On A personal note

The current debate on health care reform and whether or not to do Mammograms and self exams has struck a personal note. My ex wife discovered her breast cancer at the age of 47 by self exam. If she had followed the currently suggested guideline she would be dead.

She is not my favorite person, however, my son feels very strongly about the matter. The same thing might apply to me. I discovered my cancer, quite by accident, and I was outside the age group considered to be the most likely to develop. My oldest step-daughter was diagnosed with pre cancerous cells after her first child. The list goes on and on.

The Sixty Minutes “News Magazine” tonight was pure propaganda. The health care portion expounded on the money spent on the last two years of life. The doctor talked at length about a “bad death” while being kept alive by machines. I wonder what his choice would be if confronted with eminent death. It has been said “to know a man take him to the top of a volcano and hold him over the edge. Then you will know him.”

I think we might run a little short of volcanoes.

This is an orchestrated attempt to make us believe that numbers can decide who will live and die. It gives no credit to the human will to live.

There is another part of this debate that escapes notice. This is the largest tax hike in the history of this country. The total cost to my wife and I for our insurance is about$2400 a year. Under the government plan premium and deductable will be close to $14400. That will take 20% of my income.

How does this help me?

There are people who work and have insurance, who will have to switch to the government plan, put their goals away, and struggle to get by. When your disposable income, if you have any, is directed into the pockets of your rulers, you have no incentive to work, after all what do you get?

If my premiums increase by 300% where does the extra money go? Could it be I will be paying for the folks who will not work, or pay taxes. I will be subject to taxes for being overweight, jail time for not carrying insurance. I will have to submit information on my tax forms to prove that I have acceptable insurance and I’m not over weight.

What about the people who work off the radar. Paid under the table, pay no taxes, and Uncle Sam pays the bills.

Actually, the joke will be on them, the next step is amnesty for illegal aliens. When they are on the radar, and the taxes start, there may be a new migration, south this time.

The largest part of this issue is that of power, being taken from the individual and held by the government. The power to enfranchise those who will keep you in power, and the power to control every aspect of your life and now the manner of your death,

The power of life and death.

The entire issue is about power.

I'm sure there's a good reason for this

Mrs. Michele Obama's Staff This has nothing to do with race but has to do with greed, egotism, and spending of over $1,500,000 PER YEAR in personal salaries by the first lady in a time of severe financial problems in the U.S. This is amazing!! From the Canada Free Press :First Lady Requires More Than Twenty Attendants July 7, 2009 Written by Dr. Paul L. Williams"In my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much,"she said. "See, that's why I left a job at a biglaw firm for a career in public service, "... Michelle Obama

No, Michele Obama does not get paid to serve as the First Lady and she doesn't perform any official duties.

But this hasn't deterred her from hiring an unprecedented number of staffers to cater to her every whim and to satisfy her every request in the midst of the Great Recession.

Just think, Mary Lincoln was taken to task for purchasing china for the White House during the Civil War. And Mamie Eisenhower had to shell out the salary for her personal secretary from her husband's salary.

Total Personal Staff members for other first ladies paid by taxpayers: Mamie Eisenhower : 1 paid for personally out of President's salary
Jackie Kennedy: 1
Roseline Carter: 1
Barbara Bush: 1
Hilary Clinton: 3
Laura Bush: 1
Michele Obama: 22

How things have changed! If you're one of the tens of millions of Americans facing certain destitution, earning less than subsistence wages stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart or serving up McDonald cheeseburgers, prepare to scream and then come to realize that the benefit package for these servants of Ms Michelle are the same as members of the national security and defense departments and the bill for these assorted lackeys is paid by YOU, John Q. Public.

Michele Obama's personal staff:
1.. $172,200 - Sher, Susan (Chief Of Staff)
2. $140,000 - Frye, Jocelyn C. (Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Policy And Projects For The First Lady)
3. $113,000 - Rogers, Desiree G. (Special Assistant to the President and White House Social Secretary for Mrs. Obama)
4. $102,000 - Johnston, Camille Y. (Special Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the First Lady)
5. $100,000 - Winter, Melissa E. (Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
6. $90,000 - Medina , David S. (Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
7. $84,000 - Lel yveld, Catherine M. (Director and Press Secretary to the First Lady)
8. $75,000 - Starkey, Frances M. (Director of Scheduling and Advance for the First Lady)
9. $70,000 - Sanders, Trooper (Deputy Director of Policy and Projects for the First Lady)
10. $65,000 - Burnough, Erinn J. (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary)
11. $64,000 - Reinstein, Joseph B. (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary)
12. $62,000 - Goodman, Jennifer R. (Deputy Director of Scheduling and Events Coordinator For The First Lady)
13. $60,000 - Fitts, Alan O. (Deputy Director of Advance and Trip Director for the First Lady)14. $57,500 - Lewis, Dana M. (Special Assistant and Personal Aide to the First Lady)
15. $52,500 - Mustaphi, Semonti M. (Associate Director and Deputy Press Secretary To The First Lady)
16. $50,000 - Jarvis, Kristen E. (Special Assistant for Scheduling and Traveling Aide To The First Lady)
17. $45,000 - Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (Associate Director of Correspondence For The First Lady)18. $43,000 - Tubman, Samanth a (Deputy Associate Director, Social Office)
19. $40,000 - Boswell, Joseph J. (Executive Assistant to the Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
20. $36,000 - Armbruster, Sally M. (Staff Assistant to the Social Secretary)
21. $35,000 - Bookey, Natalie (Staff Assistant)
22. $35,000 - Jackson, Deilia A. (Deputy Associate Director of Correspondence for the First Lady)
(total = $1,591,200 in annual salaries)

