Heartless, Hypocritical Bastards

Those so-called "family" groups are at it again. No sooner had the ink dried on the state budget, which includes Domestic Partner benefits, than 3 board members of various "family" groups had their lawyers file to fight it in court.
Look you rotten bastards, you won the big fight -- we can't get married and we can't have civil unions in Wisconsin. At least give us the very small protections Domestic Partnerships give us. And, if I sound angry, I am. I'm sick and tired of a group of people who don't know me spending their time and effort to make my life miserable. They wanted the anti-gay amendment and they got it. And, how did they get it, buy making it a two part question, where the answer was yes if you DIDN'T support equal rights for gays. Do you know how many of my straight friends called me up and said, "Isn't it great, you and Cheryl can get married now. We voted yes and it passed." I apparently didn't explain it to them in easy enough terms for them to understand that a yes vote meant we COULDN'T get married.
Now, we're just getting basic protections: the right to inherit, the right to hospital visitations, the right to sue for wrongful death, etc. We're not getting the right to file joint tax returns. We're not getting the other 1300 rights that married couples enjoy in this country.
And, these bastards are hypocrites on top of it all. They don't believe in legistlating from the bench, but they want a judge to throw out a law signed by our governor. Sounds like an activist judge decision to me.
I have a question. If Cheryl gets seriously ill and can no longer make decisions for herself, are these bastards going to step in then and make the decision I cannot legally make until the domestic partner benefits kick in on August 3rd? Are they going to stop her life support or stop treatment when there's no hope? Oh, of course not, these are the kinds of bastards -- in a general sense -- that believe in the so-called right to life, which means they don't believe anyone should ever die.
God Bless the Gay People for we give the phony family groups something to do.

I can't believe they were really that dumb...

I saw this headline Cops suspended after check on Obama on CNN and I had to read the story. It seems two police officers -- both of whom have been on the job less than five years -- ran a background check on President Obama.  Didn't they realize that they'd get caught?  I'm pretty sure anytime a police officer runs a check on anyone, there's a record of it.  And, two young police officers should know that better than an older one -- this is the computer generation after all.

God Bless

Congressman Ryan's Healthcare Idea

Congressman Ryan sent out a flyer regarding his healthcare plan. He wants to give everyone a $5700 tax credit -- not a deduction, you receive this credit whether you paid money in or not -- to everyone in order to buy healthcare. The tax credit works out to $475.00 per month, which sounds like a lot of money for health insurance, until you realize that group plans can cost that much and trying to buy insurance as an individual is very expensive.
There are some questions I want answered and I'm sending an email to him to get them:

• From where are Americans supposed to buy this insurance? Are we going to be able to get the kind of coverage we currently have with our employers and at the group rate?
• From where is the government going to get the money for the tax credit? I pay for my employer insurance pre-tax, so I am not paying taxes on my health insurance. My pre-tax premium is way less than the $5700 tax credit and $5700 will practically wipe out my tax obligation and the tax obligation for a lot of Americans, so where is the government going to get the extra money?
• Will I have to prove that I purchased healthcare insurance or put the money into a health savings account in order to collect? How can we be certain that people use the credit for that which it was intended? If there are no guarantees in place, we could end up spending a lot of government money without covering a significant portion of Americans.
• What will this do to company policies? Won't this encourage companies to just dump their healthcare plans and let individuals do it on their own?
• Who is going to educate those who don't understand anything about insurance? I have a college degree and insurance policies confuse me. Who is going to make sure the American public is well informed?
• Won't this just encourage fly by night insurance companies? How can we be sure people won't be scammed into policies that really aren't worth the paper their printed on?

It is something to think about. Contact your Congressman to find out more information.
God Bless

Where have all the cajones gone?

Why is it that no one has cajones (balls) anymore? My co-worker gets away with saying how "busy" she is and how she doesn't have time to do something and my boss just lets it slide. Remember when I told you about that project and how she didn't want to do it, but my boss gave it to her anyway? Well, today she says she doesn't have time. So, now it just won't get done.
But does he call her bluff?
Of course not. And, why is that?
Glad you ask.
No one has any cajones. Everyone is so busy saying, "oh, I'm sorry." Politicians, actors, bosses, etc. I'd rather deal with a blantant racist than deal with the balless.
God Bless the balless - for they shall go farther than they should

Smile Train

I don't know if you'll be able to see the pictures from the email I'm copying and posting here, but if you can't I will get this fixed later. I didn't want to wait in posting this. Smile Train is an organization that is very close to my heart. I see the pictures of these children and I want to help them all. I encourage all of my readers to donate to Smile Train.

