Cliff Hanging - Part 2

Since the only input I got from Part 1 was from my cousin Mike then I'm going to go with his position as far as sacred cows go....nothing is off limits.  Now it's time for the next part of the experiment to see if ordinary citizens can come to a compromise on a budget.  Anyone else feel free to jump in at any point during this exercise and start playing.

Here's our first official list of agencies we're going to be working with. I also included descriptions of a couple of the agencies I was unfamiliar with. 

1. Social Security Administration
2. Department of Defense
3. Unemployment/Welfare/Medicaid
4.  Medicare
5. Health and Human Services
6. Department of Transportation
7. Department of Veterans Affairs
8. Department of State
9. HUD
10. Department of Education
11. Homeland Security
12. Department of Energy
13. Department of Agriculture
14. Department of Justice
15. NASA
16. Department of Commerce
17. Department of Labour
18. Department of Treasury
19. Department of Interior
20. EPA
21. IRS
22. National Science Foundation*
23. Corps of Engineers
24. National Infrastructure Bank**
25. Small Business Administration
26. GSA
27. Other (Identify)

 *National Science Foundation -  an independent U.S. government agency responsible for promoting science and engineering through research programs and education projects
**National Infrastructure Bank - The bank identifies transportation, energy, and water infrastructure projects that lack funding, offer a clear benefit for taxpayers, and are worth at least $100 million or $25 million for rural projects.  Loans made by the bank are matched by private sector investments or money from local governments -- so that the infrastructure bank provides half or less than half the total funding.  Each project generates its own revenues to help ensure repayment of the loan.  Decisions are made by a seven-person board of governors -- of whom, no more than four could be from the same political party -- and a CEO chosen by the President.

For our next step you are each going to:

• Identify any agencies you feel should be eliminated all-together.
• Identify any agencies you feel need to be completely overhauled as in the agency needs restructured/refocused but not necessarily a major budget cut....let's say less than 50% of the agency budget.
• Identify any agencies you feel should be reduced in a significant amount...over 50% of the agency budget. 

Remember, you don't have to explain or justify any of your choices.  It's not like Congress makes any of their decisions based on sound fiscal logic.  Next week we'll see how our list looks after this elimination round and I will put some actual budget dollar amounts to the remaining agencies.

Here's my list.
Eliminate:

• Department of Education
• Homeland Security
• Department of Energy
• National Science Foundation
• National Endowment for the Arts

 Reduced:

• SSA
• HHS
• IRS
• Unemployment/Welfare/Medicaid

Restructured/Refocused:

• Everything else on the list.

Would still love to see more people taking part in this.

December - It's just a month

The last few years I've noticed a trend that really bothers me.  In fact, I find it appalling.  It's the idea that people seem to have that December is some kind of sacred month and it belongs to them....and only them. 

So at this time of year I see a whole lot of people who somehow find it offensive when people say Happy Holidays to them instead of Merry Christmas.  I'm confused, when did Christmas stop being a holiday??  Exactly what is offensive about someone wishing you happiness during the holiday you celebrate?  And if the person is a stranger how are they to know you celebrate Christmas anyway? And what's up with the whole "Don't let them take Christ out of Christmas" thing?  Since Christianity is based on a personal relationship with Christ seems to me the only person who can take Christ out of Christmas for you is yourself.  Then there is the basic fact, whether you like it or not, there are a lot of people who celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday. 

I hate to break it to you but Christians don't own the month of December.  I can name three other holidays that occur in December.  

Hanukkah is a celebration of an historical event....a history shared by Christians.

Yule is a celebration of the sun's "rebirth" as we pass through the longest night into gaining back daylight.  A lot of our "sacred" Christmas symbols come from this.

I'll be honest, I have no clue where Kwanza came from or what it's about, but that really doesn't matter.  Just because I don't believe in something doesn't make it any less holy or important to someone else.   

