"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs." -Thomas Jefferson (1802)
Economics. I remember having to take Macro in my first semester as a freshman college student. Coming home that day in tears with a big clunky text book that I knew wouldn't be a cup of tea. I flipped through the pages and my brain hurt. Read the first two required chapters as homework and found myself lost in WTF clouds.
Yet somehow I was able to embrace economics and boldly crush both Macro and Micro under my foot with authority, acing both courses without breaking a sweat. Knowing that economics may never be needed in my life path and that I probably never use a lick of it again. Until recently.
Recently it has come to my attention that I've never forgotten what I've learned back in 1993. In fact I was using it through the years without even a thought on why I had. Tiptoeing through our own finances over the past few years sure helped. Watching trailer park neighbors with barely two cents to rub together come home with shiny new cars with high interest payments. The repo-man was a common sight back then, as was Rent-a-center coming to take back a stereo system that was behind on rents.
Debt, debt and more debt. It was the subject nobody could avoid. I watched rich people build a mansion from an expected turn around on their (a-hem) pretty but cardboard pre-fab of a house that would fall at the sight of a simple Cat 2 hurricane. It went on the market a year ago for $800K and they haven't had an offer over $400K yet.
Topping off my concerns and know-how on that when things go up - they must someday come down; we can add in a few other factors. Baby-boomers retiring by the thousands each day collecting not only their Social Security Checks but pulling their retirement account moneys out of the market to subsidize. Gas prices soaring and groceries and other costs soaring along side of it.
Our economy is going to crash.
I knew it years ago and stand by it today. This bailout is not going to save us, it may merely hold us above water for a few more months. Either way expect more banks to merge or fall, even the airlines to come rushing to DC for a bailout plan. The first domino has been knocked over. Get ready for the rest.
Oh well, it's not even 8am and I've read that the Asian market fell drastically. The Russians forced a stop on trading in fear that their market would do the same. President George W. Bush is supposed to give another speech at 7:45am or was that 8:45am? I can't remember. All that I can guess is when Wall Street flicks the switch this morning.... Tuesday's Gone.
It's been awhile since I've put together a God Box on Sunday, but a whole lot has been said over the past few weeks in regards to the religions of our Presidential and VP candidates. So I figure, what a better time than any to tinker around in this tool box.
The US Constitution reads Freedom of religion and not necessarily Freedom From Religion. One can choose a religion to follow, change religions or even decided not to follow any religion at all.
But is this really the case? Our government sure has been busting up some religions lately. From the Mormons who practice bigamy and the marriage of teenage girls to the Rastafarian who cannot smoke marijuana in order to reach enlightenment by meditation.
From where I'm sitting America allows freedom of religion as long as the religion doesn't.... oh, I don't know... dare to vary to far from the Christian Church and their beliefs.
Basically America seems to be giving us the Freedom From Religion rather than of. Except if the religion is fundamentally Christian - you won't ever be protected from that.
I'm a Christian and I shouldn't be having issues over this at all. Yet I do. Sure, I do like the fact that our Government protects the innocent teenage girls in the Mormon complexes and cute little bunnies from being sacrificed to Satan.
It doesn't bother me that Sarah Palin is a Fundamentalist, prayer partner, pro-lifer Christian Zionest. May God bless her and her wonderful family. However, my finger is going to hover with dismay over the McCain/Palin button wondering whether while in office will her political decisions represent her people or represent her God.
What if she freely converts to FSM, tosses the 10 Commandments and replaces them with the eight "I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts" like Obama seems ready and willing to do?
Last week I posted and handed out virtual Dunderhead Diploma Degrees for those who hold phony college degrees from various known diploma mills. I can only guess that Ms. Priscilla Thomas wasn't very happy about this for my entire site was de-indexed by Google by Sunday evening.
