Two Down, Fourteen to Go

I went to my second installment of divorce tax tonight. I spent almost ninety minutes of my life (that I will never ever get back) It wasn't ninety whole minutes because I was asked to leave because I did not answer enthusiastically enough. You heard me right. I did not go to an evening class after being up and working since four a.m. with the proper enthusiasm. I sat in a classroom with Eva Braun as she spent over forty minutes asking us to list things that were asinine in the least, and what we used to call busy work at best. Why didn't she just have us color pictures of happy divorced couples instead? It would have been the same thing, and I would be able to spend four hundred dollars for something good-say groceries, heating oil and gasoline. Instead, I came home and started trying to find information,any information on Right Relations, Inc. I've googled them, I've gone through all the links, and the only thing I can find so far is a link telling me how wonderfully helpful they are. Oh and a place that begs for "donations." I was calculating the profits this "not for profit" corporation made tonight, and the way I figure it, there were twelve of us in there. That seems to be four thousand, eight hundred dollars to me. We were given a booklet to read out of- the sort of high quality tract published by only your finest cults. That we were to leave behind. We were also given a piece of paper with a few things copied onto it. A paragraph at best, poorly printed. The booklet probably retails for sixty eight cents, (and I am being generous here) and the piece of paper must have set them back one penny, tops. So I am now looking at sixty nine cents worth of material, all but one penny of that is reused. For this, I have shelled out twenty five dollars. The net profit looks to be about twenty four ninety nine times twelve. I come up with two hundred ninety nine dollars and eighty eight cents. That is what this place makes every week for an hour and thirty minutes of your life that you will never get back. Ever. I have to wonder if this is the way that counties raise funds now. Kind of like the way that they ticket people more to raise revenue, I think they must send people who have the misfortune of marrying an adulterous odometer tampering thug-but well connected, mind you to this divorce tax class. I had an amateur psychologist send me an insightful comment last week. I gave it the consideration it deserved with my delete button. But back to the latest round of, karma, higher spiritual power, and recognition of anger values-whatever the hell that means- I am going to make some more phone calls tomorrow and see if there is one elected official in this state who can answer my question for me. My guess is no, but if I can get one straight answer on this, you can thank me later.

Oh, Yeah, That Will Help

I am attending that divorce seminar that I told you about. It promised to be helpful. So far, the only thing that I see it has helped is the state of Indiana to about three thousand two hundred dollars. That is the price I have calculated the state is making on this thing. It cost four hundred dollars a pop, and there are eight of us stuck in there. I have been given instructions on not discussing what is talked about in these meetings. Um, yep, okay then. Also, I am not to take any notes or remove anything from the area. Nor can I have any sort of recording device while I am in there. I am looking at 30 more hours of this crap before I am finished. I call it my divorce tax. The person who lectured me last week is on his third marriage. Yes, first, second, third marriage. My confidence is over flowing. The rest of the time that I was there, I listened to new age crap, mangled ideas about philosophy, and the idea that a "Faith based" plan might help. When did it become wrong to say that having faith in God is the answer? The "faith based" crap was when I had proof positive that I was wasting my time. I cannot understand how the people who run these things got themselves into a position of authority. The first woman that I spoke with wanted my social security number. I told her no. I said that I would give her he last four of it, and if she wanted another number to identify me with, I would be happy to give her that. She got snippy. She asked me what I thought she was going to do with the information. I wanted very badly to tell her what she could do with it, but I didn't think that would help. Instead, I asked her some personal information about herself. She did not want to give it to me, asking me why I would need it. I asked her the same. I asked once, and was told that only the government can request your social security number, anyone else can ask, but you don't have to give it to them. With identity theft as out of control as it is, why would you help the thieves out by putting your vital information in the hands of some self important government lackey? I only have fifteen more of these to go, I will keep you posted if anything of value comes out of it. Don't hold your breath, you'll thank me later.

How Do You Like to Serve Your Weasel, Anyway?

