write your representative. Healthcare is too important to leave up to the politicians and lobbyists.
God Bless
iMother Jones September / October 2009, page 41
ii http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2009/08/obamas-insurance-plan-comes-right-wing-think-tank
iii http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090813/NEWS/90813006/-1/NEWS04
ivibid

2009-08-16T10:51:00.003-05:00

Well, people, this is it. Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!!! After 13 1/2 years of being together that includes 8 years of being a married couple in the eyes of God, family and friends, Cheryl and I will be getting domesticated! I'm not sure what to call it. Anyway, domestic partnership here we come. At 1:30 tomorrow afternoon, we will be at the Courthouse with my parents and two of our friends - Jerri and Preston - and we'll be signing the papers.

Yep, after all this time together, Cheryl is finally going to domesticate me. I guess this means that I'll be housebroken! LOL!

Seriously, it reinforces our love and commitment to each other, it gives us some legal protections and it helps us to stand up and be counted in the number of domesticated gay relationships.

Now, I called the courthouse on Friday and it turns out that there is a five day waiting period, so we'll have to go back to register the paperwork. Five day waiting period? She's had 13 years to change her mind and she's still here, whats another five days?

God Bless

I was going to post a picture from our wedding day, but I can't find it and my scanner is no longer functioning, so here's a picture of us from a few years ago.

Isn't Cheryl the prettiest gal around?

I am Blessed...

2009-08-16T08:52:00.004-05:00

This morning in my email there was a notice that a subscriber to my blog has unsubscribed. This is always a sad thing for a blogger to lose a reader. Broke my heart a little to thing that someone in this big old world doesn't think I'm worth reading anymore. But, then I saw the reason, which was Content no longer relevant and I had to chuckle a little. The reader's email ended in au, which I think stands for Australia and considering all I've been writing about lately has been the health care debate in America, I can see his or her point.

Anyway, this set to me thinking about health care. I've seen some articles and comments on blogs where people are complaining about the protesters outside of the townhall meetings held by various members of the government and I think they're dead wrong. It's okay to protest. It's okay to disagree with our government. It's okay to disagree with each other. The very thought of making changes to our health care system scares the hell out of a lot of people. I don't blame them -- it scares the hell out of me, too. I can understand how someone doesn't want the status quo to change -- especially if they have company provided health care. There's a part of me that doesn't want change. It's a "I've got mine, the hell with you" attitude. And, I can understand it, because I feel that way, too. I have to be honest here. I don't want my health insurance benefits taxed. I don't think that's fair. I've come too far to have to pay taxes on something I've earned.
And, that has led me to thing about this...
In 1994, I earned - roughly - $16,000. I didn't have health care. I didn't see doctors for routine medical care. I was involved in a car accident that year where I hurt my back and bruised a kidney. It wasn't my fault. The other driver turned left in front of me and although I tried to avoid her, first by changing lanes when I thought she had stopped turning and then by slamming on my brakes, I slammed into the side of her Ford Escort in my Dodge Dakota Truck at 30 miles an hour. Up to that point in my life, it was the scariest thing to ever happen to me while I was behind the wheel of my truck.
I had no health care insurance. I supported myself and, despite doctor's orders to the contrary, I returned to work the following day. I didn't sue her and, since I felt I had to take care of myself and no one could help, I didn't even ride to the hospital in an ambulance -- like I should've. If my insurance agent, a man named Marty, hadn't told me I was covered, I wouldn't have gone to the hospital at all. I had so little money back then, I couldn't afford to fill the pain prescription I was given. Good thing I have a high tolerance for pain.
Now, I don't tell you all of this to have you feel sorry for me, because you shouldn't. My kidney healed and my back is strong. My truck managed to run for another seven years until the engine blew and it is fifteen years later and I make almost four times as much as I did that year. And, I have health insurance. If that same accident happened again today, I would ride to the hospital in an ambulance and, more importantly, I would listen to my doctor. I have disability insurance, both personal and via work, so I wouldn't worry about not being able to pay my bills.
And -- this is important -- I feel lucky. That's right, lucky. I've put in years of hard work and study to become the person I am today. I worked full time and went to school part time. I busted my butt to graduate and I work hard at my profession to be the best I can be. And, I'm lucky. I'm lucky because when it was too hard and I wanted to quit, Cheryl would drag me kicking and screaming to my homework. And, she did all the housework, so I could study. (Truth be told, she still does most of the housework.) And, when I would cry at night that this was just too hard and I wasn't smart enough or good enough to see it through, she would hold me and tell me I was. She was a big pain in my ass when I needed a swift kick to my ass and she was a soft shoulder on which to cry when I just needed a place to fall. And, I couldn't have gone from the living over a bar from paycheck to paycheck to owning a home and installing new kitchen and bathroom floors if I hadn't had her pushing me.
And, I know that I am blessed.
And, then I think, there's a lot of 28 year olds out there who don't have a Cheryl in their lives. For that matter, there are a lot of people who don't have anyone pushing and fighting for them. They just go to work and do the best they can do and they are who I used to be. They have just enough to get by and they can't see past next week, because they can't afford to dream. They clean our waste baskets, they ring us out at the grocery store, they wash our car and they bring us our dinner whenever we eat out. They're the 47 million Americans who can't afford health insurance. And, then I think how lucky I am that I never caught a disease I couldn't pay for. Never needed medicine where I would have to make a choice between the medicine or eating. (Once, when I was uninsured, my asthma medicine cost $75.00 for a one month supply. That was nearly a quarter of one of my paychecks and a huge chunk of take home pay. If I hadn't had Cheryl, I might've forgone the medicine.)
And, I think about those people and how lucky I am I'm not one of them - for by the Grace of God go I - and I realize, we do need to make some changes and we're all going to have to sacrifice a little for the good of everyone.
God Bess