Not Googles fault, but the fault of a Blackhat SEO whom I suspect is a Flying Monkey sent to erase her bad reputation per her request. It worked, but you see - it isn't very wise to mess around with the wife's blog of a darn good hacker. My darling husband whacked them good and saved my blog from flying monkey caused topsy-turviness.
I had planned to out an Ohio Congresswoman who holds a fake degree today, but...
ALERT! ALERT! This blog post has been interrupted to bring to you news of an Honorary Dunderhead who dared to stuff my email inbox with racial garbage this afternoon!
Congratulations to Frank White of Columbia, SC and thus manager of Regional Acceptance Corporation.(A division of BB&T) I do not know this guy personally but I do have a connection with him in the oddest sort of way. He is the manager of my car loan company!
Now I know I'm behind a month or so in my car payment, but geez!!! Did I deserve this email?:
Did you hear about the fire in the three-family walk up in New Jersey ? A black family of six lived on the first floor. They all perished in the fire. A Mexican family of eight lived on the second floor. They also perished. A white couple lived on the third floor. They survived.
Jesse Jackson, wanting to cut someone's nuts off for the disaster, demanded to know why the whites survived when the others didn't.
The fire chief said the answer was simple. The white couple were at work when the fire broke out. "
I'm all but appalled, baffled and astounded that the manager of my car loan company felt he needed to send me an email that included a racist joke! What if I was an African American, Mexican or victim of fire and flame?
What a Dunderhead! Congratulations Mr. Frank White of Columbia SC and manager of Regional Acceptance Corporation. You are the very first honorary Dunderhead Diploma Award Winner!
Does this mean I still in debt with a $5,563 dollar car loan? Feel free to email Frank White and tell him to eat my remaining balance! To think, President Bush wants us to bail out banks such as this. Eeek!
Eeeewww! Gross! What did the makers of Hot Pockets do? Hire some granny to stuff their pockets with homemade cooking?
If I wanted homemade cooking I would have done that, not heat up a Hot Pocket.
A little known fact about me is that I was super addicted to Hot Pocket Croissants Meatballs & Mozzarella. I haven't been able to find the croissants in over six months so I bought up a few of the regular crusted ones for a quick lunch on the run.
Being a little on the down side this evening I'm not feeling well enough to even heat up a bowl of soup. So in the microwave went these Hot Pockets. I take a bite and it's so nasty that I can't even eat the rest.
Here PeeWee! Snack for you! That dog will eat anything.
Meh, maybe it's my taste buds on strike or something. I don't have a cold yet or anything else. It's just that achy feeling you get when a fever is starting to come on. I woke up this way this morning and have been declining slowly all day. Loading up on vitamins, juice and rest for being sick is not allowed around here.
Hoping it's not that Strep Throat strain that has been going around here lately.
Well anyhoo - Hot Pockets if you Google yourself and find this post - fire that grandma in your kitchen and bring back the Trans Fat unhealthy stuff will 'ya? I'd rather shorten my life a year or two with clogged arteries than to never enjoy a tasty Hot Pocket ever again.
Well it was bound to happen sooner than later, but for the life of me I didn't expect it to be so soon! Squirt landed her very first bad grade in classwork this week. The subject? Social Studies.
A fun subject for a kid in Kindergarten as they learn how to say the Pledge of Allegiance and hear stories about Ben Franklin, George Washington and Betsy Ross sewing up our first American Flag.
What did the teacher think was going to happen when she handed copies out to the class of a picture of The White House?
Perhaps I shouldn't feel this way, but Squirt does me proud. She's a rebel, outside-of-the-box kind of kid with a confident mind of her own.
And to think, they call John McCain a Maverick! Ha! Just wait until Squirt grows up and runs for President!
Here's a fun photo I've found a little over a week ago and couldn't help but wonder what was being said. Flyinfox over at The Hurt Locker has a great little caption game going on over at the Hurt Locker. So if he doesn't mind, I'm going to steal some rules to the game.
1) Take a really good look at this picture. 2) Pick a character, any character and give him/her a voice. 3) Lastly, have fun with it!!
