The Filibuster that Could

I don't understand the affection for Ron Paul.  I appreciate that he has some wonderful ideas, and he is a strict Constitutionalist.  He knows more about the United States Constitution than I know about most things, but he didn't have a pig's chance at a luau of being elected President.  He is old, and while that isn't a problem for me, (Ronald Reagan had the best quip for dispensing with his age, if you don't know what it was-for heaven's sake! Look it up!) the media really liked Reagan.  Dr. Paul, not so much.  He was not going to be elected President anymore than I would ever consider dating my ex again.  Just wasn't going to happen.  But his son, Rand- that is another story.
Not very long ago, Rand Paul wanted to know if b.o.'s administration would ever consider a drone strike on a citizen of the United States.  We have that marvelous Constitution that is supposed to prevent that from happening.  Eric Holder didn't want to admit that he thinks he has the authority to simply kill anyone he deems a threat without due process.  That is the back story.
B.O. nominated a pure rino to be the head of the C.I.A-John Brennan.  Senator Paul wanted to know if b.o. thought it would be okay to order drone strikes on United States citizens and that is where it got lively.  Senator Paul  spoke for over twelve hours to draw attention to the fact that b.o. and his administration is perfectly okay with using drones to kill Americans and others on our soil without bothering with a trial or any of the other rights guaranteed to us in the Constitution.
You would think a scholar such as Obama would have remembered this from his days as a lecturer at Harvard.  Strange that he didn't know this, or that he honestly thought we would be okay with him doing it.
But Rand Paul is awesome.  His filibuster was underscored by Senators McCain and Graham agreeing to have dinner with Obama while the self same filibuster was going on.  They ate meals that cost more than the average person spends in a month for groceries.  Why would they care?  It's not like they had to pay for it.  We all did. 
The GOP old guards are losing their grip.  Inch by inch, we are all becoming better off.  Think about it, you'll thank me later.

Holy Monkey Do We Overpay the Post Office!!

Ever wonder why stamps are so expensive?  Maybe you have seen the commercial that the post office unions have put out as propaganda to attempt to explain why the USPS is hemorrhaging money like an unarmed guy in a knife fight.  I took a look at their web site which explains the ridiculously out of touch pay scale and benefits that the USPS gets to enjoy at the cost of us taxpayers.
The USPS overpays.  I have said that many times, I stand by that.  They aren't doing brain surgery.  They aren't risking their lives.  They read number codes, they sort out where things go and then they go for a walk or a ride.  Some of them wait on a line of customers and make change.  For these incredibly undemanding tasks, they receive the following :
"In addition to highly competitive basic pay rates, most Postal Service employees also receive regular salary increases, overtime pay, night shift differential, and Sunday premium pay. Overtime is paid at one and one-half times the applicable hourly rate for work in excess of 8 hours per day, or 40 hours within a workweek. Night shift differential is paid at a specified dollar rate for all hours worked between 6pm and 6am. Sunday premium is paid at 25 percent for work scheduled on Sunday.
Health Insurance : The Postal Service participates in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, which provides excellent coverage and flexibility with most of the cost paid by the Postal Service. There are many plans available, including both traditional insurance coverage and Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs). Employee premium contributions are not subject to most taxes, making health insurance even more affordable.
Retirement: The Postal Service participates in the federal retirement program, which provides a defined benefit annuity at normal retirement age as well as disability coverage.
Thrift Savings Plan: Career postal employees may contribute to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), which is similar to 401(k) retirement savings plans offered by private sector employers. Employees contribute to TSP on a tax-deferred basis, and may receive automatic and matching contributions (up to 5 percent of pay), from the Postal Service.
Social Security and Medicare: Newly hired postal employees are covered under Social Security and Medicare.
Life Insurance: The Postal Service offers coverage through the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program. The cost of basic coverage is fully paid by the Postal Service, with the option to purchase additional coverage through payroll deduction.
Flexible Spending AccountsCareer employees may participate in the Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) Program after one year of service. Tax-free FSA contributions can be used to cover most out-of-pocket health care and dependent care (day care) expenses.
Leave: The Postal Service offers a generous leave program to career employees that includes annual (vacation) leave and sick leave. For the first 5 years of service, full-time employees earn 10 days of annual leave per year, increasing to 15 days per year after 5 years of service, and to 20 days per year after 15 years of service. In addition, full- time employees earn 3 hours per pay period as insurance against loss of income due to illness or accident.
Holidays: The Postal Service observes 10 holidays each year.

