Omega - (The End)
"And if the blind leads the blind, both shall fall in the ditch."
Almost fifteen months ago we, here on the hill, embarked upon a journey into that great unknown (at least to us) world of the computer or to be more exact into web logs better known as "blogs". To us, not being computer literate, entering that vast unknown lurking somewhere out there in space, was somewhat like stumbling around in unfamiliar territory in total darkness, without a light.
In the beginning the sole purpose of this blog was to supply a format to jot down, as the title indicates, stray thoughts which we felt the need to record as something like a chronicle of our beliefs to be left as our views of an imperfect world. We have never deliberately set out to trash talk anyone or anything but to, whenever possible, point out the flaws to either or both sides of any given argument. Sometimes, we're sure, our bias shows through but it has been said that to err is human.
During the past fifteen months we have touched on many subjects, too many of them political, and after a slow start it has evolved into a twice a week chore. It's not that there isn't any controversial subjects lying around just waiting to be put down on paper but it is becoming increasingly harder to write about politics without getting depressed. Both, or all, sides in the debates appear to be losing sight of the prize, "Bi-partisanship", and are focusing on "What will this do for me". Please read, or re-read, the posting dated June 13, 2010 and titled "The Ditch". It was first written as a letter to a newspaper shortly after the 2006 election and updated at the time of posting by adding these words -"and the debacle of 2008". Is there a Daniel in the house?
During the last twenty-five to thirty years dozens of letter were written to various local and regional newspapers covering many of the subjects found in these postings. We have, at times, felt rather naive afterwards and have been called delusional for expressing some of our views. That could be true but after all that is someone else's view. We believe that our first published letters were in the Memphis papers but we soon moved up to our local and semi-local papers.
The title of this posting, "Alpha - (The Beginning)" and "Omega _ (The End)" may be more of a reality than was first thought because the subject of closing this blog down has been discussed here on the hill but there may be a few subjects out there in the future that we would want to address. We'll wait and see. We just came in from a walk around through the flowers and other greenery, admiring God's handiwork on a beautiful Easter morning. At this time, we pray for peace on earth and good will to all men. If we all join together it could happen. Meanwhile, thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Weather and Politics
Not much difference
We talked to folks in North Carolina Saturday afternoon and it wasn't so bad around Charlotte but when we turned on the television Sunday morning we learned it got worse later. Over 20 people killed in North Carolina alone. More bad weather predicted for later in the week with a pattern forming that will carry it into early summer. About the same thing can be said for Washington politics. At least the Senators and Representatives will be out of Washington for the next two weeks. Maybe things will calm down there for a while. The biggest difference between the weather and Washington politics is that politicians don't usually kill anyone except when they agree to a war, mostly they're just a bunch of hot air.
About 9:00 PM Sunday night I sent e-mails to both of our United States Senators in response to their non-response to my earlier letters and e-mails (See earlier postings). In those e-mails I wrote - "Ignore me or not, that's your choice. Read my blog or not, that's your choice. Vote for you or not, that's my choice."
Monday morning at about 5:15 AM I turned my computer on to check my e-mails and a few blogs. I found this e-mail from Senator Corker's office; "Thank you for taking the time to e-mail me to share your thoughts and concerns.
I want you to know that we read every single letter and e-mail that is sent to us in order to best understand the issues that are important to you. It is our commitment to respond to your input as thoughtfully and efficiently as possible. I meet with my staff regularly to discuss the issues raised in correspondence like yours and will be back in touch with a more thorough response soon. Thank you again for your e-mail. I hope you will continue to share your thoughts with me." Any other correspondence from either of our Senators or Representative will be included in future postings.
Why, oh why, did it come down to President Obama agreeing with me about the status of Social Security when I couldn't get anyone else to listen to me? You know that I don't agree with Obama about anything. Yesterday on "Your World With Neil Cavuto" he (Neil) played a clip of President Obama, at a Town Hall Meeting, saying that Social Security was not the biggest driver of our budget deficits and National debt. Of course, Neil and his guest adamantly denied that statemen even though I had been writing, in e-mails and this blog, the exact same thing for many months. Short of drastically cutting Social Security benefits for current retirees or raising the payroll tax, there is no way to keep Social Security from adding to the budget deficit and National Debt because the U.S. Treasury will have to borrow money to redeem those "Special Government Securities" (IOUs) as needed to pay future Social Security and Medicare benefits. (See previous postings).
I worked some in the garden Monday afternoon even though it was still a little wet. It looks like everything is doing okay, not growing all that fast but still living.
