Boiling Over…

There will always be an argument over the best place for my money – and now, more than ever, that place isn’t my bank account, or my kids’ college funds, or my 401k, or (insert investment/savings vehicle here)… My $ is going in someone ELSE’S bank account, kid’s college fund, 401k, etc. I don’t see anywhere that I will truly recover what I have lost and certainly won’t benefit from what’s happening, but the people who helped cause this will both recover AND benefit. If someone can tell me how that is fair, I am all ears. But please don’t start with, “Taxation is what being American is all about!”

A friend on FB put out there, “A government big enough to give you everything is big enough to take it away, too.” (I don’t know who said it or which friend put it up, I just remember it.) I have played by the rules, done what is right, paid my bills, ate A LOT of mac & cheese/beans & rice, and cut back in many ways. But because I work my ass off and don’t want any more of my hard earned money taken away, I am labeled not only Republican but un-American and a hypocrite. I was upset over the last budget increase and how much it was going to cost the US. Believe me, I was pissed. It was for a war – more than one war, really. But it went to keep me and my family safe, and benefited the entire U S. of A. Whether you accept it or not, it made us all a little bit safer. Was some of it extravagant? Yes. Was some of it unnecessary? Yes. Is a speed train from Los Angeles to Las Vegas extravagant or unnecessary? Yes. I am pissed. The train will give people jobs, sure. But while it’s being built, the workers will send that money back to their families in Mexico and when it’s complete, they’ll go back home – across the border that we can’t secure. The war gave/gives American soldiers a job and they send that money back to their families HERE. To pay for cars, food, houses, clothes, etc. that stimulate OUR economy.

I know that in the long run, we have to make sure everyone in the US is stable and our economy is stable. That means many things have to happen and they aren’t all great. I just don’t think that it is a bad thing to be upset that I am getting the short end of the stick and because I did the right thing, my kids will suffer, too.

Alright, off the soap box…

What am I thankful for?

I have been absent from “the blogging” for a bit. For a lot of reasons, but mainly, it is time to get my house in order. I am not going off the deep end and it is not any commentary on the incoming President, I just need to simplify a few things and it has warranted my complete and total attention.

That being said, I have had the chance to really think about the things that mean the most to me. I have a long, long list of things I am thankful for and I can’t list them in order, but will post a few here.

The things I am thankful for are none more important that Gunnery Sergeant William “Spanky” Gibson, who is currently serving in Iraq. Why single this one man out? Click on the link and be humbled for yourself.

http://www.semperfifund.org/heroes/stories/w_gibson.html

I don’t know who said it, but the words are true and deserve some real thought, not only during Thanksgiving but every day God gets you out of bed and you get to walk on American soil…

“Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.”

Open Enrollment

I went through the process of open enrollment today. You know, when you decide where your paycheck goes so you can be the responsible human being and provide for your family through health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, short term disability, long term disability, cancer insurance, cardiac insurance, accident insurance, life insurance that you can take with you when you leave, life insurance that you can’t, meteor insurance, diseases you get from licking pennies (but not dimes or nickles) insurance…

All of this to say that the premiums have gone up and benefits have gone down. Big surprise, I know. But riddle me this… How does an insurance company get away with paying for your child’s well visits but not the shots? The freakin office visit is $100 while the shots are $900. And, while it isn’t ILLEGAL to not have your children vaccinated (I don’t think), you can have your children taken away due to neglect. SO, looks like I might get into this government provided health care quicker than I thought and head to the health department for free vaccinations the next go round…

Just leave me alone…

Apparently I am more worked up about this election than I thought.

Rant/Soap Box/Pissed off post follows – consider yourself warned!

• Tenth Amendment – Powers of states and people.

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

I am nervous about today. I am nervous because neither candidate is a good choice for me and my family. One wants to tank the value of my biggest investment, my house, and could keel over at any moment leaving us with our first female President who, umm, needs some training. The other wants to take my guns and my money and govern how I take care of my family’s health choices, among other things.