I am looking for a good recipe for weasel. Nothing too fried, I have to watch my cholesterol, you know. The reason that I ask is because I have found a perfectly good weasel, and I don't know what to do with it. You can follow this link and see for yourself. Let me know what you think. http://johnziegler.sitenewsonline.com/inc/rdr.asp?8138___091018202512___http://www.mediaite.com/online/why-david-keene-threatened-to-punch-me-at-wcpac/ I love John Zeigler. He asks the questions that any person with a half an ounce of sense would ask. He also asks it in a clever way that drips with irony. I watched the video of his Constitutional Rights being trampled outside Katie Couric's "award" for being so unbiased in her interview with Sarah Palin. I saw the interview, and it was to journalism as Jeffrey Dahmer was to cooking shows. Answer: a disgusting exercise, that should be illegal. I hope that by following this, you can see the way that his rights were blatantly tossed aside. I love the double speak when the Nazi-esque rent-a cop tells him that he cannot do it because he isn't a journalist, then makes him stand in the area designated for journalists! I am certain the ACLU will be attending to his violated rights, also. Any minute now. Yep. Here they come. Just you wait and see. In. your. dreams. So anyway, after watching a person's basic rights get trampled in the name of journalistic integrity,my irony meter was off the charts. I am officially boggled. Can you imagine the uproar if say-Micheal Moore- was pseudo arrested, assaulted, and generally frog-marched away like John Zeigler was? Of course they would have to be stout to drag Mr. Moore any where, but you get the idea. At what point in your life does all common sense leave the building? I learned this when I was working for the happiest retailer on the planet- some people should never ever be in charge of anything. Speaking of weasel and tasty recipes for them, near where I live we have had a couple of police officers who have been terminated for having sex with an eighteen year old female. Not at the same time, of course, but the same woman. The newspaper was full of stories about the Officer pleading for his job, and asking for leniency. These are the same officers who are supposed to uphold the law? Fire them, do it quickly, then sue them for the money they were paid from the time they had sex with this woman. And speaking of which, I have no idea who this person is, but I can't help but think there should be a warning label printed on her somewhere. Seriously. Too bad Slick Willie doesn't need a member in his secret service detail. It sounds like these two would fit right in there without missing a beat, what do you think? Click on the link I have to Mr. Zeigler, and give some serious thought to your Constitutional Rights. You'll thank me later.

Demonize the Word, Maybe THAT will Make it Untrue

I muddled my way through an interview of B.O.'s. He is not too fast on the answers when it isn't scripted, is he? As he tried not to make too big a mess of things (good luck with that) I listened to the talking points that he tried to reiterate. The only clear thing that I took away from his "off the cuff" remarks is that he doesn't like FOX because they have an agenda. When I picked my jaw up from my feet, I laughed at the hypocrisy of his statement. So is our first foreign born President in over one hundred years trying to insinuate that CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and NBC do not have an agenda? Seriously? Don't pee on my feet and tell me it's raining, okay? Wasn't it those other stellar media outlets that broke the fake service records of President Bush with un-abandoned glee? And how long did they wait until they were forced to retract the story? There you go. I am reminded of a line from Die Hard 2 when John Amos's character tells John McClain that he is an A**hole, he's just John McClain's kind of A**hole. I get the feeling that any time now, B.O. will be stamping his feet in irritation because the folks over at FOX just won't seem to realize and acknowledge that this guy knows much more than any of us ever will, and we should just rely on him to make all of our decisions for us. Socialism, anyone? I also enjoy listening to the liberal rebuttal. No one made more of a spectacle about George W. Bush's slim margin of victory than every liberal media outlet in America. Yet, when the State of Florida allowed the media access to the ballots through their Sunshine Laws, and the vote was in fact not hijacked by the left, you never heard a peep about it, did you? Nope, not one. I guess the truth didn't fit in with their plans, did it? I keep looking at the definition of Socialism. I don't like the direction that this guy is taking us, and I look forward to the next National Election with unchecked glee. Register to vote. Do it now, before you forget. You'll thank me later.

Jimmy Carter Was the Worst President in Modern Times, and Other Random Observations