Worked a couple of hours Tuesday getting the bean rows ready to plant Friday if it doesn't rain too much but at this time, Wednesday morning, it rained for much of last night and predicted to continue off and on into tomorrow.
Whenever it gets dry enough, we will try to be ready to plant. Meanwhile, thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned, - William
We talked to folks in North Carolina Saturday afternoon and it wasn't so bad around Charlotte but when we turned on the television Sunday morning we learned it got worse later. Over 20 people killed in North Carolina alone. More bad weather predicted for later in the week with a pattern forming that will carry it into early summer. About the same thing can be said for Washington politics. At least the Senators and Representatives will be out of Washington for the next two weeks. Maybe things will calm down there for a while. The biggest difference between the weather and Washington politics is that politicians don't usually kill anyone except when they agree to a war, mostly they're just a bunch of hot air.
About 9:00 PM Sunday night I sent e-mails to both of our United States Senators in response to their non-response to my earlier letters and e-mails (See earlier postings). In those e-mails I wrote - "Ignore me or not, that's your choice. Read my blog or not, that's your choice. Vote for you or not, that's my choice."
Monday morning at about 5:15 AM I turned my computer on to check my e-mails and a few blogs. I found this e-mail from Senator Corker's office; "Thank you for taking the time to e-mail me to share your thoughts and concerns.
I want you to know that we read every single letter and e-mail that is sent to us in order to best understand the issues that are important to you. It is our commitment to respond to your input as thoughtfully and efficiently as possible. I meet with my staff regularly to discuss the issues raised in correspondence like yours and will be back in touch with a more thorough response soon. Thank you again for your e-mail. I hope you will continue to share your thoughts with me." Any other correspondence from either of our Senators or Representative will be included in future postings.
Why, oh why, did it come down to President Obama agreeing with me about the status of Social Security when I couldn't get anyone else to listen to me? You know that I don't agree with Obama about anything. Yesterday on "Your World With Neil Cavuto" he (Neil) played a clip of President Obama, at a Town Hall Meeting, saying that Social Security was not the biggest driver of our budget deficits and National debt. Of course, Neil and his guest adamantly denied that statemen even though I had been writing, in e-mails and this blog, the exact same thing for many months. Short of drastically cutting Social Security benefits for current retirees or raising the payroll tax, there is no way to keep Social Security from adding to the budget deficit and National Debt because the U.S. Treasury will have to borrow money to redeem those "Special Government Securities" (IOUs) as needed to pay future Social Security and Medicare benefits. (See previous postings).
I worked some in the garden Monday afternoon even though it was still a little wet. It looks like everything is doing okay, not growing all that fast but still living.
Worked a couple of hours Tuesday getting the bean rows ready to plant Friday if it doesn't rain too much but at this time, Wednesday morning, it rained for much of last night and predicted to continue off and on into tomorrow.
Whenever it gets dry enough, we will try to be ready to plant. Meanwhile, thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned, - William
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Bewildered, Bemused
Or Depressed
I have delayed the writing of this post for several weeks in the hope that one or more of our senators or representative would break their silence and answer our questions which we sent to them several weeks ago. In my posting dated March 23, 2011 I wrote about the letters and e-mails which we sent to our Senators (Alexander and Corker) and our Representative (Blackburn). Two of those e-mails to Alexander were answered with form letters which didn't even address our concerns. The third e-mail to Alexander, sent about the first of March, has gone unanswered. The letters to Corker and Blackburn which were sent in early February (same questions) have not, at this time, been answered. I invited all three to check out this blog spot but I have no way of knowing whether they did or not.
I know, from all they have accomplished there in Washington, they are extremely busy but surely they could spare a highly paid aide for a few hours a day to answer the questions posed by their constituents who might be searching for a way to justify their continued support. Or not.
We are not, at this time, prepared to emphatically state that we will vote against them in their next elections but we are thinking about sitting out our first election since Eisenhower's second term. I guess what it boils down to is "who else is running". Tea party, maybe?
In the April 10, 2011 posting I wrote these lines; "In my opinion the best thing to come out of that 11th hour compromise on the Continuing Resolution for the 2011 budget was not the almost forty billion dollars cut from that budget, as proposed by President Obama, but the promise extracted from Senator Harry Reid. Almost all the way up to that 11th hour Senator Reid had always said outright that a vote on the de-funding of "Obamacare" and "Planned Parenthood" would never be brought to the floor of the Senate but it has been reported that he agreed to such a vote".
