Baby’s Got Blue Eyes …

You know, nothing in the world will melt my soul like a pair of beautiful blue eyes, long dark lashes and dark/black hair on a man!

I was at the drive-thru at lunch, flustered because the young man didn’t seem to understand that I simply wanted a small chili, plain potato and diet drink.  When I arrived at the window to pay there was the most debilitating pair of blue eyes that I’ve seen in ages!  I don’t know if it was a sugar rush, hot flash or the rut coming on!  ROFLMAO!!

Home Again

  Well, I’m staying home today.  Trying to stretch the fuel. 

 

  I am just so … disillusioned.  I may also be impatient.  We tried to contact the agent who is reviewing my information and will determine if I can be covered for errors and omissions.  It’s been two weeks and no decision.

 

I’m experiencing some fallout from the brouhaha a couple weeks ago.  It seems that the same person who whacked me in the nose has decided to try to get even by filing an unrelated complaint against a close member of my family.  I can’t get into it here but I will say the complaint, if pursued by the authorities, will damage the future of a young person.  The complaint can’t be proven either way with evidence, well, physical evidence.  The incident would have happened months ago.  It would only be one child’s word against another.  But the severity of the accusation can follow this person for the rest of their life.  It could keep the young person from certain jobs.  It is also ripping a family apart as other family members are implicated. 

 

  I’ve seen similar stories in the news and the accused has almost always been convicted of something. 

 

  At the time, the one who whacked me threatened to call the police and I said “Go ahead.  You climbed out of your SUV to attack me. And _____ saw it.”  I opted not to contact the authorities following my ‘attack’, mostly because it was family and over.  But now, I’m wondering if that wasn’t the wrong thing to do because now this person feels powerful over me.  Obviously, since I didn’t follow through with my option I must be weak.  I did take pictures of my eye and can call a couple witnesses to the event.

 

  Then there is the organization I’m involved in.  The state president resigned due to health reasons.  Now, lucky me, I am the president.  It wouldn’t be a problem if it weren’t for no work, little money, school, and the family issue.  However, the organization in WV is struggling and people are expecting the state level officers to pull it out.  We’ll be holding a special meeting in October, something I have to set up.

 

  My stuff on Ebay isn’t going very well.  There are still two days left, but there are only two ‘Watches’ and no bids.  Only about 25 people have even viewed the items.

 

  So, I supposed I am in the depths of a personal economic downturn.

 

  I think I’ll run the vacuum.

Follow The Money

I tripped across this item this morning.  From Investors Business Daily:  The Soros Threat To Democracy

How many people, for instance, know that James Hansen, a man billed as a lonely “NASA whistleblower” standing up to the mighty U.S. government, was really funded by Soros’ Open Society Institute , which gave him “legal and media advice”?

Interesting …

Didn’t the mainstream media report that 2006’s vast immigration rallies across the country began as a spontaneous uprising of 2 million angry Mexican-flag waving illegal immigrants demanding U.S. citizenship in Los Angeles, egged on only by a local Spanish-language radio announcer?

Turns out that wasn’t what happened, either. Soros’ OSI had money-muscle there, too, through its $17 million Justice Fund.

Well, well ….

Do people know last year’s Supreme Court ruling abolishing special military commissions for terrorists at Guantanamo was a Soros project? OSI gave support to Georgetown lawyers in 2006 to win Hamdan v. Rumsfeld — for the terrorists.

Ahhhh ….

Soros’ “shaping public policies,” as OSI calls it, is not illegal. But it’s a problem for democracy because it drives issues with cash and then only lets the public know about it after it’s old news.

That means the public makes decisions about issues without understanding the special agendas of groups behind them.

Gosh — when Don Blankeship does stuff like that in West Virginia the opponents go ape-sh*t!

“We’ll be delivering post cards at each stop so that West Virginians of all parties can send a message directly to Don Blankenship,” said Casey.  “That message is simply, you can’t buy our votes, our integrity or our legislators.  West Virginia is not for sale, Don.” 

“Second, we’ll be delivering a little ‘truth serum’ as the antidote for Mr. Blankenship’s distortions and misrepresentations about members of the legislature.”

And finally, since many people don’t know much about who Mr. Blankenship is or what he stands for, we’ll be letting people know who the real Don Blankenship is,” said Chairman Casey.