Here's the thing.  It shouldn't matter if someone wishes you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Blessed Yule or Happy Kwanza.  You should take it in the manner intended....a wish for happiness for you.  There's nothing there to be offended about.

So to my friends and family, whatever you celebrate and find scared this time of year I hope it's a time of joy and happiness for you and yours.

Happy Holidays.

Cliff Hanging

I'd like to try a social experiment.  Everyone is talking about our federal budget, our debt, our spending, cuts, taxes, etc.  And everyone likes to point the finger at the other guy for not playing.....which translates into "they won't do what I want".  I understand no one wants to see programs that are important to them get budget cuts.  Heck, I'd be crying buckets if the Department for Middle Class, Single and Childless Assistance got it's funding cut.  Oh...wait......

Anyway, I have a very eclectic group of friends, with emphasis on the VERY.  (I was going to say whacked-out group of friends but very eclectic sounded much more PC.  See, I CAN be PC.....I just generally choose not to be.)  I have friends who are far left, far right, atheists, Christians, Wiccans, Pagans, moderate liberals, moderate conservatives and those who politically are all over the place...like me.  Not always an easy group to come to consensus with about anything.  Just picking a place to eat can be tough between the vegans, vegetarians and omnivores!  So I got to wondering, could a group of my friends come to an agreement on a federal budget.  Can such a diverse group of people realistically come to a compromise that everyone is comfortable with?  Which led me to think why not find out.

I want to keep it simple though.  So we're not going to deal with any numbers...at least not yet.  Let's start with a broader picture....the various Departments and Programs.  I found a pie chart and list of the 2010 budget that I'm going use as the base for this little experiment. 

First thing I'd like people to do is look through the list and identify your "untouchables"; those Departments/Programs you would be absolutely unwilling to compromise on their funding.  Once we take those off the table we'll see what we have left and go from there.

I want this to be something that get's people talking and thinking yet be fun but not time consuming.  Every few days we'll adjust our budget by looking at and considering different things.  There are a couple rules.

1. There are no right or wrong opinions.  If you don't agree with someone, that's ok.  
2. You may try to convince others of the validity of your viewpoint.  You may NOT tell someone why their's is wrong.  Get the difference?

Would love to have lot's of people to join in.  Doesn't matter if you are an accounting wizard or your eyes roll back in your head when people start talking about the budget.  Your views don't have to be based on any sort of numbers.  You won't be asked to "prove" your choices in any way. 

Let's face it, if a group of friends can't come to a compromise then how can we expect Congress to?  Most of them don't even like each other!

So, to kick things off here's my list of "untouchables":
     Department of Veterans Affairs

What are yours?

Oh bah humbug!

I'm not really bah humbug...mostly.  But at this time every year there is something that I can't stand.  I'm talking about stupid Christmas songs.  I don't mean singing Chipmunks or rein-deers running over grandmas.  Those are fun, silly holiday songs.  But there are some songs that fall in to a couple categories that make me want to stuff a Christmas ornament in the singer's mouth.

1. Just because a song has the word "Christmas" in it, doesn't automatically make it a Christmas song.  The best example of this is a song called "Last Christmas".  The lyrics have nothing to do with anything holiday related.  It doesn't help that the current version of it is sung by Taylor Swift who I don't like as a singer to begin with.


2. Then there are the songs that have ridiculous lyrics seemingly based on the premise that 'why of course, everyone in the world must celebrate Christmas since I do'.  Wow...ego anyone?  The primary culprit I hear is the song "Do They Know It's Christmas".  Let me help you with this one.....if they celebrate Christmas, they know when it is.  If they don't know then they probably don't care.

Yeah, I know, minor stuff in the grand scheme of things but I feel better now that I've gotten this off my chest.

Oh yeah...one more thing.  Why is the Peanuts theme song considered Christmas music?????

Graciousness....a lost art

I'm sure I speak for a whole lot of people when I say I'm so very happy this election is over.  I just wish the nasty, hatefulness were over as well.  Sadly, by the looks of my FB feed it's not.