Jimmy Carter was to the United States Presidency as duct tape is to vegetable soup: useless. I got a hair splitting email from someone who actually defended him. Yikes. This person also tried to tell me that B.O. was not foreign born. You have heard this word before. Whatever. Until someone shows me a birth certificate that matches the issue numbers for his date of birth, I still know where his sister was born, but not so much the President that ACORN fraud bought. I am too cynical to believe that the furor made over John McCain being born in the Panama Canal wasn't the early conditioning to get sheep used to the idea of a President who is Constitutionally barred from holding the office. But then, what does it matter where the socialist came from, the problem is what to do with him now that we are stuck with him? I have been watching him as he goes about the business of paying for the political favors he bought. With four out of five brothers and a brother in law or two in the military, you can imagine the enthusiasm for the assault on the "don't ask, don't tell" policies. Having B.O. as Commander-in- Chief is something like having a pig run a butcher shop. The pig's first instinct would be to disable the shop wouldn't it? Well, get ready, because with all of the asinine rules of engagement the military is forced to use, the shop is being disabled. Do not engage in military action that you do not intend to win. You would think that is a no-brainer, wouldn't you? But Johnson was the first that I saw engage in this particular suicide, and I haven't been disappointed by a democrat since then. Who can forget slick willie's "wag the dog" moment when the testimony from his received "she had sex with me, I didn't have sex with her" was released. We shelled some stupid ineffectual country for about two minutes, then went back to wondering how someone could get away with being so stupid and still be in office. Of course, I was told that it was 1) untrue-which turned out to be a lie, thanks to a bizarre desire to hang on to the evidence 2) not a big deal, because it was only perjury about sex-which is still perjury the last time that I checked. Imagine if a Republican tried to get away with that. Oh wait, wasn't there a Senator who was ridden out on a rail for that very thing, by the media? Now, what was his name.......? At any rate, perjury is perjury, which may explain why slick willie has the proud distinction of being one of the few disbarred ex-presidents we have. 3) is my all time favorite-Europeans laugh at us and think it is no big deal. Sex is sex over there, we should be as open minded as they are. Uh huh. They also have a different idea of hygiene and need the United States' Military every time something bad happens to them. But hey, why not use them as a role model? I can only hope that B.O. won't be the worst President we've ever been saddled with, but it looks like he's giving it the old college try. I have a countdown on this blog for the next National election. Register now, so we can overcome the voter fraud and wrong direction this country is in. As a personal hero-Ronald Reagan -asked "Are you better off now then when he took office?" Record high unemployment and other internal mismanagements of the economy point to no for many in this country. Remember that in the next election, and don't let another one get stolen. You'll thank me later.

Leave My Insurance Alone Until You Fix AMTRAK

I was considering taking a trip to visit my good friend in Chicago last week. I didn't want to drive so I took a look at the train schedule, since AMTRAK has a station close to here. I ended up not going because of all the double speak at AMTRAK. Now, had I known a month ago that I would be interested in taking a spur of the moment trip, I would be all set. But to just get on a train and ride for a little while to see my friend was -in the words of one of my favorite people- cost prohibitive. In English, that means it was way too flippin' expensive to even consider. I stayed home. Not only was the trip ridiculously over priced, but the train was 90 minutes late on every stop until it arrived in Chicago almost four hours late. And these are the people who want to take charge of my insurance? No thank you. I think they should leave it be until they can make the train show up when they say it will, and not charge me the arm of my first born to go somewhere. But back to health care. I have read the proposal that B.O. endorses. That alone is like having Ted Bundy do ads for your dating service. It took me two days to muck through it, and they still won't give me all the answers to my questions. When I called Senator Bayh's office about it, they never got back to me. He must still be in a snit over not getting the Veep nod. Oh well. But no one has contacted me, by phone or otherwise, and I don't like it when the government won't let me see what they are talking about. If it smells crooked, and sounds crooked, chances are, I better stock up on condoms by the time this thing is ready, because I bet I am about to be screwed. Call your elected officials. Demand to see the plan that they are working on with real numbers and figures. Don't let them get away with another flim-flam job, remember, they work for us. And if you are planning on a trip and don't want to drive, reconsider the whole train idea; you'll thank me later.

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

Why is it that the biggest private employer in the United States of America cannot offer decent insurance to its employees? Would it cut into the millions that it makes every week? Or would it just be the right thing to do and therefore impossible? In recent months the retail giant-that-cares has received gobs of unflattering publicity for the insurance that it offers to its associates. I have seen this insurance up close and can tell you that it isn't that good. How many people can afford to have three thousand dollars just sitting around waiting for the deductible to be met? Not many making Walmart wages, I can tell you that. Why doesn't Walmart shop their insurance to local insurance companies? Why don't they take bids from the people in their own communities that sell insurance and see what the best deal is for their 100+ associates? Does it make too much sense? Would it really benefit the local businesses that receive the and then benefit the rest of the community? It seems to me that instead of handing out one thousand dollars here, and five hundred dollars there, Walmart could do something that would benefit everyone. The associates would have people fighting to give them the best deal on insurance, and some lucky company would have an instant pool of over one hundred clients. Sounds like a win-win to me. But the odds of this happening are slightly more than MSNBC admitting that they have a bias, so I'm not holding my breath. Speaking of holding my breath, I am still waiting on someone to get back to me on why there is never anyone in the section of the store that I am shopping that can help me. I have gone so far as to step behind the counter to mix my own paint. No one stopped me. Heck, no one even passed by me, much less asked me what I was doing. I just took my paint up to the counter and paid for it. Come to think of it, I should have gotten an employee discount, huh? At any rate, remember this when you have to make a decision to shop somewhere. Ask yourself if this is this the sort of company that you want to support with your money? You'll thank me later.