Thursday afternoon it was announced on television that the bill(s) to de-fund "Obamacare" and "Planned Parenthood" were brought to the floor and voted down. Nothing was said about who or how many senators voted for the bill(s). If that is all the attention that vote gets in the media then it will mean nothing in the 2012 election and will only go toward strenghtening my belief that all politicians, Republican, Democrats and Independents, are the same. All have the "Me First Syndrome". It is so depressing, I feel as though I have aged years in the last few months.
So many of the commercials (infomercials) on television are by lawyers solicitating clients with these words; "If you have been injured - in a car wreck, by this medicine, blah blah blah - you may be entitled to compensation. Call the law office of so and so. Has this whole world become lawsuit crazy?
We had thunderstorms again Thursday but Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and the Carolinas had tornadoes with at least 25 killed (as of Sunday morning) so, again, we here on the hill came out pretty good.
It was damp and cold yesterday and overnight and I didn't feel up to getting outside very much. Hopefully it will be better next week and we can do a little more work in yard and garden. The Iris are beginning to bloom but they don't look as good as they have in the past, probably because they haven't been taken care of the way they should have been.
It is cooler this morning than was predicted. We covered up our tomatoes, cucumbers and squash last night but we'll have to wait a while to see if they made it. I believe they should have but if not we can replant.
Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
I have delayed the writing of this post for several weeks in the hope that one or more of our senators or representative would break their silence and answer our questions which we sent to them several weeks ago. In my posting dated March 23, 2011 I wrote about the letters and e-mails which we sent to our Senators (Alexander and Corker) and our Representative (Blackburn). Two of those e-mails to Alexander were answered with form letters which didn't even address our concerns. The third e-mail to Alexander, sent about the first of March, has gone unanswered. The letters to Corker and Blackburn which were sent in early February (same questions) have not, at this time, been answered. I invited all three to check out this blog spot but I have no way of knowing whether they did or not.
I know, from all they have accomplished there in Washington, they are extremely busy but surely they could spare a highly paid aide for a few hours a day to answer the questions posed by their constituents who might be searching for a way to justify their continued support. Or not.
We are not, at this time, prepared to emphatically state that we will vote against them in their next elections but we are thinking about sitting out our first election since Eisenhower's second term. I guess what it boils down to is "who else is running". Tea party, maybe?
In the April 10, 2011 posting I wrote these lines; "In my opinion the best thing to come out of that 11th hour compromise on the Continuing Resolution for the 2011 budget was not the almost forty billion dollars cut from that budget, as proposed by President Obama, but the promise extracted from Senator Harry Reid. Almost all the way up to that 11th hour Senator Reid had always said outright that a vote on the de-funding of "Obamacare" and "Planned Parenthood" would never be brought to the floor of the Senate but it has been reported that he agreed to such a vote".
Thursday afternoon it was announced on television that the bill(s) to de-fund "Obamacare" and "Planned Parenthood" were brought to the floor and voted down. Nothing was said about who or how many senators voted for the bill(s). If that is all the attention that vote gets in the media then it will mean nothing in the 2012 election and will only go toward strenghtening my belief that all politicians, Republican, Democrats and Independents, are the same. All have the "Me First Syndrome". It is so depressing, I feel as though I have aged years in the last few months.
So many of the commercials (infomercials) on television are by lawyers solicitating clients with these words; "If you have been injured - in a car wreck, by this medicine, blah blah blah - you may be entitled to compensation. Call the law office of so and so. Has this whole world become lawsuit crazy?
We had thunderstorms again Thursday but Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and the Carolinas had tornadoes with at least 25 killed (as of Sunday morning) so, again, we here on the hill came out pretty good.
It was damp and cold yesterday and overnight and I didn't feel up to getting outside very much. Hopefully it will be better next week and we can do a little more work in yard and garden. The Iris are beginning to bloom but they don't look as good as they have in the past, probably because they haven't been taken care of the way they should have been.
It is cooler this morning than was predicted. We covered up our tomatoes, cucumbers and squash last night but we'll have to wait a while to see if they made it. I believe they should have but if not we can replant.
Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
The Truth About Medicare
And My Part In It.