Here is an email I received this morning. Please take the time to read it. Oh, I should note that I didn't receive permission from Smile Train to post this, so please consider the whole email copyrighted by them and not me.

God Bless

"I will never forget a little 7-year-old girl who literally jumped into my arms-and into my heart." -Christopher Meloni

The flight to Haiti from New York is just a little more than 3 hours but the distance between our two countries is VAST. The U.S. is the richest country in the history of the world with an average per capita income of about $40,000 a year. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with an average per capita income of $400 a year. 80% of Haitians live in poverty. 50% cannot read. The healthcare system is in shambles. Average life expectancy is 53 years. Almost one out of every 10 babies dies before their first birthday.

When our plane landed in Port-au-Prince, we went right from the airport to Cité Soleil, a densely populated shanty town where about 300,000 people live in unimaginable circumstances. It is one of the poorest slums in the entire world. In Cité Soleil there are no police, no sewers, no stores and little to no electricity or running water.

The stench was overwhelming. As we walked around it felt to me like I was walking on a gigantic landfill, stepping on garbage, human excrement, litter, refuse, rotting food, you name it, while hundreds of wild pigs were snorting and foraging all around us.

Everywhere I looked people were foraging too, looking for food, for plastic or metal cans, for anything they could use, like shoes or clothing.

I thought of Dante's inferno and its Map of Hell-this place would have fit right in.

Many children rubbed their bellies and held out their hands, the international signal that says, "I am hungry will you give me some money."

We came across a market where I saw something I will never forget. A woman selling cookies, made out of mud. Cookies that people actually buy and eat. I was incredulous. I held one and smelled it. Why would anyone eat something like this? I was told that in Haiti, for many people, the hunger pains are so bad they are given the nickname Clorox. Because it feels like there is bleach eating away at the walls of your stomach. So some children eat these mud cookies to fill their stomachs and fend off the hunger pains at least for awhile.

I stood there holding one of these mud cookies shaking my head.

How can it be that just off the coast of the richest country in the world, are 8 million people starving on an island eating cookies made out of mud? What is even more ironic is that the biggest health problem we face in the U.S. these days is obesity. It's true. The leading cause of death in the U.S. is coronary and heart problems related to obesity.

Well, my depression lifted immediately when we got to our Smile Train partner hospital and saw HUNDREDS of children and adults who had come from all over Haiti to be helped. Smile Train distributed posters, ran radio and TV ads and spread the word far and wide that every baby, child and adult with a cleft who came to this hospital would be guaranteed free surgery.

I must say, it was a little overwhelming for me to see so many clefts in one place at one time. Some of them were extreme.

I spent a lot of time meeting as many children and their parents as we could. Through our interpreter who spoke Creole, we asked all kinds of questions.

What I came away with was that this Smile Train program was their only chance to ever get cleft surgery for their child. Many of these children had traveled for days, by foot, by boat, by bus, from very far away because this was their one chance, their one shot.

And I will never forget a little 7-year-old girl who literally jumped into my arms-and into my heart. Bergaline and her mother lived in Cité Soleil. Her mother said never in a thousand years could she ever raise enough money to help her child. We talked a bit and then I lifted Bergaline up and carried her into the O.R. to observe my very first cleft surgery.

And 45 minutes that would change the rest of Bergaline's life.

Her surgeon, Dr. Michael Schaefer, was fantastic. He gave me a play-by-play as he gently, expertly and methodically deconstructed Bergaline's cleft and then artfully put the pieces back together just like a jigsaw puzzle. I was really blown away with how dramatic the transformation was-as well as how quickly it all happened.

In Smile Train direct mail they always say the surgery takes as little as 45 minutes and I must say I have always been a little skeptical about that claim. But sure enough, in under an hour, about 50 minutes, I was lifting a sleeping Bergaline up from that O.R. table and carrying her to the post-op area. (Without all my questions and suture cutting they probably would have been done in 35 minutes!)