People have forgotten how to be gracious.  Years of listening to politicians badmouth, deride and make fun of their competition seems to have rubbed off on us.  We can't happily accept our candidate won or sadly accept they lost.  Instead we focus on ridiculing the other person.  And we wonder why we've become such a nation divided.

If you read my blog it's no secret I didn't vote for either Obama or Romney.  I knew when I voted yesterday I wasn't going to like the news this morning regardless of which one won.  I have tremendous fears for the future of this country....just depended on who won as to what those fears are.  But you know, after scrolling through some of my FB this morning (I finally quit because I couldn't stomach any more of it) and seeing all the hateful comments people left about Obama or Romney, often in the guise of a joke, I'm beginning to think my fear is misplaced.  Maybe American citizens are the ones who should be feared for closed-minded pettiness.  Maybe it's not our government that's dividing us.

How can we ever hope to come together as a country, to make ourselves better than what we are now if our first response is to ridicule and hate?

Who else remembers being taught as a child to be gracious in victory, gracious in defeat?

And I heard....

We have a dog named Shepherd and he is obsessed with tennis balls.  I mean seriously obsessed.  You almost never see him without one in his mouth or lying next to him.  "Ball" is one word he definitely knows.  So Don and I were having a discussion one day about what Shepherd actually heard when we talk to him.  Different ideas were tossed about but we finally decided that what he really heard was "waa waa waa waa waa waa BALL! waa waa waa BALL! waa waa".

That evolved into a joke around our house and has come to mean "I see your lips moving but I'm just hearing noise."  When one of us starts ranting or whining about something stupid the other one will typically respond with "BALL!" and then we'll both crack up and rant/whine is ended.

I didn't watch the debate last night because seriously, all I would have heard was "BALL!".

We are...

A friend of mine posted something on FB today about what Democrats stand for (It can be found here) and she commented that she'd like to see something similar from the Republican side.  I can't help her with that as I'm neither a Democrat or Republican but it did get me thinking about those of us in the middle....not fitting either side.  Here's my interpretation of being in the middle.

We’re not against helping those in need; we’re against supporting those who don’t want to support themselves.

We not against helping others in the world; we’re against being the world police.

We’re not against those who believe differently; we’re against beliefs being used as a political tool.

We’re not against our government; we’re against the manipulation of our government by anyone trying to pervert it to their advantage.

We’re not against anyone’s dream; we’re against the vilifying of the American Dream.

We’re not against immigrants; we’re against liars, cheats and sneaks.

We’re not against American values; we’re against any one group defining for all of us what “American Values” are.

We’re not against helping all Americans succeed; we’re against those who believe the government owes them.

We’re not Republicans.  We’re not Democrats.  We’re not part of the 1% or the 99%.

We are Americans.  This is our America.

And we want it back.

How crazy am I?

So I have two years left in my Fit by 50 (Fx50) goal.  I have been slowly but steadily losing weight since January but seem to have hit a plateau in the last month.  Been thinking about ways to get the weight loss started again.  There's still room to improve my eating habits without a doubt.  Don and I have talked about twice a week having salads for dinner and I think it's time we implement that.  It's time I got the bike out and got comfortable riding again.  One of my more insane thoughts though is to start training again for a 5K.  As some of you remember I started training for one a couple years ago but had to quit about six weeks in because of knee and foot pain from the arthritis.  I'm hoping weighing less this time will alleviate that problem, though the down side is my arthritis is worse than it was two years ago. :/  We shall see.  Now, to just start making this happen....I know me, I'm a planner.  Without a concrete plan things will just kinda drift along without any action taking place.  This means it's time to make a plan.

1. Monday/Thursday - salad for dinner (starting this Thursday)

2. Tonight - load some music onto my iphone for C25K.

3. Thursday - start C25K 

4. Add bike riding in by birthday, 9/21.

Here it is for now.  Start small and build on it.

