No Friday Freebits Today from Ginger

Rather than post six paragraphs from one of my books, I'm going to take a different approach and actually blog..about, gasp, Politics.

Is anyone else but me worried about the direction our nation is headed?  I was born and raised in a democratic home, by a legacy of democratic voters, but it took me many adult years to realize I needed to pay attention to elections and assume responsibility forelected officials for whom I voted.  I'm no longer affiliated with either party because I choose to vote a person rather than a symbol.

Our current president was not my choice, but I'm pretty sure those who follow my facebook know that. I regret that differing opinions has cost me friendship, but I consider that a lack of maturity and not really being a friend.  My decision against Obama had nothing to do with race or party rather qualifications, and I believe his lack of them has led us to this point.  Besides, my beliefs were validated when his own wife, at his innaguration,declared to finally be proud to be an American.  For some of us, it was a sad day.  She'd never been proud before and this was our first lady?????

One big fear is despite his appearance as a charitable leader, those to whom Obama has granted immunity are mostly those unlikely to be able to support themselves, thus increasing the overwhelming number of people on welfare.  I'm all for being a helpful person, and I do believe in paying it forward, but I resent having to support those who abuse the system, are employable, but choose to let the tax payers support them...and when did I become the birth control police?

My greatest fear is that the party to which my family belonged for years somehow believes the criteria for a great president is to have a vagina.  I believe in equality, and the time may well come for a female to step into the oval office as the POTUS, but I also believe that now, when our country is at a crossroads with Muslim territories who have no respect for women, is NOT the time.  Hilary Clinton would certainly not be a good role model and example, in my opinion, because of her reputation for dishonesty, lack of leadership and the questionnable acts that follow her and her husband.

Lying Harry Reid

Crying John Boehner

A large part of this country's dilemma is the division of our nation by two major parties.  Family legacy or loyalty dictates that voters choose which side of the line to stand on and on which topics they vote.  Ignorance of government affairs on both sides often result in sending the same stale politicans back to congress and the outcome never results in new and invigorating ideas. Our whole system needs to be overhauled, and terms of days past ignored when considering new and improving ideas.  Some would equate a unified single party system with a "Hitleristic" attitude.  Sometimes, change in a different direction, with a more positive attitude can result in positive outcomes.  Don't we owe it to ourselves to try something different.  If you don't know something is broken, you can't fix it, but when you know the government is in need of an overhaul and you continue to expect positive outcomes, won't you always be disappointed?   Let's fix America...all we need is someone we can respect and who has a history of success.  I'm sure we can find someone....somewhere.  :)

BTW, these are my own opinions, and I own them.

If you're interested in the author and not the aspiring politician, Ginger Simpson, please visit my Amazon page.

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Yankee Romance Reviewers.

Although I want to hold you captive here, I was invited to blog today at Yankee Romance. Please visit and leave a comment. I'm giving away a free download of Embezzled Love to one lucky supporter. :) Yes...it's my normal ranting. I watched the news again. Someone stop me!!!

Redistribtuion of Wealth

While I try not to discuss politics on my blog because of the varied opinions, I couldn't resist passing along this email I received. I can't attest to the validity of the claim, but the concept seemed very appropriate. It seems both candidates are 'writing checks their asses can't cash.' If I had worked long and hard, had the good fortune to amass a large sum of money and finally reached a stage in my life where I could enjoy the fruit of my labors...I have to tell you, I would be sorely pissed if I reached in my pocket and found the government's hand freely doling out my hard-earned dollars to those who make welfare their livelihood. And yes, aside from the unfortunate souls who find themselves needing assistance, there are millions who sit idle and let the tax-payers foot the bill. But...if we reduce taxes to all those who make less then $250,000 yearly, I guess the money will have to come from somewhere. I guess the saying about politicians is true..."If their lips are moving, they're lying." But, I digress...AGAIN. On to the email I wanted to share:

Conceptual Test launch on redistribution of wealth:

Today at lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read "Vote Obama, I need the money." I laughed.

