Getting Comfortable

 

There are some things in life I just do want to get rid of but it has to happen.  Clothing is what I’m referring to.  There are some pieces of clothes that grow on me and as the wear they become very confortable.  They start becoming ratty, holey, thread bare and well used looking but I still wear them.  Particularly shirts, pants I would like to but there are times when the ventilation shows up in the wrong area although on the warm summer days it feels pretty good.

Sometimes I’ll have a wake for the demise of a comfortable shirt and then the next day go dig it out and wear it some more.  Collars don’t bark at me, they do tickle at times with all the loose threads. 

Wish clothes did not wear out when I find ones that are comfortable.

Shoes are my bane.  I have worn them through to the other side of the treads.  I used to take my boots and shoes in and have them re-soled and new heels put on them.  Wear them until the snow oozed forth between the sole and uppers.  Comfortable shoes/boots are not easy for me to find for an eee width. 

Tennis shoes are a long wake.  Those I can not fix, I wear them until they are in pieces almost.  Have a pair of mocs I have worn for years.  Make great yard shoes.  If they get muddy I brush them off after drying out.  So far they are still in one piece but there is a day when shreds will roll off the toes.

Oh I do buy new clothes but it takes so long to get em comfortable if ever.  Some are worn once or twice and set aside for a later date.  Every once and a while I buy some clothes that are so comfortable they become well used in a hurry.

End of summer I put up the lighter clothes and a few went to the cleaning rag pile but not without a few moments of silence.  Hopefully a few will clothes this winter will become comfortably thread bare for next summer.

Yet in the spring of next year I will be found in the aisles of the local clothing store browsing clothes.  Is that comfortable or just look that way.  I’ll look at the raveled collar the tiny vacancies in the thread and say I can wear it another summer.

Oh do I hate parting company.

Political Suppository

 

Went looking for s place for the politicos to deposit their wasted matter known as promises.  Was not very successful.  Did find a nice prickly cushion for their seat.  Maybe it will get em to get up off their duffs.

Found a great place to locate the white house to.

Plenty of space for the cronies' to pontificate in.  Hot air can roam, natural seating for speeches and road goes that away.

Hate the process but it impacts our lives and it is aggravating.

Have a suggestion for change…… fire em all, true hope n change.

Already voted. N u?

Bribed by Your Own Money

 

Some one using your money to bribe you.  Sounds far fetched but that is what’s happening with tax dollars.  Influencing you to vote in a certain manner is a form of bribery.  The politicians today are pretty slick in how they label their spending programs.  Most are geared so they can get re-elected.

The following programs/spending are designed to appease a local voting group(s) and other groups for donations back to the political party.

As one reads thru it becomes pretty obvious which are Republican or democrat favorites.  In congress this becomes a bouncing ball that says you help vote for my program and I’ll help you with yours.

Spending

1. Regarding regulations, stop prevention of necessary energy resource cultivation, including but not limited to nuclear power and various forms of drilling. This would provide employment to the unemployed, increased tax revenue to the federal government for deficit reduction, and help with national security concerns.

2. On spending, consider the following:

a. $25 billion a year is spent on unused federal property.

b. Approximately $17 billion is spent on agricultural subsidies annually.

c. Over $20 billion annually is spent on energy subsidies.

d. $100 billion of taxpayer money is used for corporate welfare annually.

e. Potentially several hundred billion dollars is being wasted – annually – on fraud, waste, abuse, and duplication. While much of this is hard to eliminate, even getting rid of one-fifth of it would be extremely helpful with regards to the budget.

3. On tax reform, proponents of big government are partially correct: the federal government does need more tax revenue. However, there is no need to raise tax rates on the wealthy or anyone else. What could happen is some combination of the following:

a. Cut loopholes and lower rates equivalently.

b. Cut loopholes and put the extra revenue towards deficit reduction.

c. Cut loopholes and put some of the extra money towards deficit reduction, while the rest goes towards lower rates.

Any of the above options would be helpful for economic growth and budget-balancing reasons. Obviously, it would be preferable to cut loopholes and lower rates exclusively, but using increased revenue for deficit reduction is economically sound as well.

For years now, Tea Party activists have called for balancing the budget ASAP and making the tax code more economically and morally fair. While Congress has, by and large, refused to budge on these demands, the above suggestions could be a way for grassroots activists to at least get a good first step in towards eventual control of Washington by true fiscal conservatives. At the very least, it would prevent next year’s deficit from being as ghastly large as the 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 ones were. And that, in and of itself, is at least a partial victory.