“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” is pretty important to me and it isn’t just a phrase on a piece of paper that somebody on a whim named “The Declaration of Independence.” It is one of my (and your) inalienable rights. Period. It isn’t a perk for being a member of the Republican party or the Green party or the Democratic party. You get it because you live here and breathe the air of freedom.

My wife and I work hard for what we have and we want to teach our children that through personal responsibility, you can actually have a pursuit of happiness and even be happy. But to take that away from me and my family, no matter who you are, and just GIVE it to someone else is taking away one of my inalienable rights as a citizen of this country. That is outright defiance of the reason this country was founded. And even if you don’t want to call it defiance, it is just plain ignoring parts of our Constitution. So, if you can ignore parts of the Constitution or some are more important than others… Yeah, let’s don’t go there.

What scares me is that Mr. Obama has said on many occasions that the redistribution of wealth by tax cuts is part of his plan. Unless you can’t read or just choose to ignore history, Venezuela, Russia, Cuba, Vietnam, etc., this is the basic definition of a socialist economy (and if you didn’t get this in Civics or world government classes, the progression is capitalism, socialism, then communism). Call it dramatic that’s fine. But it is what it is.

Mr. Obama also plans to address the essential constraints that the founding fathers put forth in our Constitution regarding our economic system and taxation. Umm, in order to do that, you must make an Amendment to our Constitution – or just burn it… Or, you can vote for him and have him rewrite the damn thing. And if you don’t understand that, here is another view. He says that the Constitution is a document about negative liberties (not new if you had Whirls and had to read “The Federalist Papers”) – that it dictates what the government CAN’T do to you but we need to address what it (government) MUST do for citizens. Again, I refer him to Amendment #10 and ask, politely, to leave me alone. The point of founding America and The Constitution is and always will be freedom from an oppressive king/government… Doesn’t this look familiar to anyone? Doesn’t anybody care that we are actually going down this road?

Why am I so scared? Because people are publicly supporting this and voting for him. And I don’t understand how this is going to help the country as a whole. It will help get someone elected because people are going to get something for nothing. Something for nothing brings a devaluation of what it is that you got – a lack of respect. Look at how easy it is for people to take freedom for granted… Which is also why I am personally offended by this election. You’re taking my stuff, dammit.

Puff the Magic Dragon

There is a new phenomenon at bedtime in our house, and it centers on Puff. Now, before you go and call DCS, it is the real Puff the Magic Dragon! I have to admit, that Autumn and I were pretty stoked about sharing the story with PT and, pretty soon, with Soah. We both grew up with the story and she grew up having to listen to Peter, Paul and Mary… PT received a PTMD book for her birthday, complete with a cd of Peter, Paul and Mary singing PTMD, Froggie Went a Courtin’, Jimmie Crack Corn, and a Puff instrumental.

Anyway, PT has learned @90% of the words to Puff the Magic Dragon and insists on standing on the bed and dancing to it before she hits the sack. Some nights she wants to read the book, but most nights she just wants to listen and dance. The cool thing is that she wants to dance with whoever is putting her to bed. The big finish during the last chorus is a big dip where mom or I dip her onto her pillow to go to bed – a perfect segue into getting under the covers! She still contends that Honalee is the girl that comes to “save” Puff at the end of the book and I can’t bring myself to correct or even begin to explain, so Honalee will remain where Puff lives AND his new best friend.

I have mentioned before that she is getting to the age where it is tough to get her to bed. She doesn’t want to go to sleep so bedtime is sort of stressful. But seeing her wholely lose herself in the song and really smile and laugh with her whole body and completely dance and the beautiful sparkle in her eyes when “Puff roars out his name!” is more than enough to make the process worth it. All of the sudden, I don’t remember what I was worried about four minutes ago… If there has ever been a “reward” for being a dad, being witness to that smile, that moment has to be it.