In other news, I'm been approved to apply for a spot in the Excellence in Government Fellows Program.  This would be a great opportunity if I get selected.  I need to get to work on the essay questions for the application so I'm not rushed to get everything done by the Sept. 5th submission deadline.

I'm also toying with the idea of going back to school to finish my degree because, you know, I don't have enough other things going on in life.  This one is going to depend largely on money however.  I still need to get the AC/Furnace replaced before it starts getting cold so school may have to wait some more.

The garden is still giving us tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and finally beans!!  I'm loving making salads with veggies from the garden.  

There's other things rattling around inside my head but they'll have to wait for another time.
 

This, that and a bit of those

Can't believe we're just about to August.  I swear Memorial Weekend was just three weeks ago! Does anyone else sometimes get a little scared at how much faster time seems to go the older you get?

Anyway, Congress is about to go into their August recess which means things are about to get crazy on The Hill for my agency.  We do a lot of renovation work while the offices are empty.  It's full steam ahead 24 hours a day, 7 days a week while they're out.  Good news is this craziness doesn't really impact me.

Here's a question for everyone.  All other things being equal, would you give up a private office for a cubicle if more money, say $10K a year, was involved?  And I mean a TINY cubicle.  Cu7rious to hear what others think about this.

We found 40 acres out in Wyoming we're really tempted to buy for investment but just not sure.  Unfortunately it's not really suitable for full-time living as there's absolutely no source of water other than drilling a well.  There's no utilities to it either though that's more a minor issue.  The properties (there's several 40 acre tracts available) all border BLM land.  Anyone know anything about BLM land and living next to it?

I need to get studying for my PA license.  I'm scheduled to take it on the 10th.  And I really could use a couple more of my local homeowner friends who would let me use their homes for training.  If you've had any kind of damage to your home in the last year....water leaks, overflowed toilet, cracked tile, melted siding, spilt wine on your carpet....I may be able to help you get some money from your insurance company.  At the very least, we can review your policy to make sure you have the coverage you really need and aren't paying for something you don't need.

OMG, big thanks to my friend Carol who shared a link to Community Forklift.  That place is a DIYers dream!!  For those who don't know Community Forklift is like a HomeDepot except everything in it has been donated.  It's a 35,000 sq ft warehouse filled with just about any kind of home item you can imagine...windows, doors, lighting and plumbing stuff, cabinetry, appliances, flooring, lumber, even an old bank safe.  Yes, most of it comes from people who have renovated so most of it is used.  Yes, you have to look over things to check for damage and such.  But there is still TONS of things that are in great condition and the prices are incredible.  We have been trying to find a replacement bedroom door.  Not easy in an older house where none of the doors are standard size.  It would have cost us over $100 to special order one at HomeDepot.  We found one at Community Forklift for $18.  Picked up a tall pantry cabinet that matches our kitchen cabinets for $20.  It is a fun place to just go wander around in and look for treasures if you like this kind of stuff.

I suppose I've babbled long enough.  How are you all doing? 

Asking a favour....or two

This post is pretty much for the local folks, but you can still read even if you don't live around here.

Don and I have started a business.  We are currently working on getting our Maryland Public Adjuster (PA) licenses.  I have to be honest, when the opportunity first presented itself I had never heard of a public adjuster.  So for those of you who were like me, here's the Reader's Digest explanation.  You know that guy from your insurance company who comes out to your house after something has happened to look things over and tell you how much your insurance company is going to give you?  Well, a public adjuster does the same thing EXCEPT we work in the interest of the homeowner, NOT the insurance company.  Truth is, insurance companies will rarely give you all the money you're entitled to per your policy.  They rely on the fact that very few homeowners ever read their policy or really understand what's in them.  That's where PA's come in.  We represent the homeowner in claims to their insurance company.  We know what's in the policy and we negotiate to make sure the homeowner receives all the money and services they're entitled to. 