Here's mine:
Piper Palen:"But Mom! I really, really, really have to go pee!"
Dunderhead Diploma Awards: Dr. Priscilla Thomas, Savannah GA
As many of my readers are aware my wonderful husband has finally graduated college! It was a very difficult four years chock full of sacrifices and obstacles, but we did it together as a team. Jon's graduation was one of the happiest days of my entire life for he has worked so hard for it.
It has come to my attention that there are peeps out there in the work force holding down some cushy jobs with big fat paychecks all because they hold a college degree. Except, the degree that they hold is not accredited, not studied for and basically purchased from the many phony diploma mills that offer them.
There are teachers, nurses, police officers, accountants and even those who work for the US Government sitting high and mighty today due to such a degree. I know this, because thanks to Dr. Google - I found tons of them!!
So from now on, each Thursday I'm going to call one of them out of their living-a-lie closet. Yup! Post their mugshot right here along with the company that employs them for all to enjoy. While offering them an official Dunderhead Diploma Award.
Why? Because we all have a right to have issues over it!
So let us get started and allow me to introduce to you the very first Dunderhead Diploma Award Winner, who just so happens to live - like, right down the street from me!
Congratulations Dr. Priscilla Thomas of Savannah, Ga. Commissioner Thomas was elected to the Chatham County Commission in 1990. Her fellow Commissioners elected her Vice Chairman of the Board.
Dr. Priscilla Thomas is a native of Savannah and graduated with Ph.D. in Psychology/Educational Administration from the University of North America. She also is retired as principal of Haven Elementary School after 30 years in education.
Or rather read, retired after using a phony PhD in Psychology/Education Administration who was in charge of tens of thousands of our kids! Let alone her current position of power which allows her to oversee our county schools, roads, property taxes, health systems, courts, probate matters and tons of other important stuff.
The University of North America is a well known fraudulent Diploma Mill, but wait!! Get this!!!! Dr. Priscilla Thomas states she took the online university's doctoral program from 1986 to 1988 and completed her dissertation on integration and education assessment.
Online program in 1986 to 1988? According to the Timeline of the Internet, there were only about 10,000 domains even registered at this time. University of North America was NOT one of them, let alone the technology for such an online educational program was not readily available to the general public.
Congratulations Dr. Priscilla Thomas of Savannah, Ga for being this week's Dunderhead Diploma Award Winner!!
There, I said it. I'm an Ass. No I'm not a Democrat, those are Donkeys that used to Hee Haw all over Red State America back in the days when a Southern Democrat still existed. Well, ok - President Jimmy Carter is still alive but ain't nobody likes him anymore so he doesn't count.
I'm an ass more along the terms of being a domesticated beast of burden. I'm back to work doing the 9 to 5 shuffle and just finished up a difficult Monday. What started as a little work to help out and make a little chump change, grew to helping out answering some phone calls and catching the mail as the whooping crane flew by.
I'm not going to lie, I hated it with a passion. Phones and I do not get along very well and if there is any chance of a telemarketer or bill collector rearing their ugly heads - I would rather not be there.
Except, I kind of have to be there. A promise, a friend, a business partner. Roll these things together and watch the ole' codependency issues come flooding back. Leaving me in much need of therapy.
So this morning before work - it was therapy that I sought via Dr. Google by typing, "Positive attitude at shitty job". I found all sorts of therapeutic and well meaning advice. Like if you have a good attitude about a shitty job it makes a shitty job just that much easier.
Better yet, I found some great employment opportunities such as a position for an Information Administrator needed for the second shit. Another job offering stated that I must be willing to work 10 hours per shit and complete end of shit summaries.
Ahhh, but wait! What's this? If you hate your job than consider being an Ass!!
Well, I'll be? So I click the link.
It ends up being a story about Donkeys and how they have worked beside humans for centuries. In some historical cultures the ass is so valued it was often used as a sacrifice to the Wine Gods. They were once prized as symbols of humility, gentleness, and peace. Christopher Columbus brought the first four asses to North America and now look what happened!!