And …

Blankenship has been feeling his oats since he flexed his monetary muscle in 2004 to aid in unseating controversial Supreme Court Justice Warren McGraw, and then again last year when he financed a campaign to derail Gov. Joe Manchin’s attempt at a bond issue designed to refinance some of West Virginia’s gigantic public pension debts.

Just an observation. 

Some People Will Believe Anything

Ok, here we go.  I’m going give you my position on that bastard leader Ahmadinejad and his visit to Columbia University — it’s pig sh*t.  Simple as that.

Columbia is a liberal haven.  To have invited this war criminal in the first place was a slap in the face of every soldier, fire-fighter, policeman and volunteer who is fighting the terrorists or otherwise affected by the slaughter of thousands by Muslim extremists.  That includes the Achille Laurel, first bombing of the World Trade Center, the second attack on the Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93.

In the light of the morning after, the Islamic Republic News Agency is reporting a standing “O” for the little fella. 

The audience on repeated occasion applauded Ahmadinejad when he touched on international crises.

Now, Reuters is reporting on President Shimon Peres’ comments. 

But Peres said Columbia’s invitation to the Iranian leader did not fall under the umbrella of free academic expression because Ahmadinejad “simply stood up and lied”.

“I think that Columbia University made a mistake … With Hitler there was a dialogue. (British Prime Minister Neville) Chamberlain went to talk to him. What did it help? It helped cover the fact that Hitler prepared concentration camps and death camps,” Peres told Reuters.

I’m with Peres.

I also don’t understand Columbia’s eagerness to bring this red-neck to their campus.  Yes, I said red-neck.  Well, he has to be a red-neck because he claims there are no homosexuals in Iran.  Everyone knows that the only place you can live that has no homosexuals is the back woods of red-neckville where all the white, homophobic people live.

“In Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country,” Ahmadinejad said to howls and boos among the Columbia University audience.

“In Iran we do not have this phenomenon, I don’t know who has told you that we have it,” he said.

Ahmadinejad was challenged during his appearance on Amnesty International figures that suggested that 200 people had been executed in Iran so far this year, among them homosexuals.

That can’t be correct.  Otherwise every gay rights organization would have been protesting Columbia.

And, speaking of protests, where are thos demanding the separation of church and state?  According to CNN:

His remarks, which lasted about an hour, made several general references to God, religion and science. He portrayed himself as an academic, misunderstood and unfairly criticized in the United States.

I suppose the “science” reference makes up for the God and religion stuff.  And where is N.O.W.?  You’ve got this man making claims like:

“Women in Iran enjoy the highest levels of freedom,” he said.

Right.  They have the true freedom of choice. You can choose to do what the Islamic law dictacts, or you can die.  Your choice.

Our wonderful, would-be presidents have this to say, according to CNN: 

• Rudy Giuliani said Monday he finds it “disturbing”
• Mitt Romney … “What we should be doing is indicting Ahmadinejad under the Genocide Convention.”
• Hillary Clinton -I did not express an opinion about the decision made by Columbia,
• Barack Obama said he would not have invited Ahmadinejad to Columbia but stood his ground Monday on his controversial remarks earlier this year that he would meet with him.
• Fred Thompson said Thursday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should not be allowed into the country, much less at the World Trade Center site, when he travels to New York next week to address the United Nations. (This one isn’t from CNN and I’ve lost the link. Sorry.)

And if a picture is worth 1000 words …

Plastic Withdrawl

I never realize how addicted I am to plastic.

Lord help me.

I bank with a credit union.  It serves me well.  I’ve had few problems overall.  However, on September 2 I tried to use my debit card and …. declined.  D@mn thing was expired.  So I called the CU.  The chick on the phone assured me that I had been sent a new on in June. 

“I don’t have a new one.”  “We sent it out” she said.  “Doesn’t matter, I never received it” said I.  “You didn’t activate it.”  “Well, how could I?  I never received it.”  “We sent it in a plain envelope.” “Doesn’t matter.  I never received it.” On and on like that for a few minutes it went. 

About 10 days ago I get my new card.  I called to activate it.  It wouldn’t work.  I was calling from a phone that wasn’t the one on record.  I hang up and get to the ‘phone on record.’ 