There has NEVER been anyone in the White House at any time who has created such an army of staffers whose sole duties are the facilitation of the First Lady's social life.One wonders why she needs so much help, at taxpayer expense.

Note: This does not include makeup artist Ingrid Grimes-Miles, 49, and "First Hairstylist" Johnny Wright, 31, both of whom traveled aboard Air Force One to Europe .

The reason is probably because she is so ill tempered the kids and dog avoid her, so they have to pay someone to be her friend.

The end of freedom

Socialism has come to America.

The passing of the Health Care Reform bill will mean the loss of jobs and expansion of government. I will be much surprised if the National Debt doesn't skyrocket and bring about the collapse of the federal government.

Just so you know, insurance for the love of my life costs $161 a month. That's far short of the estimated cost of the insurance I will be forced to buy.

How does this help me, how does this help anyone?

This bill was passed against the desires of the majority of voters, in the middle of the night. How is this openness in government? How is this government of the people, by the people, and for the people?

We the people need to vote all the incumbents that supported this bill out of office. I have said for years that the congress is the new aristocracy, it's time to clean out the castle.

How would you know?

CHICAGO (AP) -- They may have been the world's most famous man-eating lions, but it turns out they made other dinner arrangements from time to time.
Scientists have determined that the Tsavo lions probably ate about 35 Kenyans in the 19th century and not the 135 they've long been credited with devouring.
The Tsavo lions are both now stuffed and on display at the Field Museum in Chicago. Their killing spree inspired the 1996 movie "The Ghost and the Darkness."
Scientists from the University of California at Santa Cruz have studied the lions' bones and fur. They determined in a study released Monday that the lions probably killed about 35, although they may have had as many as 72 humans or as few as four.

Considering that the count was made by an engineer, on the scene, rather than by scientists more than a hundred years removed, and also considering the likely hood that those lions had been processing deceased natives since cub hood, I'm going with the original number.

I'm thinking that could have been more than a little light.

To: Annony Mouse

Anonny Mouse has seen fit to pass gas in regards to a post regarding the rights of a state to pass laws that meet the approval of the residents. I was invited to leave the Union, and receive a flag. Then, if you can believe it, Mousey, resorted to personal attack. I would rather any attacks be in person, the better to respond appropriately. The disparaging remark about my intelligence was very hurtful, and probably too close to the truth, so my barbaric response should come as no surprise.

Though you don’t believe in my rights, I believe in yours. If you choose, feel free to submit everything to your federal masters. You can trust your government, ask any Indian, (sorry, Native American.)

A second nameless genius left a comment ambiguous enough to leave me wondering which side of the line he or she fell on. But the statement about “fat, old, white guys” really hurt my feelings.

So no publishing from me.

Present your case for your statements, sign your name, be a man or woman about it, I’ve been wrong before. Yes, Yes, I Know DW isn’t my name, but this is my forum.

From the Wall Street Journal, Nancy Care

On Nov. 2, the Congressional Budget Office estimated what the plans will likely cost. An individual earning $44,000 before taxes who purchases his own insurance will have to pay a $5,300 premium and an estimated $2,000 in out-of-pocket expenses, for a total of $7,300 a year, which is 17% of his pre-tax income. A family earning $102,100 a year before taxes will have to pay a $15,000 premium plus an estimated $5,300 out-of-pocket, for a $20,300 total, or 20% of its pre-tax income. Individuals and families earning less than these amounts will be eligible for subsidies paid directly to their insurer.

• Sec. 202 (p. 91-92) of the bill requires you to enroll in a "qualified plan." If you get your insurance at work, your employer will have a "grace period" to switch you to a "qualified plan," meaning a plan designed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. If you buy your own insurance, there's no grace period. You'll have to enroll in a qualified plan as soon as any term in your contract changes, such as the co-pay, deductible or benefit.

• Sec. 59b (pp. 297-299) says that when you file your taxes, you must include proof that you are in a qualified plan. If not, you will be fined thousands of dollars. Illegal immigrants are exempt from this requirement.