When re-election shows up, members of congress can say: “I brought these programs to you.”

Sometimes as I look out over crowds, I see lots of suckers and have I looked in the mirror it was scary.  I would think, I voted for that.

This spending is also giving more power to the bureaucrats to control our lives and that is the scary part.  Who do want for a boss, and is there even many choices any more?

Treasures over there

 

There it is, just off the highway on a side street.  Gotta turn the wheel, go round the corner, pause a bit.  Otherwise one flies past the ,many tid bit treasures hid on the back waters of small town USA.  Well not everyone calls them treasures, for some it is trash.  Like so many things, depends on your view.

 

The collection of stuff was amazing, was it a store, I have no idea, I just wanted pictures.

Some day, well yes, it is a someday item and someday I will go past and pause longer to check things closer.  For know I can browse my pictures.

It is this kind of place I like to window shop.  Many of these things I have seen from the window while driving down the road or out on the farm.  In a way it is almost a museum, at least a trip down memory lane.

It appears to be well organized.  Walkways among the stuff.  Neat piles.  No junkyard dog.

Off the beaten path, pausing for a bit in small town America.

Small Towns

 

No longer am I in a hurry to get there.  Now I plan my trips with some slack time to tour some of the small towns I pass through.  There are a variety of buildings.  I like to capture pictures of them and there are other things that are unique to that town.

State of neglect is the companion of many of these burgs.  Businesses are gone as are the residents.

The old storefronts line the highway.  Most boarded up and awaiting……….?  Some look like they came from the south, others from another era.

Thriving businesses they were.  Serving travelers, tourists and the wanderer.  Travel changes, people flock to the super speedways of the Interstate, bypassing these little villages.

A few have tried to find a new life for them but to little avail.

Wonder where those gates led to, was it a plantation a large business or maybe a mansion.  Today it is overgrown with weeds and care is neglected.  What could the story be, a dream gone bad?

A southwestern style home, gated and protected from unwanted visitors.

Time moves on, these little towns struggle to survive.  The Siren song of the big city calls their children.

 

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Sacrifice

 

What is it to sacrifice?  To give something up.  During the recession so many have lost their jobs, many of no fault of their own.  Layoffs were a common occurrence, companies closing.  Onto the government dole went many people,

 

So how many government workers did you hear of getting laid off?  In our area it was teachers who got the pink slips.  Other government employees, none got  laid off that I know of.  One of the more critical jobs we pay taxes for took the brunt of the economy.

 

Look at what the politicians are saying about the economy.  Are any talking about cut backs in pay for government employees and or layoffs?  What kind of sacrifice is forthcoming from the bureaucrats and politicians to help the taxpayer?

 

When there is a downturn in the economy it is the everyday worker that takes it in the drawers.  The government workers just keep on drawing their check.  Who do the politicians say should help?  The people on the dole, welfare, food stamps… etc.  Government layoffs are not even mentioned.

Why is it the work a day Joe has to sacrifice the job and the taxes do not stop being paid to the bureaucrats.

 

The average government worker makes 20-25% more then their counterpart in the private sector.  So the public employee could take a pay cut and still make a nice wage, better then average. 

 

The public sector has become bloated but do the politicians talk about the wages they pay?  Government sacrifice is not in their lexicon. 

 

Bet that if there was an across the board pay cut of 10% that the national debt could be reduced by 50% or better.  Low level government administrators make 6 figure incomes into the 200-300,000.00 dollar range.  What government job is so critical and pressurized to warrant that kind of pay?  Most government jobs are cookie cutter work.  I don’t even want to talk about incompetence.

 

One of the things one can do is to bug their congressman and ask them what kind of sacrifice their agencies are going to make to help the country?  In this day and age of electronics it is easy to send your Representative an e-mail, they all have one.

 

Why should the private sector take the brunt of the bad times. 

Politicians gripe about welfare, but what really is welfare?  Look at all of the people that get government checks.  When we send tax dollars to DC….. what do you want in return?  Let the politico's know.

 

We’ve had some rain but it won’t last long.  We could use some more buckets of wet stuff.  Cost of living is going to climb, not only at the food store, also the gas pumps and other places.  The government wants to throw more money out to those dealing with the drought, farmers.  This will push prices up even higher for it will be more taxes floating across the desks of bureaucrats.