In the restaurant my server had on a "Obama 08" tie. Again I laughed as he had given away his political preference--just imagine the coincidence.

When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept. He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need--the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight.

I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the server inside as I've decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was grateful.

At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient needed the money more.

I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application.

Are you Kidding Me?

God spare me from anything else to worry about! Wasn't it enough that the media had me in a panic over using my cell phone when they announced they might cause brain cancer? Now our vegetables are going to be zapped with radiation to kill the germs and virus' that cause e-coli. I was appalled to discover they've been doing that to certain meat products for a while now. No one asked my opinion. Have I consumed some and didn't know it. Maybe I should turn off the lights and see if I glow in the dark yet.

Just reading the side affects listed on medication gives me nightmares. If I leave my bottled water in a hot car, I might get cancer, cancerous polyps might be lurking in my colon, my cervix might growing cancerous cells...oops, I don't have one. But, if I forget my sun screen I might get cancer. There's a hole in the ozone, you know? That in itself is a big concern.

The ice caps are melting, the jet stream is too warm or too cold and it affects our weather in crazy ways. Deadly pollutants have made their way into our precipatation and rain down and cause...you guessed it, Cancer! What doesn't cause it?

Then we have the elections. John McCain doesn't know how many houses he owns. Should he really be president if he can't answer that question? Obama can't just announce his VP candidate, he wants to TEXT it. Can you tell he's seeking the younger vote? How many senior citizens do you know who text? Frankly, I don't see the need. If I have something to say, I'll call you. I have better things to do than try to figure out cryptic messages. If you ask an expert, they'd probably tell you that stressing over texting can cause cancer, too.

I have a great suggestion. How about instead of investing in more homes, Obama and McCain donate to cancer research. Just think, if every candidate used a portion of their campaign money, asked every professionally overpaid athlete to donate the proceeds of ONE game to the cause, we might be able to eradicate the disease and never have to worry about it again. What a concept! I don't care how great Brett Farve is...Who in the hell would offer someone TWENTY-FIVE million dollars to remain retired? But it wasn't about the money...Brett just wants to play, so he will be playing...for the Jets. If Green Bay has that kind of money to throw around...throw it to Cancer research or feed someone. People are starving for Christ's sake. No wonder this country is going to hell in a hand basket. Actually, I don't think we can afford a hand basket, what ever that is. If by chance we can, you can bet it will have a 'made in China' label somewhere on it. They manufacture over half of what we use daily, and we're borrowing money from them??? Oh... I have to stop...my head is exploding.

I'm telling you I need to avoid watching the news. It's just downright depressing.

Note: If you read this earlier, I had seven million as the amount Brett Farve was offered to stay retired. I got my millions confused. The seven million is what Red Bull paid someone to wear a cap bearing their logo while being interviewed on the Ellen DeGeneres show. And they say our economy is in the dumper. For some it is, but others seem to have money to burn... or waste.

Nothing Surprises Me

I spent twenty-odd years working in an institution of higher education. One component of my responsibility was accepting doctoral dissertations and master's theses as a final degree requirement. In checking the formatting, etc, I was constantly amazed at the types of things people spent a good part of their life studying. While most seemed worthwhile and contributory to furthering mankind, there were some that totally escaped logic. I wish I could recall some of them verbatim, but that would probably only lead to a lawsuit I can ill afford.

It was then that I started questioning, of course only in my mind, why the government provides grants to fund such ridiculous research. I never got a satisfactory answer, but I recently stumbled upon a website that re-kindled my belief that our government throws money down the toilet every day. I offer the following examples of proof:

1. In 2002, in California, a congressperson asked for and received a $50,000 assistance program for tattoo removal.

2. In 2003, somewhere in Iowa, one of their elected representatives convinced the government to allocate $250,000 to establish a program to assist THREE-YEAR-OLDS to handle their anger management. I can't even get my five-year-old, slightly autistic grandson into a program aside from children with severe mental retardation. The school districts lump them all together so his peer group are people with disabilities that far exceed his own. I need some anger management but I don't qualify...I'm long past three.