Divorce Is Big Business

I am attending a divorce seminar that will "vastly improve my day to day relationship with my former marital partner." Sure it will. And in the meantime, it makes the company running it about $400 bucks. I am looking at the other people paying this "divorce tax" along with me. There looks to be about a dozen of us, and at four hundred a throw, that is a pretty nice chunk of change. Wouldn't you like to make five thousand dollars every three months for an hours' time? I would love to know what the overhead is on this and how they split up what can only be pure profit. I cannot wait to see what the pearls of wisdom that will drip from this forced lecture series. I can only hope that some of the life wisdom will explain to me what I should do about the over four thousand dollars that my ex stole from my children's savings account. I know it isn't any Jon and Kate sort of numbers, but considering what all I went without to make sure that my children had money for their education, it kind of irritates me to think that I only financed some one's adulterous lifestyle for a few months, instead. Of course, in the town that I live in, the ex used to roll odometers at his job. I thought it was a felony until his attorney explained that it isn't-not that he ever did it, of course. But if you want to see the copies that he made so he could blackmail his former employer, let me know and I'll be happy to email them to you. I have sent them to the Chief of Police, the Indiana Attorney General's Office, and several others. And the responses to this have been none, nada, zip. Probably because so many of the Officers in this town were busy having sex with a teenager while they were on duty. Nice huh? And not that I don't have a stack of copies that the ex used to make sure he got a "severance" package when he left his old job. But again, odometer tampering is not a crime in Indiana. The chief of Police even took copies of the information, and as of today, no charges have been filed. For those of you keeping score at home, that's small town bs 1-justice 0. There is a company that also does business here in Indiana. It's called the Northeastern Center, and try as I might. I cannot find out how much this private company made last year in profits. If anyone has that information, do please send it on to me. I would love to know. it seems to me that any company that is the right hand of a small town government is dwarfed into being a part of that small town government. I'll give an example. Let's say that a couple raise their children in the Catholic Church, even sending their children to Catholic school. Would it be a stretch then to think that the couple agrees with the teachings of that particular church? Or is one of the parents obsessed with manifestations of right and wrong? What does that mean? If you ever wonder why our society is going to hell, look no further than a court system that allows a man to steal every penny from his children to finance his affair with a coworker, then does nothing to protect the children or their assets. Ask your elected officials why this is, if you get an answer you can thank me later. ***** This is for the "person" who sent me an anonymous email, telling me that I sounded bitter, irrational, and that was probably why these things had happened to me. I thank you for taking the time out of what must be a thriving psychiatry practice to diagnose me from the several paragraphs that I wrote. It must be incredibly rewarding to help so many people with your astounding gifts. My Only question would be why you haven't been awarded some sort of prize for your ability to read a few hundred words and instantly be able to sum up an entire situation. You are an amazing person, whose talents are being wasted. Thank you so much for your opinion, I only wish I had been able to give it the proper respect it deserved. Alas, I just bought some Charmin this week, and I don't need anything else to wipe my behind with. But, Thanks!!!!*******

Where Are You When We Need You, Ronald Reagan?

