Challenge The Welfare Rolls

It seems whenever there is a monetary crisis in Washington, then politicians turn to Medicare and Social Security and recite that they have to be changes made or the programs will failure. Scare tactics at their best. Here is the question, why do politicians never address the need to reduce the Welfare Rolls? Why is it, that politicians feel free to threaten Senior Citizens with changes to Medicare and Social Security, but they never once go after Welfare, which includes Medicaid?

To my way of thinking, it's about the vote and the fact that politicians don't have the balls to stand up for the Middle Class. After all, it's our money that funds these programs, we should have a say in how they are used. Medicare and Social Security provide for our Senior Citizens, they deserve and need these programs.

Medicaid and Welfare need to be changed, and if the people who are on these programs don't like it, then go get a job! Welfare payments should have time limits, 2 years and then you are off. No ifs, ands or buts. But, then they will cry that we aren't fair or that we are discriminating against them. That is a bunch of bull. They need to get off their butts and go to work.

Is There Really Any Differences Between The Candidates?

Turn on any news program, and you will eventually hear how important the Midterm Elections will be to the American People. The Democrats are afraid of losing their power in Washington and the Republicans are afraid that they won't get in back. The one think missing in both these equations is the American People.

I don't care how you look at it, both political parties are in it for themselves. It's all about power, money and prestige. If the parties gave a damn about the American People then they would not have sold us down the river. How did they do this, well it didn't happen over night, but over time. When they didn't step up and help prevent American Business from leaving our shores, when they threw money down the drain by not stopping Medicaid and Medicare fraud, when they bailout Frannie Mae and Frannie Mac, when they bailout Wall St.

It's not just one political party but all of them, that is to blame. It's their pocketbook and their bottom line that their care about, not us. America was at one time a force to be reckoned with, not we are over extended, under employed and failing fast. For some reason, the political leaders still seem to think that we have money in our pockets, or hidden under our mattresses.

Democrats would have you believe that they care about the poor and the down trodden, that's a bunch of bull. All they really want is to convince who ever they can that they are the one to vote for,  after that, well you are on your own. Democrats and others have created generations of individuals who believe that the rest of us owe them something, because of where they live, what they don't have or who their great great grandparents may have been. They need to get over themselves and quick. No one owes us anything, it is up to us to built our own life and to reach for our own dreams.

I am sick to death of hearing about the global economy. All this has ever done, is hurt the American Economy and the American People. But wait, according to the media and our leaders, we are sheep to be lead and they can sell us anything and we will buy it. We are too stupid to see the truth, even when it is staring us in the face.

So, is there really any difference in the candidates running for political office? No, when push comes to shove, they don't give a damn about us. What they do care about is lining their pocketbooks at our expense. What recourse do we have? It's really quite simple, vote out the incumbent, but let who ever we elect know, that we will be watching and that we can do the same to them.

Losing Our Freedoms One By One

One upon a time, in a place close to our hearts, there was a land founded on freedom and liberty. Fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, all fought and died to allow the people of this land to live their lives freely. They could worship how they chose, they could eat what they wanted, read what they wanted and even smoke if they chose to.

Now, in this land of freedom, the people can't worship how they want for fear of ridicule. Pray and the Pledge of Allegiance can no longer be said in school, for those who have no belief in God, have overruled those with faith in God. Television, print and other media outlets have decreed that if your body isn't perfect, then you are less of a human being. Skinny is IN and normal is OUT! Starving yourself is the order of the day, you have to fit into whatever style is hot.

If you read the Bible, then you are a moron, who can't think for them self. It doesn't matter if you have a PhD or a 7th grade education, if you believe in a higher being in you are stupid. You most be made to conform to fit in to this new world order.

If you decide to light up a cigarette then you are breaking the law in some states in this once great land. While smoking may be harmful, as an adult, you should be able to make that decision for yourself. Being able to decide for yourself was part of the liberties and freedoms that this land was built on.

As personal liberties have been lost, this once great land, that our forefathers bleed and died for has diminished. If we don't start standing up to those who would walk over us, then we are handing them the keys to our destruction. We have to take back control of our schools, our jails, our borders and our government.

We need to put pray and the Pledge of Allegiance back in our schools. We need to empower our teachers and principals to discipline our children. Jails need have less privileges and more hard time. They need to place where people don't want to be sent. We have to secure our borders. We need to take control of our government and our so called leaders.

The Out Sourcing of America

How many times have you had a problem with your computer or network or some other electronic device and had to call their 24 hour help line? How many times have you spoken to some one located in the United States and how many times have you spoken to someone in India or other country?

I can remember when you would see an ad on television for a certain computer company illustrating how their technical support was there 24/7. The actors were English speaking, without an accent. Now, don't get me wrong, I have no problem utilizing the help centers when I can understand them, but too often their accents can be too heavy.