I almost sprinted to go get Bergaline's mother.

There was not a dry eye in the room as we watched this mom cry tears of joy as she danced and hugged and said thank you again and again and again and again. Wow.

When I got out of my scrubs, I sat down in a hallway to drink some water and take a break. But as I looked out the window at all the children and their parents that were still standing in a long line, waiting to register, or arriving by foot after days of travel, it hit me even harder.

These kids have to be helped. None of these children can be turned away.

Before I went to Haiti, I thought Smile Train was a well-run charity that was doing some good work and helping a lot of kids. But I came back from Haiti with a much more intense point of view and a much greater sense of urgency.

There are millions of poor children in the world who are suffering with unrepaired clefts.

All of their suffering is completely unnecessary.

Every single one of these kids can be helped with this simple, cheap, quick surgery.

Smile Train is working feverishly to raise enough money to help as many children as quickly as it can.

If you can help us too, that would be great. If enough of us pitch in, we can actually solve this problem, we can help all the kids who are out there waiting for their chance to smile.

Thanks for reading my report and thanks for helping these kids.

All the best,

Chris Meloni

P.S. If you are wondering if I would go on another Smile Train trip all I have to say is just name the place and the date and I will be there.

P.P.S. I made a pretty neat video about my trip. You can check it out at

Torture

I hear people say things like, "they do it to us, so we should do it to them" whenever the subject of torture comes up. But, if "they" jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, should we do it too? Now, I read in Newsweek that Eric Holder -- the US Attorney General -- wants to begin investigating the Bush Administration and go after those who approved the torture we as a whole committed. Well, even though I'm against torture, I think that ship has sailed and all Eric Holder will find is a heap of trouble for his boss. I'm, also, torn. I do want those people who said it was okay to torture someone punished, but at the same time, I'm reluctant to air America's dirty laundry anymore.

My dad, who went through torture "training" before being shipped to Vietnam, said that water boarding isn't so bad. He survived it and he doesn't understand why everyone is making a fuss over it. Yet, I read an article in Vanity Fair written by Christopher Hutchinson who said it was a terrifying experience. Of course, my father is one tough guy and he makes John Wayne look like a sissy boy, so he's probably tougher than a journalist for Vanity Fair.

I'm not sure how much water boarding really harms anyone and we are in a war with the terrorists, but I wonder, if we torture them because they torture our people, then aren't we just like them? I should think that a great country such as the United States of America would hold ourselves to a higher standard. We are the beacon of hope for the hopeless and the bearer of that great standard - freedom. We should never lower ourselves to the level of terrorists. We should never be the bad guys. Not torturing a terrorist doesn't make us weak, it makes us, well, us. We are THE country on this planet that looks out for the underdog. We are the country that fights for injustice. Come to think of it, we're the Superman of the world. We need to hold ourselves to a much higher standard than the rest of the world, because we are the United States of America -- one nation, indivisible, under God with liberty and justice for all.

God Bless

Inmates Give Money to Help Little Girl Have Surgery

Have you heard about Trinity Schley?  She's four years old and lives in Baton Rouge, LA.  You can read her story here.  She needs surgery to restore her sight and the surgery and associated costs total about $60,000.  Her parents don't have that kind of money -- really, who does.

I donated and now I'm calling on all of you, my gentle, kind hearted readers to donate as well.  A group of Inmates donated $5,000 -- INMATES, people!  These are hardened criminals and they've joined together to donate 5 GRAND.  Surely, we can do better than that.  We're all upstanding citizens, aren't we?

You can donate here. 

God Bless Trinity and her family.

Let's raise some money!!!