There's a couple of other very important things we do.  First off we educate people about homeowners/renters insurance.  We explain what the types of insurance are and what types of coverage someone might or might not need. And second, we offer totally free reviews of homeowners/renters policies to educate them about what their policy really covers and maybe make recommendations about things they might want to add or delete from their coverage.


....and this is where the favour comes in.  Before you click off now let me say this.....the favour will cost you nothing but 30-60 minutes of  your time.  We come to your house so you don't even have to go anywhere.  And we are not selling ANYTHING.  And no, your house doesn't need to be all cleaned up and prettified for us to come.

One of the requirements for me is to complete some training reviews of homeowners/renters policies.  It would be me, my trainer...and probably Don...coming to your house to take a look over your policy and, if you wish, we will take a look at any damages you might have in your house (or personal property if you're a renter) to see if it is something your insurance coverage would pay to fix or replace.  Whether you want to file a claim is totally up to you. You're under no obligation to do anything.  

I'm looking to get my training reviews completed within the next couple weeks.  So, any of my Maryland friends interested in having a policy review done and willing to let me use them to learn on????  I would really appreciate it.  If you are willing to volunteer shoot me a message or send me an email.  usnbrat03@gmail.com   

Such a great feeling

We had a busy and productive weekend.  Saturday had us heading up to some friend's home to visit a gun store and do some canning.  Found a nice little .22 that fits my hand.  And before everyone starts telling me .22's are useless, my options in handguns are very limited due to my short, stubby fingers.  There are few handguns made that I can reach the trigger on.  Thank you to my Dutch ancestors for that.  So anyway, after the gun shop and some lunch we swung by the farmer's market and picked up 2 bushels of tomatoes.  

The plan was to can all of them at her place but we were just a little late getting started with the whole process so we ended up just canning her bushel.  She ended up with 7 lovely quarts of tomatoes.

Sunday Don and I started out making mulberry jam.  We discovered this spring that there's a couple mulberry trees that overhang the property and one drops tons of red mulberries.  We think the other tree is white mulberry.  Once the berries started to drop Don spread out a tarp under the tree so we could collect some.....it was an intense battle with the birds.  I'd cleaned them and stuck them in the freezer until we were ready to can them.  I was a little nervous since my only other attempt at making jelly had been a total fail.  You know those gel candles you can buy?  That's what the consistency of my first attempt at jelly was like.  Smelt good though!

Anyway, I started cooking up the jam using a recipe I found on the internet.  Can you believe the Ball book doesn't have a recipe for mulberry jam??  It looked good and tasted like jam so I'm hoping when we open a jar to try it won't require a wick and lighter to use.  

Once the jam was done....I just love the sound of popping canning lids....we started blanching the tomatoes.  I felt a bit ghoulish peeling the skins off!  We decided the best use for us would be to quarter them and can them in pints.  That's more the amount we use for cooking stuff.  They were sure pretty cooking up in the pot.

The canning went smoothly even though it was only the third time I'd ever pressure canned.  We are now the proud parents of 14 pints of freshly canned tomatoes.

In a couple weeks I think we're going to go pick green beans to can.  Then in the fall we're going to whip up some apple butter.  Also getting ready to start firing up the dehydrator to test out with some vegetables.


I really do love canning.  There's something extremely relaxing and satisfying about the whole process.
 

Your history may not be my history

Nielsen did a survey recently of TV's Top 20 most powerful moments based on people who watched, remembered the event, remember where they were at the time and discussed the event with others.  Here's their results.