The first opportunity to use the card was at Kroger.  I swiped the card and entered the pin number.  Declined.  “Try it againg.  The system said it was declined.” I tried it again.  Declined.  Now I’m getting upset.  “Run it as a credit card to see if that will work.” I said.  Declined.  “Sh*t, now I have to write a freakin check.”

So, I have no cash.  When was the last time you tried to pay for fuel with a check?

At lunch today I ran to the CU to try the card at their machine.  “Your card has been deactivated,” blares at me on the screen.  So I go in.

Turns out that my card was shut down because I used the wrong pin number.  I used the only one I received in the mail, but it was for another card from the same CU.  I managed to get the card re-activated easily, since I was there in person.  But I realized just how addicted I’ve become to plastic.

During the three weeks I’ve been without a card I have really had to think through my week so I either had enough cash to get by or could get to the CU during business hours.  I’ve written more checks during that time than I have in probably three months.  I’m used to swiping that card at Kroger, Rite Aide, the doctor’s office, the gas station, Shoney’s, everywhere. 

I used to only write checks.  Somehow it seemed to help me be more accountable.  However, it is starting to seem to me that the debit card is almost as bad as cash.  I don’t deplete my account.  Well, I don’t try to draw out more than I have.  <blush>  But it is very easy to just ‘swipe’ that card and go, without thinking whether it is a wise purchase.  Checks force me to write out the final costs, which will, occassionally, force me to rethink the purchase.

But plastic is so much easier ……..

Ebaying

Well, another first. 

I’ve had an Ebay account for a couple years.  Mostly so I could bid on stuff for my bike.  But today I started selling.

Nothing fancy.  Just a few blazers and a pant suit.  I can’t wear them anymore and I need the cash-ola.  I’m going to try to go through a bunch of stuff I have in storage and list it on Ebay.  I doubt I have much that anyone would want, but I do have a few Home Interior pieces I can dump.

I don’t have much HI stuff.  OH, it’s nice looking but most of it is plastic.  A person with a little gumption can take a HI booklet and piece stuff together cheaper.

I do notice that the shipping costs for this Ebay stuff is quite high.  I don’t have anything that isn’t at least $10 to ship.  I have ordered some boxes from the USPS that are flat rate so that should help. 

Normally I would donate most of the stuff to the Salvation Army, but I need the cash.  Secrete Santa time is coming and this may be the first year in many that I can’t donate. I”m really getting a bit worried and bothered by this situation I”m in. 

We’ll see how this works.  I know there are people who do very well with Ebay.  One of my best friends has.  But, I’m generally not good at this kind of stuff.

Citizens of Nitro — Throw the Bums Out

Good lord.  If I lived in Nitro I think I would kick every one of the city leaders out on their asses.  In yet another story on the antics citizen Karen Fritz and her attorney Mike Clifford are considering filing contempt charges against the city.

I’ve about half heartedly followed this story for a few YEARS now. 

The city government is freaking CORRUPT and an embarrasment to the county.  The Treasurer has thumbed the nose to the citizens for a long time.  The mayor is upholding her in it.  At one time she was part of an organization suing the city.  But a $42,000 job will shut just about any unemployed housewife up.

The City of Jefferson [Kanawha County, WV] wasn’t this bad and the county shut them down. 

I used to work with the spouse of a council person of Nitro.  That spouse told me stories that just made my jaw hit the ground.  Why the state hasn’t looked deeper into some of these accusations is beyone me.

Still Flustered.

Yes, I am still flustered with this new “business”.  I still have not received word on the Errors & Omission coverage I submitted for eight days ago. 

That means I still can’t contract with any business in order to write policies to earn commissions.  I had to move money from savings to checking to pay bills.  I can’t do that many more times.

I’m driving nearly every day to the office where I am to be trained, but there is precious little I’m legally allowed to do.  I didn’t come in yesterday and explained that without the ability to earn commission I can’t afford the gas to drive in every day.  I’ll be going through things in storage tomorrow to see what I can either yard-sale or Ebay.  I have to get some money coming in.

I’m probably six more weeks from tossing in the towel and taking a waitressing job until I get something else.  My classes started up on Tuesday and that requires a lot of time/attention.

