O-Dark-Thirty

Darling and I are binge watching West Wing. The show forces me to view political liberals in a new light, and gives me some insight into what liberals think of conservatives. I am not sure if the characterizations are always correct, but it does make me ponder. I ponder what the American people think. Betrayed. Our government uses statistics and news services like a great chef uses a fillet knife. When the government is finished, we have no idea what the real food was; we only know what they served us. We, the people, need real people in the House, in the Senate and in the White House. We need brilliant, capable minds in the Supreme Court. We might have the latter. I'm no longer sure of the former. I am afraid, as are most of we, the people , that our representatives are self-serving politicians who make laws for us that we don't understand but that somehow better the circumstances of the governing. From watching the primaries, I am afraid that all it takes to beco...

I'm not running for office, but if I were, this is what I'd say: I don't want your money for my campaign. What I want is your vote. I'm saddened that politicians think the election must be bought. Maybe they're right, but I'd like to prove them wrong. If you are part of what is called the one percent, I'd love to have some money for the campaign. Let's be clear, though. It isn't to buy favors. You don't need favors - the other 99 percent do. They need help, for themselves, for their families, and for their communities. Help me get elected and I'll make sure that they get heard, and that you're part of the solution. That is, after all, what we all want. A stronger, better, more United States of America. Why don't I hear any of the politicians say that?

The huge Omnibus Bill just passed in Congress. A good man in Congress, a friend of mine, voted for it, calling it the lesser of two evils. He really did. Evil is still evil, my friend. Yeah, politics is a dirty business. They released the 2000+ page bill at two in the morning and gave the politicians less than 48 hours to read it. Here's what I think about bills.  Firstly, they need to be written in simplified language. Congress shouldn't care; they don't read most of these massive bills anyway.  Secondly, each bill should address ONE thing. For goodness sake, what is hard about that? The riders and amendments turn bills into monsters.  Finally, every provision in the bill should be subject to one simple question: is it good for the PEOPLE of the United States or is it only good for the government? We SHOULD be a government of the people, by the people and for,the people, but we aren't any longer. Our government betrays the common people at every turn and ...

There's a fascinating article on the Yahoo finance page about social security with a bit about the  Simpson-Bowles Plan. As we mentioned in our book Preparing for the Fiscal Cliff (published at the end of 2012), we can't count on the government for support as we age. This concerns me a lot now that I am nearing my age for withdrawing social security. Have you noticed all the advice on the financial sites in the last few years? I've yet to see one that doesn't tell you to wait to withdraw your social security benefits. Sure you'll get a few hundred a month more if you wait (they specifically tell you it is 8% more per year), and the math is correct. Figures don't lie, but liars can certainly figure. Yes, it's true that waiting will give you a larger monthly paycheck, and if you can wait - like you are still working - then maybe go ahead and wait. But Social Security payouts were designed to give you the same total by the time you die, so you don't get ...

The day after we had the ribs at Spring Creek BBQ we received another coupon in the mail. Last night we used it and had ribs again. How lovely. This time I was much, much smarter. I only ate half my ribs, so only felt half as stuffed as last week. I also have dinner for tonight! The ribs weren't quite as tasty as last week (how quickly familiarity breeds contempt) but they were still quite good. I think it is the best coupon in town. The mac and cheese wasn't quite as creamy as last week though. The coleslaw was a little better and Darling is right. The green beans are delicious. The rolls, of course, were wonderful, but I need to make a note to eat a bit later; I think they start bringing fresh rolls to the table at about five, not four. (Hey, I was hungry.)  And I still like the pickles. The service is incredible, too. Darling dropped her knife on the floor. I had barely picked it up when one of the staff brought her new utensils. One of the young ladies working t...

On a personal note, let me congratulate my friend Congressman Randy Weber on being sworn into the US Congress today. Now get to work! President Obama signed the new Fiscal Cliff bill (via autopen from Hawaii ) so it is now law. Officially the bill is called The American Taxpayer Relief Act , though I have to admit I don't feel very relieved. The PDF is 157 pages long. How does it affect average citizens?   I'll use myself as the basis for most comments - 'cuz I can't speak for anyone else, can I? By the way, this isn't intended to be entirely comprehensive. I'm not a tax guy, and certainly don't want to be. Top of the list is the two percent the government takes back after giving us a break for a few years. For the last couple years we've only paid 4.2% payroll tax on our first $113,700 earned (which is everything most of us earn). That was nice, but it's gone now, and the tax is back up to 6.2%. So if you're making $48,000 per year (or...

I tend toward Conservative, as most readers and those who know me are aware. I also try to be balanced. I won't read an article on Fox News and start spouting about the Liberal Media without also reading the same information on CNN. Sometimes it isn't in both places - and that is Liberal Media at work! Did you know Congress hasn't had a pay raise since 2009? I didn't either. You know what? Neither have a lot of teachers I know, my brother included. And a lot of other workers haven't either. And don't economists now refer to the years from 2000 to 2010 as the "lost decade" since family wealth and buying power essentially stayed stagnant for those ten years (if the families were fortunate)? President Obama feels badly for Congress and Biden and signed an executive order giving his Vice-President and members of Congress a ½% to 1% raise in salary . Now you could argue that isn't much of a raise, and I'd agree. It bumps Mr. Biden up from $22...