What's Wrong With America

We are. That's right, it is us citizens. You see, not only do we want things to be perfect, but we're not really wanting to work for it. I'm not talking about people who go to work to earn money. I'm talking about the work it takes to keep our great country great.
Case in point, on Facebook, I challenged someone's statement that President Obama had promised to fix Iraq and Afghanistan in 6 months. I hadn't heard that in a campaign speech and I said so. Instead of responding with an intelligent response to back up the claim, the response was "whatever".
I get that a lot. You can't have an intelligent debate anymore in this country -- on the right or the left -- because there aren't enough intelligent people to go around. It ends in name calling or shrugs. There is middle ground, not every issue is black and white. If you take out the ones the right-wing Christians care about -- abortion, gay rights and the death penalty -- the rest are things we can discuss, debate and come to a consensus on, but we don't.
We all just make blanket statements and we don't do any research to back them up. I'm all for everyone having their own opinion, but I think we've gone too far.
And, I blame Rush Limbaugh. Seriously, I think he was the start of no debate. Callers who agree will just say Ditto and callers who disagree don't get a chance to say anything at all and/or they get made fun of. Admittedly, I haven't listened to Rush Limbaugh in well over 15 years, so he might've changed.
It's really too bad we've come to this because no President stands much of a chance and if we keep it up, we as a country don't either.
God Bless

Work

I often complain about work, but it is where I spend the majority of my time. I can't understand how someone who makes good money can consistently not step it up when volunteers are needed to jump right in. It happened again today and what really upsets me is twofold: since she didn't volunteer, our boss would never assign the project to her. It just won't happned -- it hasn't happened before. And, I can't understand how she is allowed to keep her job in today's economy. Shouldn't only the hardworking individuals be allowed to work?
Drives me nuts.

So, if you're looking for a hardworking Data analyst with skills in SQL, Crystal Reports, Cognos, VB, VBA, HTML and limited knowledge of PHP. Please send me an email. Joboffer@topofmyhead.info.

God Bless

UPDATE: I couldn't believe it, but the boss actually gave her the assignment. You could've knocked me over with a feather. First time that has ever happened!

Healthcare

Thank goodness for lunch hours or I would've missed this report (http://www.rr.com/news/news/article/rr/6818193/8257578/Conservative_Democrats_break_ranks_on_health_care/full/).  There really is a tax on healthcare benefits in the Senate plan.  This needs to be stalled and stopped.

I get three tax breaks as a single person -- the first is on the portion of the healthcare premiums I pay and that goes with the break I get on my supplemental insurance I have thru Aflac, the second is my house and the third is my charitable donations.  Without these, I would be paying over $1,000 more a year in taxes.  I will be in a new tax braket.  I don't know about you, but I cannot afford the extra $1,000 per year.

I did have a thought today regarding how to raise some tax dollars to fund this program.  How about every time an American company closes up shop here and moves the plant to Mexico or overseas, we tax them a dollar a component to bring whatever it was back?

My other thought on funding is we give employers huge tax breaks for funding the healthcare for their employees and employees' families.  You give them a tax break and I'll bet you the number of uninsured in this country will drop significantly.

We do need an overhaul of healthcare, but the buck is stopping here. Any plan that raises the taxes on those of us who earn less than $100,000 a year (singles) and $200,000 (married couples) needs to be stopped in its tracks.

Contact your senators and tell them you want healthcare, but not at this price.

God Bless

What America Needs...

My goal this morning was to get up, do some research and write a blog entry about what I think America needs. Well, you know how that goes. I've been up since five and I'm not even close to being done, nor have I made great strides in getting started.
Since I have to leave for work, I'll have to post this over the weekend.
BTW, did you see the interview with Jeb Bush where he claims his brother's presidential ratings were higher than Obama's, then claims ratings don't matter and turns around and just misses calling Obama a socialist and stating the Obama would've have been elected if America knew his true agenda?
Try to find it -- it is an interesting read. Here's a quick take -- why is it that if the idea disagrees with the right wing's thoughts, you have an "agenda", but they have "ideas."
God Bless

Sarah Palin

This is going to be quick. It comes from an article on CNN about Sarah
Palin:

"No legal "bombshell" or personal scandal lies behind Palin's
resignation, but off-color jokes by talk-show host David Letterman
contributed to her decision to step down, Thomas Van Flein said."

So, she's leaving the governorship 17 months early because she can't
take a joke?

I'll finish reading the article later today, I have to fly right now.

God Bless

Well done, Congressman Peter King

From CNN...

"New York Rep. Peter King called on the media to "knock out the psycho-babble" and stop covering Michael Jackson because "this guy was a pervert.""

I wish my Congressional Representative had these kinds of balls as Peter King of New York does.  I read some of the comments below the article and I saw this one written by Vic from New York:

"July 6th, 2009 9:44 am ET

Dear Mr. King,

I'm no Jackson fan, but your comments are the the kind of Right-Wing psycho talk that juxtaposes you kind at the opposite end of the spectrum - but just as bad if not worse - than the behaviors you claim to revile.