1. September 11th tragedy (2001)
2. Hurricane Katrina (2005)
3. O.J. Simpson verdict (1995)
4. The Challenger space shuttle disaster (1986)
5. Death of Osama bin Laden (2011)
6. O.J. Simpson white Bronco chase (1994)
7. Earthquake in Japan (2011)
8. Columbine High School shooting (1999)
9. BP oil spill (2010)
10. Princess Diana's funeral (1997)
11. Death of Whitney Houston (2012)
12. Capture and execution of Saddam Hussein (2006)
13. Barack Obama's acceptance speech (2008)
14. The Royal Wedding (2011)
15. Assassination of John F. Kennedy (1963)
16. Oklahoma City bombing (1995)
17. Bush/Gore election results (2000)
18. L.A. riots (1992)
19. Casey Anthony verdict (2011)
20. Funeral of John F. Kennedy (1963)

I'm have to admit, all in all I'm pleasantly surprised by the list.  I was expecting a list of a bunch of meaningless celebrity moments.  That said, there are still a few things on here that make me go, "really??"  So I've decided to do TV's Top 15 Most Powerful Moments as I see it.  One caveat...I pretty much grew up without TV so if it happened prior to 1978 I probably didn't see it on TV.

1. September 11th attack (why sanitize it...call it what it is)

2. Tearing down of the Berlin Wall (I cried watching it...never thought I'd see it in my lifetime.)

3. Sabana Seca, PR terrorist attack (1979) (I lived through it)

4. The Challenger explosion

5. Reagan being shot

6. The First Royal Wedding....Diana & Charles

7. Cincinnati riots (2001) (I was living there)

8. Thailand Tsunami (2004)

9. LA earthquake (1994) 

10. Final shuttle mission (getting to watch it from Goddard mission control helped make that pretty memorable)

11. Columbine High School shooting

12. Princess Diana's funeral

13. BP oil spill (2010)

14. Oklahoma City bombing

15. LA Riots

And a bonus one: The Final MASH.  Yeah, I know it's a TV show but it meets all the criteria for me.

There are things that didn't make the list.  It's not because they aren't memorable to me but because I didn't actually watch them on TV.

So what about you? What are your most memorable TV moments?

 

  

Photos

I was out the other day taking some nature pictures.  It was nice.  I've not gotten to do enough of that this year.  I did a little playing around with my photo editing software too.  And yes, I do know that one of these things is not like the others! ;)

 

Immigration and politics

Immigration is a hot topic this year.  Let me start by stating my position.  I am 100% for legal immigration.  Emma Lazarus said it best,  

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" 

I firmly believe we should welcome with open arms anyone who comes to this country....as long as they meet some basic requirements.

1. Come here legally. 

2. Have some sort of skill that will allow you to provide for yourself/family.

3. Know enough English to be able to adequately function in society.

I want to really take a look at the things the "experts" say about immigration.  I have no doubt some are true, some are flat-out lies and a lot are half-truths.  A lot of my reading is from politifact.com.  I feel they tend to do a fairly decent, balanced job of getting past the political propaganda and focusing on the facts. 

They did have this on their site though.  

"Given the debate recently, it might surprise you to know that illegal immigration from Mexico is actually down.

A report from the Pew Hispanic Center, a respected nonpartisan research group, found that migration from Mexico has come to a virtual standstill, and the number of illegal immigrants in the United States may even be in decline.  

I'm sorry, I have a hard time believing any group, nonpartisan or not, can accurately count or estimate the number of people illegally in or coming in to the country.  Statements such as these come across as very partisan and statistically unprovable to me.

Now, on to some other statements.  Let's look at some statements that have been making their way around Facebook recently.  You'd be amazed at how many people seem to get their "facts" and "news" from something someone shared on Facebook.

1. "Nearly 60% of all occupants of HUD properties in U.S. are illegals."

To put it nicely.....horsepucky.  HUD applicants are required to show documentation that they are citizens or legal immigrants.  According to HUD about 96% are citizens and 4% are legal immigrants.  Keep in mind however than an illegal alien can stay in HUD housing as long as the HUD applicant is a citizen or legal immigrant.  So that could be what is being referred to though there is certainly no documentation to support the 60% number.

2.  "Less than 2 percent of illegals are picking crops, but 41 percent are on welfare." 

Let's look at these two numbers separately.