It speaks to another problem, computer companies, electronic companies and others out sourcing their technical centers to foreign countries. I know that we are in a global economy, turn on any news show or pick up a newspaper or magazine and that's all we hear. This is my point, shouldn't we be taking care of our own first, and then help out others? Now, it seems like we help out everyone at our own expense.

I know that this is not a politically correct statement, but I am tired of having to be politically correct. We need to rebuild this country and we can't when American Businesses keep sending jobs out of this country. We all need to let our voice be heard and let Big Business and Congress know that we are tired of the bull shit that keeps coming down the pike.

Prohibition of Marijuana

During the time of Al Capone, we learnt the hard way that when you prohibit something, it just makes people want it more. People became rich during Prohibition by making and selling alcohol. There were Speak Easy's and bathtub gin in small and large towns around the country. The one thing that we came out of all of the police raids, shoot outs and corruption, is that Prohibition DID NOT WORK!

This country has spent billions of dollars fighting the war on drugs. A large majority to that has been spent on stopping the growing and selling of marijuana. There have been study after study on the impact of "weed" on health, short term memory, so on and so on. How many times have you heard that, "If you smoke pot, it will lead to stronger drugs".

If you spend enough money to have a study done, then you can twist the numbers how ever you want, it's call statistics. It really can be outrageous how much money has been spent on these studies. Thank you Congress.

If you speak with an officer of the law, off the record, quite a few will tell you that busting people with small amounts of weed, is a waste of money, time and it ties the court system up. They would rather be arresting people out there who are committing more grievous crimes. They would rather be going after dealers of crack, heroin and other hard drugs. Some feel that if weed war legalized that we would be able to hurt the drug cartels. It does give you pause, when you thing that we could actually hurt the drug cartels.

What is the answer to the prohibition of marijuana? Is there even a real answer? What I do know, is that what we have been doing is not working. Maybe it is time to make the growing of marijuana for personal use legal. Maybe it is time to end the Prohibition of Marijuana all together.

Where Have All Our Leaders Gone?

Americans elected politicians to make hard decisions for our country. We put our faith and trust in these individuals with the hope that they will stand up for us and make hard decisions. We hope that they will have our best interests at heart. But, here is the questions, Where have all our leaders gone?

These so called leaders seem more concerned with their own agenda and with there own pocketbooks then with what most Americans are facing. They have sold this country down the river. They throw words like global economy, climate change, and stimulus around. But, when do they stand up for us, the people who put them into office?

They want to take our personal freedoms away from us. Oh, they say it's for our own good, but it's still an infringement on our Constitutional Freedoms. Piece by piece they are tearing our country apart.

Real leaders stand up for and by the Constitution. Real leaders fight for us, even if their colleagues are against them. Real leaders put Americans first, not others countries. Real leaders wouldn't let American Businesses take their corporations and manufacturing operations out of this country, just to make larger profits. A real leader has the guts to make hard decisions. Real leaders would listen to the American People.

So, where have all our leaders gone? The hard truth is, that we don't have any. They are too concerned with putting money into their pockets. They are too concerned with lecture and media tours. They are too concerned about themselves to be true leaders.

The Evolution Of A Family

After getting married, my husband and I couldn't wait to start our family. Being young and in love we just knew that we were going to be wonderful parents and that our children would be outstanding. That being said, we didn't have a clue what we were getting into, we learnt the hard way that there is no "Handbook For Raising Children". Now, don't get me wrong, there are tons of how to books, but none of them can really help you raise children and help you face the hardships that come along with raising a family.

We struggled with lack of money, cultural differences (he was from the north and I had been raised in the south, he was catholic and I was not), we lived with his family and mine was 500 miles away. We rarely agreed on anything to do with how we were going to raise our children. But, one thing that we did agree on was that divorce was not an option. We were committed to staying together.

We fought and argued, we laughed and cried but most of all we loved each other and our children. We made a lot of mistakes and we got a few things right. We created 3 wonderful and loving children. We survived the lose of our first born to cancer when he was young. We made it through the pain and suffering that goes along with chemotherapy and radiation therapy and the news that it didn't work.

We separated and came back together because we loved each other and our children. We helped each other reach for the stars and held each other when we came crashing down to earth. We held our family together through pray, hope and stubbornness.

We survived our daughters rebellious years when we didn't know if she was alive or dead. We each dealt with the pain in our own way but always as parents. We survived the lose of our own parents, and grandparents. We did the best that we could do.

Then something happened, at some point, our children suddenly turned into young adults. Our daughter came back into our lives and has turned out to be a truly amazing woman. She is strong willed still, but has taken that and turned it from a negative to a positive. She is a loving, caring and giving person that I am proud to say, "She's My Daughter and My Best Friend". My son is finally finding his way, after a few false starts, he is slowing coming into his own.

So, what have we learned? That no family is perfect, that parents don't have all the answers, that children become human again once they hit their early 20's. We have learned that fighting for your family is worth more than anything money can buy. We have evolved into a loving and caring family that cares about each other and that we can be individuals and still be a family.