Plumber

2009-08-15T13:19:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, we had a plumber come out to get my basement sink to drain again. It took two guys - Dan and Derek - ten minutes to open up the pipe enough to unplug the sink and, thus, allow me to use my kitchen sink again. Then, they sent a fiber optic camera down there to show me how much icky grease and crap is in my pipes and offer to charge me $850 to clean it out, which really pissed me off, because what the hell did I just pay you $285 to do? I thought it was to clean out the pipe. When I wouldn't go for the additional $850 job, they offered a $500 one. Really? I'm going to pay you a total of $785 for one clogged drain, right, that's not happening.
BTW, they didn't put back anything they moved out of their way. And, Derek's attitude was pretty crappy once I said I didn't want the additional work done.
Now, flash forward to this morning, Derek had the nerve to call me this morning - from a blocked id - to tell me that something was "wrong" with my credit card and he wanted the number again. So, I tell him, you're not calling from an office phone and I'm not giving you my card number. I don't even know that he's calling from the office, since it is a blocked id. I tell him, have someone from the office call me on Monday and I'll give them my number. Oh, no, he says, I need to run this today.
Really? Then, I tell him, call me from an unblocked number. I'm not giving my credit card number to you when you're calling from a blocked id. Well, he starts to argue and I tell him that I'll gladly call the office on Monday and straighten the whole thing out, he gets madder. So, I just hung up. I figure if they're really a legit business, they wouldn't call from blocked ids. Plus, they took an imprint of my credit card, so what could he possibly need?
Guess who'll be calling them on Monday? And, guess who will NEVER use that plumber again?
The nerve!

God Bless

Last Post...

2009-08-15T11:51:00.002-05:00

The last posting I made is a little misleading. I hadn't finished my thought process, nor did I finish writing the post, but I had scheduled it, so it posted this morning. Bad idea to schedule something I hadn't finished writing. I didn't want to take it down because someone all ready commented on it, so I'm leaving it up for now, but watch this space on Monday, because I will reveal my healthcare plan.

God Bless

My Opinion on the Healthcare Plans

2009-08-15T09:03:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm hoping all of my gentle readers have had a chance to read all four parts. And, since I'm writing this in advance, I'm hoping all of you have posted your opinions. I'd like to read them.
Here's the thing. I think we can all agree that the healthcare system in America needs work. I think we can all agree that everyone deserves some form of health insurance to cover them in their time of need. None of us want to end up paying more than we all ready are. We don't want to have our choices limited.
Now, I've read all four summaries and I think Plan A is the best choice, allow me to explain why.

Healthcare Plan D

2009-08-14T09:00:00.004-05:00

Here's the second summary. The whole thing was written by the Associated Press, so I take no credit. I tried to actually find this on the Associated Press website, but I couldn't find it.

WHO'S COVERED: The House GOP's plan, in outline form for now, says it aims to make insurance affordable and accessible to all. There aren't estimates about how many additional people would be covered.