Monday Morning - Early
Medicare was enacted in 1965, as an amendment to the already existing Social Security Administration, by President Johnson as part of his "Great Society" agenda. What, at that time, was thought to be an adequate tax was added to the FICA (payroll) tax to be paid into what would later become the "Social Security Trust Fund" and would be available to pay future Medicare benefits. What went wrong with that plan in the ensuing 45 years? Do you remember the Frenchman who in 1835 wrote, in his book about America and its Government, that "America will be a great country until the people learn that they can vote themselves money from the public treasury, after that it will be a war of all against all with each person striving to get the greatest amount of free money possible"? Are we there yet? Or to be more accurate, how long have we been there?
Monday Night - Late
I am past 80 years of age (old) and I have been on Medicare for the last 15 years. After it was enacted I paid into the "Fund" for almost 30 years before I retired and, along with most other retirees, have paid a premium every month for the last 15 years. Since I have been on Medicare it has not paid as much in benefits as I have paid into the system through that monthly premium and that is not counting the first, almost 30 years, of payroll taxes. In the three years, 2007 - 2009, I received very little more than the cost of a flu shot from Medicare and about what it cost for the deductables (doctors) from my Medicare Supplemental Insurance which, at this time cost me over 250 dollars a month. I can't believe that I am the only person left in America who is not out to milk the system for every dime I can get out of it. Doctors practicing defensive, or rather protective, medicine is the cause of many of the problems. Tort reform, limiting legal actions, would go a long way in cutting cost. On more than one occasion we could have filed a suit against a doctor or hospital but we didn't. That doesn't fit into our beliefs.
Tuesday Morning - Early
Representative Ryan's cure for Medicare sounds a lot like the Medicare Advantage Plans which "Obamacare" has taken away. How is it different?
Monday afternoon I heard a Democrat from South Carolina say that Representative Ryan's plan to save Medicare would force seniors to go out into the world of private insurance companies. Maybe I am naive but I thought the buying of Medicare Supplemental Insurance (Medi-gap) had already included us in that catagory. Is there some way, legally and morally, to not buy supplemental insurance?
Each month, after the $96.50 deduction for Medicare, the Social Security Administration deposits $766.00 into my bank account. Out of that I pay, right off the top, $254.00 for my Medi-gap insurance. Am I not paying my own way?
Tuesday Night - Late
Meanwhile, back at the farm. After a windy and rainy day Monday that kept me inside for most of the day I was glad to get back outside for a light workout. I mowed over half of the front yard then worked out the cabbage, onions and one row of the potatoes. We also have squash, cucumbers and tomatoes growing in the ground and more tomatoes and peppers in individual pots waiting to be set out. It may be too early and we may have weather cold enough to kill what is out but if so we will try to replant. We plan to plant pole beans and butterpeas in two to three weeks, depending on the weather. That, along with the blueberries, should keep us busy for a while.
Wednesday Morning - Fairly Early
According to the weather forcast we will have a fairly nice day to work outside again. Allergies are bad at this time of year and we, here on the hill, have had our share. Some more good warm weather might help out.
Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Monday Morning - Early
Medicare was enacted in 1965, as an amendment to the already existing Social Security Administration, by President Johnson as part of his "Great Society" agenda. What, at that time, was thought to be an adequate tax was added to the FICA (payroll) tax to be paid into what would later become the "Social Security Trust Fund" and would be available to pay future Medicare benefits. What went wrong with that plan in the ensuing 45 years? Do you remember the Frenchman who in 1835 wrote, in his book about America and its Government, that "America will be a great country until the people learn that they can vote themselves money from the public treasury, after that it will be a war of all against all with each person striving to get the greatest amount of free money possible"? Are we there yet? Or to be more accurate, how long have we been there?
Monday Night - Late
I am past 80 years of age (old) and I have been on Medicare for the last 15 years. After it was enacted I paid into the "Fund" for almost 30 years before I retired and, along with most other retirees, have paid a premium every month for the last 15 years. Since I have been on Medicare it has not paid as much in benefits as I have paid into the system through that monthly premium and that is not counting the first, almost 30 years, of payroll taxes. In the three years, 2007 - 2009, I received very little more than the cost of a flu shot from Medicare and about what it cost for the deductables (doctors) from my Medicare Supplemental Insurance which, at this time cost me over 250 dollars a month. I can't believe that I am the only person left in America who is not out to milk the system for every dime I can get out of it. Doctors practicing defensive, or rather protective, medicine is the cause of many of the problems. Tort reform, limiting legal actions, would go a long way in cutting cost. On more than one occasion we could have filed a suit against a doctor or hospital but we didn't. That doesn't fit into our beliefs.
Tuesday Morning - Early
Representative Ryan's cure for Medicare sounds a lot like the Medicare Advantage Plans which "Obamacare" has taken away. How is it different?