Ronald Reagan was great. In my own humble opinion, he was the greatest President we have ever had, besides Abraham Lincoln. And since Lincoln was before my time, my vote goes to Mr. Reagan. He had such a strong sense of patriotism, it's hard to believe that he was from California. How that state had the good sense to elect him governor amazes me. This is a country that is proud of Mayors who refuse to let Military recruiters do their job. Nice. But back to Mr. Reagan. He had a wicked sense of humor, and he was so personable that even the notoriously left leaning media had a hard time saying anything about him. I'll forgive him those chimpanzee movies to the idea that everyone has to eat, and just explain why I think he was so cool. Regardless of what anyone may think of her-he loved his wife, Nancy Reagan. I have a relative who loves to quote from a rumor mongering tabloid style "journalist". It's funny how no one else ever remembers things like that isn't it? But back to Mr. Reagan. He had a vision for the United States of America and nothing was going to sway that. He wanted us to be the top of the line again, and with his leadership, it happened. The pathetic leadership of the former administration's inept handling of the Iran hostage situation is all that needs to be said about that guy. Ronald Reagan came in shootin' so to speak, and put this country back on the right path. I will go to my grave believing that he bluffed the former Soviet Union in to bankruptcy. And he never got a Nobel Prize, did he? If stopping the threat of nuclear war isn't worthy, than I guess, it is better off with some foreign born pretender to the throne, isn't it? Especially one that has done so much with the office already. I guess getting the Olympics to Chicago as repayment for favors must be a bigger deal than I thought. But back to one of my heroes. I have a friend who complains that the deficit skyrocketed while Reagan was in office. My reply to that is that at least we got our money's worth. What price would you put on removing the threat of annihilation? And I believe he was the first president to start the conversation about the deficit. He is also the only president that I have heard discussed in terms of doing away with the term limits on holding that particular office. If the media hadn't scraped together every piece of mumbo jumbo on the Contras (can you say much ado about nothing?) I believe that Ronald Reagan would have served twelve years in the White House. Oh well. Keep an eye on the count down on this blog. That's set for the next election in this country-providing of course that ACORN doesn't steal another one-when hopefully, we can begin to take our Country back. Register to vote if you haven't yet. You'll thank me later.

I love watching the unchecked glee that the media is showing over the dissention in the RNC, don't you? I would almost think that they are on the same team as the liberals, but that cannot be, can it? I mean, they are a completely independent organization without any bias or political leanings, aren't they? That is what they keep telling me, isn't it? Of course, they seem to forget all that glee when their chosen one steps on his........ own foot again. And again. Can you imagine how much digging they would have done if G W Bush had been a member and supporter of an organization that perpetuated voter fraud? They would still be digging up crap all these months later. Or if that failed, they would be making it up out of nothing. It's not like they haven't done that, is it? But enough finger pointing. I am so thankful that there are people with nothing better to do than to examine the fonts in a made up memo. I also love watching a reporter who is married to a very liberal person explain to me that there is no bias in anything that
their comic drawing husband writes. My Dad had an expression that I use more than I thought I would: Don't pee on my feet and tell me it's raining. I'll be watching the next few months with more unchecked glee as B.O. has to begin paying back all the political favors he has promised. It will be curious to see how the main stream media assures me that he is still in touch with the average person. Of course, experience must not count for much, I have touched on the fact that my thirteen year old has more school experience than B.O has political experience before. With that in mind, here are others with more experience than the current dufus on Pennsylvania Avenue. Bob Graham, the Senator from Florida has more experience than B.O. Senator Graham was an excellent Governor of Florida. He actually spent time during his campaign for Governor doing real every day jobs that his constituents did. He paved roads, he waited tables. He is great. Can you picture B.O. stooping to something like that? He's too busy looking down his nose at us fools who still cling to our guns and religion. I can tell you right now, if someone tries to break into my house, I won't sit down and reason with them like B. O. wants to do with our enemies. I won't try to see things from their perspective as he constantly tells me I need to do. Nope. I won't apologize for what I have earned through my hard work and offer to give them half. No sir. I will use the .38 I have for just that purpose and see if the person breaking into my home is ready to sacrifice everything for a few appliances and some jewelry. I bet they aren't. Hang on to your weapons of self defense and the ammunition you need to use them. Don't let a Socialist regime take away one of your God given Constitutional Rights. You'll thank me later.

Not Enough Fridays In A Week

I love my job. I truly do. I get the opportunity to talk with people and eight times out of ten, I get to help them with their problems. Which isn't to say that I don't have a lot of excitement in my job. A few months ago I had an appointment with a couple in the country out by where I live. The address is out in the middle of no where, and since I do not have what is known as a sense of direction, I wasn't sure if I was at the right address for my appointment. I was just getting ready to call the gentleman when someone stepped out of his barn, covered in blood from forehead to feet. Not a smear or two, but soaked right through covered in blood. The woman that came out behind him was just as bloody. I could actually see the headline in my mind : WOMAN MISSING-POLICE BAFFLED!! I locked my car door and picked up my phone. At first he looked puzzled. Then he said, "Are you Milissa?" I didn't care if he knew my name, better safe than sorry. I said, "Maybe." He was still puzzled as he looked at me until he glanced down at himself and said, "Oh, honey, you're okay. We had a cow break a leg in the field and we had to butcher it. You're okay, come on out." I made sure that my phone was all set to dial 911 and that the signal was strong. I stepped out of the car and his wife apologized for the mess. They asked if it was okay to have the meeting right there and I told them that was fine. Frankly, I didn't want to go inside any building with them. Again, better safe than sorry. I ended up taking care of what they needed, and have even seen them a couple times when they weren't looking like extras from Friday the Thirteenth part XXIII-Jason Runs out of Stupid People to Kill and we always laugh about the first time we met. But there are times when Friday cannot get here fast enough. My brother always tells me that Friday is just a phone call away, but I have this silly work ethic that keeps me from just setting around. Plus I haven't been able to figure out a way to pay bills without money. If I do, I'll let you know and you can thank me later.