COST: Unknown.

HOW'S IT PAID FOR: No new taxes are proposed, but Republicans say they want to reduce Medicare and Medicaid fraud.

REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS: No mandates.

REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS: No mandates; small business tax credits are offered. Employers are encouraged to move to "opt-out" rather than "opt-in" rules for offering health coverage.

SUBSIDIES: Tax credits are offered to "low- and modest-income" Americans. People who aren't covered through their employers but buy their own insurance are allowed to take a tax deduction. Low-income retirees younger than 65 (the eligibility age for Medicare) would be offered assistance.

BENEFIT PACKAGE: Insurers would have to allow children to stay on their parents' plan through age 25.

GOVERNMENT-RUN PLAN: No public plan.

HOW YOU CHOOSE YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE: No new purchasing exchange or marketplace is proposed. Health savings accounts and flexible spending plans would be strengthened.

CHANGES TO MEDICAID: People eligible for Medicaid would be allowed to use the value of their benefit to purchase a private plan.

Healthcare Plan C

2009-08-14T08:45:00.003-05:00

Here's the third summary. The whole thing was written by the Associated Press, so I take no credit. I tried to actually find this on the Associated Press website, but I couldn't find it.

WHO'S COVERED: Around 97 percent of Americans. Illegal immigrants would not receive coverage.

COST: Around $1 trillion over 10 years.

HOW'S IT PAID FOR: Possible sources include cuts to Medicare and Medicaid; a tax as high as 35 percent on very high cost health insurance policies; a requirement for employers to pay into the Treasury for their employees who get their insurance through public programs or receive government subsidies to help pay premiums. Looking to raise $90 billion by taxing health insurance companies as much as 35 percent on policies valued at $25,000 or more.

REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS: Expected to include a requirement for individuals to get coverage.

REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS: In lieu of requiring employers to provide coverage, lawmakers are considering a "free rider" penalty based on how much the government ends up paying for workers' coverage.

SUBSIDIES: No higher than 300 percent of the federal poverty level ($66,150 for a family of four).

BENEFIT PACKAGE: The government doesn't mandate benefits but sets four benefit categories — ranging from coverage of around 65 percent of medical costs to about 90 percent — and insurers would be required to offer coverage in at least two categories. No denial of coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

GOVERNMENT-RUN PLAN: Unlike the other proposals the Finance Committee's will likely be bipartisan. With Republicans opposed to a government-run plan, the committee is looking at a compromise that would instead create nonprofit member-owned co-ops to compete with private insurers.

HOW YOU CHOOSE YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE: State-based exchanges.

CHANGES TO MEDICAID: Everyone at 100 percent of poverty would be eligible. Between 100 and 133 percent, states or individuals have the choice between coverage under Medicaid or a 100 percent subsidy in the exchange. The expansion would be delayed until 2013, a late change to save money — the start date had been 2011.

Healthcare Plan B

2009-08-14T08:30:00.003-05:00

Here's the second summary. The whole thing was written by the Associated Press, so I take no credit. I tried to actually find this on the Associated Press website, but I couldn't find it.

WHO'S COVERED: Aims to cover 97 percent of Americans.

COST: About $615 billion over 10 years, but it's only one piece of a larger Senate bill.

HOW IT'S PAID FOR: Another panel — the Senate Finance Committee — is responsible for figuring out how to cover costs.

REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS: Individuals will have to have insurance, enforced through tax penalty with hardship waivers.

REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS: Employers who don't offer coverage will pay a penalty of $750 a year for each full-time worker. Businesses with 25 or fewer workers are exempt.

SUBSIDIES: Available up to 400 percent poverty level, or $88,000 for a family of four.

BENEFITS PACKAGE: Health plans must offer a package of essential benefits recommended by a new Medical Advisory Council. No denial of coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

GOVERNMENT-RUN PLAN: A robust new public plan to compete with private insurers. The plan would be run by the government but would pay doctors and hospitals based on what private insurers now pay.

HOW YOU CHOOSE YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE: Individuals and small businesses could purchase insurance through state-based purchasing pools called American Health Benefit Gateways.

OTHER PROVISIONS: Creates a new voluntary insurance program that would provide a modest daily cash benefit to help disabled people stay in their own homes instead of going into nursing homes.