Monday afternoon I heard a Democrat from South Carolina say that Representative Ryan's plan to save Medicare would force seniors to go out into the world of private insurance companies. Maybe I am naive but I thought the buying of Medicare Supplemental Insurance (Medi-gap) had already included us in that catagory. Is there some way, legally and morally, to not buy supplemental insurance?
Each month, after the $96.50 deduction for Medicare, the Social Security Administration deposits $766.00 into my bank account. Out of that I pay, right off the top, $254.00 for my Medi-gap insurance. Am I not paying my own way?
Tuesday Night - Late
Meanwhile, back at the farm. After a windy and rainy day Monday that kept me inside for most of the day I was glad to get back outside for a light workout. I mowed over half of the front yard then worked out the cabbage, onions and one row of the potatoes. We also have squash, cucumbers and tomatoes growing in the ground and more tomatoes and peppers in individual pots waiting to be set out. It may be too early and we may have weather cold enough to kill what is out but if so we will try to replant. We plan to plant pole beans and butterpeas in two to three weeks, depending on the weather. That, along with the blueberries, should keep us busy for a while.
Wednesday Morning - Fairly Early
According to the weather forcast we will have a fairly nice day to work outside again. Allergies are bad at this time of year and we, here on the hill, have had our share. Some more good warm weather might help out.
Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Breaking News
Bits and Pieces.
Thursday Night - Late.
Today I saw a news item on Fox News about a mother being charged with attempted murder for not following the doctor's directions about giving her son his medication. All the details were not presented in that breaking news but what few facts that were given indicated that her son was having adverse reactions, health-wise, from the medication and she had lied, by telling the doctor that she was still giving it to him. I didn't know it was against the law to lie to a doctor. I guess I'd better be careful. If a parent or parents can be charged with attempted murder in a case such as this, can we be far from that "Big Brother" state as was written about by George Orwell in his book titled "1984"?
I have known parents who, from all appearances, loved their children but bought, or allowed them to buy, every known fat food product that was asked for. If those children developed a life threatening disease could the parents be charged with attempted murder? How far should we allow the government to go in dictating our actions? What is legal anymore?
Friday Late, 7:00 pm
After working (piddling) in the yard and garden most of the day, with breaks quite often to keep up with what has been taking place in Washington, I have come to the conclusion that there will be an 11th hour compromise to keep the government open. At least that is what I have been telling everyone I have talked to today. Like that will make any difference in the outcome. Most everyone on television keeps trying to tell us how bad it will be if the government does shut down for even a few days but I can't think of even one thing that would affect me in any way except our military personnel not getting their pay on time. They are just being used as pawns in this, for lack of a better word, squabble. Congress (and President) get real, you were elected to take care of all the people in the United States, not to stoke your own egoes. By tomorrow morning we should know what has come out of all this name-calling.
Saturday Morning, Fairly Early
I got up and turned the television on at 5:00 a.m. so as to find out if we still had a functioning government. Whether you consider it to be good or bad, we do. I still don't know what the main details are but maybe we all will by the end of today, that is, if we really want to know.
Saturday Night, Fairly Late
Someone on television said that Representative Paul Ryan's 2012 budget proposal may be looked at as a marker to be used in the upcoming election campaigns for not only the Presidency but also the House and Senate races. I suppose that it can be looked at as true but it is not the only thing that will affect those elections.
In my opinion the best thing to come out of that 11th hour compromise on the "Continueing Resolution", which funds the government for a few more days, was not the almost 40 billion dollars cut from the budget, as proposed by the President, but the promise that was extracted from Senator Harry Reid (if it is true). Almost all the way up to that 11th hour compromise, Senator Reid had always refused to even consider allowing a vote on the defunding of either "Obamacare" or "Planned Parenthood" but it has been reported that he agreed to allow those votes to take place as stand alone bills. No, they won't pass but if they come to a vote every Senator will have to vote either yes or no and their votes will become the most prominent marker in the 2012 elections. More about that later.
We spent most of another day doing odd jobs that needed to be done, nothing really important but needful. We did get some of our squash, tomatoes and cucumbers set out in the ground, watered and shaded. The sun was really hot about noon.
Sunday Morning, Not Too Early
Ryan's 2012 budget proposals have been talked about a lot, especially his plan to fix Medicare and Medicaid. That may not be the next big fight but it won't be far behind. This morning the news has only been a re-hash of the last three day. Who needs that?