Full-Time Regular - Level 4
Step	Yearly	Hourly	BiWeekly	Overtime
AA	32,973	15.85	1,268	23.78
A	37,347	17.96	1,436	26.94
B	42,845	20.60	1,647	30.90
C	45,446	21.85	1,747	32.78
D	49,271	23.69	1,895	35.54
E	49,577	23.84	1,906	35.76
F	49,893	23.99	1,918	35.99
G	50,197	24.13	1,930	36.20
H	50,511	24.28	1,942	36.42
I	50,819	24.43	1,954	36.65
J	51,136	24.58	1,966	36.87
K	51,441	24.73	1,978	37.10
L	51,754	24.88	1,990	37.32
M	52,063	25.03	2,002	37.55
N	52,373	25.18	2,014	37.77
O	52,681	25.33	2,026	38.00
P	52,994	25.48	2,038	38.22
Full-Time Regular - Level 5
Step	Yearly	Hourly	BiWeekly	Overtime
AA	34,519	16.60	1,327	24.90
A	38,895	18.70	1,495	28.05
B	44,769	21.52	1,721	32.28
C	47,440	22.81	1,824	34.22
D	50,023	24.05	1,923	36.08
E	50,357	24.21	1,936	36.32
F	50,696	24.37	1,949	36.56
G	51,021	24.53	1,962	36.80
H	51,358	24.69	1,975	37.04
I	51,696	24.85	1,988	37.28
J	52,028	25.01	2,001	37.52
K	52,359	25.17	2,013	37.76
L	52,690	25.33	2,026	38.00
M	53,029	25.49	2,039	38.24
N	53,364	25.66	2,052	38.49
O	53,693	25.81	2,065	38.72
P	54,027	25.97	2,077	38.96

Executive & Administrative Pay

 

POSTAL SERVICE EXECUTIVE & ADMINISTRATIVE STEP SCHEDULE (EAS)
EAS GRADE	MIN/MAX	EAS GRADE	MIN/MAX
1	$20,874 / 27,312	15	$37,120 / 56,688
2	21,559 / 28,208	16	38,437 / 63,398
3	22,269 / 29/236	17	40,142 / 66,209
4	23,167 / 30,311	18	41,905 / 69,117
5	23,939 / 31,321	19	43,891 / 72,393
6	24,802 / 32,450	20	46,272 / 76,320
7	25,818 / 33,780	21	48,520 / 80,027
8	26,853 / 35,134	22	51,405 / 86,733
9	27,902 / 36,505	23	54,207 / 91,460
10	28,931 / 37,853	24	56,889 / 95,986
11	30,492 / 46,566	25	59,719 / 100,760
12	31,955 / 48,802	26	62,698 / 105,786
13	33,446 / 51,078
14	35,192 / 53,746

 Holy crap! And on top of that, they get even more vacation! There are ten days that the USPS isn't open, and then we pay them to take several weeks off as well.  I feel like a fool for working for a living.  The next time I see that stupid commercial of theirs whining about having to prepay their retirement, my eyes may roll out of my head.
If the Government were serious about tightening our belts, they could start with the compensation package that these guys are getting to sort papers and go for a walk.  When I am trying to save money-I cut everything.
I don't decide that not getting the more expensive cable package is a "cut" and consider that as part of a smaller budget.  I get rid of cable all together.  That's a budget cut.  And when it comes to the sequestering cuts that everyone agreed to- to quote a great American Hero- "let's roll."  Think about it, you'll thank me later.