I Lie Because I Care

I got an interesting email from someone who has followed this blog for a while. He was offended because, by my definition, he is a miserable liar who will burn in hell some day for cheating on his girlfriend. His defense-if you can call it that-is that she doesn't tell him everything that she does, and he knows that if he told her this, it would only hurt her feelings. My suggestion to him was that perhaps he should reexamine his desire for a monogamous relationship, because if he is kissing someone else(not sex he told me) or doing anything else with another person that he wouldn't want his girlfriend to know about then he is either A) not as committed to this relationship as he says he is or B) a lying cheating weasel without the moral fiber God gave a turnip. I am leaning towards B but please don't tell him I said so. I have believed that cheating is on the upswing for a long time. I know three people who have never cheated on someone they were with. Three. Everyone else I know seems to think that it isn't cheating if you don't do certain things, or if you only do them at certain times. Riiiight. I am single, and plan on being that way for just about the next forty years, but if I were in what I thought was a monogamous relationship,only to discover that he had a different definition of monogamous, some one's head would roll. I am not kidding. There is a reason that people have guns and shovels, and I suppose my neck is just red enough to want to do something about being cheated on. Which isn't to say that it doesn't happen. I have ended a long relationship with someone because I did not realize that he had an attraction to what I believe is another man. At least I think it's a man until a Doctor tells me otherwise. But that's a blog for another day. Back to the subject of lying and cheating. Don't do it, okay? If the temptation to be with someone other than the person you have committed yourself to is that strong, be a man-or woman- sack up and tell the person you are involved with what is going on. Maybe you are so wonderful that your partner will stick around while you sort your feelings out. True love conquers all, right? Or, maybe, you will save someone from having to be tested for HIV and other gifts that keep on giving. Either way, you'll thank me later.

What Was I Thinking?

Have you ever done something incredibly, forehead slapping stupid? I did recently, and I don't understand why I did it. Call me silly, but I took a person at their word. I believed this person when they said that they were going to do what they said they were going to. My mistake. I'll be the first to tell you that I have trust issues. In English-that means that I have been lied to by so many people that I do not believe much of what I hear until I actually see it in action. I don't think that people mean to lie as much as they do. At least I have to hope that they don't. I guess there comes a time at the end of the day, though, when you tell yourself that it is okay not to live up to your word, because it is the best thing for you. In the movie The Big Chill-my all time favorite movie, ever, Jeff Goldblum's character has a piece about rationalizing. He says that he is more honest because he is direct with a person about what he wants. When he is accused of rationalizing he explains it by saying that everyone rationalizes, it's more important than sex. I think he is right, people seem to explain away the dishonesty in their lives by saying it is the best thing, because it is the best thing for them. A person I know who claims to be very honest never has a problem with a lie of omission, for some reason. Again, I guess to some people, it isn't a lie if you don't know you are being lied to. In the words of my 13 year old- "Whatever." If you have taken the time to read this, and my counter tells me that about 2200 people do every day, try to go an entire week without lying. No dishonesty and no lies of omission. Don't be mean to a person, just don't lie to them. Try it for a week, you'll thank me later.

So Where is This Better Economy, Anyway?

Every time I have to pick up a liberal leaning media outlet, I am told by all and sundry that things are on the rise. I wish they gave an address with that improved economy. I wouldn't mind moving there. Because where I am, it's not like that at all. Every day I speak with a small business owner who is holding on by the skin of their teeth. And slipping. I do not see any signs of optimism, in fact, some of the places that I leave seem one step from burying their money in the back yard to protect it. But if I have any doubts, I only have to turn on a news outlet, and BAM! sunshine and roses. All of our former enemies love us now, the world's opinion of us is on the rise, sunshine will follow us all the days of our lives, alpha and omega, amen. Until of course, I speak to a real person. I talk to upwards of thirty or fourty people every day. Most of them have small businesses- you know- the back bone of our economy. They do not have optimism. They don't even have much enthusiasm. What they do have is a lot of worry, and even more concern over all the changes that we are hearing about. Especially in our health care. I don't think we should insure illegal guests of this country. There, I said it. I think we should tell them we are, then when they come in to sign up, we should grab them and send them back to their own country. I know it sounds mean, but they do things like that all the time when they are trying to catch criminals. And someone who is here illegally, who is stealing my resources and taking jobs and other services from someone who is here legally, that person is a criminal. And if they have "anchor babies"? Let the child stay here. You go home until you can come back legally. Also, why can't we charge the country that the person is from for having to return their citizen? I know we send billions in aid to most of the countries that send us their " undocumented workers". Why can't we charge them, say- 25 thousand a pop for the cost of rounding up their citizens and sending them home? When a country gets $14. 73 cents in foreign aid from us, because that is all that is left from sending their citizens back to them, maybe it would become their problem and they would care about it. Think about it, you'll thank me later.