Healthcare Plan A

2009-08-14T08:15:00.000-05:00

Here's the first summary. The whole thing was written by the Associated Press, so I take no credit. I tried to actually find this on the Associated Press website, but I couldn't find it.

Plan A

WHO'S COVERED: Around 94 percent of non-elderly residents (those not covered by Medicare, which kicks in at age 65) would be covered — compared with 81 percent today. Nearly half the 17 million non-elderly residents who remain uninsured would be illegal immigrants.

COST: About $1.5 trillion over 10 years.

HOW IT'S PAID FOR: Revenue-raisers include $544 billion over the next decade from new income taxes on single people making more than $280,000 a year and couples making more than $350,000; $37 billion in business tax increases; about $500 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid; sizable penalties paid by individuals and employers who don't obtain coverage.

REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS: Individuals must have insurance, enforced through tax penalty with hardship waivers. The penalty is 2.5 percent of income.
REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYERS: Employers must provide insurance to their employees or pay a penalty of 8 percent of payroll. Companies with payroll under $250,000 annually are exempt. That level could rise to $500,000 under a deal between House leaders and fiscal conservatives.

Employers could apply for a two-year exemption from the mandate if they can prove the requirements would result in job losses that would negatively affect their communities.

SUBSIDIES: Individuals and families with annual income up to 400 percent of poverty level ($88,000 for a family of four) would get sliding-scale subsidies to help them buy coverage. The subsidies would begin in 2013.

HOW YOU CHOOSE YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE: Through a new Health Insurance Exchange open to individuals and, initially, small employers; it could be expanded to large employers over time. States could opt to operate their own exchanges in place of the national exchange if they follow federal rules.

BENEFIT PACKAGE: A committee would recommend an "essential benefits package" including preventive services, mental health services, oral heath and vision for children; out-of pocket costs would be capped. The new benefit package would be the basic benefit package offered in the exchange and over time would become the minimum quality standard for employer plans. Insurers wouldn't be able to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

GOVERNMENT-RUN PLAN: A new public plan available through the insurance exchanges would be set up and run by the secretary of Health and Human Services. Democrats originally designed the plan to pay Medicare rates plus 5 percent to doctors, but under Wednesday's deal with the fiscal conservatives the HHS secretary would instead negotiate rates with providers.

CHANGES TO MEDICAID: The federal-state insurance program for the poor would be expanded starting in 2013 to cover all non-elderly individuals with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($14,404).

DRUGS: Grants 12 years of market protection to high-tech drugs used to combat cancer, Parkinson's and other deadly diseases.

I want to hear what you think.

God Bless

Four Healthcare Plans...

2009-08-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Good morning, Gentle Readers,

Here's what I'm going to be doing today...

I will use the information I found from the Associated Press to Outline the four different plans. The only change I'm going to make is to change their names to A, B, C, D. There's no reason to choose a plan because the Democrats created it or to reject a plan because it is created by Republicans. What I want is for everyone who reads the plans, to comment on the one they like or comment on the ones you don't like. And, don't just say, that sucks. Be specific. I'd like to know which healthcare plan really resonants with my readers.

God Bless

Healthcare Email From the White House...

2009-08-13T18:30:00.004-05:00

I received an email from David Axelrod Senior Adviser to President Obama. He included 8 facts about the President's Healthcare Plan, as well as 8 myths. I am copying these 16 points, without any comment, into this blog. I want you to come to your own conclusions.

8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage
1. Ends Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.
2. Ends Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.
3. Ends Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.
4. Ends Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.
5. Ends Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.
6. Ends Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.
7. Extends Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.
8. Guarantees Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won't be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.