The temperature here is in the upper sixties, starting off very warm, and will probably push ninety before the day is gone. That's hot for this time of year. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Thursday Night - Late.
Today I saw a news item on Fox News about a mother being charged with attempted murder for not following the doctor's directions about giving her son his medication. All the details were not presented in that breaking news but what few facts that were given indicated that her son was having adverse reactions, health-wise, from the medication and she had lied, by telling the doctor that she was still giving it to him. I didn't know it was against the law to lie to a doctor. I guess I'd better be careful. If a parent or parents can be charged with attempted murder in a case such as this, can we be far from that "Big Brother" state as was written about by George Orwell in his book titled "1984"?
I have known parents who, from all appearances, loved their children but bought, or allowed them to buy, every known fat food product that was asked for. If those children developed a life threatening disease could the parents be charged with attempted murder? How far should we allow the government to go in dictating our actions? What is legal anymore?
Friday Late, 7:00 pm
After working (piddling) in the yard and garden most of the day, with breaks quite often to keep up with what has been taking place in Washington, I have come to the conclusion that there will be an 11th hour compromise to keep the government open. At least that is what I have been telling everyone I have talked to today. Like that will make any difference in the outcome. Most everyone on television keeps trying to tell us how bad it will be if the government does shut down for even a few days but I can't think of even one thing that would affect me in any way except our military personnel not getting their pay on time. They are just being used as pawns in this, for lack of a better word, squabble. Congress (and President) get real, you were elected to take care of all the people in the United States, not to stoke your own egoes. By tomorrow morning we should know what has come out of all this name-calling.
Saturday Morning, Fairly Early
I got up and turned the television on at 5:00 a.m. so as to find out if we still had a functioning government. Whether you consider it to be good or bad, we do. I still don't know what the main details are but maybe we all will by the end of today, that is, if we really want to know.
Saturday Night, Fairly Late
Someone on television said that Representative Paul Ryan's 2012 budget proposal may be looked at as a marker to be used in the upcoming election campaigns for not only the Presidency but also the House and Senate races. I suppose that it can be looked at as true but it is not the only thing that will affect those elections.
In my opinion the best thing to come out of that 11th hour compromise on the "Continueing Resolution", which funds the government for a few more days, was not the almost 40 billion dollars cut from the budget, as proposed by the President, but the promise that was extracted from Senator Harry Reid (if it is true). Almost all the way up to that 11th hour compromise, Senator Reid had always refused to even consider allowing a vote on the defunding of either "Obamacare" or "Planned Parenthood" but it has been reported that he agreed to allow those votes to take place as stand alone bills. No, they won't pass but if they come to a vote every Senator will have to vote either yes or no and their votes will become the most prominent marker in the 2012 elections. More about that later.
We spent most of another day doing odd jobs that needed to be done, nothing really important but needful. We did get some of our squash, tomatoes and cucumbers set out in the ground, watered and shaded. The sun was really hot about noon.
Sunday Morning, Not Too Early
Ryan's 2012 budget proposals have been talked about a lot, especially his plan to fix Medicare and Medicaid. That may not be the next big fight but it won't be far behind. This morning the news has only been a re-hash of the last three day. Who needs that?
The temperature here is in the upper sixties, starting off very warm, and will probably push ninety before the day is gone. That's hot for this time of year. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Another Day Older
We're All Deeper in Debt.
We, here on the hill, seem to be recovering from our bout with what, I guess, was some kind of allergies. After going to the clinic, on to the drug store to pick up about a half bushel of medicine and a week at home we are mostly just left with a hacking cough. Mabe when the weather gets warmer we can shake it off. We have squash plants ready to transplant into the garden soon and cucumbers not far behind. Our peppers and tomatoes aren't growing as fast, they will probably be ready by the first part of May. Early enough.
The stormy weather last Monday did some damage here but not much, a few trees blown down on the next hill to the west of us. It did rain a lot, sometimes really hard, and will be too wet to do much in the yard or garden for a few days. It now appears that most of our flowers and fruit trees survived the light frost we had last week and again yesterday morning. The blueberries are now in full bloom with butterflies and other insects really swarming.
The news, our allergies or the weather (or all three combined) has been enough to cause us, especially me, to be somewhat depressed (cabin fever, maybe) for a couple of weeks now but we are hopeful that some warm dry weather will cure that.