Would it Help if You Slipped Off Your Shoes?

I went to Walmart tonight. I had to get some stuff, all the good stores were closed, you know how it is. My total came up to $10.96. I wanted fifty cents for the machine in the lobby, so when it came time to make the check out, I told the cashier, "Make it for fifty cents over, please." She stared at me like a monkey doing a math problem. I stared back, not believing that a grown woman couldn't add those two figures. Finally, because there was a guy in line behind me, I said"That will make it $11.46, okay?" She laughed and said the amount threw her. I smiled like I believed her. If I hadn't given her the total, I'd still be there waiting, I have no doubt. When did people get so stupid? Does only Walmart hire them, or are they everywhere, and I mercifully don't run in to them as much as I could? Either way, it sets my teeth on edge. My other complaint, and I know it seems silly to expect customer service and all, but would it be possible for a person who works there to actually stop and help you find what you are looking for? It's just crazy enough to work, isn't it? That was my other run in. I was looking for a particular cable in electronics, and the vapid associate waved her box cutter and pointed east. That was helpful. I'll wait until Staples opens tomorrow and get it then. I'll bet the employee over there might even walk me to what I am looking for, want to bet?
Who knows, they might even ask if there is anything else they can help me with? Crazy, huh? Now, I can appreciate that the folks at Walmart are timed for everything that they do, so customer service is going to take a dump, but it seems to me that if they can still find time to discuss when they are going on a break, they can find the time to help me find the saddle soap.
But while I am here talking about things that I don't understand, can someone please tell me what the criteria is for a Nobel Peace prize? I mentioned this once before, and I am still trying to sort it out. The guy in the White House hasn't been in office for a year. If you take all of his Senate experience and combine it with this past year's debacle, my 13 year old son has more school experience than this guy has world politics' experience. (Unless, of course, you want to count his ACORN election fraud mentoring as experience) Yet the idiots in Stockholm saw fit to give this guy an award for his outstanding achievements. In their eyes, this puts him on the same field as Mother Theresa and Nelson Mandela. One spent her life bringing hope and life to an impoverished group of people. The other spent the majority of his life in prison for trying to bring fairness and justice to a group of people. So this dufus teaches a group of people how to register someone to vote 23 times, and that is as worthy as the first two? It cheapens the award for them, to be sure. Why not give it to Castro? He has fixed elections,also. Fair is fair. Of course, in Castro's defense, he was actually born in the country he is running, so that might eliminate him. He might try going country to country apologizing for any conceived slight over the last eighty years, that seems to have worked for this guy. Of course, that doesn't stop B. O. from having to live up to his pre-election deals. I see that he is meeting with more and more special interest groups that he promised to help if they would help him steal the election. I would hate to think that any of them voted for him 19 times and didn't get what they were promised. So hang on, I am sure that we have another assault on our basic freedoms in the works. Socialism, here it comes. And also, if you do have to go into that retail box of wonder, take a calculator for the cashier, you'll thank me later.

What Happened to That Guy??