8 common myths about health insurance reform

1. Reform will stop "rationing" - not increase it: It’s a myth that reform will mean a "government takeover" of health care or lead to "rationing." To the contrary, reform will forbid many forms of rationing that are currently being used by insurance companies.
2. We can’t afford reform: It's the status quo we can't afford. It’s a myth that reform will bust the budget. To the contrary, the President has identified ways to pay for the vast majority of the up-front costs by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse within existing government health programs; ending big subsidies to insurance companies; and increasing efficiency with such steps as coordinating care and streamlining paperwork. In the long term, reform can help bring down costs that will otherwise lead to a fiscal crisis.
3. Reform would encourage "euthanasia": It does not. It’s a malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors. For seniors who want to consult with their family and physicians about end-of life decisions, reform will help to cover these voluntary, private consultations for those who want help with these personal and difficult family decisions.
4. Vets' health care is safe and sound: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will affect veterans' access to the care they get now. To the contrary, the President's budget significantly expands coverage under the VA, extending care to 500,000 more veterans who were previously excluded. The VA Healthcare system will continue to be available for all eligible veterans.
5. Reform will benefit small business - not burden it: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will hurt small businesses. To the contrary, reform will ease the burdens on small businesses, provide tax credits to help them pay for employee coverage and help level the playing field with big firms who pay much less to cover their employees on average.
6. Your Medicare is safe, and stronger with reform: It’s myth that Health Insurance Reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits. To the contrary, reform will improve the long-term financial health of Medicare, ensure better coordination, eliminate waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies, and help to close the Medicare "doughnut" hole to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors.
7. You can keep your own insurance: It’s myth that reform will force you out of your current insurance plan or force you to change doctors. To the contrary, reform will expand your choices, not eliminate them.
8. No, government will not do anything with your bank account: It is an absurd myth that government will be in charge of your bank accounts. Health insurance reform will simplify administration, making it easier and more convenient for you to pay bills in a method that you choose. Just like paying a phone bill or a utility bill, you can pay by traditional check, or by a direct electronic payment. And forms will be standardized so they will be easier to understand. The choice is up to you – and the same rules of privacy will apply as they do for all other electronic payments that people make.

Okay, come to your own conclusions. Watch this space tomorrow. I'm posting summaries of the four plans. I found them at the Associated Press. Read them all and come to your own conclusions. Before the end of the weekend, I'll post my opinions.

God Bless

Illinois drivers in Wisconsin

2009-08-12T09:19:00.002-05:00

Message:

My mother is always complaining about how IL drivers receive more traffic tickets in WI than they should. This upsets her because she thinks that WI cops are picking on IL drivers. Well, I'm here to  say that every single ticket issued is justified. Just this morning, a driver was on my back bumper-so close I couldn't see his headlights-at 70MPH. If I had hit my breaks, he would've hit me. Then  when traffic cleared,  he passed me. That's when I saw his plate. So, then I kept my eye on him and I should mention that he wasn't a young kid - he looked to be 50 or so. He tailgated in the  construction zone and took off speeding when construction ended. And, that's why IL drivers deserve tickets when they drive in WI. And, I know not all IL drivers are like this - some are worse.
 God  Bless

CBS & Hulu

2009-08-12T07:16:00.003-05:00

This past February, I was off work while I recovered from knee surgery and while I had a lot of time on my hands, I was pretty much out of it because vicodin makes me loopy. While I was recovering, Cheryl was in Green Bay helping Kim with little Nicholas, so I was pretty much on my own. With all that time on my hands and no one with which I could talk, I watched a lot of TV and I found the site Hulu. I was able to watch various old TV shows, which is something I love to do. The best part was that Hulu offers very few commercials, so it brings back the good old days where one or two companies would sponsor a show.
Flash forward to today: This morning, I was reading my Business Week and there's an article about Hulu and CBS. It seems that there is a debate as to how many commercials consumers are willing to watch during online content. According to the article, CBS conducts tests by aimming infrared beams into the eyes. Somehow, this can tell them when a watcher has stopped paying attention. CBS has taken this to mean that web viewers will tolerate the same number of commercials in online content as they have for TV.
Now, I should add this before I go any farther, outside of my being out of commission for two weeks, I have rarely watched any online content. I prefer my content the old fashioned way -- in front of my TV set. I DVR nearly everything I watch and I skip the commercials. According to the article, only 4% of people would be willing to pay for commercial free content -- I'm one of those people.
Having said all of that, I do like Hulu's concept of less is more. They charge twice as much for commercials (again, according to the article) and I like that. You can't fast forward through the ads, so you're stuck watching them. But, they stick with you. I had a much easier time remembering the ads on Hulu than I do watching television. I think Hulu has the right idea. Less ads means more impact.
I think CBS with its more is more option is a little nuts. Plus, the last time I looked, Ghost Whisper wasn't offered online, nor was Criminal Minds. And, this sucked because I had managed to miss both of those shows in one week. And, the main reason I turn to online viewing is to watch a show I missed.
Remember, people, less is more.
God Bless

Healthcare - Stop Now

2009-08-11T06:31:00.003-05:00

I know I'm about to sound like a raving, right-wing lunatic, but we have to stop Congress from making any changes to healthcare and we have to stop them right now. They have lost their collective minds. I was just reading in this week's Business Week how happy insurance companies are. They're going to come out winners, especially if there is no public option to the plan. According to the article, there are limits as to what the insurance companies will have to cover to take on 47 million new customers. And, since health insurance is going to be manatory, that's 47 million new paying customers who will have insurance policies that aren't worth the paper they're printed on.