After waiting weeks for Representative Paul Ryan to disclose the Republican version of our 2012 Federal budget, I haven't heard anything (yesterday or this morning) to be happy about. Their claim to cut 6 trillion dollars from the budget over the next 10 years will not even balance it. What that means is that in 10 years the National debt will have grown from 14 trillion dollars to over 20 trillion dollars or more when interest rates go up. I don't believe the final budget numbers will be anywhere close to the 2009 budget that President Obama inherited from the Bush Administration. Even that budget was running too much of a deficit. Doesn't that make a bright future to look forward to?
Maybe I just don't understand what is going on but according to various commentators on television today the cuts proposed by Representative Ryan are not even to the non-existant budget for 2011 but the 2012 budget as put forward by President Obama which carries a deficit of about 1.6 trillion dollar. If Ryan's proposals are passed we would still have a deficit of about 1 trillion dollars a year. Apparently Representative Ryan's budget cuts are not in real money but to projected budget deficits as put forth by the President. Smoke and mirrors?
I haven't, to this point, heard anything about cutting out the oil or ethanol subsidies. I can see helping the oil companies when oil is selling for 35 dollars a barrel or less but now that it is over one hundred dollars a barrel it is not at all called for and the subsidies on ethanol causes grain shortages which drives up prices on almost everything we eat. It is my understanding that ethanol can be imported from South America by paying a high import tax. If that is true then both the subsidsies and import taxes should be repealed.
When the news is mostly depressing there is not much point in dwelling on the subject so unless something more important comes up in the next few hours I intend to post this and try to forget about it. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
We, here on the hill, seem to be recovering from our bout with what, I guess, was some kind of allergies. After going to the clinic, on to the drug store to pick up about a half bushel of medicine and a week at home we are mostly just left with a hacking cough. Mabe when the weather gets warmer we can shake it off. We have squash plants ready to transplant into the garden soon and cucumbers not far behind. Our peppers and tomatoes aren't growing as fast, they will probably be ready by the first part of May. Early enough.
The stormy weather last Monday did some damage here but not much, a few trees blown down on the next hill to the west of us. It did rain a lot, sometimes really hard, and will be too wet to do much in the yard or garden for a few days. It now appears that most of our flowers and fruit trees survived the light frost we had last week and again yesterday morning. The blueberries are now in full bloom with butterflies and other insects really swarming.
The news, our allergies or the weather (or all three combined) has been enough to cause us, especially me, to be somewhat depressed (cabin fever, maybe) for a couple of weeks now but we are hopeful that some warm dry weather will cure that.
After waiting weeks for Representative Paul Ryan to disclose the Republican version of our 2012 Federal budget, I haven't heard anything (yesterday or this morning) to be happy about. Their claim to cut 6 trillion dollars from the budget over the next 10 years will not even balance it. What that means is that in 10 years the National debt will have grown from 14 trillion dollars to over 20 trillion dollars or more when interest rates go up. I don't believe the final budget numbers will be anywhere close to the 2009 budget that President Obama inherited from the Bush Administration. Even that budget was running too much of a deficit. Doesn't that make a bright future to look forward to?
Maybe I just don't understand what is going on but according to various commentators on television today the cuts proposed by Representative Ryan are not even to the non-existant budget for 2011 but the 2012 budget as put forward by President Obama which carries a deficit of about 1.6 trillion dollar. If Ryan's proposals are passed we would still have a deficit of about 1 trillion dollars a year. Apparently Representative Ryan's budget cuts are not in real money but to projected budget deficits as put forth by the President. Smoke and mirrors?
I haven't, to this point, heard anything about cutting out the oil or ethanol subsidies. I can see helping the oil companies when oil is selling for 35 dollars a barrel or less but now that it is over one hundred dollars a barrel it is not at all called for and the subsidies on ethanol causes grain shortages which drives up prices on almost everything we eat. It is my understanding that ethanol can be imported from South America by paying a high import tax. If that is true then both the subsidsies and import taxes should be repealed.
When the news is mostly depressing there is not much point in dwelling on the subject so unless something more important comes up in the next few hours I intend to post this and try to forget about it. Thanks for your time and input. Stay tuned. - William
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Crystal Ball
Or Tea Leaves
What does it take to know what a politician will do when the going gets tough? Whoever said; "When the going gets tough, the tough gets going" surely wasn't thinking about the crowds hanging around Washington and many of our state capitals. I had already planned out my post for today but at the last minute I decided to delay it for a few more days and try an approach from a different direction.