3. In 2006, The National Wild Turkey Federation based in South Carolina received $234,000 from the feds to further their turkey hunting program. You've got to be friggin kidding me!!!

*The resource for the above information was found at askmen.com by Craig Mazin.

I borrowed the following from www.heritage.org and an entry on common sense cuts by Brian Riedl:

In 2001, the government buried $17 billion dollars for which there was no accountability. It was labeled "unreconciled transactions" and filed away. No one has any idea who spent the money or how. Good job, don't you think? Think we could do that with our tax returns. RIGHT!

More than $12 billion in Medicare payment errors were made this year, along with more than $1 billion in the food-stamp program. The department of Housing and Urban Development makes financial boo boos equaling ten percent of its total budget. I think it's time to hire some new bookkeepers.

Aha...I remember reading about the $400.00 the military was spending per hammer, along with lavish amounts on toilets, etc. Evidently the careless spending continues. According to Mr. Riedl, a recent audit showed that military personnel use travel cards allocated to them by the government to the tune of $293.000 for entertainment, gambling, cruises, strips clubs and prostitutes. Me thinks this isn't just the regular GI Joe having all the fun. Those poor, poor generals and admirals. Tsk, Tsk.

Someone please stop my head from spinning. We have people starving, children in need, middle class American families struggling to keep their homes, and these are listed as pork-barrel expenditures: $725,000 for the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia; $90,000 for the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas; $273,000 to help Blue Springs, Mo., combat teenage "goth culture"; and $1 million for Birmingham, Ala., to build a statue of the Roman god Vulcan. Elimination of such frivolous causes could save billions.

Mr. Riedl also went on to explain Washingon's duplication of efforts: For example, there are 342 separate economic development programs, 130 programs serving the disabled, 130 programs serving at-risk youth, and 72 safe-water programs. This overlap not only wastes billions in administrative overhead, it confuses those needing federal assistance who must navigate through the morass of programs. What is wrong with this picture????

I had no idea there was such a thing as corporate welfare. $90 billion has been spent on a program that shouldn't even exist. To quote Mr. Riedl, "There's no justification for taxing waitresses and welders to subsidize Fortune 500 CEOs. Furthermore, most corporate welfare programs, such as the Advanced Technology Program, provide little or no economic value to justify their enormous costs." This just pissed me off more after seeing Bill Gates arguing with congress to issue more visas to bring in third world country people for him to employ at a cheaper rate. I suggested in another blog that he use some of the trillions he earned here in AMERICA to train and employ some of the over 80,000 who lost their jobs so far this year from countries going abroad.

The $200 billion per year saved by eliminating these ridiculous programs and expenditures would go a long way in restoring some faith in our government. Their show in good faith that the American public really does matter. If this frivolous waste continues, will our children have anything at all for their future? Most of us have tried to set up savings and insurance to provide for them, but as things continue to escalate to point that we live paycheck to paycheck, that good intention has fallen by the wayside in most households, I imagine. It has in ours.

I had to laugh when I heard John McCain's income tax disclosure the other day. He filed separately from his billionaire wife, claiming only his $400,000 plus. Included was the approximately $22,000 or so he received from Social Security. See, even he's getting his share before the government squanders it away.

What can we do? The people we trust and elect seem to be the very people who betray us. 'Drunk with power' seems to make a whole lot more sense to me these days. I want someone who's 'on the wagon.' With another election right around the corner, who will we send to the oval office that won't continue the tradition? I have no idea. I can't help think that those billions garnered for campaign contributions would go a long way toward cancer, aids, or other disease research. I'm trying to do my part by spreading the informed words of those in the know.

For the sake of brevity, I'm providing a link to show you some more of the ridiculous ways the government wastes your tax dollars. It's shocking:

Pork Barrel Spending


Note: Brian Riedl is the Grover M. Hermann Fellow in federal budgetary affairs at The Heritage Foundation (www.heritage.org), a Washington-based public policy institute.