The Pew Hispanic Center estimates about 3% of illegals work in farming and related fields.  The Center for Immigration Studies estimates at peak harvest time it's possible that up to 5% are working on farms.  I figure these are probably reliable figures since one group is supposedly non-partisan and the other group advocates for stricter immigration laws adding up to a middle-ground blend.  So, based on the information, less than 2% of illegals are picking crops is probably pretty accurate.

Now, about the 41% on welfare.  Again, according to The Center for Immigration Studies which provides the most detailed statistics, about 40% of illegal-headed households receive government assistance.  The number could be as high as 71% for households with children.  This assistance consists almost entirely of food stamps (that are going to children who are citizens) and health care.  Oddly enough Politifact rates this statement as "Mostly False" apparently on the basis that the 41% is a misleading number.  They seem to think food stamps and health care don't really qualify as welfare.  I have to disagree with them on this one.  Seems to me the facts fully support this statement.  

3. "More than 43 percent of all food stamps are given to illegals."

This is an easy one.  It's illegal for adult illegal aliens to receive food stamps.  Their children can but the math simply doesn't add up.  In 2008 there were 30.8 million people on food stamps.  43% of that is 13.2 million.  Pew puts the number of children of illegals to be at 3.4 million....far short of 43%.  In short, this "fact" is hogwash. 

Enough FB news.  How about what the politicians have said?

4. "The (border) fence is now basically complete." 

Barack Obama on Tuesday, May 10th, 2011 in a speech in El Paso

Well, I suppose if you consider single layer pedestrian fence and vehicle barriers to qualify as the double-layer fence the law specified then I guess his statement is true.  But if we don't talk like politicians then really not so much.  I'm deeming this statement to be false.

5. "Phoenix, Arizona, is the No. 2 kidnapping capital of the world."

John McCain on Sunday, June 27th, 2010 in comments on 'Meet the Press'

Short, simple and to the point, there are simply no statistics to back this statement up.  In the absence of that, it's a lie.

Some additional interesting statistics from Politifact:

Among the comments Obama makes 46% are deemed to be fairly true, 25% are half-truths and 28% are lies.

With Romney 31% can be deemed true, 28% are half-truths and 40% are lies.

Of course, I consider half-truths to basically be lies.  So what these numbers tell me with either one is if they're speaking they're probably lying.  Big surprise, huh?

 

 

 

 

Drive by blogging

Stuff to do today so just some pictures taken this morning in our garden.

Fried green tomatoes for dinner last night.  We had squash from the garden.

 

The Romas are starting to ripen.

We did not expect to have any grapes the first year.

 

I didn't even get a kiss

Before I get in to my thoughts I wanted to clear up something.  The biggest reason I blog is because I LOVE hearing other people's thoughts and opinions whether they agree with me or not!  For me there are few things more enjoyable than a passionate and polite discussion of differeing views.  So feel free to comment.  Expand on my thoughts, correct me if you think I have facts wrong or explain why you feel differently.  Now, on with the show....

The government has done a wonderful job of screwing the American people the last weeks...I mean, more than they usually do.  Let's start with the Supreme Court since they're my next door neighbours at work.


They struck down the bulk of Arizona's immigration law.  This essentially tells States that, while the federal government is not going to uphold the laws, the States can't protect themselves either.  It seems they've also decided that it's ok to break civil law....as long as you're not an American or in the country legally.  Honestly, if I were the southern border states I'd be starting to ask myself at exactly what point do the costs outweigh the benefits to being tied to this government.


The Supreme Court also upheld the Healthcare legislation.  Yup, the government has taken over our health care.  It's only logical since they've done such a fabulous job managing so many other social programs, for example..........<insert chirping crickets here>................yeah, you get the idea.  The government being in charge of your health just gives you the warm fuzzies doesn't it.


They also decided campaign funding works just peachy the way it is.  Guess if you're a rich patron/corporation wanting to buy an election for your candidate this is true.