John Dean calls it "Conservatives without Compassion". I call it the right wing Nazi Cabaret of extremist repression oriented doctrine.

No Thanks! If faced with picking between the "worst of the worst" - I'll take Jackson over your ilk hands down."

Well, I've got to disagree.  With the passing of Michael Jackson, we've proven that what becomes news is what sells and not what is truly important.  At first, I was angry because his death overshadowed Farrah's and I liked her better, but now it has been more than a week and CNN still has a huge headline.  Our news channels have become all Michael, all the time.  What he did his last hours - why it took so long for the ambulance to get there -- who gets his kids, etc. etc.

Ignoring the fact that he was an alleged child molestor, Michael Jackson was a singer and a dancer and that's pretty much it.  He didn't find a cure for cancer or bring peace to the middle east.  He sang and dance.  I know that singers, dancers and actors have a place in our daily lives.  They make us laugh, their movies make us forget our own issues or even, keep us at the edge of our seats.  A good song by a great singer or group of singers can inspire thousands to move mountains and that right there is the worth the price of admission.

And, it is sad when one of our stars leaves the planet for that great soundstage in the sky, but to obsess about one man is definitely not healthy.  So, to all the news outlets who are just playing into this so-called period of national mourning, get over it.  We need to go back to study more important issues.

One last thought, I remember those 14 weeks in 2005 when MJ was on trial.  It seems we lost our collective mind back then, too.  So, yet again, MJ has pushed important news that will probably affect our futures for sometime to come right off the front page. <sigh>

To the Jackson Family, I offer heartful prayers and thoughts.  I can't imagine losing a child or a sibling or a parent in such a public arena.  I pray that all of you will be able to find some sort of peace Michael has now found.

To the rest of us gawkers and hangers on, stop reading the crap and they'll stop printing it.

God Bless us all

Healthcare - The numbers

I know I've been droning on and on and on about Healthcare, but the reforms that are about to pass the House and Senate are really scaring me. First, the news always reports that there are 45 million Americans without healthcare or health insurance. Anyone know from where this number comes?
Now, yesterday, I read a blog (and I'm sorry I don't remember which one) that disputed this by making a blanket statement that 20 million of those Americans are either college students or people making over $75,000 a year who choose not to take healthcare. Anyone know from where that number comes? Anybody? Because I remember when my daughter was in college that she was still on Cheryl's insurance. So, I think most students would remain on their parents' policies. Anyone know of a recent college student who wasn't covered on their parents' policies?
Does anyone know of someone who makes $75,000 a year who opts not to have health insurance? I don't, but I'm sure there's someone out there who does.
Over the next few days and, perhaps, weeks, I'm going to try to track down these numbers and pass them on. Healthcare in America is way too important to just make a rash decision on.
God Bless

Addictomatic

I was going through my stats and checking out referring pages. I like to do this every once in a while to see if I can offer a link to their site. Since I'm re-doing the site, I thought I'd add a page with links, as opposed to the ones that used to be on the left. Anyway, I found this site where you can "instantly create a custom page with the latest buzz on any topic." What a concept!
I made this one on Healthcare -- give it a try!
God Bless

Billy Mays Funeral

I think this is both the coolest way to pay tribute to a close friend, as Billy Mays' pallbearers obviously were doing, and one of the saddest things I've seen. I hadn't watched the Pitchmen series until this past week. I only knew him as the Might Putty and Oxiclean guy, but I liked watching Pitchment -- it was very interesting and entertaining.
Here's the video clip from his funeral as seen on CNN.
God Bless

Happy Fourth of July

Right now, our country is in a terrible recession. We're fighting two wars. 45 million Americans don't have healthcare and our President and Congress are rushing to make a decision about it. Gays don't have the right to marry. Michael Jackson's death announcement nearly took down the Internet and overshadowed every news cast -- until yesterday, when Sarah Palin announced she wasn't running for re-election. And, it is construction season again.

And, still, in all of this craziness we call America, with all of the complaints, today, we can spend five minutes thinking about the fact that we are the greatest nation on earth.