Day Light Savings Time

Day light savings time was created during World War One with the idea of saving energy and money that was necessary for the war effort.  Back then, most people worked in the day time, they either farmed or had factory jobs that involved day time work hours.  It worked and a lot of energy was saved.  That energy was in turn funneled into the war effort, and you know how that turned out. 
In 2013 we are not anything like what we were in 1911.  The ensuing one hundred years has brought many changes, not the least of which is three full shifts of work.  Wal-Mart is not the only business that keeps its doors open all day, every day.  Most factories in this area, in most areas, have three shifts of work if they can support the need for it.
I myself prefer third shift.  I am a night owl by nature, getting up in the morning is an annoyance I have yet to master.  My dog, Caliope, however, is a born early bird.  She loves to stand over me and drool me awake (don't ask, it's disgusting) so that she can begin her day.  That means eat.  But my business dictates that I am open early, so an early bird I have become.  To be clear, I just don't like it.
The state of Indiana used to be one of the few that didn't change their clocks.  It seemed to be getting by okay, the state managed to get a surplus-of course, that was when they bucked their trend and hired a fiscal conservative- but they were paving the roads and keeping the lights on.
Then they decided that the thing this state really needed was to change their clocks and consolidate the entire area into one time zone.  Can you say debacle?  It didn't quite work out that way,  there are several counties that either don't change their  clocks or they are in a different time zone than the rest.  Doesn't matter.
The point I am making, is that bright and early this morning, I came to work in the dark.  Thank you time change.  I watched as very small children-five and six years old- stood in the dark, not dusk, dark- and waited for their school buses. I prayed that some idiot wasn't running behind because of the time change and plowed into a child that was standing on the corner waiting for a bus in the dark.
I know that happens, I have looked up the statistics.  It's a shame.  More than that, it's stupid.  There is a joke about only some people would be dumb enough to cut the top of a blanket off and sew it onto the bottom and think that they had a longer blanket.  That describes the time change perfectly.
It took several votes in this state before they were finally able to shove through the clock changing plan.  First they sold the idea on people having more time to play golf after work.(That should tell you their political mind set.)  When people pointed out that they couldn't really afford golf- the political class quickly changed the message to more time for yard work.  People still didn't want the time change.  In a true burst of doing what they were going to do anyway, the state politicians voted to have small children stand in the dark and wait for the school bus every Spring.  They also moved the date up, perhaps they are impatient for that tragedy, who knows? 
Dress your children in very bright, light reflective clothes until the sun is actually up when they wait for the buses.  You'll thank me later.

The Misery Index

B.O. stinks.  It cannot be said enough, and thanks to those energetic folks who voted multiple times, and the House of Representatives being lead by a doddering fool, no one is looking into it.  Groceries are much more expensive thanks to his feckless policies.  Energy is ridiculously expensive, thanks to his feckless policies.  He has no clue what he is doing when it comes to making things better.
I tell myself that because it terrifies me to think that he is doing all of this on purpose.  But when I am paying twice as much for my groceries to feed my family, when I am spending such a healthy chunk of my income to put gasoline in my car, I have to believe that none of this is accidental.  My Dad would say that even a broken clock is right twice a a day.  To be this rampantly anti-American he must be doing it on purpose.  He simply must.
His inauguration tirade was disgusting at best.  He chose that time to berate those of us who will not willingly go into the slavery of socialism.  Instead of trying to lift us up as one nation ( all of us stuck with him) he decided to use his bully pulpit to ratchet up his hate filled rhetoric against all of the things that have made our Republic a 'shining beacon on a hill.' If B.O. has his way, we'll look like a run down crack house on the south side of Chicago when he is finished.
I had a long conversation with God and wondered again why he lets bad men prosper.  (Thanks for eating that apple, Eve.)  I left my conversational musings with one point of consolation.  Impeachment.  If those candy butted, career politicians in D.C. do not begin impeachment proceedings against B.O. I will never vote for any of them again.Seriously.  I will support whichever conservatives run against them and unseat them, one by one.
Are you better off than you were four years ago? How about eight years ago?  4.6 % unemployment sounds like a dream, and yet that is what George W. Bush gave us.  The msm fudges, glosses over, lies about the unemployment numbers to keep panic out of the streets, but anyone who has been unwillingly unemployed, or even under employed for the last few years can tell you that things aren't getting better.
Get involved at the local level.  Stay informed, write and call your Congressmen and women.  Demand your money's worth.  You'll thank me later.