Did you ever meet someone and think they were wonderful? Everything about the person just captivates your fancy, you know? Then slowly ( or not so slowly) the scales fall from your eyes and you see the person you admired in complete detail, flaws and all. It's kind of sad, isn't it? Sad because the person is so flawed, obviously, but also, sad because you were duped, mistaken, utterly wrong about a person. It happens to the best of us. Who hasn't met a man (or woman) and thought that they had just met the most brilliant, funny, wonderful person in the world; only to find out in time that the person is in fact a selfish, self absorbed narcissist. What are you going to do? You try to put it behind you, of course. Take a walk, read a good book, take up a new hobby, maybe. In time, you hope that you can see things more clearly, and move on with the rest of your days. But when the person in question is the commander in chief? Yikes! Run for cover and try to keep your head above water until the next election, I guess. In the course of my day, I speak to many people, about a lot of different things. The one dominant theme that I hear over and over is about the economy and the state of the world. I don't hear much consumer confidence on any given day, and I certainly don't hear any one that is happy with the state of the world right now. I don't think that John McCain was the best choice, but he certainly was the better choice. Many people who are still hanging in there with the first foreign born president since the Revolution keep putting the blame on President Bush. Okay.... From the time after the first awful attack on September 11th, he kept us safe. He went to Afghanistan and pushed the Taliban back until it was no longer a threat, something that the Soviet Union had been unable to do in over ten years of fighting there. He sent troops into Iraq and removed a crazy lunatic despot and the country enjoys free election for the first time ever. But I can see where those would be horrible things to some people. As awful as the attacks were that September, they did one thing that was wonderful. They brought out a sense of unity that I hadn't seen since Ronald Reagan was president. People were actually patriotic, proud of our country and proud of our troops. Those on the far left couldn't abide by that, and now look, the media has gotten us right back to were we used to be, squabbling and ashamed; kowtowing to the European nations that we support, financially and with our military. It must be easy for them to fund all the socialist programs they want. They don't need a military budget, they just use ours. Europe is kind of like that neighbor who is always borrowing something, a cup of sugar, the hedge clippers, something, and never paying it back. Here's a thought that I have suggested before: If you really and truly want to balance the budget, I could do it in three years, without one single cut in our spending. I would make an announcement at the United Nations : Ladies and Gentlemen, in three years the United States of America will not be giving any money to any country, friend or foe. Get ready, be prepared. The next year I would say Get ready, the gravy train stops in two years. Make your arrangements now. Be prepared. The third year I would say Okay then, that's it. We are finished supporting you, good luck with all that. The next year, without having to send all of the pork to our "allies" the dollar should be strong, and our budget balanced, and prosperity would reign from sea to shining sea. We could use that money to repair our infrastructure. We could use it to guarantee a college education to every US Citizen, we could save it like crazy for a rainy day. How cool would that be? No more deficit spending? Hallelujah! Think about it. You'll thank me later.

Socialism, Please, Does that Come With Change?

I have been reading quite a bit about the socialized medicine that the current administration is preparing to ram down our throats. I especially look forward to the time when my own family doctor retires, because he does not want to have to spend more time with paperwork than with patients. That was irony, for those of you who don't recognize it. You will be getting a lot of that now, you had better be prepared. One glaring irony is this: If this new socialized medicine is so dang fantastic, and the health care will be so much better, why not try it on a test group for two years and see how they like it, and if it's going to work for them. I'm thinking of the hundred brave and hearty soul in the Senate plus the two hundred and change in the Congress. Let their families and them try this brand new socialized medicine out and see how it works for them. Give them a couple of years to work all of the bugs out of it before they foist it on the rest of the country. I think that this is the best way for all of them to display 'servant leadership' as it's called. After spending months-if not years- running for office and telling me everything that they are going to do for me, this seems like the very least of those. They were all gung-ho to "fix" my health care, weren't they? Of course, they had no qualms about their own, did they? Who would, it's the best in the world, and for them, it is Scott free. This way, if they do have the committees to decide if I am worth keeping alive ( we used to call that euthanasia, but I'm sure there is a much friendlier, more democratic word for it now) I can actually have a say in some of these elected officials' health care. They sure want a big say in mine. I have had my experiences with socialized medicine. It was the US military and their system of see whichever Doctor is available. This was the system that completely missed the fact that my oldest son was deaf in his left ear. For five years, not one military health care provider caught it. Who did? A screening at his school, by a volunteer- was the first person who noticed that my son had a hearing problem. That is what is going to happen more and more as more people-especially uninvited guests -tax a system with fewer and fewer medical practitioners. The medical practitioners who stay in business are facing huge hurdles. many of them, like my own Doctor, will decide it isn't worth it anymore and simply quit. And companies that offer "medical coverage"? I imagine many of them will do what they company that cares-Walmart-has done. Many companies have started medical plans that have a five or ten thousand dollar deductible. Is that a figure you have sitting around in case there is a medical emergency? Well you better work on that, too. Socializing anything,especially medicine, is not the answer. I see more and more of a bumper sticker that says I'll keep my guns, my doctor and my freedoms you can keep the change. I couldn't say it any better, can you? Think about it, you'll thank me later.