So, let's not rush into a bad marriage with the insurance companies. We don't need their fly-by-night plans with low coverage. We all ready have that -- the 47 million Americans have access to healthcare, just not health insurance. Any plan before Congress that doesn't make American Businesses a partner in this is not a plan this country needs.

While I'm speaking of businesses, think about it -- Wal-Mart is supporting a government plan. Wonder why? Because it let's them off the hook for responsibility.

Oh and according to the article the idea of taxing white collar workers' benefits is back -- again. I really resent that, because my dad has been a blue collar worker all his life and he made a lot more money than some white collar workers I know, including me.

We need Congress to come up with something better. We don't need 1000 pages of crap. We have enough of that all ready.

One last thing, what makes me truly different from a real raving, right-wing lunatic is I have a plan and I've written about it.

God Bless

Cars and Tips

2009-08-10T19:43:00.001-05:00

Let's discuss the cash for clunkers program. It is a resounding success, according to Business Week, the program helped sell 157,000 cars. I think that's just get. Now, it is all over the news that the program has been such a success that it is out of money. Congress is thinking about doing it again. I have two concerns with this. My first is that the program apparently didn't just allow sales of smaller cars go up. Apparently, the trade in couldn't get more than 14 or 18 mpg -- I'm not sure which, as I've seen both figures in print - AND the car purchased had to get more than 16mpg. 16mpg? Are they serious? That means those big, hulky gas guzzling SUVs and trucks were being sold. How is that am improvement?

Here's my second concern: If we renew the cash for clunkers program, are we just going to artificially prop up the auto industry like the lowering of interest rates propped up the housing market? I worry what will happen to the economy with a piece of it being blown up again.

I should disclose that I recently purchased a vehicle, but my Suzuki was still getting 24mpg and didn't qualify for the program even though she had 204,000 miles on her. The dealer offered me $100 for her. I donated her to kars 4 kids instead. I'm a little irked that the Suzuki didn't qualify for the program - I know, I could've lied about her gas mileage, but I'm not that kind of girl - but that people are allowed to purchase vehicles that don't get better gas mileage than a car I donated.

So, my suggestion is that we continue the program for another billion, but every car sold must get at least 20mpg city and highway combined.

Next, we're going from cars to waitressing, which I know is a very strange combination.

The next time you sit down in a restaurant, I want you to consider this: That waitress works for $2.33 an hour. That's not a lot of money. On top of that, whether or not you tip her, she pays tax on 8% of your total bill. Further, depending on the restaurant's structure, she is giving a percentage of her tips to the bartender, the hostess and the bus boy.

So, let's say a waitress works an hour and makes $100 in sales. Before she has tip one to count, she owes the government $8.00 in taxes. She only made $2.33 (which is minimum wage) and she owes 15% (not including social security and medicare and state taxes). If the tables in that hour don't tip her, she's just worked an hour of her life she can never get back and worse, she has to pay the government $8.35 for the privilege.

I know what you're thinking, what's your point?

My point is that before you leave that small tip, you stop for a moment and think about the service you've received. If you received good service, make sure you tip 15% of the entire bill -- not just the pre-tax amount -- because she's taxed on the entire bill. If you received excellent service, then you should leave a generous tip of at least 20%. And, if you run into a waitress who sucks, just don't stiff her -- you look cheap. Tip her 8%, to cover the tax and complain to the manager of the restaurant. My philosophy is this: I watch how many tables she has. If the waitress has less than four and I can see her yakking with her friends in the back and my service is bad, she gets a small tip and I complain, but if I can see she has a lot of tables and is keeping up the best she can, then I leave an extra generous tip and I make no complaint.

Oh, and don't just complain, speak with a manager if you receive top-notch service, as well.

I should note, I've NEVER been a waitress. I couldn't do it. Long hours on your feet, dealing with rude customers and making very little for your trouble - not my idea of a career, but someone has to do and those of us who don't should tip them well.

God Bless