My ‘partner’ told me to come in this morning and that he’d be leaving early to go to Marion County.  He isn’t here yet.  Normally he pulls in by 8:15. 

I may have to bring in some lavender essential oil to remain calm in this place.  <grin>

I’m a very impatient person.

Child Support – Mother/Father — Treat Them The Same

I was browsing the online edition of the Charleston Gazette and saw this headline:

Ohio man gets probation, restitution over missed child-support payments

Now, it’s just a quick note, not a real story.  This guy owes $50,000 in restitution for his children.  Granted, I don’t know the backstory to this one, but I have my own history with this type of issue.

I was once married to a guy who’s wife left the kids on him.  The kids had a lot of problems, primarily psychological.  Stuff like severe AD/HD [the kind where they prowel the house at 3:00 a.m. and just walked out of classrooms], defiance disorder, and the inability to comprehend consequence.  The ex would blow his top at the least little thing.  I often reminded him that he should have assured that the young woman [20 years his junior] didn’t get with child while they were enjoying … stuff.  He hated it when I did that.

But a twist to this story was that the mother of his children was never ordered to pay child support.  Not even the mandated by law $50 per week month.  She was told that because she chose to move out-of-state that she had to come up with the transportation costs for the children to visit her.  [She never did and they never saw her unless she came in.]

So here we are, these two children were so out-of-control that we couldn’t keep them in daycare.  [One managed to slice open his leg when he went to the john and dropped the tank lid.  It shattered and sliced his leg on the way down.  Took something like 25 stitches.  He was four years old.]  Their father ended up leaving his barely above minimum wage job. [I worked for the government, had good benefits and refused to quit.] They were all on my insurance, I used my sick days when needed, ate a bunch of my vacation time running them to doctors and running interference with the schools and daycares, and she isn’t even required to pay a dime.

Then I see a story like the one above.  My initial response is ‘good, he should pay for his children’ then I’m reminded of my personal experience and I wonder why women aren’t held to the same standard as men?

I am so against discrimination of any type it isn’t funny.  We don’t need special laws for special cases.  Discrimination is wrong, period.  All forms of discrimination are wrong. 

I want to see mothers held to the same standard.

A Bad Choice of Donor

I have a relative, 27 year old female, who is expecting a child in a few weeks.  She isn’t married, has a respectable job and gets by o.k.  She probably makes $11.50.  She’s made her share of young adult mistakes.  She doesn’t have a very good automobile, but she rides the KRT to work.  She does need some self-discilpline with paying her bills.  She will let her utilities get behind, but not disconnected … yet.

On Wednesday, she had to go to the courthouse to secure a restraining order against the baby’s father. 

This character has a police record almost as long as I am tall.  He’s just bad news.  He doesn’t have a permanent home. No job.  He played on her need for attention to get lodging for several months.  [She’s a beautiful young lady, but very overweight.] She bought the sales-pitch and now is paying the price for it.  He has been verbally abusive to her and the family has urged her to get the order for a long time.  She, more of the eternal optomist than me, put it off believing that he would figure it out and straighten up.

So, in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, this character calls her, giving her hell, telling her he was going to hurt her and she’d regret having the baby.  Real manly stuff, you know.  He even showed up outside her place of employement and threatened her and a co-worker with violence. 

She went to the courthouse after work that same day.  The magistrate, or whomever, gave her grief because she doesn’t have an address for this freak.  My relative told the magistrate he’s homeless as far as she knows but will be in court the next day for yet another hearing.  Why the magistrate gave this person seeking relief from the court grief I don’t know.  This relative doesn’t make a habit of coming to the courthouse.

Yesterday, Sept 20, at 5:00 or so in the morning, this freak is calling my relative from one of the waiting rooms at the Charleston General Hospital — oops, CAMC General Division.  He apparently does this frequently.  He isn’t a patient.  He walks in with others and takes advantage of the phones which allow out-going only calls.

She has a hearing next week.  For the next little while family members, me included, will be driving her to and from work.  I suspect we’ll do this at least till the baby comes.  Then she’ll be off work for a while and hopefully this freak will have gotten bored with the whole thing and either be in jail, out of the state or bugging someone else. 

I secretly hope the freak will get hold of some bad drugs and assume room temperature today!