Puff was written by a man named Lenny Lipton and the song was made famous by Peter, Paul and Mary.

Undecided, yep, that’s me!

I had a friend comment that she couldn’t believe there are still undecided voters out there. Actually, she was floored that there wasn’t enough out there to be able to make up one’s mind about who to vote for. I fall squarely into that category of UNDECIDED. Now, I ride the fence on a lot of issues but here, I just don’t have a good choice for democracy.

I have to decide whether I want the government to take over health care or the housing market. Easy choice, right? I mean come on, how can I be undecided? We all know what happens to the quality of health care in countries with socialized medicine – just know that that same effect will happen to our already shaky housing market when the government “buys” all the bad debt out there and re-adjusts the value of the houses. Here’s my question… What about my house? Government “buys” a house in my neighborhood to help my neighbor. He/she still owes $260,000 on a house that they bought for $265,000 five years ago. The government adjusts the value of the house to $150,000 so my neighbors can make the house payment. Guess what happens to my house value? Yep, now I owe A LOT more than what my house is even worth because I have three houses in my neighborhood that were “adjusted.” So then, the market picks back up in five years and I can AT LEAST break even with my loan and house value. Guess who is going to make a quick $100,000 profit on their house when they sell it? Yep, my neighbor who didn’t pay their mortgage in the first place. What do I get? Not a damn thing. I possibly break even because I did the right thing.

WTF

So, how can people still be undecided? What choice do I really have…

Nervous…

Tomorrow I go under the knife… We have decided that Petrea and Soah are the only two children that will be subjected to carry my genetic disposition into the future of this great big world.

I don’t know that I can say that I am nervous about the procedure itself, just feeling weird about closing the door on having more children and those chances (literally) being cut down to next to nothing. Sure reversal procedures are out there, but they are expensive and the success rate isn’t all that great. Besides, having one person cut on the boys is plenty. No reason to have two people cutting around down there.

So, this weekend, I will be on the couch with an ice pack, moving around as little as possible – per Doctor’s orders. Hopefully there will be a prescription of pain pills – not only for my recovery but to also get through the Razorback game in Austin! Feel free to stop by and bring Ben & Jerry’s (sans breast milk) – please understand if it takes me a bit to get to the door!

Dead Air…

Some people call this the “Silly Season.” Some call it a time for “polling spotlights” and a a time for “voter education.” Honestly, really honestly, I am sad about it. Sad that all people can come up with are attacks…

I don’t think they teach Civics in public schools anymore. Don’t know how we lost this class, but it is pretty obvious when you turn on the television and see all these, ummm, experts talking at me about the election and the, ummm, issues. It is also obvious when you look at voter turnout numbers after each election…

It scares me that people are, in fact, swayed by the likes of Lindsey Lohan, Diddy, and Ted Nugent. God bless them – my grandmother liked to use the word “touched.” It scares me that people are exposed to biased media and take it as fact and truth – then make what they will call “informed” choices based on what they now “know.”

There is no unbiased media any longer. If there is, someone please point it out. Otherwise, I challenge people to turn off the television and learn about each candidates platform – not about how it relates to the other candidate – but how it relates to you. I challenge people to not be so closed minded and entertain the idea that the “other” candidate might have some good ideas about the future of this country. Now, good intentions and good deeds couldn’t be further apart – neither could bitching about the government and not excercising the right to vote…

Remember…

We were all affected by what happened this day seven years ago. Some much more than others. I still wake up on this day with a sense of outrage, sadness, worry – but most of all, a feeling of helplessness. I pray that my kids never know this feeling.

25

My parents celebrated their 25th Anniversary technically on Monday, but will festively celebrate this weekend at a party that their four kids are throwing. These days, 25 years of anything is something to be celebrated – but when it is marriage, it is pretty special. So, without any sarcasm or attempts at humor – here is a toast to my parents for 25 years together. You have been a great example to me and you continue to be a great example to your grandchildren. Thank you – I love you both!