• Sec. 412 (p. 272) says that employers must provide a "qualified plan" for their employees and pay 72.5% of the cost, and a smaller share of family coverage, or incur an 8% payroll tax. Small businesses, with payrolls from $500,000 to $750,000, are fined less.

The first paragraph basically states that you will pay 17% to 20% of your total income for medical care. Rest assured that it will be reflected in your wages, and not in a good way.

The second says even if you have insurance that you are satisfied with, as soon as it changes, you will have to switch to the government option. Considering that they change at least yearly, you will be in a Govt. program.

The third says that you have to prove you are in compliance, or be fined, or go to jail, unless you are in the country illegally, then just continue to use the Emergency room for every sniffle.

The fourth says you must pay for your employees insurance, which sounds good, but a “Mom and Pop” business will likely close their doors because they can’t afford to dish out. If you think not, it happens every time the minimum wage goes up. I might be wrong, but having a job and no insurance is better than having insurance and no job to buy groceries and all the necessities of living.

Over all, this “plan” to provide health care is the biggest tax increase in the history of this country. It is a tax increase because I will be forced to pay for something that I don’t want, and subsidize people who want it but don’t want to work for it. The Feds will be entwined in every aspect of the insurance industry.
I predict that the insurers will either collapse due to interference, or be buried under a pile of money, later to blamed for “fraud”.

It is certain that the taxpayer will bear the burden, and be denied the benefit of making decisions in their own life.

If this passes we're screwed. I can't pay an additional 17% in taxes, and live any kind of life.

This is the perfect example of how out of touch the congress is with real people, they don't relate the dollar amount specified with a real wage. They mustn't consider the 15K a year to be burdensome.

I wish I could say the same.

Herding cats

I've learned some new ideas about work ethics.

Not adopted, by the way, just barely tolerated.

Such as; One and Done, Nothing New After Two, Nothing For Me After Three, Nothing More After Four.

Poor poetry, and not addressed in the schedule.

The "nuclear professionals" working for me have readily embraced these lyrical tenants.

I have found it virtually impossible to snap the tap root connecting their butts to the chairs in the break room.

The "one and done" is one work order per day. If that is one 24", 45 degree Rockwell globe isolation valve rebuild, it's a miracle or an alien intervention. If it happens to be a three quarter inch gate repack, somebody is taking a nap.

Unfortunately all of us are on a twelve hour schedule, and the "nothing new after two" means if I get done by two, I expect to sit in the break room until six thirty.

Let me be plain here. When I am on my tools, and the man gives me a work order and a brief, I get off my hind quarters, and go to work. The time doesn't matter, fair doesn't matter, what some one has or hasn't done doesn't matter, I have a contract that says I will be paid for the hours I work, so I work.

Not so my little lambs. I have given the task brief, asked for questions, given out the work order and then watched for an hour as the bull session continues.

I could have cooked an egg in the palm of my hand.

I got a news flash killer, if you get done at two and you will not accept more work, then you need to go home. If you don't want to work, you don't have too.

Those little poems display the attitude of "pay me but don't expect anything".

There are other games, Question it to death, only deal with one issue at a time (each separate issue requires a walk back to the break room and a break), and of course, I'm not qualified.

If someone brings me a problem, I will find them an answer, please use the phone. Our income depends on doing a better job than any of a dozen other contractors, and doing it in a timely and professional manner.

Childish poems do not a professional make.

I try to hold my temper, and mostly I can. Sometimes it just slops over the edges, and then we get the eruption. When we have a plan, don't change the plan with out telling me. I really hate having to explain why no one can be seen working on camera FOUR HOURS after I have ushered the entire crew through the briefs and sent them to work.

They thought they had a better idea......WRONG! That one slopped over the edges.

When an older team member decided to ignore safety and his work partner decided to let him, that went bad quick.

I have two levels of counseling on these matters, "a word of prayer" and "we're all gonna' come to Jesus"!

Ignoring safety will get you to the "come to Jesus" meeting quick.

I don't have the power to discipline, or fire. I can write a bad evaluation, which may effect pay or rehire. Unfortunately we can't get enough techs as it is.

So, for now, I will try to keep forcing my little kitty's into doing their jobs.

Working for a living isn't so bad, trying to get the unwilling to do their part sucks.

Bad Dog....No Biscuit!!!!

While little depends directly on Tuesday's outcome, the races are an opening salvo in 2010 midterm elections, when the entire House of Representatives, a third of the Senate and two thirds of gubernatorial posts are up for grabs.

Time to send a message to the congress critters,,,,

Stop Spending,

Start Listening,

We The People, have had enough of Government.

Get Out and Don't come back!

Vote them all out!!!! Really stir the pot!

Our legislators consider them selves to be our betters, change our governors or submit to them.