Happy Fourth of July and God Bless the good old USA!

Thank a Vet

This past weekend, I went to my family reunion and listened to a conversation my Uncle Bill and my father were having regarding waterboarding. I was going to write about how my views differ from theirs, but I'll save that for later. I want to tell you all about my dad and my Uncle Bill.

Now, my dad is one tough man. Frankly, I think John Wayne was a wuss when held up next to my old man. He's seventy-two and can still wipe the floor with mine and my brothers' butts. I've never tried taking on my Uncle Bill, but I'm pretty sure he could take me. These are the guys who fought in Vietnam and didn't come home with any problems and they didn't complain. They just did their duty and served their country proud. Uncle Bill served in the Air Force for at least twenty years and retired as an E8. My father served in the Navy for twenty years and retired as an E7 -- Pop doesn't take orders as nicely as Uncle Bill.

These are the guys who taught me to respect our servicemen and women, especially my dad. In fact, Pop taught me that if you see a man with a service hat on - you know the ones I mean, that mention they ship they served on or I'm a Veteran - you need to thank that man for your freedom and I always do. When I see men and women in uniform at the mall or in the airport or wherever I am, I try to shake their hand and thank them for their continuing service. I'm trying to teach Danny and Alex to do the samething, but they might be a little too young.

So, on this day, while most of us are off work because tomorrow is the Fourth of July, I just wanted to ask everyone of you who reads this to take the time to thank a vet. And, if you don't know one or don't see one, take a little time to think about America's Veterans. All over the world, there are men and women in the Navy, Air Force, Army, Marines and Coast Guard who won't be celebrating with barbecues and hot dogs, because they're standing watch and protecting our freedom. Please join with me and say a little prayer for them.

Lastly, I know this is a bumber sticker saying, but it doesn't mean it isn't right:

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

God Bless

Open Letter to President Obama

Dear President Obama;
I've sent comments to you on healthcare, but the box only takes 500 characters and I am much more long winded than that. Also, I haven't received any response. But, I'm not writing this to complain, but to help people take notice.
First and foremost, we shouldn't rush any of this. Theodore Roosevelt wanted national healthcare at the beginning of the last century and we've lived this long without it. Let's take our time. I know there's a feeling of urgency what with the economy trying to climb out of the toliet and the American public supporting you by 65%, but let's not make hasty decisions.
Second, any plan that adds yet another tax onto the backs of the middle class is not a plan worthy of mention. Those of us in the middle class pay enough taxes as it is. Right now, between Federal and State taxes, Social Security and Medicare, 1/3 of my paycheck is gone and I haven't even walked out of the building. Let's find the money some other way. (I'm for stopping farm substidies to large corporations and weekend farmers. The substidies weren't supposed to be paid out for more than five years when they started. It's just ridiculous that people like Sam Donaldson gets farm substidies, but I digress.) I'm pretty sure that at some point in the next few years, our taxes are going to have to go up, but let's not tax one of the few benefits we enjoy.
Now, having said # 2, let me mention #3: Let's give HUGE tax breaks to companies that cover at least 75% of an employee's healthcare and even bigger tax breaks to companies that cover 90%. Let's not make them pay taxes on any money spent on healthcare for employees' dependents. A lot of the uninsured are children and by giving employers the push to do the right thing, we might be able to knock more than half of the uninsured off the list.
Four, and this is big, let's not have national healthcare, but a national standard. And, here's why; we don't want to give companies a break on taxes and then have them use some shoddy fly by night insurance company that doesn't cover the basics. A pound of prevention is worth an ounce of cure, after all. We need wellness visits and mammograms, etc. to be covered. And, the standards set must be followed whether the company is self-insured or not. I spoke with a company representative where I work and she insisted that they didn't have to follow the minimums set by Illinois because they were self-insured. I couldn't find an answer on whether or not she was lying, so let's just get that part out of the way. If you follow at least the minimums, you get the tax break, if not, you don't. He who pays the band gets to pick the music, so companies shouldn't expect breaks, if they don't want to have the minimums.
Finally, whatever healthcare plan we pick or whatever minimums we set; Congress should be set at the same standard. If they had to live with our healthcare, the healthcare system wouldn't be broken.
I hope you see this, President Obama.
God Bless
A Concerned Citizen