Sometime next week, Tuesday or Wednesday I think, Representative Paul Ryan plans to lay out the Republican Budget for the year 2012 which begins in October of this year. Much has been said about the cutting of programs such as Medicare and Medicaid but I don't know how they can cut Medicaid, which is not part of the Social Security Trust Fund, after it is to be greatly expanded under "Obamacare". Social Security and Medicare can be fixed by raising the retirement age for those retiring in 15 to 20 years from now, along with some other small tweeks such as a means test for full benefits at the same time. Nothing would change for current retirees or those retiring in that 15 to 20 year period. Some politicians will try to use scare tactics to stir up opposition for even the smallest changes.
In earlier postings, I wrote that I would give up between 1 and 5 percent of my Social Security check to be returned to the Social Security Trust Fund in order to extend it for future generations IF our federal workers would agree to the same percentage cut to be deposited in a fund to help pay down the National debt. Any takers?
As for cutting the budget, the best place to start would be the size of government which could be changed by simply enacting a freeze on all government hiring (when a worker retires his position would be filled from within) and the placing of a cap on all salaries at their current levels for at least one year. Cutting or consolidating overlapping Federal programs should also be a part of that legislation but I don't believe either part will be in the new budget. I'm sure there is enough waste and fraud, as in any government program, in the Department of Defense for substantial savings.
I am in favor of cutting all funding to Planned Parenthood until they can prove that no taxpayer money goes for abortions and probably the only way they can do that is to quit performing abortions.
If, as stated on television, there was over two hundred thousand new government workers hired since Obama became President, with more waiting in the wings to be hired in the next year or two, there should be ample room to cut or at least trim but I am doubting that it will even be mentioned in the Republican budget.
On March 11, 2011 my posting was named "Eminent Domain" and was partly about the case of Susette Kelo and her "Little Pink House". Last night there was an article on Fox News updating that case. At this time, nothing has been built on those acres which were taken and bulldozed. Coincident? They have my blog address.
When it comes down to the "Brass Tacks, When the Pen Hits the Paper or When the Rubber Meets the Road", I don't have any confidence in either side. We'll know in a few days. I pray that I am wrong. Thanks for your time and input, stay tuned. - William
What does it take to know what a politician will do when the going gets tough? Whoever said; "When the going gets tough, the tough gets going" surely wasn't thinking about the crowds hanging around Washington and many of our state capitals. I had already planned out my post for today but at the last minute I decided to delay it for a few more days and try an approach from a different direction.
Sometime next week, Tuesday or Wednesday I think, Representative Paul Ryan plans to lay out the Republican Budget for the year 2012 which begins in October of this year. Much has been said about the cutting of programs such as Medicare and Medicaid but I don't know how they can cut Medicaid, which is not part of the Social Security Trust Fund, after it is to be greatly expanded under "Obamacare". Social Security and Medicare can be fixed by raising the retirement age for those retiring in 15 to 20 years from now, along with some other small tweeks such as a means test for full benefits at the same time. Nothing would change for current retirees or those retiring in that 15 to 20 year period. Some politicians will try to use scare tactics to stir up opposition for even the smallest changes.
In earlier postings, I wrote that I would give up between 1 and 5 percent of my Social Security check to be returned to the Social Security Trust Fund in order to extend it for future generations IF our federal workers would agree to the same percentage cut to be deposited in a fund to help pay down the National debt. Any takers?
As for cutting the budget, the best place to start would be the size of government which could be changed by simply enacting a freeze on all government hiring (when a worker retires his position would be filled from within) and the placing of a cap on all salaries at their current levels for at least one year. Cutting or consolidating overlapping Federal programs should also be a part of that legislation but I don't believe either part will be in the new budget. I'm sure there is enough waste and fraud, as in any government program, in the Department of Defense for substantial savings.
I am in favor of cutting all funding to Planned Parenthood until they can prove that no taxpayer money goes for abortions and probably the only way they can do that is to quit performing abortions.
If, as stated on television, there was over two hundred thousand new government workers hired since Obama became President, with more waiting in the wings to be hired in the next year or two, there should be ample room to cut or at least trim but I am doubting that it will even be mentioned in the Republican budget.
On March 11, 2011 my posting was named "Eminent Domain" and was partly about the case of Susette Kelo and her "Little Pink House". Last night there was an article on Fox News updating that case. At this time, nothing has been built on those acres which were taken and bulldozed. Coincident? They have my blog address.
When it comes down to the "Brass Tacks, When the Pen Hits the Paper or When the Rubber Meets the Road", I don't have any confidence in either side. We'll know in a few days. I pray that I am wrong. Thanks for your time and input, stay tuned. - William
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)