But then it went on. It spoke about the Donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday. Comparing that Donkey to a Christian and how they should be humble in their work and carry Christ with them where ever they may go.
Guess that hit me pretty hard. So what if codependency means I'm addicted to caring for others. That by continuing to sacrifice my time and efforts brings returns of respect, loyalty, friendship and honor.
It was at this moment of realization this morning when I shut my laptop, looked towards my husband and said, "I'm an Ass."
...and with that got up, walked out the door and went to work with a more pleasant, yet humble attitude.
I've aged! How did that happen? By gosh by golly, my bathroom cabinet is starting to look like my Grandmothers!! From the 81mgs of heart healthy aspirin to a half dozen arthritis remedies. Oil of Olay is now my bedtime ritual and I've been stocking up on the Revlon Hair Dye products.
Besides the obvious, there are some interesting and fun facts regarding September 11th.
- On September 11th there are 111 days remaining until the end of the year. - The Hope Diamond was stolen along with other crown jewels in 1792. - Buckingham Palace is damaged by a German air raid during WWII - In 1941 they held a ground breaking ceremony for the US Pentagon. - Also in WWII, in 1944 - the US Army crosses the western border into Nazi Germany. - In 1965 the US Army, 1st Calvary Division - arrives in Vietnam. - In 1970 the Ford Pinto is introduced. - Pete Rose breaks Ty Cobb's career base hit record in 1985. - 1990 President George H.W. Bush totes "New World Order" in a televised speech. - NASA reaches Mars in 1997. - In 1998 Bill Clinton gets slammed with accusations of 11 impeachable offenses. - 2007, Russia tests the larges conventional weapon. The Father Of All Bombs.
Lots of people were born on September 11th and I found many birthday twins. None as special as the one that I ended up marrying of course. Happy Birthday Jon!! It's weird, sharing a birthday with your spouse. Who makes the cake? Who pays for dinner? Other September 11th birthdays include:
- D.H. Lawrence (English Novelist) - Ferdinand Marcos (10th Philippines President) - Tom Landry (Football Coach) - Kristy McNicohol (from that tv show) - Harry Connick Jr. (singer) - Ludacris (singer/rapper)
Hold on to your socks and shoes!! Jesus may have been born on September 11th too!
It's not only the beginning of a New Year for Jon and I. It's New Year's Day in Ethiopia according to their calendar. Historically it is also New Years Day in the Coptic Calendar. Also known as the Alexandrian Calendar from ancient Egypt.
Over all, despite the obvious - September 11th is one of the coolest days ever!
Someone hand me a tissue please! My little girl and best little buddy is now officially in school!
Squirt has been very excited about this all week long. "How many more days Momma?" she would ask. She was quick to go to bed early - if not to adjust her sleeping schedules - it was as if by sleeping she could make this wonderful day come faster.
Not so last night. No, she was itching with excitement and anxiety. Jon spied her awake at 1:30 this morning but nothing stopped her from jumping out of bed when I came in to wake her up.
On with the Peter Pan blouse, school uniform and little black patent leather Mary Jane shoes. Afterward, I wrestled with the crazy curls and imprisoned some with a pretty uniform bow. It was all I could do to get her to eat breakfast this morning as she was ready to run out the door!
Down with breakfast and on went her backpack - this kid was raring to go!
Out the front door and to the car she skipped, just like an astronaut ready to take a trip into space. That huge backpack sure made it appear that way!
The nervousness and anxiety kicked into full gear once we arrived at school. Her fast paced skipping steps turned into slow motion shuffles. Daddy encouraged her from the front as I took pictures and pushed her from the rear.
Soon we were there! In her new classroom, with her new teacher and fresh new faces of potential best friends.
Her nervousness was still evident as we left her in class. In fact, my tummy is turning right now. I can't wait to hear about her day when she comes home this afternoon.