On a bright spot they didn't get it all wrong.  They did decide that minors can't be sentenced to life in jail without parole.  I fully believe children should be held accountable for their actions but I also believe their age and such needs to be considered.


The President has decided to let a bunch of illegals stay in the country.  I'm still really fuzzy about when the definition of illegal changed and when we started feeling a need to cater to them.


It's not just the federal government that has run amok, amok, amok (I can never say that word just once thanks to a certain movie).  Mississippi has passed one of the most horrendous laws regarding abortions.  They don't even try to sugar coat it.  They want to eliminate in their state the ability to get an abortion for any reason.  Again, I firmly believe in State's Rights but if you're going to legislate your religious views then you'd better legislate all of them.  When is Mississippi going to pass the law requiring all residents to financially support a widow or orphan?


While we're on the subject, Arizona has passed an abortion law establishing a woman can be pregnant before she even conceives!!!  Remind me not to drink the water if I ever visit Arizona.


Don't know about you but I've had enough governmental dysfunction so let's take a look at the lighter side of new laws from our wonderful government.


Utah has outlawed Happy Hour.  Seriously, if you're in Utah what's there to be happy about anyway??
It's now illegal in New York to sell or trade bear gallbladders. *blink* I really don't even know what to say about this...I have nothing.
Illinois has passed a law allowing motorcycles to run red lights if the light fails to change to green after a "reasonable length of time".  Really?????




 

All hope is lost

Haven't blogged much lately.  No reason other than life has been busy.  But that doesn't mean there's not things stewing in my head that I want to say.
I've given up on American voters and I've lost all hope for this upcoming election.  It is inevitable we are going to end up with the same crap we've had, regardless of which of the two bad choices are elected.  Why is that? It's because of the American voters.
I've listened to a lot of people talk about voting and their method of choosing a candidate.  My conclusion is that Americans fall in to four categories when it comes to voting. 


1. The Non-Voter: This is pretty self-explanatory.  These are the people who are legally eligible to vote but don't.  The most common reason seems to be the whole "don't want to end up on jury duty".  Nice....really nice.  So not only are you shirking your responsibility as a voter, you're doing it so you can shirk your responsibility as a citizen. Nuff said.
2. The Lemming Voter: These are the people who are totally clueless about anything political.  They're lucky if they can name the President and Vice-President.  This ignorant state does not stop them from voting however.  Instead, they vote according to whatever their BFF, family or, even worse, the media tells them.  Or they base their choice on political ads....always a sound judgement.  Honestly, I'd just as soon these people fell in to the Non-Voter category. 
3. The Blind and Mindless Voter: I know a lot of these.  They tend to be the most vocal.  These voters are the ones who rabidly believe their party has all the right answers and the other party are demon spawn sent to destroy the world.  In other words, these voters vote straight down their party line.  They would never even consider the idea that another party's candidate might be a better choice.  I'm not really sure this is any improvement over the Lemmings.
4. The Cowards:  These are the people who know their politics.  They read and keep up with current events.  They realize the problems with our current government.  They know both of the main party candidates are bad choices.  They are the "enlightened" ones.  Sadly, they're also cowards.  They're cowards because they won't take a chance.  They won't follow their conscious and vote for the person they honestly think would do a better job.  They are so afraid of someone they don't want getting elected that they will vote for someone else they don't want.  Rather a perverse kind of logic, yes?  These are the voters who piss me off the most.  These are cowards.


You know, now that I think about it I suppose there's actually five types of voters.  There is the voter who has finally had enough.  Who is tired of the status quo.  This is the voter who has drawn the line in the sand and said, "Enough. I will no longer settle for two bad choices.  I will no longer allow the political parties to dictate my choices.  I will no longer let the government slide by with its bad behaviour, poor choices and self-serving ways."  These are the voters who believe the American people still can make a difference via the voting booth.  They believe it's time for our government to return to the idea that it should be of the people, by the people and for the people.  Not sure what you want to call this group of voters but I do know it's the group I want to be associated with.